Samurai Applejack

Chapters

Defeat of Harmony
The Pony Called Applejack
First Fight
Applejack, the Elephants, and the Sapiens
Applejack to the stars
Applejack and the Ancient Golem
Applejack and The Minotaur
Applejack and the Warrior Stallion
A Third of Harmony
Applejack Meets a Goddess
Applejack Under the Sea
Applejack and The Minotaur Part 2

Defeat of Harmony

"Mah name is Applejack. And Ah'm a samurai. Least, that's what they call me. Ah just call mahself a warrior. A fighter. Fer a long time Ah've been fightin' and strugglin', trying tah find a way back home. Nearly died more times then Ah care tah count. It ain't always been this way.

"Ah had friends and family, and a good life. Ah picked apples fer a livin'. Imagine that. Ah'd spend all day in the fields, buckin' the trees, collectin' the apples, and storin' 'em. Some days, Ah'd sell em and earn some money fer the family. It was a hard life, but ah good one. Ah was proud ah mahself when Ah went tah bed at night.

"But all that was torn away bah a demon called Discord. He killed mah friends and threw me a thousand years into the future. Since then Ah've traveled around tryin' tah find a way back and freein' ponies from Discord's clutches. A farm girl, now a lone warrior. Ah traded mah shovel fer a sword. Yah know what? Ah'm still proud.

"Ah'd like tah think Ah done good. That ah helped at least a few ponies out. Ah know Ah shouldn't bother. After all, if Ah succeed, none ah this'll even happen. But Ah do it anyway. Ah can't help it. It's who Ah am.

"Ah just have one thing that drives me. And that's seein' mah home again. And all Ah gotta do is find a way back in time. Sounds simple, don't it? Well, maybe if yah hear mah story, you'll help me."

Samurai Applejack

Saga I: Welcome to the Future

Chapter I: Defeat of Harmony

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

Applejack looked around at her fallen friends. There was no way any of them were alive, and it was all because of Discord, the enemy she now faced alone. Somewhere nearby, Spike was hiding, but he wouldn't be of any use in this fight.

There would be time for mourning, but that time was not now. The fight wasn’t over yet. Applejack forced herself to ignore the remains around her and focus on Discord. It was nearly impossible and she caught herself glancing about.

Several feet away lay a purple unicorn. The horn, the source of her magic, was gone from her head and instead was embedded in her chest. What had once given her life meaning, had ended it. Blood still poured from the wound, but there was no heartbeat to help it.

Beyond that, now dead, was a chimera. A few tufts of pink mane still hung from its jaws. They hadn't stopped it in time. The Stare hadn't worked.

The pink pony had been right. You could explode twice. It had been a final joke that instead of flesh and blood, she had turned into confetti. It would had been amusing if it hadn't also meant her death.

Behind her sat the only pony left intact, though calling her a pony anymore wouldn't be accurate. Standing there was a white stuffed doll with an indigo mane of yarn and a floppy horn on its head. It was about the size of a two year old foal. It just sat there with dull glass eyes.

It had now been moved to the side, but the orange earth pony’s eyes were drawn the cracked cement block with a bloody mass and shards of bone on it in the center of a large indentation. A Sonic Rainboom-powered tackle had been a good idea until Discord has simply moved the solid object in the way. Now her best friend was Rainbow Splat.

And to think that morning, she'd told her little sister, "Ah'll be back lickety split. Just gotta reseal Discord. It'll be easy as pah."

"And now it's down to you," Discord taunted the earth pony.

"Ah ain't afraid ah you," Applejack shot back. With an quick movement, she pulled off her gold necklace. "Ah still have the Elements on mah side."

"And how do you plan to wield all six? They can only stop me when all of them are used together by the right ponies. Didn't you learn that the last time?"

"But Ah don't need magic tah beat you. Ah just need the right weapon!" Applejack said, sneering. She held the necklace at hoof’s length.

In response, the orange apple gem in it began glowing. One by one, the two gems around the necks of her dead comrades, and the three sitting on their remains, glowed too. They pulled away from their owners' remains and began circling Applejack's Element. The six glowed bright white and merged into one.

The glow subsided, and in its place was an elegant golden blade. In the handle sat five gemstones, the purple magic, the blue laughter, the red loyalty, the green kindness, and the blue generosity, each shape was hidden from view. The final gem at the top was the orange gem of honesty. The blade itself was long, razor sharp and slightly curved. The handle long enough for two hooves, and wrapped in silk string that smoothed it out so the Elements were flush with the rest, leaving a diamond shaped area of them exposed.

The earth pony wielded it expertly in her hooves; swinging it about to test its weight and balance. It was a beautiful weapon. As Applejack swung the sword, it whistled to her satisfaction. Determined, she lowered herself into a combat stance and stared down Discord.

Applejack leaped at the draconequus, swinging the sword in her hooves. Discord barely moved out of the way as the blade sliced his horns off.

"That was a warnin'," Applejack growled, leveling the sword at him.

"That sword... I recognize that sword."

"Ah ain't the first Apple tah wield this sword. Ah'll beat yah just like mah ancestors."

"You are foolish to think you can defeat me. All of your predecessors tried and failed. What hope could you possibly have?"

"Through the blood of mah friends, this blade has become more powerful then you. Ah will defeat you, Discord."

"Then it's a good thing my new partner just returned," Discord sneered. Startled, Applejack turned around, but saw there was nopony there. Something hit her from behind, and suddenly she was falling.

She wasn't falling toward the ground, for that had disappeared, but the sensation was there. There was no wind either. The world around her had turned into a swirling black and white striped vortex. Applejack tumbled about this monochrome tunnel for what felt like ages before it opened up, revealing solid ground at last. Applejack hit it, and everything went black.

"Mah head..." Applejack groaned, rubbing her aching head. Everything was sore. Delicately she picked herself up and looked around to see where she had ended up. It looked... it looked like Manehatten, almost, except these buildings dwarfed even the big city. She couldn't even see the tops of some of them.

Where was she? If she were here, Twilight would know- but Twilight was dead. There would be time to mourn her friends, but now wasn't it. She would have to figure out where she was on her own.

It looked like a deserted alley. Applejack knew only two things. She had to get home, and she had to stop Discord. Looking around she saw her stetson hat laying a few feet away so she picked it up and placed it back where it belonged. Then she spotted the sword embedded in the pavement beneath her hooves.

She drew it forth with her teeth, but contemplated how she could carry it around. Surely she would stick out walking around everywhere with a gold sword in her mouth. As if in response to her desire, a black sheath formed around the blade and from it, a strap to secure it to her body. Satisfied, she slung it over her back so the blade rested between her shoulder blades and walked out of the alley to examine the city.

The first thing she encountered was a small glass ball that was giving off light. Curious, she examined it, not really noticing all the stares she was drawing. It wasn't a torch, she was sure of that. She had seen artificial lights before, but these didn't seem to have a magic power source. Finally, the eyes became too much and she moved on.

As she walked she felt less and less sure she had a clue where she was. Sure there were ponies, but they seemed... odd. They were wearing bizarre clothes, and the farm pony could hardly understand the words they spoke. Onward she marched; she could not be distracted from her mission.

The more she walked around this strange city, the more it felt slightly familiar too. There was something about the layout of the streets that created a sense of déjà vu. The feeling came to a head when she found something she could identify: a train station.

The train was unlike any she had ever seen. It was sleek, round, and made of steel, much unlike the colorful wooden one she had taken to Canterlot only that morning. All around the station various beings milled about, waiting for their train to arrive. As she entered the enclosed terminal, another strange thing, she found there were signs hanging from the ceiling. She examined them, and saw something that lifted her spirits.

"Ponyville: Track 2 - Now Boarding."

Excited, Applejack galloped over to the ticket booth to purchase a ticket. There wasn't even a line! She marched right up to the unicorn behind the counter. At least he was wearing somewhat familiar clothing.

"One ticket tah Ponyville, please," Applejack said, pulling out her bag of bits and placing a couple on the counter.

"What the hay is this?" the unicorn exclaimed. "I don't want your antiques, I want money."

"Sorry, must Ah left mah wallet at home," Applejack lied. Her face turned red and she backed away from the counter. Whah won't he take mah bits? she wondered to herself. Wherever she was, they clearly didn't accept bits. She would need to find a different way onto the train.

Applejack examined the trains inside the station, and noted the position of track 2, then walked out of the terminal. Calmly, so as not to attract attention, she walked down the street and onto a bridge farther down the line that spanned the four train tracks leaving the station. Then she waited.

After a few minutes a train began moving out of the station, much faster then she thought possible. Still, she waited until the right moment and leaped off of the bridge and landed on the train with a grunt. She prayed to Celestia that nopony heard that as she hunkered down and held on to the very smooth train as best she could. The train kept picking up speed until it was moving so fast, Applejack wondered if it was going to do a Sonic Rainboom. She was even forced to place her hat under herself so she could use both hooves to hang on.

Soon the train began leaving the tall buildings behind and Applejack could see the countryside. From her vantage point, she could see the city she was leaving was up high, maybe on a mountain, and far in the distance she could see a large town. She thought briefly about how its location seemed familiar, but had to stop looking as the train began entering a series of tunnels as it descended the mountain.

Applejack was jarred to attention as the train began slowing. Her legs had long ago fallen asleep. Once the train was moving slowly enough for her to stand up, she got up, replaced her hat, and looked over to see where they were.

The sign said Ponyville, but this couldn't be it. It was orders of magnitude larger. The wood and straw buildings were bizarre now. The white finishes were replaced with gray shingles and the roofs were covered in some sort of black tiles. All around town there were tall limbless trees with ropes connecting them together, and them to houses. Artificial lights were everywhere, even in the still bright twilight hours.

No, don't think about it.

"Where the hay am ah?" Applejack wondered. The train was going very slowly now, and ahead of it, Applejack could see a train station. She didn't want to stick around to see if they would check for pony's hitching a ride, so she jumped off at the earliest opportunity and quickly cleared the tracks.

Applejack began wondering around the strange Ponyville. It looked nothing like home. But it did. The streets were exactly the same.

"Maybe this is some parallel world or somethin'," she wondered, "like in all them science fiction books Apple Bloom likes."

If that were the case, she knew exactly where she could go to get help. Quickly she made her way through the crowded streets. The sheer number of ponies was staggering to her. Her Ponyville's population had only been a couple hundred, but there must have been that many just hanging around. Applejack had to force her way through, careful to not hurt anypony with the sword on her back, or to lose her hat.

Finally she came to what she was looking for. As different as it was, it was nice to see the old tree still standing. What had once been a nice big tree that served as the town library, now towered over the area. Everything was bigger, even the door. But it was still the tree house, and it was still called Golden Oaks Library.

Smiling, Applejack walked up and knocked on the door with her hoof. No pony answered it right away so she knocked again.

"Hello? Is anypony there? Ah need help!" she shouted.

Finally the door was opened, but it wasn't a pony inside. A purple scaled creature stood in the doorway, about twice the earth pony's height. A series of green plates ran down the length of it's back. This was a face she recognized.

"Spike?" she gasped.

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If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

The Pony Called Applejack

Long ago, in a magical land, I Discord, lord of chaos, defeated the Elements of Harmony and their bearers. But, a foolish earth pony mare, wielding all six Elements in the form of a magic sword, continued to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time, and flung her into the future, where my chaos is law. Now the fool seeks to return to the past and undo the future that is Discord.

Samurai Applejack

Saga I: Welcome to the Future

Chapter II: A Pony Called Applejack

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

"Applejack?" the dragon exclaimed. "No no no! I really am crazy!" he groaned, stepping back from the door.

"Spike, its me!"

"It can't be! I watched Discord vaporize you!" Spike cried.

"He didn't."

"What then?" Spike asked.

"You tell me. Ah haven't the slightest clue what's goin' on. Last Ah know Ah was taking on Discord, the next Ah'm here. Ah'm not even sure if this is mah home."

"Oh, it is alright. Applejack, you'd better come inside and sit down. This is going to be hard to hear," Spike said. He walked inside and Applejack followed, shutting the door behind herself.

She looked about the library. Much to her pleasure, it seemed mostly unchanged. There were a couple more doors leading off the main chamber, probably to new wings as the tree grew, but the rest seemed to be the same. Spike lead her up the stairs and into Twilight's bedroom. Only it wasn't anymore.

In the middle was a pile of gems, glinting in the light. The bed was larger than before, and there was no basket beside it. Of course not. Spike was clearly too big to fit now. Near a window was a nest of twigs where two red and yellow birds slept. Spike easily climbed up the walls with his claws and began closing the curtains.

"Spike, what's goin' on? What happened?"

Spike kept going until all the curtains were closed. The artificial lights were more then enough to see by, but their eerie glow put the pony on edge. Applejack slowly trotted up the stairs and sat, waiting for an explanation.

"Applejack," Spike said quietly. He had finished and had walked over to her. "The last time I saw you...."

"Ah got hit bah a cheap bah Discord, Ah know. But Ah'm alright now."

"That... was a thousand years ago," Spike said bluntly.

"What? It can't be?! It just can't!" Applejack cried, breaking down. Not only were her friends gone, but her family would be too. Everypony she had known would be long dead.

"Well one thousand and twelve to be exact, but yes, a thousand years ago," Spike said. "I'm sorry, but your brother and sister died a long time ago...."

"Did they at least have good lives?" Applejack asked, tears streaming from her eyes.

"The Apples still run Sweet Apple Acres. Kendall Apple has been doing a good job running it. I don't know what happened to Big Mac or Apple Bloom. I had some things I needed to take care of, and I had to stay hidden from Lord Discord. It was more than century before I made it back to Ponyville."

"Lord? Since when is he a lord?"

"Discord controls everything. He has since about a year after you were defeated."

"Well Ah can still beat him. Ah got this!" Applejack declared, drawing forth the sword.

"What in Equestria..." Spike said in awe.

"This is the Blade of Harmony. Mah ancestors have used this tah beat Discord bahfore and Ah can do it again. He's afraid of it cause it can hurt him and it stops a lot ah his worst powers. That's whah he sent me to the future, instead of fightin', the coward. He gets stronger the longer he's free. All Ah need is a unicorn tah use their magic tah send me back and Ah can take him down."

"That's impossible," Spike said simply.

"Ah know it can be done. Twahlight did it once!"

"That was only for a few seconds," Spike countered.

"But there must be another spell that can do it!"

"Look, there are four reason why it's impossible. One, Discord shut down all the magic schools, so hardly any unicorns know how to do anything but basic magic anymore. Two, the Canterlot archives are gone, so I don't know where you could find such a spell, if it even exists. Three, Discord's influence stunts pony magic. It's more dramatic the closer you are, so to get the kind of power a spell like that would require, you would need to be on the other side of the world. And four, how would you find a unicorn willing to risk it? They could be executed for even considering it."

"So yer just gonna give up? Is that it? After seein' all our friends get killed, yer just gonna give up and not help me set things right?" Applejack shouted.

"I know for you it must seem like yesterday, but it wasn't. I've been here for a millennium, under the hoof of Discord. Giving up was the easiest thing I've done."

"So yer a quitter."

"I dug your graves, Applejack. I buried what I could scrape together. It... it wasn't much. I was just a baby and I had to bury my sister, Applejack," Spike said quietly. "She's right outside. Discord doesn't allow gravestones, but I know where they all are. I was left only because Discord didn't see me."

"And how could he take over? Surely Princess Celestia-"

"Dead. Luna too," Spike interrupted. "That's another reason why we can't stop him. Without Discord, there will be nopony to raise the sun. We'll all die."

"So help me get tah the past. If Ah beat him, then none a this'll happen."

"Look, I just can't okay. I just can't. I can't do magic, I don't know any ways to go back in time, I've only kept tabs on the world through the letters I get as they pass through the dragon network, and time travel hasn't been my priority," Spike said sadly. "Plus if I get caught, I'm dead. You at least have that sword to protect you."

"Then Ah'll do it mahself," Applejack declared.

"Here. I can't help you directly, but I can give you some things that you might find useful," Spike said. He walked off and opened a wooden chest. He rummaged around and pulled out two things. A large pocket watch, and a set of white robes. The watch didn't seem to have any way to wind it or alter the time in any way. He walked back and placed them in front of Applejack. "First, you'll need this. I call it a chaos clock. Be careful, it's the only spare one I have and they're very rare. I only know of four. It's a clock and a compass in one, but contrary to the name, it cuts through Discord's power and anyway he tries to warp reality. An hour on this is a real hour, and where it points is where you want it to point, ignoring anything Discord does."

"Ah don't need ah compass, Ah can navigate with the stars and sun. It's an earth pony trick."

"Not with Discord's power everywhere. It renders everything we used to use worthless, but a chaos clock isn't affected, though I don't know why, I just found them and anypony who could explain them is long dead. Plus, it can be used to locate custom destinations. Just tell it where you're trying to go and the needle will show you, but it's finicky. I only figured out how to use it through trial and error," Spike explained. Then he moved onto the other object. "This robe is enchanted. It won't protect you much more than regular clothes, but it will repair itself if it gets torn or stained. I wore it when I went outside when I was younger. You probably won't stick out so much with it. Ponies don't go naked anymore."

"And it's just mah size."

"You might want to get your hat enchanted the same. A smart unicorn should be able to duplicate the spell even with no real training."

"Ah already had that done years ago. How do yah think mah hat's survived all our adventures? How did yah get this?" Applejack asked, pulling the robe on, and tying it tightly, and slinging the sword over it.

"I made it," Spike replied.

"Made it? Since when do you know how tah sew?" Applejack asked, putting the chaos clock away.

"I've had a long time to learn," Spike said. "I learned it so I could help Rarity."

"Rarity survived?" Applejack said surprised.

"She's right here," Spike said. He walked over to the bed and picked up a stuffed toy. It seemed worn a bit, but had obviously been well taken care of. It was a white unicorn doll with an indigo yarn mane. It looked eerily like the deceased Element of Generosity. Something in it's blue, glass eyes unnerved Applejack. On one side was a strange symbol stitched into the fabric that Applejack couldn't identify.

"Spike... what is that?"

"This is Rarity."

"Uh huh."

"No really. I rescued her after Discord beat you."

"Spike, how long have yah been livin' here bah yerself?" Applejack asked apprehensively. She began backing away towards the door but made sure he didn't see it.

"I'm not alone. I have Peewee, and Philomeena, and Rarity, though they aren’t very talkative. I have plenty of friends from around town too."

"Ain't that Princess Celestia's pet phoenix?"

"Somepony needed to take care of her after Celestia was killed. I took her with me when I came back here. They get along well as you can see."

"Whah don't yah tell me what happened after Discord blasted me here. Now? Yah know what Ah mean."

"Well, he went into the castle, killed most of the guards, killed Celestia, then Luna, then declared himself King. I tried to salvage what I could after he destroyed the castle, but all I could manage was Rarity and Philomeena. And a couple chaos clocks, though I didn't know what they were at the time, they were just really shiny."

"Spike. As yer friend, Ah should tell yah, that's a toy. That ain't Rarity."

"It is Rarity!" Spike growled. "I've been taking care of her ever since Discord did this to her! I've kept her clean, fixed her when she got torn or worn away, even replaced an eye when it broke. I'll always take care of the prettiest unicorn in the world."

"Spike, it's a toy. Rarity's dead and yah have tah accept that."

"She's not," Spike snapped, but he was crying. "One day I'll find a way to fix this. I'll make her a real pony again and we can be together. I'll do it no matter how long it takes." He sat there patting her mane and sobbing. "I'll fix you. I promised."

"Spike..."

"Don't you have a sucky future to fix?" Spike yelled at her.

"Fine!" Applejack shouted back. Angrily she stormed out of the room and exited the library, slamming the door behind her. She'd just get help somewhere else. Surely this 'Kendall Apple' would be able to help her.

"What in tarnation..." Applejack said in surprise. There was no longer a barn at Sweet Apple Acres. Instead there was a massive aluminum building. All around the fields, ponies worked to harvest apples. The farm had clearly grown since she had been gone, it covered at least five times the land and there were at least a hundred ponies bucking and gathering apples. Most of the trees were in different spots then she had known, but that she had expected, now knowing how long she had been gone.

As she walked, she noticed something strange about the ponies. They were all similar shades of brown and were completely bald. Confused, she examined one closer and cringed in horror at what she saw. Their faces had no expressions, and their eyes were made of glass. Their mouths hung open and there were no cutie marks upon their flanks. They seemed to be made of dirt, with strange symbols dung into it.

"Ah'm gonna get tah the bottom ah this," Applejack growled. "Show me who runs this show!" she commanded one of the strange ponies. It stared blankly at her but pointed with a hoof toward the metal building. Then it went back to work.

She stormed up to the building where all the ponies were bringing their harvest. Inside it was very similar. The same brown ponies were packing apples into crates and loading them onto carts. And there were a dozen carts at least. This wouldn't do. She had to speak with a real pony. She looked about and saw a green and yellow pony on a walkway. Finally some answers.

Applejack found some stairs that led up to the walkway and stormed over to the multicolored pony. As she got closer, she looked him over. He was sized between Big Macintosh and Braeburn. The thing that struck her was that he wasn't a single color like most ponies. He was mostly a lime green but with yellow stripes. His mane, pulled back in a ponytail, was the same, but different shades of green and yellow.

"Who are yah, and what have yah done with mah farm?" Applejack demanded.

The pony turned. "Ah don't mean yah no harm, but Ah suggest yah take yer attitude off mah farm," the pony growled.

"This here's mah farm. Ah worked her mah whole life with mah brother and sister. Don't yah be tellin' me tah leave," Applejack growled back.

"Ha. Good one. This farm's been nothing but ruins fer a nine hundred years. It wasn't til mah grandfather came here that it once again produced apples."

"Ruins? Ah did work on this farm, Ah just got hit bah a time travel spell. Accordin' tah Spike that was just about a thousand years ago. What happened tah mah home?"

"A thousand years ago there was a fire here, but only one casualty; she didn't make it out in time, the poor old mare, it was a pity."

"What a way tah go. Oh, poor Granny Smith.... But what happened tah mah brother and sister?"

"What were their names?"

"Ah should be askin' you, yers," Applejack said.

"Ah'm Kendall Apple. Sole owner of Sweet Apple Acres."

"Fine, Kendall, mah brother was called Big Macintosh-"

"That doesn't ring a bell, Ah'm sorry."

"And mah sister was called Apple Bloom." At her words Kendall's jaw dropped and he looked at her in surprise.

"Come with me to mah office. There's somethin' yah won't wanna miss," Kendall said, moving along the walkway. Eagerly Applejack followed. Along the metal walkway was a small boxy room with just a plain door on the side. Kendall opened it and motioned for Applejack to followed. Once inside, he pointed to a very old painting on the wall. It was faded, but had obviously been touched up many times over the centuries.

The painting depicted three ponies, all around a small tree, in faded color. On one side, a yellow mare stood on her hind legs and leaned on the tree. Gold bands adorned her front legs, and gold hoops hung in her ears. Her red mane had two braided locks, while the rest hung free. Her tail was twisted at the base but the rest was curly. The mare looked tired, but happy. On her exposed flank was a mark. Applejack had to look closely but it seemed to look like the outline of a zap apple.

The second wasn't a pony at all, but a zebra standing there. There was no gold on his legs but there was a band on the base of his tail, which was braided around the band. His mane was in one long braid that fell down his back. Applejack couldn't see his cutie mark.

The third was a foal sitting in front of the tree. It was clearly a zebra foal, but something was off. Applejack had to look closely to tell this zebra wasn't black and white, but red and white.

"That's Apple Bloom. The mother of the entire Apple zony line," Kendall Apple said in a reverent tone.

"Apple what line?"

"Zony. Yah know, zebra-pony."

"Yer half zebra?" Applejack asked, surprised.

"Quarter, actually. We call ourselves teh Apple zonies because there are Apples all over the world, but we’re the only ones with zebra blood."

"So, how did mah sister end up with the zebras?"

"Everypony in my family knows this story well. We've passed it down through the generations. After all, it's the whole reason we existed. Did you know a zebra named Zecora in your time?"

"Ah course."

"After the fire, Apple Bloom lived with her and Zecora made her, her apprentice. When Discord took over, Zecora fled to Zebanna, our native land, and took Apple Bloom with her. She not only mothered our line, but also found a way to grow apple trees in the savanna. There's quite the orchard there, or so the folks back home say so."

"Wow... Ah missed so much..."

"The Apple zony family lived there till mah grandfather, Zusoff Apple, decided it was time the Apples ran Sweet Apple Acres again, so he packed up his things and moved here. He fixed up the place, settled down, married a mare in town and restarted the Ponyville Apples. Mah father created the early golem workers, and Ah perfected the apple harvesting algorithm," Kendall said, looking proud of himself.

"He made what now?" Applejack asked.

"Golems are an ancient form of magic kept alive by the zebras, though Ah don’t know its exact origin. It uses magic and a deceased soul to power an artificial body. We can make the body out of anything, we just need to carve the right runes into it so the golem will follow orders properly. All the workers on this farm are golems. Everypony uses them now since magic is so scarce."

"Ah soul? Yah mean yah used dead ponies tah make them move?"

"They were already dead," Kendall Apple replied. "We've used them forever. They're great workers.They're a bit like timber wolves, only made of clay and more slaves than wild animals, but it's the same thing: inanimate material brought to life with magic and a bit of soul. They don't get tired or think, they don't need to eat or sleep, or demand pay. On the down side they are very stupid. They can only do what they are told and exactly what they are told. "

"Like how Ah asked one where tah find the owner and it pointed this way?"

"Right. Ah gave them the command to follow vocal orders from any Apple with a cutie mark, that way it won't listen to foals or strangers."

"It's still mighty creepy," Applejack said, shivering.

"Ah'll admit, Ah'd rather employ ponies, but this is the only way Ah can keep up with Discord’s unreasonable demands and still make a profit. Like Ah said, they're stupid. They'll do exactly as they're told to the letter but they can't deviate from it."

"Sounds dangerous tah me."

"It's not," Kendall replied. "When Ah make one, they are given four instructions that override all others: This golem cannot cause harm to a being unless it is necessary to prevent greater harm to the being; this golem cannot, through inaction, allow harm to come to a being; this golem can take any action to prevent harm to itself unless doing so would conflict with previous instructions; this golem is to obey any order given by any member of the Apple family, with a cutie mark, written or verbal, as long as it does not conflict with previous instructions. In the case of conflicting orders that do not conflict with orders previous to this one, the newer one takes priority."

"Okay... and that means?"

"It tells the golem that it can't hurt a pony, it must help a pony in danger, it can save itself if it is in danger if doing so won’t hurt a pony, and it has to obey us and only our family. Ah have tah use being, not pony, otherwise Ah don't qualify, being not a full pony."

"And it just follows that? How?"

"It's magic. Yah just write the order on a paper and put it in the mouth of a golem, and some take vocal commands. Though, yah have to spell out any actions. The 'harvest apples' command is a three foot long scroll Ah have to write out every time ah make a golem."

Before Kendall could go into more detail, a black thing on his desk made a chirping noise so he walked over and picked it up part that resembled a black banana. He held it to his ear, but Applejack was very confused.

"Sweet Apple Acres, this is Kendall Apple, what can Ah do for you?"

"..."

"Look, Long Strider, Ah can't help you. Ah'm just barely going to make mah own quota."

"..."

"Even if Ah could spare the apples, how could Ah get them to yah in time and without Discord noticin'? Ah'm sorry, but Ah can't help. Ah'm sorry," Kendall repeated, putting the black thing down.

"What they hay was that?"

"Right... yah haven't been around for a thousand years. It's a telephone. Ah can use it to talk to ponies far away through it, if they have one too."

"So who were yah talkin' to?"

Kendall Apple sighed. "Long Strider. He's a good friend of the family, but he's in a lot of trouble."

"Discord trouble?" Applejack growled.

"Yeah. See Discord has a quota that each farm has tah harvest so much. It ain't a totally bad idea, it makes sure there's enough food fer everypony. The folks in Appleloosa ain't gonna make it though. Long Strider's the current mayor, but he won't be for long."

"What happens if they don't meet the quota?" Applejack asked. Kendall Apple was silent. "Tell me!"

"They send in the war golems," Kendall said, a pained expression on his face.

"Ah thought golems can't hurt ponies."

"These can't. They're labor golems. War golems are a whole other kind. They're made of metal, and can kill. They're also made from a live soul, not a dead one, so they tend to be a bit smarter. They follow the command of Discord alone. When they are sent in as punishment, there is exactly ninety-nine. They then destroy and kill everything until there is nothing left to destroy or kill, or the golems are destroyed. If you beat the golems, it's like a second chance. No pony has ever gotten a second chance, they're just too strong."

"Ah live soul?"

"As in they pull the soul out of a live pony and stick it in the golem," Kendall explained.

"That's awful!"

"The worst part is they use criminals, usually murderers. It may seem like a good idea, punishin' them and all, but it means the soul inside the golem is extra mean."

"And they're headed fer Appleloosa?"

"Yes."

"And yah ain't gunna help?"

"Mah golems would slow down the war golems like tall grass slows down a charging bull."

“Ah just have two questions. How can Ah kill them, and how can Ah get there?"

"You'd have to be crazy to take on the war golems! Just one is a match for a dozen ponies!"

"Ah'll do what Ah have tah, if it's ruinin' Discord's day."

"Yah gotta be crazy tah fight them!" Kendall exclaimed.

"Ah got the Sword of Harmony. Ah ain't afraid," Applejack said. She drew forth the sword then put it back so she could still talk.

"The what?"

"The Sword of Harmony. Everypony in the Apple family's taught how tah sword-fight and how tah use it... except... ah no wonder, Granny Smith never told Apple Bloom, she only taught me and Big Mac. Anyway, this sword's the only thing that can actually hurt Discord. It also pertects me from the worst a his powers."

"Look, yah can't kill golems, yah can only damage them. Cutting off the head don't do much, yah have tah damage the runes carved into it. Damage the right ones and the golem won't be able to function, but they're metal so it ain't easy. That or get some fire into it's mouth tah burn the instructions. Without instructions it'll just stand there. As for getting there, the train is the best way."

"How can Ah get a train? Ah ain't got any money," Applejack said pulling out her bag of bits. "All Ah got are bits and these don't seem tah mean much."

"Is... is that gold?" Kendall asked, staring at the coins.

"Yeah, its real gold. Bits were always made from gold."

"With this much gold, Ah could expand the farm another five acres! Maybe exceed Discord's quota enough to really make a profit! Ah'll hook you up with some modern currency in exchange fer it."

"Enough tah get me tah Appleloosa?"

"And beyond. Yah won't have tah worry about payin' fer anything. This is a small fortune here, they just don't take it anymore. Ah can sell this tah the right pony. Yah give me this, Ah'll expand the farm, and use the profit tah help you."

"Ah need the money now," Applejack demanded.

"Ya'll get it as soon as Ah set yah up. Ah'm make sure yah get tah Appleloosa, after all, we are kin, the golems listenin' tah yah proves that," Kendall replied. "Money works a lot different than it did in yer time."

"Well Ah appreciate the help, and what yer doin' here. As creepy as it is, havin' basically zombies doin' the work, Ah feel a bit better knowin' the farm's still around."

"No problem..." Kendall slapped himself. "Mah bad, Ah never got yer name."

"They call me... Applejack."

An hour later Applejack sat in the train terminal, waiting for the next train to Appleloosa. She had been doubtful when Kendall had told her the plastic card he gave her was money, but the ticket pony had accepted it without question. She hadn't been able to get a ticket to Appleloosa, as it had already been removed from the possible destinations, a rather chilling sentiment, but she had picked a city farther along the line and she would just have to figure out a way to get off.

"Applejack?" asked a familiar voice. She looked over and saw Spike was nearby carrying a heavy metal suitcase.

"Spike. Ah didn't expect tah see yah here," Applejack replied coolly.

"I didn't expect to be here," Spike said taking a seat beside her but kept the suitcase close to himself. "You never knew this, but over the years I’ve learned I’m a messenger dragon, not a wild one. So a lot of mail gets sent through me as it travels through the messenger dragon network, plus I have a few contacts in the network who forward certain bits of information to me, and I do it in return."

"Ah don't really know anythin' about dragons."

"Anyway, I'm always on the lookout for any mail that can help... her."

"Maybe yah should ask Kendall. He has lots a lifeless things on his farm," Applejack grunted.

"Yes, well, he's no expert on golem runes. That's who I'm going to see. I have to use the right runes, or I'll end up with a mindless slave, but I want her to have freedom. I don't know if I'll ever find a way to turn her back into a pony, but this is the next best thing. I also brought some thread so I can try it."

"Yer sure Rarity's even still in there?"

"I've had it verified by at least one golem maker that her soul is still inside. I stitched a rune on her so it won't degrade, and I have figured out nearly every rune I need, I just need to work out the right order and find the last few, speech, and one that will wake up her consciousness. Even with the others, it'll still be a hollow soul unless I can wake it back up."

"Well, good luck with that," Applejack said.

"So, where are you headed?" Spike asked.

"Appleloosa. Discord's aimin' tah wreck it, and Ah aim tah stop him."

"You're a brave pony to willingly fight the war golems."

"So Ah've been told."

"Applejack," Spike said quietly. "I'm sorry for how I acted before. It's just.... you've been gone for so long... you've all been gone.... I didn't want to believe you could have survived."

"It's okay Spike. Ah can't imagine how it must feel waiting a thousand years tah see ah friend again."

"I'll help you," Spike said finally.

"Yah'll come with me?"

"No," Spike said shaking his head. "I made a promise to Rarity and I will keep it. But, as I said, I get a lot of mail filtered through me. If I catch word of anything that might send you back, I'll pass it along to you."

"How can Ah get in touch with you if Ah need tah speak with yah?" Applejack asked.

"You'd have to find another messenger dragon and have him send a letter. I don't have a telephone; can't stand the things."

"And how do Ah know it's a messenger dragon?"

"No wings," Spike said like it was a silly question. "I'll let my contacts know to be on the lookout for you and to help you if they can. We're mostly united against Discord, but we can't exactly engage in open rebellion so we do what we can from the shadows, disrupting mail and warning towns before the war golems show up."

"Ah appreciate it," Applejack replied. There was a bell and she looked up. "There's mah train. Ah'll see yah if Ah head back this way."

"Applejack... is it even worth it?"

"What do yah mean Spike? Ah course it's worth it tah stop Discord."

"But if you go back and beat him... it doesn't change much. This timeline already exists. To you and I, they're gone and that will never change, even if you do save them. They'll only be saved for past Applejack, not you."

Applejack was silent for a moment. "Ah know Spike. Ah haven't even had the chance tah miss them yet. Take care of Rarity. Bah."

"My Lord?" the ticket pony said nervously into the video screen. It came to life, displaying a misshapen pony face.

"What is it?" Discord snapped.

"Sorry to disturb you, but a strange pony just tried to buy a ticket to Appleloosa," the ticket pony said.

"Hmmm. Is the pony still there?"

"Yes. You can see her on camera three," the ticket pony said. Discord moved about and glanced off to the side. For a moment he was silent.

"Hmmm. It seems my past has come back to haunt me. No matter. The golems will take care of her," Discord growled.

"I should let her go?"

"Yes," Discord said, shutting off the screen. "Well, my little samurai pony nemesis, you finally decided to reveal yourself after all these years. Well, you are going to pay for your defiance in the past with pain in the present. Goodbye, Applejack. Muah hah hah hah!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

First Fight

Samurai Applejack

Saga I: Welcome to the Future

Chapter III: First Fight

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

"Oooff," Applejack grunted as she hit the ground rolling. She'd tried to find a way to slow the train down, and in the end had been forced to simply jump off. Getting up, she inspected herself. Her robe was scuffed a bit, but already she could see the fibers repairing themselves.

The train ride had been very... therapeutic, though she was sure whoever cleaned the trains would be upset having to mop up her compartment. Still, she felt a lot better now, if a bit drained.

She really didn't have time to waste. Discord's golems could be there any minute. She made sure her sword was secure, then wandered into the town to see if she could find this ‘Mayor Long Strider’. Never heard of a pony with a name like that in mah time.

The first thing she noticed was Appleloosa looked very similar to how it had in her time. There were a lot more buildings, but this small corner of Equestria had kept the same feel. She actually enjoyed walking through the rustic town. All around she could see ponies, and of all things buffalo scurrying about, loading things into wagons. Some were barricading their homes, but most were making ready to leave.

Applejack wasn't sure where the mayor's office was, so she headed toward what had been the sheriff's office in her time. As she approached, she noticed a tall buffalo standing outside the building where the sheriff's office had been, directing the townsfolk about.

"Scuse me," Applejack called.

"Can I help you, stranger?" the buffalo asked.

"Ah'm lookin' fer Long Strider," Applejack replied.

"I am he," Long Strider said.

"Ah'm Applejack. Mah... well call him mah nephew, Kendall said yer havin' Discord trouble."

"As you can see, we are."

"Ah can see yer gunna run."

"It's not like they have a choice. They can stay and die, or run and live. Buildings can be rebuilt, ponies cannot," Long Strider said.

"Long Strider!" shouted a pony, galloping over. He skidded to a halt, and had to wait a minute to catch his breath. "Long Strider," he repeated, "We just lost tower four."

"WHAT? NO!" Long Strider roared in fear. He turned to the townsfolk. "Ponies, get ready to move now! You have ten minutes to clear out or you're staying! I need all stallions over here now!"

"What's the matter?" Applejack asked as every male pony and buffalo galloped over.

"Get back and monitor them," Long Strider said to the pony, who galloped off. "We knew they were coming, so we set up some small radio towers in their path. As they get closer, they destroy the towers so we know how fast they’re coming, and from what direction.

"Alright stallions, listen up. The golems are coming way too fast. We need some ponies to volunteer to stay behind and hold them off long enough for the rest of us to escape. I won't lie, staying is a death sentence. I won't make anyone stay, but if enough don't, none of us will make it."

"Ah'll stay," Applejack declared.

"I don't know who you are, stranger, but I will not allow a mare to stay," Long Strider said.

"Excuse me? Yah think cause Ah'm a mare that somehow means Ah can't fight?" Applejack snarled. "You listen here and you listen good. Ah ain't goin' nowhere. Yah wanna try and make me?" To emphasize her point, she drew her sword.

"Aw let her stay, Strider. She can't hurt us," said a stallion.

"Fine," Long Strider conceded.

As the caravan vanished on the horizon, Applejack looked around at who had stayed behind. Four stallions: Dust Devil; Iron Hammer, the town blacksmith; Shortwave, the pony who had been monitoring the towers; and Apple Seed, a local shop owner; three buffalo: Long Strider; Blind Charger; and Prairie Walker, and a dragon called Ocean. He looked oddly like Spike, but was blue and turquoise, instead of purple and green. These nine against ninety-nine killer golems.

"And now we wait to die," Prairie Walker said.

"Now don't be talkin' like that," Applejack chided. "We haven't lost yet,"

"And what are we supposed to do against the war golems?" Apple Seed asked.

"How did this happen anyway? Had a bad harvest?" Applejack asked.

"No, Lord Discord would accept a poor growing season. Our trees were diseased, but we didn't realize it until after the harvest. We had to throw out almost all the apples to be sure," Long Strider explained. "After that, we couldn't meet the quota and have enough to eat."

"So all the bad trees, what did yah do with them?"

"Chopped them down, We were going to use them for some new buildings but now..."

"Ah got an idea. It's crazy, but it might help even the odds," Applejack announced. "Mah cousin said all we gotta do is make them golems eat fire and that'll stop 'em. If we turn those trees intah torches, we can use them tah stop the golems."

"That's not a bad idea. Make it so. Ocean, Dust Devil, Blind Charger, get on tree duty. Chop them up. The rest of you, use what scraps you can find for barricades. Anything to slow them down. Iron Hammer, I want everypony wearing horseshoes. Move it!” Long Strider shouted. At once the croud dispersed.

“What do Ah do?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t like the thought of having a female here,” Long Strider said. “Do what you will, but don’t get in the way.”

“Ah’ll make yah eat yer words,” Applejack declared, storming off to make torches.

After chopping up more than a dozen trees, Applejack decided to take a little rest. Nearby, Ocean was doing so as well. She couldn't help but look at his arm. The right one, from just above the elbow down, was made of metal and covered in runes. Then she noticed he had seen her staring.

"Like it?" he asked. "It's a new model from Ferrum Valley. Lost the real one to a manticore. It's pretty sweet though. Golem magic is the only good thing to come out of Discord's reign."

"And it just works like a real arm?" Applejack asked. She's seen wooden limbs, but none of them moved.

"Of course. What did you think the runes were for? Decoration?"

"Huh. Maybe Ah should tell Spike tah talk to them. Maybe they can help," Applejack said.

"Spike? The Ponyville dragon?" Ocean asked.

"Yah know 'em?"

"Is he still trying to bring that doll of his to life?" Ocean said, smirking.

"So he is crazy?" Applejack asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say crazy," Ocean replied. "Sure it's never been done before, but that because nopony knows the right runes. And trust me, they've been looking. It's the Royal Tiara of runes,"

"Royal- never mind," Applejack said, not getting it.

"Well think about it, if you could transfer your mind and soul into a golem, you'd be practically immortal. All the time they're trying to work out the right runes for it. Unfortunately, runes are from an ancient, dead language. Those who spoke it died out tens of thousands of years ago, and most of their writings were destroyed. Modern golem making relies on the fragments that remained and what golems they had left behind," Ocean explained.

"Huh. So yah just lost yer arm and bought a new one?"

"Yeah. It's a self defense model too, so it wasn't cheap," Ocean said. "Check it," he continued.

He held the arm out and the wrist fell away like it was on a hinge. He reached his normal hand up and opened a small hatch on the side about mid way from the elbow to the wrist. Into it, he placed a small capsule then closed the hatch. Then he placed the normal hand against the arm, then closed one eye. He pointed it at a nearby rock and flexed a muscle in his arm. Applejack watched as smoke burst from the end and the capsule flew through the air, whistling as it went, glowing red and trailing more smoke. When it hit the rock, it burst into a shower of fire.

"Woah," was all she could said.

"Single load flare gun," Ocean explained, flipping the hand back into place. "Perfect for dealing with golems, and better for range then dragon fire.."

"Well all we need is a couple a those and they won't stand a chance!" Applejack said, feeling more confident now.

"Well I only have a few flares on me, and these golem limbs aren't exactly cheap. I'm only in this hick town to pay off this thing."

"If this is just some job, whah are yah fightin' tah save it?" Applejack asked.

"If I'm dead, I don't owe them money, now do I? Plus, no town means no job. Most towns have a dragon, so I can't just go to another one."

"Yah really make that much here? What is it exactly yah do around here?"

"Same as Spike. I run the express mail service. The dragon net is a hay of a lot faster then by train, so most will pay the extra money to send things across the continent in a second."

“Hey, stranger?" called Iron Hammer.

"Ah told yah, names Applejack," Applejack shouted back.

"Long Strider wants yah fitted with horseshoes like the rest," Iron Hammer yelled. "Come along and Ah'll fit yah with ah set."

"Whah do Ah need shoes?" Applejack wondered as she got up to follow the town blacksmith. "Well, can't hurt tah see what he means."

"Okay, Ah guess it can hurt," Applejack thought. She was laying on her back, quite uncomfortably, with one leg in a vice so she couldn't move it. Iron Hammer had just finished sizing her hooves, and was now coming over with four metal horseshoes and some nails. She looked at them fearfully.

"Yer tellin' me yah never wore horseshoes bahfore?" Iron Hammer asked, noticing her expression.

"Ah've thrown them."

"Well don't worry, it won't hurt a bit," Iron Hammer said, holding the shoe and a nail in place with one hoof and wielding the hammer with another.

Applejack winced as he drove the nail home, her hooves giving off some gut wrenching cracking noises. "Ah'll never make fun ah Rarity fer her manicures again," Applejack groaned as another nail was driven in. At least Iron Hammer had been truthful, and it wasn't hurting, it just sounded bad.

Applejack winced as she left the forge. Her hooves felt awkward, now being a half inch off the ground, and while the nails didn't hurt, they were causing a dull ache. And they were noisy when she walked across anything solid.

It just felt so strange to be wearing something on her hooves. She'd worn boots before, but those hadn't felt like this. Then again, she was wearing a robe and that wasn't bothering her. In fact, it felt almost natural to be wearing it.

"FINAL TOWER!" Shortwave shouted as he galloped past.

At once Applejack leaped into action, following the stallion to Long Strider.

"The golems have reached the final tower, sir," Shortwave said.

"What does that mean?" Applejack asked.

"It means we have about an hour before the golems arrive," Shortwave explained.

"And we need tah buy our families at least an extra hour," Apple Seed added.

"Look alive ponies! I want those bonfires burning now, Prairie Walker! Iron Hammer, who's left?"

"Just you sir," Iron Hammer replied.

"Good. I'll go with you now. Blind Charger, try and reinforce the southern barricade. Dust Devil, Applejack, you two get Ocean and bring some of the bigger logs into the second floors of the buildings. We can drop them on the golems from up there. This is it, ponies. We need to hold them off for an hour. Do anything you can to delay them. Run only if they chase you, fight only if they won't. Keep them busy at all costs. If we don't, our sacrifice will be in vain."

"So, any of yah fought war golems before?" Dust Devil, a sandy yellow pony asked.

They'd just dragged several dozen logs into the small bedroom they were now in, and had run out of logs to bring up, so they decided to rest before the fight.

"Nnnope," Applejack replied.

"I ran into a stray one once. Nearly killed me; good thing I had this thing," Ocean said, brandishing his golem arm.

"Ah saw the Hoofington farm after they visited it," Dust Devil said. "Ah don't know if we can even last ten minutes."

"Ah've never seen them," Applejack said.

"They should be visible," Ocean said getting over to a window. Just on the horizon, a dust cloud was forming.

"Ah can't see that far," Applejack said.

"Here," Ocean said. He burped, and a pair of binoculars popped out of his mouth. He handed them to Applejack, who just kind of let what had just happened go. She put them to her face and looked out at the dust cloud. Then she saw the war golems.

Each looked virtually identical. They resembled griffons to a point. Instead of wings, they had a pair of scythes on their back, that were fitted into joints so they could be moved. Their metal eyes glowed red, and their beaks hung open.

"They look mighty tough," Applejack said, passing the binoculars back, "but Ah've faced worse. Maybe not that many, but Ah've faced worse."

"He sent in the griffon golems? He must really want to make a statement," Ocean said, looking out the window. “Or really want us dead.”

"They're worse?" Applejack asked.

"They're some of the deadliest golems out there."

"What are we waitin' fer? Let's get ready tah welcome them," Applejack declared.

"Brace yourselves. The golems are coming," Long Strider said. Beside him stood the other eight who had stayed behind. "Look alive, males, this is it. They will not show mercy, they will not retreat, they will not stop. It's up to us to hold them here. Torches at the ready."

At once eight of the nine pulled forth long spears, but instead of a metal point, they had a burning rag on the end. Applejack drew forth her sword. Nearby, she noticed Ocean loading a flare into his arm for later.

The golems were very close now. So close, the ground shook from their numbers and sheer weight. Applejack could see their scythe wings twitching with anticipation. They really are monsters. Then they were upon them.

"For Appleloosa!" Long Strider roared, brandishing two torch spears. He thrust them both into the mouths of two of the lead golems. They twitched for a moment before stopping altogether. Applejack charged into the mass, swinging the sword in her mouth. It easily sliced through the metal griffons with little resistance. Magic sparks flew out as they were sliced in half.

It was almost like bull fighting for the farm filly. She moved quickly, dodging the deadly blades, all the while slashing at every golem she could. For once in her life, she was grateful for all the training Granny Smith had made Big Macintosh and her do. All the sparring practice she had once thought pointless, now worked in her favor. It wasn’t great, she’d only ever fought with Big Mac, and he only had the one sword, while each golem had two, and there were dozens of them, but she did what she could.

Through the frey, Applejack caught glimpses of the other Appleloosians fighting it out, torching the golems or fleeing when their weapon got destroyed by a scythe. Prairie Walker was the first she found dead, numerous gouges marring his massive body. She choked back the bile, and kept fighting.

It was getting harder now. She was tiring, and the metal monsters seemed endless. For every one she sliced in half, it seemed another three took it’s place. More and more, she was forced to go on the defense, just barely blocking their attacks with the sword, or her shoes.

At one point, she blocked a double swipe from one with the sword, when another loomed over and attacked as well, forcing her to rear up on her hind legs and use her metal horseshoes to keep the deadly blades at bay, but it left her helpless as a third stormed over, wing-scythes poised to end her right there.

They came down. She flinched, pulling herself out of the way as much as she could. Her back burned as the blades traced lines into her flesh. The griffon golem stepped closer. This is it. Time tah go join the others.

The third golem’s head erupted in flame. At once, it staggered back and stopped moving. A second later, the first golem’s head suffered a similar fate, freeing Applejack up to dispatch the last.

“Thanks!” she called to Ocean, who simply loaded another flare.

The fight continued. It felt like it would never be over. Applejack just kept on slashing the Sword of Harmony about, sending magic sparks out every time she ended another golem’s existence. Sometimes they got her back, her robe was in tatters and soaked red. Her legs were covered in scratches. Nothing serious, but they stung all the same.

The day became a blur of metal bodies and magic sparks. The sword felt heavy in her mouth. Her legs felt like they were filled with lead pudding. But still, Applejack fought on. When the hollow shells blocked her way, she simply climbed on top of them. As the waves came, she climbed higher and higher. The seemed endless. Then, all at once, they stopped coming.

Applejack looked around, searching for the next golem to slay, but didn’t see one. Confused, she climbed down from her perch to find the others. Away from the metal carnage, she found a few beings nursing their wounds. Of the original nine, only four were left. Long Strider, Shortwave, Ocean, and her.

“I- I cannot believe we did it,” Long Strider said when he saw her approach. There was a deep gash along his side, but he was up walking about.

“We... We’ve got to tell the others...” Shortwave said, trying to catch his breath. The way he was acting, something heavy had hit him in the chest. He probably had some broken ribs to go along with the deep slashes in his forelegs..

“I’m really glad I paid extra for the stronger alloy,” Ocean said, testing his arm. “Not a scratch on it. Discord must use really cheap metal to make those things.” The rest of his body was barely marked at all, but dragonhide was famously tough.

“That’s it? Yer safe?” Applejack asked, sheathing the sword.

“Yes. Thanks to you, Appleloosa has been spared Discord’s wrath,” Long Strider said.

“Don’t thank me,” Applejack said. “If Ah had been better, we wouldn’t ah lost a single pony.”

“Are you kidding? Four of us survived! That’s four more than I thought possible!” Shortwave wheezed.

“They went right after you. We barely got any action, unless we jumped in after them,” Ocean added. “They must have really wanted to kill you.”

“I wish to apologize for my words before,” Long Strider said. “You were willing to give your life for our town, and I was going to turn you away based on sex. There is no way we would have survived it it hadn’t been for you.”

“Ferget it,” Applejack said. “Just work on fixin’ the orchard so this don’t happen again.”

“I’ll send them the word,” Ocean said. He burped up a scroll and pen, and wrote a quick message. He send it away with a quick burst of blue flame.

“If there is anything we can do to thank you for your help, let me know,” Long Strider said.

“Yah got any water?”

“The well,” Long Strider said, pointing.

Applejack walked over and pulled up the bucket. Greedily she tipped it towards herself, gulping down some, but mostly splashing it over her robes. It felt good, soothing her wounds. Already, her robe was stitching itself back together, her blood washing right out, leaving behind the plain white. Even the nicks her hat had received were vanishing.

“Yah got any good rope?” Applejack asked, dropping the bucket back into the well. Her lassos were all a thousand years in the past, and slightly out of reach.

“I think Apple Seed had some in his shop,” Ocean said.

“Is it too much tah ask yah tah burp it out?” Applejack asked, not wanting to search through a dead pony’s belongings.

“Sorry, I can only do that with my own stuff,” Ocean replied. “It’s right over there, if you want to just grab some.”

“And could yah send Kendall a letter fer me?” Applejack asked.

“Not directly, but I could send it to Spike,” Ocean replied, burping up a fresh scroll and passing over the pen. Applejack took it, and wrote out a quick message.

“Dear Kendall,

Appleloosa is safe. I thought you said them golems were tough. How about you send them some trees so they can get their harvest going again? I’m sure my bits will more then cover a couple. Don’t bother coming to see me here, I’m leaving right after I send this.

-Auntie Applejack”

“Here,” Applejack said.

She rolled up the letter, and hoofed it back. Ocean sent it away with another burst of fire. Reluctantly, she walked across the street and went into what had been Apple Seed’s shop. Right away, she found rope to her liking, which she stored away in her robe. Then she walked back out to find the remaining defenders waiting for her.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Ocean asked.

“We could always use another hoof around the orchard,” Long Strider said.

“Ah’m sorry, but Ah got somethin’ Ah just gotta do,” Applejack replied.

She took out the chaos clock and looked at it. It had a regular clock face that told her it was late afternoon. It had three hands, two told the time, while the other wavered around aimlessly. “Where’s the nearest town?” she asked it, not sure if it would work. The needle spun around once before stopping, pointing towards the west. She nodded, and put it away.

“So... after all that, you’re just going to leave?” Shortwave asked, still rubbing his chest.

“Eeyup.”

The orange earth pony in the white robe walked off towards the setting sun, hat tilted to shield her eyes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Blast!” Discord shouted, smashing the screen with his eagle fist. It didn’t do much, the feed had already blinked out with the last of his golems. “You’re stronger than I thought, Applejack. Rest assured, I will not underestimate you again. Enjoy your victory while you can. You never defeat me, Samurai Applejack. Muah hah hah hah!”

End Saga I

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Applejack, the Elephants, and the Sapiens

Samurai Applejack

Saga II: Dangers of the Wild

Chapter IV: Applejack, the Elephants, and the Sapiens

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

For the fifth time that hour, Applejack pulled out the chaos clock to make sure it was still pointing forwards. True to Spike's claim, it had led her to the nearest town to Appleloosa, where she had bought herself some supplies, including food and some canteens, before heading out again. For some reason, the clock had continued to point in this direction, no matter where she requested it point instead.

It must want me to go this way fer some reason.

The trip across the desert had taken six days. Well, that's what Applejack had counted from the sun, ignoring the one day where it went backwards. According to the clock, it had only been two days. She wasn't sure what to trust, so she ignored both. She slept when it was dark and she was tired.

For the past few hours, she'd left the desert behind for an open plain. There were a few trees here and there, but for the most part it was tall grass as far as she could see.

Applejack's stomach began rumbling. She rummaged around in her robes, but she already knew she'd finished all her food earlier that day. Well between when the sun had last risen and now.

"Grass it is," Applejack said, sighing. She simply stopped her trek and leaned over. She bit off a clump of grass and chewed it. It tasted horrible, and wasn't very nutritious, but it filled her belly. As she ate, she became aware of a loud rumbling coming through the grass in her general direction.

Ready for trouble, she drew her sword and looked around for the source. It was easy to spot, being several times her size, but she couldn't tell what it was. It wasn't a golem, but it was gray like one. It was running on all fours, but wasn't like any pony she had ever seen. The head was pulled really close to the body, and it had big floppy ears. The most striking feature was a long thing hanging off its face like an extra leg.

It wasn't charging at her, and if anything, it seemed to be moving to avoid her. Applejack decided to let it go and simply went back to eating, but kept an eye on the mysterious creature. As she watched, she saw three more identical creatures following it, but something was different about them. On the back of each of the creatures, another creature rode. They definitely were two legged, judging by the ropes they held in one hand, and the spears they held in the other.

As they neared, she got a better look. They looked like something Twilight had once showed her in a book. What were they called?

"Stop it!" one of the riding creatures shouted.

"Don't let it get away!" another shouted.

Applejack sprung right into action. She pulled out her rope and made a lasso. She spit out the grass she was eating, and gave chase.

As large as the creature was, it wasn't very fast, and Applejack caught up to it before reaching a full gallop. She twirled the lasso around and tossed it over the creature's head. That's when she noticed the metal collar covered in runes on the creature's neck. Regardless, it caught, so she dug in her hooves and pulled back with all her might. Despite the drastic difference in size, the force caused the creature to lean to the side. It became too much, and it tripped. It's massive body slammed into the ground, it's inertia dragging Applejack along with it.

As it ground to a halt, Applejack got up and dusted herself off. She was worried about the chaos clock, but it was undamaged. Oddly enough, for the first time since she had left Appleloosa, it wavered about.

Ah guess Ah'm where it wanted me tah be.

"Hey, thanks!" one of the creatures called as the three slowed their mounts.

"Hold up. Just what is goin' on here?" Applejack asked. "Who are yah? Ah ain't never seen critters like either of yah."

"We're the sapiens. These things, the elephants were wild animals, but we tamed them long ago," the lead creature said, patting the creature it rode on. "This one's a trouble maker though."

"Yeah! How dare you run from us!" another shouted, at the downed elephant, brandishing his spear.

"Let it go," the lead sapien said. "We caught it, so it's okay now. Get those ropes on him," he ordered. The other two jumped down and began tying ropes around the elephant. They knotted three thick ropes around it's neck, then came back to their mounts and climbed on. One tossed the extra rope to the third sapien.

"Hey, why don't we bring the pony with us?" one of the sapiens suggested.

"Good idea. How about you come with us to our village? We don't have many ponies or zebras here."

"Well, Ah don't really have anyplace else tah be," Applejack said, putting the chaos clock away.

"It's the least we could do to say thank you for how you stopped that elephant."

"Yeah, Ah suppose," Applejack said.

"Up!" a sapien commanded to the elephant that was still on the ground. Slowly it rose to it's feet.

Applejack stared up at the elephant. It stared back. Something about it's look caught Applejack's attention, but she let it pass.

"Climb on and we'll lead you back," the lead sapien said, waving toward the elephant she had caught. Nimbly she leaped up the side of the animal and settled on it's neck. "Move!" the lead sapien commanded. Slowly, his elephant turned and began walking back the way they had come. Her's moved next, then the other two followed hers.

Applejack took the time to examine the bizarre creatures she was now traveling with. They were proportioned a bit like Spike, but they were very hairy. They didn't even have tails! The hair wasn't very thick, she could see the paler skin beneath it. They wore a small draping garment around their waists that seemed made of animal skin. They were clearly more primitive than ponies, but they seemed friendly enough.

"Run."

Applejack did a double take. Had somepony just said something? "Did one of yah say somethin'?" she asked.

"Nope," came the reply.

"Did one ah-"

"They can't talk."

"Okay then," Applejack said.

A video screen flickered to life.

"Lord Discord," the pony on it said.

Lazily, Discord leaned over and pressed a button, allowing two way communication."Yes, what is it?"

"I'm sorry, My Lord, I would have contacted you sooner, but we only just received the notice."

"Get to the point," Discord snapped.

"Right. That mare you're looking for, Samurai Applejack, she passed through a few days ago."

"Where was she headed?" Discord asked, suddenly interested.

"She was headed north of Zebanna."

"Good," Discord said, shutting down the video screen. "Well Applejack, let's see how well you handle my better toys."

Applejack was quite impressed by the sapien village. It wasn't anywhere near as big as Ponyville had been in her time, but from the way the sapiens had seemed, it was impressive. The village consisted of several crude grass huts. On one side there was a fenced area with what seemed like a hundred elephants inside it. Many of the sapiens looked at Applejack, but the lead sapien waved them off.

The population seemed nearly equal to the number of elephants. Applejack gazed around at the strange creatures. All of them were walking on only two legs. Right away she could tell there were two kinds of sapiens, but only worked out which was male and which was female when she saw one nursing a foal, or whatever their young were called.

One sapien approached the precession. It was different from the rest, it was wearing a cape of fur in addition to the scrap around its waist.

"Chief, we captured the runaway thanks to this pony," the lead sapien said, gesturing to Applejack.

"Well, thanks," the chief sapien said to Applejack.

"No problem," Applejack said, getting off the elephant.

"Get it back in the pen. I'll punish it later," the chief ordered. Several sapiens rushed around and used their spears to push the elephant into the fenced area, along with the others. They looked quite unhappy to be going back there, but their faces probably just looked that way.

"If that's it, Ah might as well be on mah way," Applejack said.

"Nonsense," the chief said. "Why don't you stay until morning. It's almost sundown, and I'm sure you're hungry."

"Well, Ah guess ah can stay the night."

The feast turned out a big less then what Applejack had expected. She quickly discovered sapiens ate meat, so that severely limited what she could eat. She wasn't quite hungry enough to open that can of worms.

Still, the party was great. There were plenty of foreign but delicious fruits to eat, and the sapiens loved drinking as much as ponies did. It wasn't cider, but Applejack quite enjoyed it.

As they drank and ate, Applejack noticed something odd. They kept refilling her drink, but were hardly touching theirs. They're tryin' tah get me drunk! She realized too late. Already her vision was swimming.

"What'sss inn dis..." she slurred. Normally she could handle her cider, but this was many times stronger. The world teetered about and she hit the ground hard.

Applejack forced herself awake. Her mind was slow, and her body felt heavy, but she struggled against whatever it was in her body. She was dimly aware that she was being restrained and one of the sapiens was coming towards her with some sort of metal band in his hand.

"What are... yah doin'?" she managed to say. They either didn't hear, or chose not to reply. Instead the sapien clamped the metal band around her neck. "What's this," is what she tried to say, but instead only a whinny came out.

I wonder why my masters are holding me. Did I do something wrong? Oh, they are taking me somewhere. Then the drugs in her system surged back and her vision went black.

Awake? But it night. Hungry. Where food? There food! Happily, the orange pony walked over to the pile of grass and began eating. Her masters were so good, making sure she was well fed. She couldn't wait to serve them in the morning. She would do her hardest to please them. Like grass. Not hungry. Go sleep.

The orange pony returned to where she had been and went back to sleep.

"Come," her master commanded. The orange pony stopped eating at once, and trotted over, ready to serve. He put a rope around her neck and led her off.

The orange pony had a great day. She was too small for her master to ride, so she helped with other things. She carried his things, she helped carry what he and the other sapiens hunted, back to camp. She was very good. Her master even gave her a fruit for being so good. When the work was done, she went back to the corral like a good pony. She ate some grass, then went to sleep so she would be ready for the next day.

The orange pony awoke in the night to see a large creature walking towards her. Not master. Other servant? Name? Don't know. The creature got closer. She noticed it was carrying something in it's trunk. She was confused. Certainly they should be resting so they could best serve the masters tomorrow.

The elephant was getting very close now. It made her nervous, and she let out a whimper. Suddenly, something grabbed her from behind and held her firm. While the one elephant had approached from the front, another had come up behind her.

Hurt. Need help. Why hurt? Scared.

The first elephant quickly brought its trunk down towards her. In it, she could now make out a jagged rock. It was going to kill her! It brought the rock down on her neck and did something, but it didn't hurt.

No hurt? Confused. Wait... what's going on.... The trunk holding her down relaxed.

Applejack shook her head, and stood up, trying to organize her mind. The combination of alcohol and whatever had just been undone make her thoughts slow, and her mind dull.

"Can you think now?"

"Whah?" she mumbled, trying to clear up her mind.

"I said, is your mind free of the collar's influence?"

"Uh, did ya'll just talk?" Applejack asked. She looked up to see the two elephants looking at her. She looked around. There were several dozen elephants nearby, sleeping. They were in the paddock!

"Of course we can talk," the one that had held her down. "The collars just prevent us from doing so, as you just found out."

"I tried to tell you to run," the one with the rock said.

"Wait, that was you Ah brought down?" Applejack asked.

"Yes."

"Ah'm awful sorry bout that. Ah had no idea they were the bad guys," Applejack said.

"If it had not been for you, I would still be a slave. When you caught me, something scratched my collar, damaging the runes that enslaved my mind. Because of that, we are both free in a sense."

"Ah'll admit, Ah'm confused."

"You see, many years ago, the sapiens invaded our lands. At first we viewed them as pests, but then they harnessed runes. The made these collars and used them to enslave us. They make us slaves in our minds, as you just experienced. However, it seems it only takes a simple scratch to stop the effect," the elephant with the rock explained. "After you freed me, I let them think I was still under their control so I could come and free the rest of us. I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen."

"Even if you free us from the collars, they'll just fix them," the other elephant said.

"Ah can help," Applejack said, reaching for her sword. It wasn't there. "Figures, they took mah stuff."

"I didn't see where they took them, but they are most likely in the chief's hut."

"Well, Ah'll have tah go find them," Applejack said.

"Please don't. You'll only get caught. Then they will figure out we are free. We will be punished, then they will fix the collars," the second elephant said.

"Whah are yah so afraid ah them? Yah could probably squish them, yer so big!" Applejack declared.

"We are not a violent race."

"But yah have tah defend yerselves. Yer intimidatin' just cause ah yer size. Use that tah scare 'em off. Look, if yah can help me get mah stuff, Ah'll handle 'em."

"What would you need us to do?" the first elephant asked.

"Just get me over the fence," Applejack replied. "It ain't that tall, yah can probably lift me over with this thing," she said, pointing to his trunk.

"Okay," the first elephant agreed. Satisfied, Applejack walked over to the fence. He followed and gently lifted her up with his trunk then deposited her on the other side.

"Now Ah need one more favor," Applejack said quietly. "Give me a few minutes tah get over to the chief's hut, then cause as much ruckus as yah can, tah wake 'em up. They'll run here while Ah'll get mah sword, then come back here and chase 'em off."

"Can you really do it?"

"Course Ah can. Ah promise. They don't call me honest Applejack fer nothin'."

"Stondust."

"Huh?"

"My name is Stondust."

"Then Ah'll be back. Ah promise, Stondust."

Silently, Applejack crept through the village, making her way to the chief's hut. It was easier than it should be; everybeing was asleep, and there were no guards that she could see. All she had to do was keep quiet and they wouldn't even notice her. She wished she had found a blacksmith before coming here, so she wouldn't have to worry about the horseshoes, but she hadn't found one yet, and she was actually getting used to them.

Finally she reached the chief's hut, and just in time. Across the village, she could hear the elephants creating the distraction. They were making some sort of trumpet noise, but it didn't sound like any instrument was being played, nor had Applejack seen any.

Applejack clung to the shadows as sapiens ran by, towards the fenced area. As soon as she saw the chief leave his hut, she slipped inside.

It wasn't very grand, being made of grass, and it was only about the size of Applejack's old bedroom. She cringed at the number of furs lining the floor, but it only took a single glance to locate her missing things. The first thing she did was take out her sword and cut the collar off of her neck. She kicked the thing away from her, it's influence disturbing her greatly. Then she dressed and galloped off to help the elephants.

"I don't know how you got your collars off, but they're going right back on!" the chief shouted at the elephants. They were being forced back by the entire tribe of sapiens, each wielding spears.

"Ah'd back off if Ah were you!" Applejack shouted, getting between them, brandishing her sword. "Ah don't like slavers."

"We're not slavers, you are just inferior species!" one sapien said, pointing. "It is only right we dominate you."

"I like you, pony," the chief said. "You're very pretty. Perhaps I'll make you my personal slave, and you can put those looks to work, plea-"

He didn't get another word out. The next two sounds he made, came from when his head and body hit the ground; now separate. Applejack turned and faced the other sapiens. She held her sword in one hoof so she could talk.

"Go ahead, try and fight. Maybe ya'll can take me," Applejack said. "But can yah take them too?"

Stondust stepped forward, bravely. "We'll squish you like bugs!"

"Run!" one sapien cried. The rest flew into a panic, fleeing the village, leaving most of their weapons behind.

"See? Ah told yah intimidation works," Applejack said. She wiped her blade clean on the grass, then sheathed it.

"Thanks to you, we are free," Stondust said. "Please stay. They will come back and we will need a protector."

"Ah'm sorry, Ah can't. Ah'm already on a mission and Ah can't stay here. You'll just have tah learn tah defend yerselves."

"I did ask," Stondust said. He waved with his trunk. At once another elephant pinned Applejack to the ground with it's trunk faster than she could react.

"Hey! What gives!" Applejack growled.

"I'm sorry, but if you will not protect us willingly, we will have to force you," Stondust said. Another elephant came over and gave him a new collar that was pony sized.

"You'd use that on me?" Applejack snarled. "After what they did to yah, you'd do the same tah me?"

"How do you think they learned runes?" Stondust asked. "You won't even be aware you are a slave. Hold still."

"Like tartarus Ah will!" Applejack shouted.

She bit down hard on the trunk holding her down. At once it recoiled, the elephant crying in pain. In a flash, Applejack was up and galloping away from the village, the elephants began chasing her.

"What was the point ah bringin' me here!" Applejack shouted at the chaos clock in her robes. "Yah brought me here just tah show me not tah trust elephants?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Applejack to the stars

Samurai Applejack

Saga II: Dangers of the Wild

Chapter V: Applejack to the Stars

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

Applejack was fed up with running. Her sides burned, her legs hurt, but she kept running. She had been running nearly constantly for two whole days according to the chaos clock, but it felt much, much longer.

She had long ago left the savanna and the elephants behind, but that wasn't why she was running. Not long after the elephants had given up the chase, something else had stepped in to push her on.

Suddenly there was a break in the trees, and Applejack was forced to jump so she didn't crash into a pony in her way. She hit the ground hard and looked around. There were about sixty or more ponies all around, now staring at her. They seemed to be in the midst of something, but Applejack had interrupted it. She couldn’t help but notice every last pony was a unicorn.

Just then, what had been chasing Applejack entered the area, revealing itself to be three large golems in the shapes of manticores. Everypony froze, even the golems stopped moving. Silently they surveyed the scene before them, then one spoke.

“Well, what do we have here,” it said in Discord’s voice. “Thank you very much for leading me here, Applejack. They might have gotten away with this if you hadn’t.”

“Aw horseapples,” one of the unicorns said. At once the various ponies began panicking, running around wildly. Some tried hiding, others just ran blindly.

“You should know better!” Discord said through the golem. It took a swipe at some of the unicorns, but Applejack wasn’t going to let it hurt them. She leaped into action, drawing her sword and slicing both its forelegs off. However, it kept moving, trying to bite the ponies instead. Applejack countered that by slicing its head off, but even that wasn’t enough. It began flailing about wilding, hitting the panicking unicorns with its bulk.

Right, Ah gotta hit the runes. Applejack jumped, dragging her sword along the golem’s body, marring the runes on its metal hide. At once it stopped moving and fell limp.

Now she had to defeat the other two. They were busy terrorizing the helpless unicorns as they ran about. Whah don’t they just use their magic? Applejack intervened, hacking at the runes to quickly deactivate the golems.

The golems dispatched, Applejack sheathed her sword. Around her some ponies still ran about crying, even though the danger had passed. Now that she wasn’t running or fighting, she took some time to examine the area better.

In the middle of the open area was a stone platform embedded in the ground that was dumbbell shaped. On one end was a carved circle with runes around the edge that ran down the slender middle part to the other side that was almost all runes. In the center of this circle was a large crystal that gave off its own light. As distressed as the unicorns were, they were careful not to run on the stone.

“Sorry bout the mess,” Applejack said.

“Sorry?” one of the hiding unicorns shouted angrily. “You doom us all and you’re sorry? You bumbling idiot! We were so close! Now we’re going to be killed and it’s all your fault.”

“Shut it, Elusive!” another shouted back. “She had no way of knowing we were here any more than Discord. If anything, it’s your fault. You were supposed to make sure random ponies couldn’t stumble on us with your charms!”

“My charms are to stop golems and bandits, not random ponies!” the first shouted back.

“Look, Ah’m awful sorry Ah led them here. Ah didn’t know ya’ll were hiding here.”

“We’re not hiding, we’re leaving,” the second unicorn said.

“Look, Ah wanna make this right. Is there anyway Ah can help?” Applejack asked, ashamed she hadn’t just fought the golems earlier.

“What’s the point, Discord’s going to send in some super golems and kill us before we can leave,” a third unicorn said.

“Don’t give up yet!” the second unicorn said. “We almost have enough magic, we can go before they arrive.”

“Can somepony just tell me what’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked.

“Sorry, I’m Dusk Shine,” the second unicorn said. He was purple with a rather short blue mane. “This is Elusive Lulamoon;” he pointed to the first unicorn, a light blue pony with a pastel yellow mane, “and Twilight Sparkle;” the third unicorn, pink with a dark purple mane. Applejack blinked, but let the similar name pass as coincidence.

“We were attempting to escape Discord until you ruined it!” Elusive Lulamoon growled.

“Ah can tell yah were doin’ somethin’ but Ah don’t know the first thing ‘bout magic,” Applejack said, gesturing towards the runes.

“It’s the greatest spell ever devised!” Twilight Sparkle said. “A teleportation spell.”

“Uh... Ah’ve seen unicorns teleport all the time.”

“You must be from far away then. Discord’s power is too great here to teleport more than a few feet. However, we found a way around it,” Dusk Shine said. “We’ve been storing our magic in that gem there for years! It almost has enough stored up for the spell to work. We can’t hold much magic on our own, but that doesn’t stop the gem from holding as much as we need.”

“But Discord rules the world, where could yah teleport to that he doesn’t already rule, or yah could just walk to?”

“We’re not teleporting anywhere in the world,” Dusk Shine said, grinning. “We’re leaving it.”

“Now yer just talkin’ nonsense,” Applejack said. “Where yah gonna go? The moon?”

“We’ve spent a lot of time looking,” Elusive Lulamoon said. “We found a planet that is habitable to us. It’s about forty light years away. Discord will never reach us there.”

“Another planet? There are other planets?” Applejack said, confused.

“Well, duh. What, did you think the stars were just some giant painting?” Elusive Lulamoon retorted.

“Ah’m a farmer. If it don’t have tah do with growin’ plants, Ah don’t care.”

“Ignore him,” Dusk Shine said. “The point is, we’re going to use a teleportation spell to teleport us all to another planet far away. We should be able to leave before Discord can send his golems in to stop us.”

“How long ‘till yah can cast it?” Applejack asked.

“We’ll be ready tomorrow morning,” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Then Ah’ll stay here. If Discord tries stoppin’ yah, Ah’ll protect yah.”

“You’d risk your life for us?” Twilight Sparkle said, surprised.

“Seein’ as it’s mah fault Discord knows yah here, it’s only right Ah do.”

“Yeah, it is,” Elusive Lulamoon grumbled.

“Shut it, Elusive,” Dusk Shine said.

“If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to leave first thing in the morning,” Twilight said.

Suddenly, a swirling cloud of green smoke entered the clearing and flew over to Applejack before condensing into a scroll. She stared at it for a moment before opening it and reading the message.

“Dear Applejack,

Unfortunately, my contact didn’t have the runes I need. However, he was able to direct me to an ancient library that may hold the runes I’m looking for. I heard from Ocean how you saved Appleloosa. That’s incredible! I hope you’re having better luck than I.

Your friend

-Spike”

“Well then,” Applejack said, tucking the scroll away. “Say, do yah have any water? Ah ran out yesterday.”

“Right this way,” Dusk said.

The unicorns had settled down for the night. They sat about the campfire, talking excitedly about what tomorrow would hold for them. Applejack sat down next to Dusk, Twilight, and Elusive.

“I can’t wait to go!” Twilight said. “I wonder if there will be plants there already and if we can eat them.”

“We do have plenty of seeds, and our destination should be near some water,” Dusk replied.

“Yah really have this all thought through,” Applejack said.

“We’ve been preparing for years. Of course we prepared for everything,” Elusive said.

“So Applejack, where are you from?” Dusk asked.

“Ponyville,” Applejack replied.

“I’ve never been there. Is it nice?” Twilight asked.

“It was bahfore Discord got free,” Applejack replied. “Now it’s all weird.”

“What do you mean, before Discord?” Elusive asked.

“Ah fought Discord once,” Applejack said. “He couldn’t beat me, so he cheated. He sent me a thousand years into the future instead of fightin’.”

“You’re from the past?” Dusk asked.

“Let me see,” Elusive said. His horn glowed blue, casting a similar glow around Applejack. She felt a slight tingle as the magic washed over her, but she stayed still. “Hmm, it does appear as though your particles are temporally displaced. I wouldn’t put time manipulation out of Discord’s list of powers either.”

“And now Ah gotta get back in time so Ah can stop all this from happenin’.”

“Why didn’t you say so? We can send you back,” Elusive said suddenly.

“What? Really?” Applejack said excitedly.

“Yes. If you are on the right place on the spell matrix when it activates, the backlash from our teleportation will send you into the timestream. Since you do seem to be from the past, your particles will gravitate to when and where you are from,” Elusive explained.

“Can somepony say that in Equestrian?” Applejack asked the other two.

“If you stand on the right spot when we cast the spell, you’ll be sent back to your own time,” Dusk replied.

“Really? Yah sure?” Applejack said, very excited now.

“Well, no,” Twilight replied. “You might not go back to when and where you left.”

“You should end up close, both in terms of time and distance,” Dusk continued. “Though the longer you’ve been in our time, the farther you’ll end up from where you came from.”

“You may even end up before you left,” Elusive added.

“That would be nice,” Applejack said. “Stop Discord from killin’ mah friends.”

“So what was it like back then?” Dusk asked.

“Everythin’ was smaller,” Applejack answered. “There were no golems, and ponies only wore clothes fer special things.”

“I wonder if you knew our ancestors,” Elusive said. “I know Dusk and Twilight’s ancestors were from that area.”

“Actually Ah think Ah did. Ah knew it the second Ah heard yer name,” Applejack replied. “One ah mah friends was Twahlight Sparkle too. You’d have tah be from her brother's family though, she didn’t have any foals. Ah was actually there when Shinin’ Armor nearly married that changeling. Good thing Twahlight rescued the real Cadence.

“And Ah knew yers too, Elusive, her name was Trixie. She passed through Ponyville a couple times. An annoying bragger. Nearly got Ponyville destroyed cause ah the things she made up. No idea who she ended up with. Sorry, but Ah don’t have a clue about yers, Dusk.”

“Huh,” Elusive said.

“We’re brother and sister,” Dusk replied, gesturing to Twilight

“Well then,” Applejack said.

“It must be hard, being a thousand years in the future,” Twilight said.

“It was at first, but out here, away from the cities, it ain’t so bad. More like home yah know,” Applejack replied. “Plus, Ah got Spike. He’s a dragon who was alive bahfore Ah fought Discord.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a messenger dragon here. We couldn’t risk word getting back to Discord, and we’re not sure what kind of an effect being so far away from other dragons would have,” Dusk replied. “We’re not even sure what effect it will have on us, but we’ll find out. Better whatever comes from that then living under Discord for the rest of our lives.”

“Ah bet Spike would ah liked tah meet yah. He was Twilight’s assistant,” Applejack said. “So, bahfore tomorrow, Ah wanna know where exactly Ah gotta be tah go back.”

“We’ll be on one side, you just have to be on the other side,” Elusive said.

“What, just anywhere?” Applejack asked.

“I wouldn’t recommend standing right over the crystal, but anywhere is fine. Just be careful not to damage the runes,” Elusive instructed.

“Ah’ll be careful,” Applejack replied.

The four talked for several hours, about the past, about the future, and about their crazy idea.

Applejack was trying to get comfortable, but she couldn’t. The bed mat they had provided was just too comfortable for her. Unable to sleep, she got up and left the tent quietly. She was surprised to see Dusk Shine was awake as well. She trotted over and sat down next to him.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it,” Dusk said, looking up at the starry sky.

“Luna always made the night pretty,” Applejack replied.

“Who?”

Applejack didn’t respond right away. “Just somepony from mah time.”

“It’s so humbling,” Dusk said, still looking up.

“It looks like ah bunch ah dots tah me.”

“But it’s so much more. Just think, every one of those points of light is a star just like our sun.”

“That’s ah lot ah stars.”

“The great scientist Cosmos, once said, “There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand in all the beaches of the world.”.”

“Now Ah know yer makin’ stuff up.”

“Sure you can’t see them all, they’re too far away, but with a telescope... it’s amazing how small we are. Discord thinks he’s powerful, but he controls one world. There are easily a trillion, trillion stars. If just one percent has a planet, that’s still a billion trillion. If just one percent of one percent of that has life, that’s a thousand trillion planets with life. Any life. Then there’s intelligent life. Maybe on one percent of one percent of one percent. That’s still a million worlds with beings just like us. Looking up and wondering if there are worlds like their's out there. And we do the same.”

“So, what happens if when yah get there, there’s ponies there already?”

“There won’t be ponies,” Dusk replied. “But there could be life, we can’t really tell being this far away. The planet might not even be there. Remember, it’s forty light years away. What we see is how it was forty years ago. We have a few ideas on what to do if we do encounter intelligent life.”

“Huh. Make sure yah send me a postcard,” Applejack joked.

“We will try,” Dusk said. “Without Discord stunting our magic, we should be able to send things back with our collective power. No need for spell matrixes and crystals to store magic.”

“Ah just wanna go back tah pickin’ apples, instead ah fightin’ golems every other day,” Applejack said.

“The simple life is preferable,” Dusk agreed.

“Ah never thought Ah’d hear a unicorn say that.”

Everypony was jittering with anticipation. The crystal was charged, the spell was ready, and they were leaving Equestria behind. With quiet efficiency, they packed up the whole camp and piled everything on the stone slab, right in the carved circle. They were careful to have nothing overhanging the line.

Applejack had climbed a tree and sat in the branches. She would have liked to have helped, but Elusive had insisted she keep an eye out for any trouble. So, she closed her eyes and listened intently for anything.

The ponies were nearly done packing, and they were moving into the circle themselves. There wasn’t much room with all their belongings, so they simply climbed on top.

Something caught Applejack’s attention. In the distance, dozens of birds suddenly took flight. She got up and looked in that direction.

“See something?” Elusive asked, noticing her movement.

“Somethin’ spooked the birds. How soon can yah go?”

“The spell will take a minute or so to cast,” Elusive replied.

“Everypony on the circle now!” Dusk commanded. “Applejack, you’d better get in position, we don’t want to leave you.”

“Right,” Applejack said. She still couldn’t see what was coming. She jumped nimbly down from her perch and carefully walked onto the rune covered stone, walking gently so her horseshoes wouldn’t scratch anything.

“Everypony ready?” Dusk called.

“All present and accounted for,” Twilight called back.

“Activate the spell!” Elusive declared.

At once, the crystal began glowing brightly. It’s light poured out into the runes beneath Applejack’s hooves. Lines of white light replaced the gray carving.The light flowed over the whole matrix, finally encircling the eager ponies. A dome of energy began forming over them as the spell began working.

Then Applejack saw what was coming. It was the largest golem she had ever seen, and it resembled one of the things she hoped never to see again: a hydra.

“Uh oh,” Applejack said. She drew her sword. It was coming at them quickly. In a minute it would be upon them, unless somepony slowed it down.

“Applejack, it won’t reach us in time!” Dusk shouted.

“Ah can’t take that chance!” Applejack shouted back. She took a deep breath then jumped off of the stone slab. She would find another way back. She galloped off towards the golem.

“What is she doing? She won’t make it back in time,” Twilight cried.

“She knows that,” Dusk replied.

“We have to hold the spell until she get here!” Twilight said.

“We can’t,” Elusive replied. “We have to go now.”

“She’s made her choice. The most we can do now is honor it,” Dusk said. “Good luck, Applejack.”

Applejack charged the hydra golem head on, intent on landing a decisive first strike. It didn’t seem to notice her as she galloped up to it and started running up its outstretched leg. She jumped when the slope became too great for her to climb, and she swung at the hydra, slicing one of its metal heads off.

It slammed to the ground, useless now and the remaining three turned to her.

“Good thing it ain’t a real hydra,” Applejack said, glad it hadn’t grown more heads. This one was different than the golems she had fought before. It seemed Discord had wised up; the runes were not visible on the outside of its body.

The three heads attacked her now, trying to bite her. Applejack was forced to dodge as her sword was simply too small to block them. She couldn’t keep up with three hydra heads, and one finally got her. It clamped down, holding her in its cage like jaws. It raised its head up, allowing Applejack one more look at the forest. She saw the bright flash of light as the unicorns’ spell activated. Then the hydra tipped its head back and she tumbled down it’s metal throat.

Applejack grunted in pain as she hit the bottom of its neck. She could tell she bruised something, but that was the least of her worries. She was still sliding downwards towards the end of the metal tube she was in. She held her sword tightly as she came out the end. She quickly stabbed it into the wall as she fell, giving herself a place to hold onto.

Below her, where the hydra’s organs would be, was a pool of glowing ooze. Applejack had no intention on finding out what it would do to a pony like her, so she held onto her sword tightly. She gritted her teeth and hoisted herself up. It was hard, her hooves found little purchase in the slick neck, but she dug in her shoes and managed to secure herself. Then she retrieved her sword.

“It weren’t a good idea tah eat me,” Applejack said, mostly to herself. “Yah can’t stop me in here.” She looked out over the pool of ooze, trying to see if she could see any of the runes controlling the golem. She spotted some on the far side of the body, but she couldn’t reach them from where she was.

Smirking, Applejack simply swung the sword in an arc, slicing through the neck she was in. It fell away, creating a window to the outside. She could see the two remaining heads looking in at her. She kept smirking as she climbed out of the neck and used the slice she had made to climb onto the hydra’s back.

The two heads lunged at her, but she ignored them. Instead, she galloped along the golem’s back, dragging her sword through the metal. The hydra stopped moving before she reached the end.

With a mighty crash, it collapsed to the ground. For good measure, she stabbed it several more times. It had ruined her chance to go back!

Applejack strode back to the rune circle. Even if she had missed it, surely another group of unicorns could recharge the spell and allow her to go home. She sighed in dismay when she reached it. The gem that had powered it was no more, broken into a million shards. She laid down and sulked. She had been so close!

There was a flash of light in the center of the circle, and a small notebook appeared. Curious, Applejack got back up and strode over to examine it. It seemed to be one of the unicorn's books, so she opened it. Inside the cover, was a list of signatures, one from every pony that had just vanished.

Still curious, Applejack kept turning pages until she got past all the names. There she found a message for her.

"Dearest Applejack,

We cannot begin to thank you for your sacrifice. We arrived safely, and are now building a new home. The local wildlife is friendly, but we haven't encountered anything intelligent yet. They are completely unlike anything in Equestria, but that was expected. This is likely going to be the only thing we will be able to send back. It took all of our magic to send this to you, and we can only hope this comes back near the time and place we left.

You have no doubt noticed that the magic storage gem is destroyed. This too was expected; there was no way it could have survived the magical discharge. But do not despair, there may be another way to send you home. If you can get a new gem, and make a spell matrix with the right runes, it will be possible. In this book, we have included diagrams for just such a spell, but finding a new gem will be up to you. We wish you the best of luck.

-The inhabitants of Ursa 2"

“Well, that works,” Applejack said, putting the letter away. She took out the chaos clock instead. “Ah don’t suppose yah can show me the way to a gem Ah can use?”

Applejacks’ face lit up as the needle spun once before pointing off in one direction. Things were going to work out anyway. She double checked the clock’s direction, then headed off, leaving the spell matrix behind.

End Saga II

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Applejack and the Ancient Golem

Samurai Applejack

Saga III: Hunt for a Gem

Chapter VI: Applejack and the Ancient Golem

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

Applejack confidently walked up the rocky mountain pass. There was a clearly defined path, and regularly used, judging by the wagon tracks dug deep into the earth. However, it was steep, so the going was tough. And she enjoyed it. The hard work really made her feel good. The chaos clock still showed the way, and she finally had a way back in time.

Something made her stop. She took a deep breath, looked away, and continued on. She just had to walk past the pony skeleton lying on the side of the path. It’s bones were broken, but she couldn’t tell if the pony had simply fallen or something else had caused the damage. They didn’t have any visible teeth maks, but she wasn’t going to give it a closer look. She walked right past the next three skeletons, though she began moving slower and slower each time.

The path suddenly widened and she stopped. The path continued beyond the wider area, but she had to stop. Just to the side of the path was a stone statue.

It looked vaguely like a sapien, but crude, like a foals drawing. It had a simply blocky mouth and hollow eyes, making the head look like a helmet. It wasn’t very large, it was only slightly taller than Applejack if she reared up on her hind legs. It stood there with both hands resting on the pommel of a large sword, embedded in the ground at its feet.

Applejack admired the craftsmanship for a minute before continuing on. As she tried to leave the wide area, a stone slab slammed down in front of her. Surprised, she backed away and took another look at the statue. Now that it had moved, its sword now blocking her way, she could clearly see a glow in its empty eye sockets. The runes must be inside

“If you wish to pass, you must fight me,” the golem said.

Applejack shrugged. “Ah won’t pass then.” She could always go around, so she headed back the way she had come. Again the sword slammed down in front of her.

“If you wish to go back, you must fight me,” the golem said.

“Is there any way Ah don’t have tah fight?” Applejack asked.

“No. You must fight me, pony.”

“Whah is it no matter where Ah go, Ah have tah fight somethin’?” Applejack grumbled.

“Discord seems to like the world this way,” the golem replied.

Applejack stared blankly for a moment. “Wait... did you just talk back to me?”

“Yes,” the golem said.

“And yer a golem?”

“That I am.”

“Huh. Ah never met a golem that talked back bahfore,” Applejack said.

“I am not a normal golem,” the golem said. “Draw your weapon so we may fight.”

“Fine,” Applejack said. She pulled out the sword and got into a fighting stance.

“That sword,” the golem said. “I have seen that sword before. I wielded it, in fact.”

“Ya’ll are a bearer? How is that possible?” Applejack asked.

“Would you like to hear my story before we fight? It will answer all your questions.”

“Might as well,” Applejack said. The golem sat down, crossing its legs. It sat its sword aside and began its story.

“It all began a long, long time ago, not far from this spot. Here there was once a small kingdom, but it did not belong to any race you know. We called ourselves humans. We were prosperous and happy.”

“Ah’ve never heard of yah,” Applejack said. “Did yah look like yah do now?”

“We were wiped out some time ago. This body was made to be similar to ours, yes.”

“So... what about the sapiens? Yah look like one,” Applejack said.

The golem humphed. “Mother nature trying to repeat herself. They are a mockery of the human race. I guess whatever gods there are want to replace us.”

“Yer race was that important?”

“We could not use magic like the other races of this world. It wasn’t universal, but many beings with magic used it to exploit us. It changed, however, when we discovered that our very written language could give life to things. We created thousands of these artificial creatures to aid us in our work and to protect us.”

“You... you created golems?” Applejack said, surprised.

“We discovered them is more like it. It was fortuitous that our language allowed us access to magic. No longer were we helpless against those that would abuse us with their magic. At our height, golems outnumbered humans three to one.”

“Ah’m almost afraid tah ask....”

“Ponies were among our abusers,” the golem said. “Though there were no unicorns, nor pegasus or even earth ponies ponies back then. There were only alicorns. The alicorns did lord their magic over us until we wiped out one of their platoons with our golems. After that, they left us alone. I do not bear any ill will towards you. You are a bearer. If you are good enough for the sword, that’s enough for me.

“I had a family back then. A wife and son. In those days I was a golem maker. It made me proud to see my son following in my footsteps.”

“What was yer name?”

“I’ve forgotten it,” the golem said.

“How could yah forget yer own name?

The golem shrugged. “It wasn’t important.”

“Weird,” Applejack said.

“I was always trying to make the best golems I could. This body you see was to be my masterpiece. An entirely new class of combat golem, far beyond anything we had ever made before. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to try it before... He came.”

“Discord,” Applejack growled.

“He walked through our golem army like they were nothing. We did everything we could to stop him. We sacrificed cities, thousands of lives, just to slow him down.”

“Ah heard golems use souls. Is that true?”

“Yes. The soul is what gives a golem it’s limited intelligence. They don’t remember who they were or anything about themselves. It’s a bit like being asleep and having amnesia, or so our researchers deduced. They’re not really aware of anything on a conscious level, they just react. I, of course, am an exception.

“Sacrificing all those people bought us time, and allowed us to make more golems. We tried to buy ourselves more time. Time to build bigger and more devastating weapons to stop him. Nothing worked. I was there when he reached our capital.

“When he attacked, I was repairing golems damaged in battles with him. I abandoned my work and ran to my house. I had to protect my family, what little I would do against that demon. I was too late. My home was burning before I arrived. I was angry. I didn’t think things through. I was going to make him pay with my last breath.

“What I did was forbidden. I’ve had thousands of years to understand why. Though, if I had known back then... I probably would have done it anyway.”

“Forbidden?”

“My people knew every rune and what it would do. Because of this, certain runes were forbidden from use. Runes that gave a golem independence, for example, or gave the soul consciousness. Use of these runes was punished most severely.

“That is what I did. I couldn’t enact my revenge, but my golem could. I carved the right rune, then I sealed my own soul inside this golem. It worked. I now had the will to stop him, and the body to match my heart.

“I faced Discord. He merely laughed at me. I struck him will all my might, but my blows did nothing, and in retaliation he plunged me deep underground. I lay there, helpless while my home and people burned and died. By the time I emerged, none were left alive.

“But what he had done to me, was his own downfall. As I climbed out, I found an ancient tunnel I didn’t know existed, far below my home. It did not look like it was made by human hands, or pony hooves. I explored it and found a chamber with six stone balls. They reacted to my presence and became a brilliant golden sword. It wasn’t exactly like the one you wield. Yours is more like a katana while mine was a claymore. This one I have now is a replica.”

“Ah ain’t too familiar with swords. Ah just know there are big swords and little swords.” Applejack could tell just by the difference in appearance that they were meant for different fighting styles. Is it only this shape fer me? And why would this shape be fer me? It that whah they keep callin’ me ‘samurai’?

“Regardless, I found the sword and climbed out of the hole Discord put me in. From that point on, I became a relentless phantom, haunting him as he continued his rampage. Wherever he went, I followed. It took two hundred years for me to catch him.”

“Two hundred.... golly....”

“The battle was fierce, but in the end my work paid off. With the power of the Vanquishing Blade, and the ability of my golem, I defeated Discord, turning him to stone.”

“Vanquishing Blade? Granny Smith called it the Sword ah Harmony,” Applejack said.

“Eh, two names for the same thing. Same use,” the golem said, shrugging.

“So... what did you do after yah beat him?”

“I traveled the world. Most beings feared me, and with good reason. Some wanted the forbidden rune, but I refused to share it. Eventually I came back here. And here I have waited for a warrior capable of slaying me in battle for thousands of years.”

Applejack gazed at it in silence for a minute. “It’s an honor tah meet yah. Ah didn’t expect tah meet another bearer. But... whah do yah just stay here, fightin’ random ponies?”

“I don’t fight random ponies. I watch all beings that pass by. If they seem like the warrior type, I fight them. If not, I let them pass. Sometimes I try to talk with them. Sometimes they listen, other times, they run.”

“But whah?”

“Because I wish to die.”

“That’s quitter talk!” Applejack said sternly.

“I have lived for over thirty thousand years!” the golem shouted. “When I put my soul in this body, I did not realize the long term consequences. I cannot die of natural causes. I do not require food, water, rest, or anything else a body of flesh needs. The only way for me to pass on is to be killed.”

“But Ah could use yer help,” Applejack said. “Discord’s been free fer a thousand years! Yah could be out stoppin’ him again.”

“As my story explained, I can’t without that sword,” the golem said, pointing to her. “And there is no point to fighting him.”

“Sure there is! He’s makin’ everypony’s lives miserable!”

“What do I care if a few ponies are unhappy. Where were they when my entire race was wiped out? And don’t tell me they’ve changed, they haven’t. After Nightmare Moon was banished, I went to your Princess. I told her that the Elements needed to be put back where they belong and they had been in pony hands too long. She attacked me and I was branded an enemy of the state. She couldn’t destroy my body, I had really outdone myself in its construction, but I was still forced to flee.”

“But he’s hurtin’ everyone, not just ponies. We gotta stop him.”

“I agree. It is noble to fight against such a being, but fighting Discord is a waste,” the golem said. “I have seen him break free of his stone prison a dozen times in my life. The sword is the only thing that can actually harm him, and even it cannot slay him. As I said, it is a waste.”

“Ah ain’t gonna kill yah. Do it yerself,” Applejack said defiantly.

“Don’t you think if I could, I would?” the golem growled. “The very runes I put on this thing to control it, prevent me from doing just that. Plus, this body is too durable for most things to even damage it.”

“So just stand there and Ah’ll stab whatever runes yah want. Surely this sword will work.”

“Again, I cannot. I am forced to retaliate against any hostile action.”

Applejack looked grim, unsure of what to do.

“Please. I wish to see my family again. This world of the living holds nothing for me and I have waited long enough. Think of it as practice for Discord. I beat him, so if you can beat me, you can beat him as well.”

Applejack was deep in thought. “Ah’ll do it,” she said, looking up. “But on one condition.”

“Name your terms,” the golem said.

“Ah want the forbidden rune,” Applejack said.

“This is a cursed life. I will not give it to you. I do not want another to suffer as I have suffered.”

“That’s mah condition. Give it, or Ah walk.”

The golems face held no emotions, not that it could. “If you beat me, you can have the rune.”

“Thank you,” Applejack said sincerly. “And if you win, yah can have mah sword.”

“I will only put it back where it belongs.”

“Ah don’t think Ah’ll need it anyway.”

“Here,” the golem said. It opened its mouth wide and pointed at the back of its hollow head. She could see the faint scratchings of a rune there. “That is your target. Hit it, and I am slain.”

Applejack didn’t wait for the golem to get ready. She leaped at it, thrusting the sword forward. It knocked her aside with one hand, and brandished its large sword with the other.

She hit the ground hard, but was up in a second, slashing at the golem. It blocked her with its sword. She was quite surprised when the Sword of Harmony didn’t cut through the other sword.

“It’s a really good replica,” the golem said. It pushed forward, forcing Applejack back with its sheer weight.

Applejack wasn’t going to give up so easily, so she jumped at the golem again, roaring as she brought her sword down. Again, the golem block her, but this time, it only used one hand. The other, it swung below the crossed blades, catching her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her.

She retreated, rubbing her stomach and trying to breathe.

“If that’s the best you can do, Discord has already won!”

Applejack just stood there, wheezing.

“Are you giving up already?” the golem asked, walking over.

Applejack shouted and threw her sword at it. It easily caught the sword, even though it was going to miss the golem completely.

“It’s always a bad idea to throw your weapon. Who taught you how-” the golem was cut off by Applejack. She had jumped at it with both forehooves outstretched and had collided with its head, her horseshoes causing the golem’s head to ring.

The golem staggered back and dropped her sword. Without giving it a chance to recover, Applejack grabbed her sword and thrust it forward, towards the golem’s head. With a grinding sound, her sword sank into the metal, damaging the rune. The golem sank to its knees with a loud thud. Wisps of black smoke began billowing out of its joints and the holes in its head.

“Thank you,” the golem said.

“The rune?” Applejack said.

“Of course,” the golem said. It opened up a cavity in its chest and pulled out a small stone bird. On each of its wings was a rune, each different. “This is what you seek.”

“Which one?” Applejack asked.

“Both. A modification must be made to the soul seal rune for it to work.”

“Okay,” Applejack said.

“My.... my son made this. It was the first golem he ever made. He even worked out the consciousness rune by himself. He wanted to make a bird golem that would act just like a real bird. I stopped him from sealing a soul in it. I had to.

“And all these years, it’s the only thing I’ve had of him. Do you know what it’s like to lose a son?” the golem asked.

Applejack nodded. “Mah sister died a long time ago. Ah never to the chance tah see her grow up cause ah Discord. Ah missed her gettin’ her cutie mark, gettin’ married, hay, Ah never got tah see her foal. She may have been mah sister, but Ah had tah take care ah her like our mom woulda.”

“Good luck on your journey,” the golem said. It placed the stone bird on the ground. Then it stood up and picked up the sword. Its movements were awkward and it jerked around a lot. Finally it stood in the position Applejack had found it in. “What... what is.... your name, samurai.... pony?”

“Mah name is Applejack.”

“Thank.... you...., Samurai....... Applejack.”

The golem fell silent. The glow in its eyes died, and the smoke ceased to come. Applejack carefully put the stone bird away and continued up the mountain.

“Ah’ll come back and free yah again. A thousand years ago.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Applejack and The Minotaur

Samurai Applejack

Saga III: Hunt for a Gem

Chapter VII: Applejack and the Minotaur

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

Step

Applejack slowly climbed the steep mountain, putting one hoof in front of the other. She panted from the exertion. It had to be at least a 50 degree slope, if not more. At least it hadn’t been all one mountain. The mountain the Golem had guarded had turned out to be a mountain range.

At the first village she came to, she sent the stone bird off through the dragon message network, though she had made a copy of the runes in the notebook, just incase. Now her quest to find a crystal large enough for the spell continued.

The climb was treacherous enough, but Applejack had been in a cloudbank for over an hour now. She could barely see more than a few feet ahead. Then she came to something that made her stop in her tracks.

It wasn’t a tree, but it was made out of wood. It was a massive pillar of wood, just sticking out of the ground. It didn’t seem to serve a purpose, so Applejack drew closer, trying to get a better look. What she found, only deepened the mystery. Wrapped around the pillar was a gigantic rope. It was bigger than the largest tree on Sweet Apple Acres. In this, or in her time.

She briefly wondered just how many ponies it would take to simply lift the rope. The rope was clearly tied to the wooden pillar, but the other end simply vanished into the cloud. Applejack was curious, but not curious enough to spend all day trying to work out the mystery of the wooden pillar and giant rope, so she took a breather then continued climbing.

As she climbed, she came to another pillar, with another rope. It wasn’t the same one, or she didn’t think it was, they both led off in the same direction. Then she found another, and another. By the time she cleared the cloud cover, she had spotted at least ten of the strange wooden pillars.

Now that Applejack was free of the white mist, she could see where all the ropes were leading to. The mountain ended abruptly before her. It was flat for a very small area, before plunging straight down.

Perched on the edge of this jagged cliff was a massive wooden frame, hundreds of feet tall. From it, dozens of giant ropes came, each sinking into the fog behind her.

Whah does it need all them ropes holdin’ it up? What’s so important about... Oh. Applejack reached the frame and looked through to the other side. It was just as foggy on this side as the path up had been, but what she could see, stretching far into the distance was a very narrow, very old wood and rope bridge.

“Ah gotta go over that?” she moaned. She double checked the chaos clock, even holding it vertical. This was definitely the way. Slowly she stepped forward, delicately putting her weight on the first plank. She had to make sure it would support her weight. She even pushed down to be extra sure.

Then she took another step. Then another. Then she was at the bridges mercy. She looked up, seeing the ropes reaching from the wooden frame to the bridge before her. She couldn’t see the other side, and something told her she wouldn’t be able to even without the fog. She looked back down, and continued on.

Creak

Groan

Creak

Snap!

Applejack was woken immediately by her bottom half suddenly falling. One of the planks she had been sleeping on had given out. She scrambled wildly, grabbing at the intact planks, trying to hold herself up. She didn’t want to think of just how far off the ground she was. Finally she managed to pull herself back onto the bridge. She checked to make sure nothing had fallen, then continued walking. It was far too dangerous to consider sleeping again.

What’s that noise? Applejack wondered. There was a very strange sound coming through the fog towards her. It sounded almost like the most out of tune collection of horns. She put her hooves to her ears to block the noise, but it didn’t help as it got louder.

Out of the white mist, a black figure came walking towards her. The source of the horrible racket. As it came closer, Applejack could tell what it was. She’d seen pictures of them in books. It was a minotaur.

The beast was much taller than she was, and a dark orange. The creature was utterly naked, except for a cloth skirt with a plaid pattern around its waist, and a leather belt across its chest. Its bull like face was busy blowing into some sort of tube. The tube led to a cloth bag with more pipes sticking out of it. It had to be what was making the noise.

The creature continued walking forward until it was right in front of Applejack, and still it played, despite the pain in her ears. Finally, thankfully, it stopped. The creature looked at her and spoke.

“Ah can tell from your expression that yah like dah pipes,” the Minotaur said. He took a deep breath, but Applejack stopped him.

“Look, Ah’m wonderin’, how far tah the other side?” she asked.

“It be a ways, Lassy. Ah’ve been walkin’ for three days now,” the minotaur said.

“And it’s taken me just over one so far,” Applejack replied. “Least, it got dark once. It’s hard tah tell what is and isn’t a day.”

“Aye.”

“Well, it was nice meetin’ yah, but Ah best be on mah way,” Applejack said.

“Now where do yah think you’re goin’ lassy?” the Minotaur snarled.

“Ah’m going that way,” Applejack said, pointing past him.

“And how are yee going tah do that?” Ah’m in the way.”

“The bridge is wide enough fer us tah pass,” Applejack stated.

“And risk fallin? Not fer a stranger, Ah ain’t,” the minotaur said. He placed his infernal instrument behind himself, then he reached back with one hand and grabbed a sword hilt Applejack hadn’t noticed until now. “Ah say we fight fer it. Loser has tah walk back from where they came.”

“There’s no point. Look, Ah’ll hang off this side and let yah pass. Happy?”

“Ye just want tah peep up me kilt, don’t ye, Lassy?” the Minotaur sneered.

Applejack put a hoof on her sword. “Don’t go there with me.”

“Then we fight,” the Minotaur said. He drew forth his sword. It was larger than even the Golem’s had been, almost as broad as she was.

“If we fight, we might damage the bridge,” Applejack said.

“Then we’ll have tah be mighty careful,” the Minotaur replied.

Applejack shook her head and drew her sword.

“Hah, yee are gonna fight me with a toothpick?” he taunted. He swung at her but she quickly blocked it. He leaned in, trying to force her back, but Applejack stood firm. “So ye got some fight. Good tah see in such a wee lass.”

Applejack didn’t reply. He pushed forward, using his far greater weight to his advantage. His blade got ever closer until it was slicing through her hat. It’ll fix itself.

The Minotaur sneered, but Applejack stayed silent. Instead, she feinted to the side, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward. He didn’t stagger for long, so as she made a stab at his side, he knocked her sword away with his own.

“Ye might as well give up now. I’ve got a price on mah head to make a man set for life,” the Minotaur taunted. He swung again before continuing. “Discord himself has sent a dozen golems tah kill me.”

“So?” Applejack shot back. She jumped over his swing and slashed downward but the Minotaur was able to block it again. “Discord’s so afraid ah me, he won’t even fight me himself. Ah turned a legion ah his war golems tah scrap and took down a hydra shaped golem.”

“Ah likely story,” the Minotaur said, thrusting forward.

Applejack parried it and brought her sword down on his, intent on breaking it. After all, most metals had given way to the Sword of Harmony. Her whole body reverberated as her sword bounced back.

“Nothin’ like runes tah ruin yer day, huh, Lassy,” the Minotaur said, pointing to some shapes carved into the hilt.

Applejack glared and swung at his face. This time, he caught her sword with one of his hands, carefully avoiding the blade. Applejack hung on, stunned, as he picked it up with her still attached.

“Fight’s over, Lassy,” he said. He began shaking the sword, trying to make her let go, but she wasn’t going to let him win. As he pulled her up again, she lashed out with both her hind hooves, bucking him in the side of the head. Dazed, he staggered to the side.

No, no, no! he moved a bit more and began falling. Backwards. Over the side of the bridge, taking Applejack with him. In the split second before they both left the bridge, Applejack had a choice. Let the sword go and maybe she could grab on to the bridge, or hold on and fall. Ah’d have tah be a fool tah let go.

Splash!

Applejack sputtered and rubbed her face, trying to wipe off the swampy water she had landed in. She looked about, but there wasn’t much to see. She was clearly in some sort of swamp, but the fog persisted even down here so she could only see a few large trees looming in the mist. Her hat was hanging from a tree branch nearby, and she retrieved it, happily noting it was in pristine condition once again.

She could tell the Minotaur had landed beside her, but he wasn’t fighting anymore.

“Great goin’,” the Minotaur growled quietly. “It’s all ye fault Ah’m down here, and tah make it worse, Ah lost me bagpipes!”

“Mah fault!” Applejack shouted. “How is this-” The Minotaur grabbed her muzzle and held it shut. She struggled, but couldn’t free herself from his grip.

“Are ye tryin’ tah get us killed?” he hissed into her ear. She glared at him. “Ah’ll yet ye talk, but ye gotta stay quiet, Lass.” Slowly, he opened his hand and drew back.

“What is yer problem?” Applejack said in a normal tone.

“Not so loud!”

“What? Are yah afraid of a swamp? This ain’t Froggy Bottom Bog.”

“Don’t ye know where ye are?” the Minotaur asked. Applejack shook her head. “Then all tell ye. They say, a long time ago, two thousand years, maybe more, a great battle took place in this valley between great armies. Tens of thousands died here, or so they say.”

“Ah can understand respectin’ the dead, but whah is that life ‘er death fer us?”

“Ah don’t respect them, Ah fear them. That much death in one spot did somethin’ to the very earth. They say this place is cursed. Alive. And angry. Ah don’t want to be the one tah wake it up,” the minotaur explained.

“So how do we get out?” Applejack asked.

“Not sure. No one with any sense comes down here.”

“So we’ll head to one side then climb.”

“There should be an easier way. If the two armies did meet here, there must be two ways intah the valley. Ah don’t know how Ah’ll find it in this fog. Reminds me ah home, but that don’t be helpin much.”

Applejack took out the chaos clock. “Well? Yah gonna show the way?” she asked it. It still pointed the way she had been headed. “Great. Looks like we’ll have tah find a way out on our own.”

“What’s this ‘we’ stuff Lass?”

“If this place is as dangerous as you say, we should stick together, at least until we find a way out. Even if it ain’t, we might fall into a somethin’ awful and not be able to get out.”

“Ah don’t need help from a wee pony like you!” the Minotaur said. He grabbed his sword hilt that had been sticking out of the mud. He lifted it free of the water and placed it on his back. “Ah’m gettin’ out ah here. If ye follow, Ah won’t stop ye, but Ah don’t need the help of a wee Lass.” he started walking off in a random direction. Applejack glanced at the chaos clock to note he was heading perpendicular to her original path, then followed behind him anyway.

Slurp

Plop

Slurp

Plop

Slurp

Plop

Applejack’s mood only soured as she and the Minotaur made their way through the swamp. She didn’t mind mud like Rarity.... did.... But it was very ripe. The muck resisted when she pulled a hoof up, and it made an gross squishing sound when she placed her hoof back down. And dangerous. She had found out quickly that the mud, even the parts that looked solid, could act like quicksand.

She’d nearly gone under the first time, foolishly leaping from a rock onto what she thought was another rock, only to find herself sinking into the mire. She tried to pull herself out, but the more she pulled, the more the swamp pulled back. The Minotaur, despite what he had said, had grabbed her by the collar and pulled her free. He didn’t say a word and simply placed her on stable ground.

After that, Applejack walked with her sword out, testing the ground before stepping on it.

She swatted what must have been the millionth fly that hour when she bumped into the Minotaur. He had stopped moving, and didn’t seem to notice she had run into him.

“We’ve made it to the side,” he announced quietly. Applejack looked up, and sure enough, just through the fog she could see a sheer rock face in front of them.

“So what, we climb that?” Applejack cried. Hooves weren’t meant for that sort of thing, and she doubted the Minotaur would be much better off then she.

“Ach, no. But we follow it until we find a way out.”

“Okay, this way,” Applejack said, pointing to the left. That direction would take her closer to her destination.

“Who put you in charge ah me?” the Minotaur growled.

“Yah can go the other way if yah want,” Applejack replied. “Ah just figure if there are ways you like yah say, they’re probably ‘round the middle, someplace. That way leads the way you came, the other way, where Ah came. Since you were walkin’ longer, that way must be closer to the middle.”

“Ah’d hate tah have tah go back from where Ah came, but that does make sense,” he agreed.

“Course, both ways in could be on one side, and that side be the other way.”

“But if that were true, why did they come here just tah fight,” he pointed out.

“So we’re going this way?”

“Ah’m goin’ this way,” the Minotaur said. “If you go that way too, so be it.”

“Fine, whatever,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes. He didn’t notice, and simply marched off.

Another night passed, but the pair didn’t dare sleep. Applejack wasn’t sure if his tale had been true or not, but either way, the swamp was eerie and she wanted to put a considerable distance between it and her before closing her eyes.

This did mean she would be spending a third day with almost no sleep. Her eyelids sagged as she walked, and she found herself nodding off and unable to walk straight at times. So... sleepy....Go away, parasprite! Applejack shooed away the insect only to find her hoof batting at empty air. She shook her head and kept walking.

“Tell me,” the Minotaur said suddenly. “Are me eyes lyin’? Ah’m too tired tah tell fer shure.”

Applejack walked up beside him and looked. The solid cliff seemed to be missing up ahead. Not only that, but the fog seemed thinner here.

“Ah see it too!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Take that, swamp! Ye didn’t best this minotaur today!” the Minotaur shouted. He stood, defiantly raising his sword in triumph.

Applejack half expected something to happen, but nothing did. Not wanting to wait around to see if it was just slow in coming, she quickly made her way towards what she hoped was a way out.

The Minotaur turned to follow. His hoof snagged on a root, and he fell down. The muck cushioned his fall, but his sword flew from his hand. It spun through the air before hitting a rock. The clang rang out through the fog. They could hear birds flying away, but couldn’t see them through the mist.

The Minotaur lay there, dumbstruck. His pupils dilated. He looked about rapidly, expecting something bad to happen. Applejack stood still and watched as he slowly picked himself up. All at once, several things happened.

A couple vines shot out of the mire and wrapped around the Minotaur’s waist. They pulled, forcing him back down. Around him, the swamp began surging upwards, like several things were coming up through the water and soil. Applejack tried to move to assist, but found something was holding her back by the robe. She turned and saw something white and mud covered grabbing the hem. Applejack kicked at it, and it let go. She galloped over, drawing her sword.

She sliced away the vines, and without even a nod, the Minotaur was up and running towards his sword. The things in the water were free, but the mud made them impossible to identify. He simply knocked them out of the way and grabbed his sword. Angrily he swung it, cleaving the muddy creatures in half.

“What are they?” Applejack cried, leaping to his side.

“Ah haven’t a clue, and Ah don’t want tah know. Ah suggest we run.”

“What’s this ‘we’ stuff?” Applejack taunted, but followed his advice.

The two began running for what they hoped was the way out. All around, more figures rose from the swamp, and some emerged from the trees. The Minotaur, being taller and having a greater stride, took point by virtue of being able to move faster. He swung the sword like a horizontal pendulum, slicing through all the mud creatures that got in his way. They didn’t seem to be trying to get in their way at all, they seemed more intent on fighting each other.

They went down easily, but something unnerved Applejack. They were all about her height. Her curiosity ended when she ran smack into one. She didn’t figure out what it was, though she did learn they were fairly solid under their slimy exterior. Rather, she realized she’d veered off course in her sleep deprived haze, and was now surrounded, with the Minotaur charging ahead without her.

Applejack backed away, but the mud creatures pressed in, surrounding her. Something prevented her from striking them. Something in her wouldn’t let her use her sword, like the sword itself refused to harm them. She resorted to bucking them away, but it was hopeless. She was too outnumbered. Their bodies pressed ever inwards, crushing her. They didn’t seem to be attacking her, rather, they were attacking each other, and she was merely caught between them.

Applejack let out a senseless moan. She held her sword so it wouldn’t be pushed into her was well. The muddy things got closer. She couldn’t breathe anymore, and still she held the sword up. Hoping, praying for a miracle. Or at least that the Minotaur would come back.

Suddenly, the crushing stopped. In fact, the creatures seemed to be backing away. Tentatively, Applejack opened her eyes to see what was happening. She looked up and saw the Sword of Harmony was glowing brightly, just like it did when the six of them would use them. The light was forcing the creatures back. She know the Sword couldn’t do what the necklaces could with just her, Granny Smith had made sure they knew that, but something was happening.

A magical wind began to sweep up, buffeting the mud creatures. It grew stronger, pulling the mud away in chunks. The sword game one last flash before sending out a large wave of energy. It was nowhere near as impressive or powerful as the Elements had ever done, but it knocked the creatures back, cleaning the remaining mud off.

Finally Applejack could see what they were, and what they were, she didn’t like.

They were skeletons. Specifically, pony skeletons. She could see unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony skeletons fairly evenly dispersed throughout the crowd. Applejack thought she saw a winged unicorn in there as well. She didn’t count, but guessed there were at least a hundred there already, with more coming through the trees, still covered in mud.

Some had bits of rusty armor hanging from them. Applejack took a second to look at a couple and saw some had a crescent moon, while some others had a sun. She knew who they were now.

“Elements....” some of the skeletons her sword had knocked back groaned.

“Whah?” Applejack cried, backing away.

“Give us the Elements...” they moaned back.

Of course they want them. How ironic.

Several of the skeletons suddenly exploded in a shower of bonemeal. In their place stood the Minotaur, laying his sword on one shoulder.

“Sorry Ah’m late, but yee didn’t even bother tah call me,” he said.

“Ah know who they are!” Applejack shouted. “They want mah sword! It’s what they died fer!”

“So give it to em and let’s go!”

“Ah can’t. It’s too important!”

“Then come on!” the Minotaur said. He waved an arm, but Applejack was already running towards the opening he had made.

Together, they ran, the skeletal ponies right on their heels. They couldn’t move as fast, but they were everywhere now, and intent on catching Applejack. The ones with sun emblems knocked aside those with moon emblems and vice versa. The Minotaur made broad strokes, cutting them apart as they went.

“Feel free tah lend a hand anytime now, Lassy,” he grunted.

“Ah can’t,” Applejack replied.

“Now’s not the time tah feel bad fer yer kind.”

“The sword won’t let me. It’s never done this before. It must not want me tah hurt them.”

They finally broke free of the masses and found they had been right. The break in the cliff led to a narrow pass that hopefully took them out of the valley. Applejack and the Minotaur ran into the pass with the ponies still behind them

“They’re gonna keep followin’ us,” Applejack said.

“Aye, but they can’t keep up,” the Minotaur replied. Applejack skidded to a stop, and he looked at her.

“Ah have tah go back.”

“Ye be crazy, Lassy.”

“Yeah. Ah know.”

Applejack slowly walked back. She reached the front of the mass of skeletons and stood there. They seemed confused, and stopped, though the ones behind knocked them forwards a bit.

“Give us... Elements....” they moaned.

“Ah know whah yah fought,” Applejack said loudly, hoping they all heard her. “Ah’m here tah tell yah that the war is over. It’s been over fer two thousand years.”

“Eternal... Night....!” one skeleton with a moon emblem declared.

“Light.... is.... future....!” another, this one with a sun emblem retorted. The skeletons stopped paying attention to Applejack and started attacking each other.

“That works, now let’s get goin’,” the Minotaur said. Applejack hadn’t heard him follow her back.

“SHUT IT!” Applejack shouted as loudly as she could. The skeletal ponies stopped, mid fight and looked at her. “It don’t matter who won. Celestia and Luna are dead. Both of ‘em. They’ve been dead fer half this time. But if yah really must know, The Solar Empire won this war.”

About half of the skeletons cheered, the other half groaned.

“But listen!” Applejack shouted. “Celestia banished Luna to the moon fer a thousand years, and spent every day regretting it. They needed each other, and so do you! Look at the.... er... pony bahside yah. Yer all ponies. Sure we may fight from time tah time, but we’re all still ponies. If we ferget that, then what’s the point in anything?

“Ah’m sure yah both lost somepony yah cared about in the war. Somepony yah can never get back. Whah keep fightin’ when yah know yer doin’ that tah somepony else? In mah opinion, yah both lost the second yah started fightin’.”

“The Elements....” one groaned.

“Ah’m the last Bearer of Harmony. The rest are gone, but Ah won’t ferget what they meant to me. Friendship ain’t always easy, but it’s worth fightin’ fer. One ah mah friends said that once, and it’s true here, too.

“The War of Night and Day is over. Go and rest. Yah don’t have tah fight no more.”

The skeletons stared ahead. It was hard to tell if they could even understand her words, but they seemed to react when she spoke. She hoped they would turn and go back, or fall apart, or something. Something did happen. They began moving towards her.

“That was a nice speech, but Ah don’t think it worked,” the Minotaur said, backing up.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Applejack agreed. “Can’t say Ah didn’t try.”

The two turned tail and ran back through the pass. The thunderous sound of hundreds of hooves behind them echoed through the narrow rock walls. A few loose pebbles fell against Applejack’s hat, causing her to look up. There she saw the debris from an ancient mountain slide, hanging along the lip of the pass.

“Say, yah ever play baseball?” she asked between breaths.

“Once or twice back home, why do yah ask?”

“Batter up,” Applejack said. She pulled out her lasso and quickly snagged a melon sized rock. She pointed up and the Minotaur followed her hoof. He nodded and smirked when he caught on. He took a stance a few yards from her, holding his sword so the flat part would act as a bat.

Applejack slung the rock around and let it fly. The Minotaur connected and sent the rock flying up the rock walls where it hit the debris. Applejack hung around just long enough to make sure it was working before she ran to catch up. Thousands of pounds of dirt, rocks, and plants, fell into the pass behind them, burying many of the skeletons, and blocking the progress of the others.

After an hour of running, they slowed down and took a break. Applejack’s sides burned like never before. Her canteen was too low to drink from just now. She had to ration what little she had left. She looked at herself. She’d make just about anypony cringe.

Nearly her entire body was covered in mud. Her robes were torn a bit, but they were already mending. Her important belongings were all safe and clean inside her robe. At least it wouldn’t stain, but it was still annoying. She didn’t mind getting dirty while working, but after all that, she had mud in places she didn’t even know she had.

“They’ll never catch us now, even if they get out ah there!” the Minotaur cheered. “Great thinkin’, Lassy,” he said, slapping her on the back. The force knocked her to the ground, but she was too exhausted to care. “Yer alright. Next time we meet, drinks are on me.”

“Yah saved mah hide back there. Drinks are on me.”

“No, on me!”

“Ah insist!”

“No, as a gentlemen, Ah insist.”

“Chivalry is dead. Ah’m buyin’”

“No me!”

“Ah’m buyin’ and that’s final.”

“No, Ah am!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Quick note for people who don’t read my other story, The Seven Tribes. In my view, winged unicorns, and alicorns are two different, but very similar pony types. The important differences are, alicorns live up to 10,000 years and are more powerful on average than all other tribes in terms of magic and strength. Alicorns are utterly extinct now. Winged unicorns live as long as other ponies and are typically weaker than members of other tribes. They are very, very rare, maybe a dozen are alive at any given time, but still exist. Celestia and Luna are alicorns, Cadence is a winged unicorn. They can be considered lesser alicorns if that makes you happy.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Applejack and the Warrior Stallion

Samurai Applejack

Saga III: Hunt for a Gem

Chapter VIII: Applejack and the Warrior Stallion

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

“Stupid cliff, stupid rocks, stupid bridge...” Applejack grunted to herself as she pulled herself up even higher.

After she and the Minotaur reached the end of the pass, they had gone their separate ways. She’d followed the mountain’s base this time, constantly checking the chaos clock for any changes. Eventually she’d had no other choice than to climb up a near sheer cliff face.

One slip meant certain death, and she was well aware of this. The sweat from the exertion made her hooves slick. That was another thing. She never thought she would live to see the day she actually wished she had something other than hooves. They were totally useless for climbing. She’d had to make countless detours because her large hooves simply couldn’t grip the small ledges and cracks.

At last she was nearing the top. Or at least she hoped she was. The cliff seemed to end up ahead. If nothing else, it meant a ledge where she could rest her aching legs.

Finally, mercifully, she put one hoof over the top. It was definitely flat ground. She lifted herself up and had both her front hooves up. She smiled, relieved she was done.

Then her back hooves slipped. Her whole body jerked backwards, sliding over the edge. She kept slipping until her entire body had fallen back down. She held on by one hoof, and her grip was slipping.

“Do you need help, or are you just hanging in there?” came a voice. A brown pony head poked itself over the edge and looked down at her.

“Ah’d appreciate ah hoof,” Applejack replied, dangling there.

“Sure, I have four. Which do you want?” the pony joked. Applejack just frowned. “Yeah, yeah, I got you, Ms. Serious.” He reached down and grabbed her leg.

The danger of falling reduced, Applejack scraped her back hooves against the rock wall. Her shoes caught on, and with the strange pony’s help, she managed to get all the way up this time. She collapsed to the ground, panting. He lay nearby, quietly observing.

The mountain leveled off into a ridge where they were. Applejack couldn’t see any sign of the bridge, and she wasn’t sure if she had passed it. The other side certainly didn’t seem foggy. At least she was back in the mountains. If there was a gem mine nearby, it would certainly be in one of them.

She also took the time to examine her rescuer. He was rather a large stallion. Not heavy, but strong, with brown hair and a jet black mane. His yellow eyes shone brightly. His face seemed cracked in a permanent smile.

“That was fun. Want to do it again?” he asked. Again, she glared at him.

“Ah’m just glad tah be up here.”

“And just what are you doing here, Applejack?”

Applejack stood bolt upright and drew her sword. Before the strange pony could react, she had the blade pressed against his neck. “Ah don’t recall tellin’ yah mah name. How do yah know who Ah am?”

“Are you kidding? You’re pretty famous!” the pony replied. “Please put that back, we don’t want somepony getting hurt, right?”

Applejack pulled away, but kept the sword ready. “How?”

The pony reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a paper. He placed it on the ground between them. “I heard about how you saved Appleloosa. Everyone knows who you are after this was issued.”

It was a bounty poster for ‘Samurai Applejack’. On it was a picture of Applejack. Hoof drawn, she doubted any photos of her still existed except any in Spike’s care. Below it was how much they were offering, and how they wanted her. She wasn’t too surprised Discord didn’t want her alive.

“Twenty thousand bits....” Applejack gasped.

“A lot of money. Ponies everywhere are talking about you. You’re a hero, Applejack.”

“Wow,” was all she could say.

“Look, I support what you’re trying to do. I don’t know what it is, but if it’s annoying Discord, then I like it. I... uh... I have a campsite not far from here, if you need anything. I’d love a chance to help you.”

“Uh... sure... but Ah should be thankin’ you. Ah thought mah beans were burned back there.”

“Well maybe you can help me. I’ll explain on the way,” he said.

He stood up and started walking along the ridge. Applejack followed. She could see something farther along the rocky path and assumed that was what they were headed for.

“I’m in these mountains for a reason. A lot of ponies, not just you, want to overthrow Discord by any means necessary. I’ve heard rumors that there’s an ancient magic gem mine in these mountains. I figure if I can get one big enough and have some unicorns charge it, it might be strong enough to kill him.”

“Uh huh.” Convenient we’re both looking for the same thing.

“I mean I like a lot of the things he does, chocolate milk rain, cotton candy clouds, water fountains spewing soda, you know, standard stuff. But he hurt my friends, and nopony hurts my friends.”

It was at this point that Applejack noticed he happened to be hopping, not walking.

“Uh... would your name happen tah be Pie?”

“Nopes,” he replied. “My name’s Jollity.”

“It shows.”

“I wonder why everyone says that,” Jollity said. He paused for a moment before bouncing off again.

“Here we are, camp sweet camp,” Jollity announced. Applejack was quite surprised, given his nature, that the camp was a dull as it was. It consisted of a simple canvas tent, a sleeping mat, and some general supplies.

“Huh....”

“Anything to help a fellow warrior out,” Jollity said, going through his saddlebags.

“Yah say yer lookin’ fer a gem mine. Ah’m doin’ the same.”

“Well that’s convenient,” Jollity said, turning to her. “Apple?”

“Thanks,” Applejack said taking it. “So, do yah know where it is?”

“Not really. I just know it’s in these mountains, so I’m searching around until I find a big hole.”

“Well Ah’m not sure where it is, but Ah think Ah can help.” Applejack reached into her robe and pulled out the chaos clock. “It’s that way. Ah’m not sure how far, but it’s that way.”

“That’s a pretty nice compass,” Jollity said. “Pre-Celestian era, it seems,” he said looking at it closely. “Wherever did you find such an artifact?”

“Ah found in mah travels. They were sellin’ it at a shop and Ah bought it.” Whah did Ah just lie?

“Huh. Well it’s pretty cool. If that thing is right, we can head out!”

Within a minute he had packed up the whole camp into a large pack he placed on his back between his regular saddlebags.

“Yukon ho!” he declared.

The going was treacherous. The ridge they were following was very narrow, about wide enough for them to walk side by side, but uncomfortably close. It was very rocky with little vegetation. At least it was easy to see their progress as the mountain behind shrank into the distance, and the one before them loomed ever closer.

Suddenly, a rock slipped, and Jollity fell. He grunted incoherently as he rolled once then began sliding down the rock face.

“Woooahhhhhh!!!!!” Jollity cried.

“Hang on!” Applejack pulled out her rope and quickly twirled it in her mouth .She threw it down to Jollity who immediately grabbed it with his mouth. Applejack grunted, his weight threatening to pull her over the edge. She managed to dig in her horseshoes and catch them on a rock. Once she was sure she was secure, she began pulling him slowly back up. He was able to help too, using the rope to help walk up the steep slope. Finally he crested the ridge and collapsed, panting.

“This was a terrible slip-n-slide!” he said between pants. “I- I guess we’re even now.”

“Ah guess so.”

“Add some water, and less chance of death, and that would have been fun.”

“Let’s just keep movin’.”

“The sun’s goin’ down, and this place is pretty level. Ah think we should spend the night here, then move on. We might fall off in the dark,” Applejack declared. They’d come to a fairly level part of the mountain chain with a few flat rocks and some grassy patches. Jollity looked around.

“Okie, dokie, lokie,” he said. He shrugged off his bags and began setting up his tent. Applejack took out her canteen and took a drink, then rummaged around for some hay bread. It was some tasteless stuff she’d bought in the last town. It was awful, and about as bad as grass, but it would last months if not years.

She took a few bites before noticing it had gotten brighter in their vicinity. She turned and saw Jollity had a small fire going.

“Wow, yah got that goin’ already?”

“I had some wood to burn, and I used some magnesium to start the fire.”

Applejack sat down across from him and kept eating. She stared blankly at the fire.

“Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Applejack shook her head, but didn’t look up.

“Why are you fighting Discord? I mean, is there a reason, besides he’s the evil emperor of the world?”

“He killed mah friends, tried tah kill me, and ruined mah life. You?”

“Well...” Jollity began. “Look, I’ve never told anyone this before. A long time ago, my home was attacked and destroyed by Discord’s forces. They killed everyone. I was hit, and it should have killed me, but it didn’t. They must have assumed it did, but I somehow survived. I was the only one. Since then, I dedicated myself to enacting revenge on those who wiped out everyone I ever cared about.”

“Ah’m sorry,” Applejack said. She stood up and moved closer to him. She put a hoof on his shoulder. “Ah can’t imagine goin’ through that, and yer still cheerful.”

“There’s no sense in moping around,” Jollity replied. “And I’ve had a long time to move on.”

“Then this quest means a lot tah both of us,” Applejack said. “If Ah can get that gem, this’ll all be fixed. Ah’m tryin’ tah go back in time tah before all this happened and stop Discord then. Yer home will be safe!”

“Maybe.” Jollity stood up and walked into his tent. “Night.”

“Night,” Applejack replied. She finished the bread then fell asleep where she was.

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“Fluttershy!” Twilight shouted. Her face twisted into a snarl.

Her horn glowed brightly before firing a powerful bolt of magic right at the chimera. It left a gaping hole as it bore through flesh and bone alike on its path through the creatures skull. Its eyes rolled about as the chimera collapsed to the ground.

“Fluttershy!” Pinkie cried, racing over to the downed creature. It took all her strength to force its jaws open. They all knew what she found when they saw her mane instantly lose its puffiness.

“Unicorn’s are quite useful,” Discord said calmly. Twilight turned her head slowly to see the draconequus standing right next to her. He looked back at her with almost adoring eyes. With his paw hand, he grabbed her horn. “You can use magic to to all sorts of things, even bend reality. Then there are the practical applications to having to having a sharp pointy thing on your forehead.”

He twisted his paw. A loud crack rang out.

“My horn!” Twilight wailed. “You broke- gahck!” Her final words were cut short by blood now pouring out of her mouth. She looked down and stared at where her horn now rested, right in her chest.

“It’s dangerous really. Giving me a weapon like that,” Discord said walking away. Twilight’s legs wobbled, then she fell. She didn’t get back up.

“Twah!” Applejack cried, jerking up. She was confused for a moment. She was outside! Where was... Right...

It was still dark out, so Applejack layed back down and turned over. Maybe she’d actually get some decent sleep soon.

“So I said, war golem, more like bore golem.”

“Uh huh,” Applejack replied. Jollity was really getting on her nerves. He barely stopped talking, even when they were asleep. Sure she could just ditch him, but she didn’t want to do that. There was just something so familiar about his annoyance. A feeling that reminded her why she was doing this.

They were in a deeper col this time, one with some stubby trees, and larger boulders. They had probably rolled down from higher up, centuries ago.

“Ah hope we’re almost there,” she muttered.

“Huh?” Jollity asked.

“Ah said-” she stopped. Something cold and metallic had just clamped around her neck. How hadn’t she’d heard it? Of course! Over his talking, and her efforts to block it out, she hadn’t heard the golem approaching. Now she needed a way to deal with it, but it wouldn’t be easy with her air being restricted like this. She’d need to be quick and grab her-

*Clank!*

The minotaur shaped golem released her and staggered back, grabbing it’s vibrating head. Jollity just stood there, wielding a massive hammer. It would probably be called a warhammer if it wasn’t painted a rainbow of fluorescent colors. Its handle was much thinner than it should be, it bent dangerously but it didn’t snap as Jollity brought it up and smashed it against the golem.

“Smashing!” Jollity said with glee. The golem’s head had caved in, but it was still moving like nothing had happened. Applejack saw another come out from behind a rock and she moved to attack.

“Stop!” Jollity said to the golem. It actually did so out of surprise. “Hammer time!”

A few yards away, Applejack was busy dispatching the other golem with her sword. With ease it carved through its metal hide. The dead iron fell to the ground.

“Well that happened,” Jollity said, putting the hammer away.

“How did we not see them? And whah were they here?” Applejack asked nopony in particular.

“You’re a wanted pony. Discord probably has golems all over the place looking for you.”

“Makes sense.

“Hey, check this out!” Jollity said. Applejack came over and saw he was pointing to something behind a boulder. “It’s part of a pickaxe,” he explained, kicking at the rusted piece of curved metal. “We must be close!”

“Is this it?” Jollity asked. He looked into the cave before them. It was a massive stone tunnel that seemed to have been dug out of the mountain. It was too dark to see anything so the two hung around the mouth, a bit uneasy.

Applejack pulled out the chaos clock. “It’s pointin’ this way. Course, it could always mean the other side of the mountain. This thing ain’t exactly perfect.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Jollity said. He pulled a lantern from his bag, lit it, and walked inside. Applejack quickly followed.

“We did it!” Applejack said in awe. She gazed around, her mouth wide open in a smile. All around gems glinted in the lantern light. It wouldn’t be hard to locate one big enough now.

“This place is amazing!” Jollity said. “This was too easy, but I like it when things are too easy.”

At his words, a rumbling sound started up, just ahead of where they were.

“Way tah jinx it,” Applejack grumbled.

They ran forward to see what it was. A pile of loose rocks was no longer a pile. The boulders were floating together into one big form.

“Of course there’s a guardian,” Jollity said. “What’s a quest without a boss fight?”

The rock creature seemed done. It appeared to be a large, lumpy pony, with gemstone eyes.

“I got this!” Jollity said. He galloped forward just as the rock pony reared up. Applejack closed her eyes, not wanting to see her new friend get clobbered. However, she looked again when she heard the rocks hit something solid. Between them and Jollity there was a solid red bubble.

“Magic? But yer an earth pony!”

“Not exactly,” Jollity said. The bubble burst violently, knocking the rocks away. He leaped up and swung his hammer right into the rock monster’s face. It utterly pulverized the solid rock. With a grinding sound, the entire construct fell apart at once. Jollity sifted through the rubble and found what he was looking for. It was a giant gemstone, larger than he was.

“Ahlright! Yah did it!” Applejack cheered. “And with that Ah can go back!”

“Yes, you definitely could,” Jollity said with a smirk. Then he kicked with both his hind legs. It sounded like a giant window had shattered. Fragments of gemstone flew all over the room; little sharp pieces reflecting the lantern light.

Applejack stared in shock. “What... Whah would yah do that?”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Jollity asked. “Wow, you really are just a hick farmer.” He began laughing. It was a very, very, familiar laugh.

“You no good-”

Jollity snapped his hoof. A pony shouldn’t be able to do that, but, he wasn’t a pony. His body vanished in a flash and was replaced with a draconequinian form.

“Don’t you get it? This is MY world. You can never win. Just give up. As long as I am alive, you will never go back to your own time.”

Applejack glared at him with all of her hatred. “So yah made up some sad story tah make me feel sorry for yah? Yer sick!”

“Oh it wasn’t a lie, Applejack. Every part of my story was true, I just changed the characters around,” he said. “And you can probably find another crystal in here, but remember, you do have a time limit.”

“Ah got all the time in the world, thanks tah you,” Applejack shouted back.

“No, you have about one minute before this place collapses,” Discord replied calmly. He snapped his talon. At once, the mine began shaking. A few stalactites fell to the floor nearby.

“Ah’ll kill you fer what you did!” Applejack shouted. She drew her sword and charged.

“Now, now. Someone could get hurt,” Discord said. He teleported out of the way, just as the sword passed through where his neck had been.

“Ah’ll find another gem. Ah’ll find a way back. And Ah will stop you,”

“What, with this?” Discord asked, pulling out a notebook.

Applejack stared at it, wide eyed, and began feeling her robe. The unicorn’s notebook was gone!

“This could ruin my fun. We can’t have that,” Discord said. He held the book in both hands and tore it apart. A few pages floated in the air. Applejack quickly ran over, grabbing at them, but as soon as they got close to her, they burst into flames. “Tah tah, samurai.” He snapped his talon again and was gone.

“You’d better run, cause when Ah find yah, Ah’m gonna slice you intah so many pieces, everypony ever will get a piece!“ Applejack shouted at where he had been., looking around. The whole mine was caving in. “Aw hayseed.” With that, she had no choice. She galloped out of the cave as fast as her legs would carry her.

End Saga III

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If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.
Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

A Third of Harmony

Samurai Applejack

Saga IV: A Rare Break

Chapter IX: A Third of Harmony

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

Like all sensible ponies, Applejack had a plan for when things went bad. Some would take a nap, some would take a walk. Some ponies would paint, or write. Applejack did none of those things. She drank. The sweet cider drove the recent memories from her mind, though she kept thinking about how she missed her favorite drinking partner. So she drank more.

“Had enough?” the barmare asked.

Applejack looked up. She could still make out the barmare’s face. “No. Could yah get be another?”

The baremare trotted off leaving Applejack alone with herself again, but it wasn’t long before somepony walked up to her.

“This ain’t a good picture. A pretty mare shouldn’t be drinking all by herself. How about I join you?” the deep voice said. Applejack glanced over briefly to see a bright blue stallion flanked by a diamond dog and a griffon.

Odd group, but seems rather normal fer Discord Land.. Applejack turned back to the fresh mug of cider the barmare had just placed next to her hat on the counter. “How about you go hit on somepony who ain’t gonna knock yer teeth out if yah don’t leave her alone,” she retorted.

“Oh?” he said smoothly.

“It ain’t hard tah find a willin’ partner fer someone like yerself. Yah got two choices, righty er lefty. They ain’t even gonna say no.”

“I don’t think so,” he said, dropping the thin charm. He pulled out a dagger and stabbed in right through her hat.

She responded by taking a sip of cider.

“You’re pretty ballsy for a mare with this kind of bounty on her head,” the diamond dog said, slamming a wanted poster down on the counter.

“But we’re nice. We won’t turn you over to Discord,” the griffon said.

“Call it a favor. And like all favors,” the stallion went on.

“It should always be repaid,” the diamond dog finished.

Applejack put on a fake smile and looked at them innocently. “If yah wanted a round ah cider yah could a just asked.”

“That’s not what I had in mind,” the stallion said, moving a hoof towards her rear half.

“If yah wanna go home with that leg, Ah suggest it don’t touch me.” Applejack turned back to her cider.

“I do like it rough,” the diamond dog sneered.

“And Ah’ve had enough,” Applejack said. She slammed down her mug. “Ah tried bein’ nice but apparently someponies just can’t take a hint.” She pulled the dagger out of her hat. “Get outta here now, or you’ll be leavin’ minus a few body parts Ah’m sure yer fond of.”

“Don’t say we didn’t offer to do this nicely,” the stallion snarled. He pulled out another, much larger dagger. The diamond dog removed a hammer from its belt, and the griffon slipped on a sort of glove that had serrated parts that went over the outside parts of his talons.

“Fine, let’s do this,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes.

She felt strange as the bar brawl began. She was well aware she was drunk, but that wasn’t inhibiting her abilities. In fact, she seemed to be better than she normally did when fighting other ponies.

Applejack watched in what felt like slow motion as the stallion stabbed towards her with the dagger. She easily brushed it aside with the dagger that had pierced her hat. She followed up with a left hook to his jaw, sending the offending stallion back a few feet.

Next came his companions. The diamond dog swung high with the hammer while the griffon went for a low strike. Applejack quickly rolled out of the way. They kept going and demolished the stool she had been sitting on. Without giving them a chance to realize she had moved, she turned her back to them.

“If this is what you want, boys, you can have it,” she said, flicking her tail at them, then she kicked out with both legs, propelling the two into the air and onto the stallion. The trio lay in a moaning heep. “Here, you dropped this,” she said, placing the dagger on the ground and kicking it to them. The resulting cry of pain made her smile a bit as she retrieved her hat. It was fully mended, so she put it on her head and went to leave.

Suddenly, a green fog appeared before her and coalesced into a scroll of paper. She picked it up and scanned through the message. It seemed hastily written and crumpled a bit. As soon as she read it, she left the tavern and headed for the nearest train station.

"Dear Applejack,

Thanks to you, I've got all the runes, and the right order. I can bring her back.

I'd like it if you were to be there. It would make it easier for her to accept the transition if she sees more than one familiar face, and admittedly I'm much older then she would remember. Please head to Ponyville as soon as you can. I'll start once you arrive.

-Spike"

"Spike?" Applejack called, knocking on the tree door several days later. There was a hurried stamping of feet, followed by a few thuds before the door opened.

"Applejack, you made it!" Spike cheered, rubbing his knee.

"Yeah ah'm here." Applejack said, following him inside and closing the door.

"I spent all night practicing the runes and getting everything ready," Spike said, heading to his room. Applejack followed. Inside, the room had been cleared up a bit. The pile of gems had been pushed to one side and in the middle was a table. On which was the toy Rarity, as well as a couple scrolls, the stone bird and some sewing supplies. Several needles lay ready, already threaded. The shades were once again closed and a lamp had been moved over the table to provide light. Spike walked over to the table and picked up a threaded needle and the stone bird. Applejack took a seat across the table from him.

"Spike, bahfore we start..."

"Yes?"

"Spike, if this don't work... Ah want yah tah promise yah'll accept it. If she's gone, yah gotta let her go."

Spike was quiet. He lowered the needle. "If it's just a mindless golem... I'll remove the soul seal rune. I’ll free whatever soul is in here."

"Go ahead, Spike."

Spike raised the needle again and held Rarity tightly. "First I'm going to add the consciousness rune that you got. We won't know if it works for a while. I also can't do them all at once; applying these eats up latent magic, and too much at once will overwhelm her."

"Okay."

Spike leaned over the toy, his hand shaking as he plunged the needle into the fabric. Diligently and carefully, he copied the bizarre shape on the bird beside him.

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What was going on? Had she been foalnapped? Everything was dark and quiet! Desperately she tried to call out, but something was wrong. Her mouth wasn't working properly. She was truly frightened. Was she dead? Paralyzed?

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"There," Spike announced, finishing. He tied off the end of the thread and snipped off the loose ends.

"Should somethin’ be happenin’?” Applejack asked.

“Not until I have more runes on,” Spike replied. “Speech is next.” He picked up another prepared needle and continued stitching.

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All at once if felt like a gag had been removed from her mouth.

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"He- Hello?"

Spike dropped the needle in shock. Applejack stared at the toy, eyes wide.

"What are yah waitin' fer? Hurry up!" Applejack urged.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Spike replied finishing off the rune.

"Hello? Can anypony hear me?" the toy said quietly. "Oh Celestia, I can't even hear myself...."

"Hearing rune coming up," Spike said as he picked up the final prepared needle. He had to stop for a minute, his hand was shaking far too much. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before stitching.

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There was a dull ringing in her ears. Had it been there before and she hadn't noticed? Well it was very irritating and getting louder. And less like ringing. Words?

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"Is anypony there?" the toy cried out, more loudly than ever.

"Hold on, Rarity, we're working as fast as we can," Applejack said, though it boggled her mind on how this toy could actually be her friend coming back to life.

"Applejack? Is that you, darling? What's going on?"

"Everything's going to be okay," Spike said, trying not to cry on the toy pony. He was almost finished with the rune now.

"Don't worry, Rarity, yer okay now. Discord can't get yah."

"Why are you talking about Discord? Is he free again?" the toy asked.

"What's goin' on? Whah don't she remember?" Applejack whispered to Spike.

"Well her soul might have degraded a bit. It took me awhile to get the soul seal rune on. It seems it only cost her, her short term memory so we're really lucky. I was expecting more memory loss," Spike replied, finishing. "Okay, that's all I feel safe doing for now."

"Is that you, Spikey? What's going on? Why is it so dark?"

"Don't worry, we'll fix it soon," Spike said. He was beside himself. "I can't believe I did it! They said I was crazy to try! Even you! But who's laughing now! Ha ha! I brought her back! Take that, Discord!"

"Hold on. We don't know fer sure that's Rarity in there. Sure it sound's like her, but Ah wanna make sure. Ah don’t just believe things like you do. Ah’ve seen the kinds ah tricks Discord can pull."

“What do you mean ‘not Rarity’? Who else could I be? Did something happen?" Rarity asked frantically.

"Calm down. Ah just wanna ask a couple things tah make sure," Applejack said. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Of course! You know that!"

"Name them," Applejack ordered.

"This is ridiculous," the toy Rarity protested.

"Name them," Applejack repeated.

"Sweetie Belle," toy Rarity grumbled.

"When's her birthday?"

"It was just two weeks ago."

"Okay, that settles that," Applejack whispered to Spike. "It was three weeks bahfore we fought Discord."

"So she lost a week. Big deal. Now do you believe it's her?" Spike hissed back.

"No. How did yah prove you were the Element of Generosity?"

"I solved a crime against fashion by giving my tail to a sea serpent to fix his mustache. Are you happy now?"

“One last question. Somethin’ not even Spike knows. At Sweetie Belle’s party, Spike asked yah tah dance.”

“And I said I was too tired from work to dance. I remember,” Rarity replied.

“After he left, yah told me the real reason. Repeat it.”

“Huh?” Spike stammered.

The toy made a sighing noise. “I said the real reason is I wanted him to stop swooning over me. I don’t mind the attention, it’s just that he’s far too young to be doing that.”

“I don’t think that’s an issue anymore,” Spike said.

"Ah ain’t got no doubts no more," Applejack said finally. "It's good tah hear yah again, Rarity."

"I missed you so much!" Spike said hugging the doll. Rarity couldn't tell.

"Now you have to tell me. What happened? Why can't I see or move? Did I get hurt?"

"Yah could say that..." Applejack said awkwardly.

"Don't worry, I'll have you seeing and walking very soon," Spike said reassuringly.

"You keep saying the strangest things. Can you please tell me why I'm here, blind and lame?"

"Yah lost yer memory of what happened, but a while ago we all fought Discord. He... let's say he won," Applejack said.

"I've been looking for a way to bring you back ever since," Spike added.

"I was killed?" Rarity exclaimed.

"No!" Spike cried. "But you've been kind of asleep since then."

"So are the others okay, or are they out too?" Rarity asked. The other two were silent. "I don't like the way that sounds."

"He got all of us, though in different ways," Applejack replied.

"Is Sweetie Belle alright?" Rarity asked, worried.

"He didn't get her," Spike said.

"Well that's a relief."

“It's good tah hear a familiar voice," Applejack said. "As much Ah pain in mah plot yah can be sometimes, Ah missed yah."

"So um, how long until I can see?" Rarity asked.

"Well its really up to you. I don't want to rush things and have you be overwhelmed," Spike replied.

"Please. I don't like this at all. I want to be able to see."

"Okay, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow before moving," Spike said, threading a needle. "Hold still," he instructed unnecessarily.

The world was a black void for the toy unicorn. A noisy void, but the darkness was imposing. Then, suddenly came light. A point at first that grew to fill her vision with white. A step up from black, but it wasn't sight. Then out of the white, dark shapes began forming. The light shrank to one side with the dark forms beginning to come into focus and gain color. She tried to blink to clear her vision, but she couldn’t blink at all.

She'd expected to see a hospital setting around her. Monitors nearby with maybe an IV. Instead, from where she lay, she could see she was in a familiar wooden room.

"Are we in Twilight's house?" Rarity asked.

"Yah can see already?" Applejack exclaimed.

"The rune's almost done," Spike replied. Applejack moved over. She could see a change occurring in the glass eyes. What were once dull, lifeless, and stationary, now seemed alive. The actually moved, and the irises had contracted in the light.

“Applejack? Is that you, darling?" Rarity asked, looking at the farm pony. "That's quite the unusual outfit."

"Ah kinda like it," Applejack admitted. "Plus Ah don't have tah worry about it tearin'."

"Oh, self repair. Who did that?"

"His name was Sparks," Spike replied from somewhere behind her. "I got him to do the enchantment a while ago. I had to wear that when Discord imposed the decency laws, but I outgrew it."

"Thank you for doing what ever you just did! Oh this is so much nicer!" Rarity said happily.

"I'm glad you like it," Spike said. He finished the stitching and set down the needle.

"Spike? Have you been hoarding again?" Rarity asked, looking at him.

"No."

"But you're really tall now! How long was I out?"

"According to Spike," Applejack began.

"Just over a thousand years," Spike finished.

"What? How is that even possible? You're still here!"

"Time travel," Applejack explained. "Discord's afraid ah this sword, it’s the only thing that can hurt him, so he sent me to the future, rather then fight me, the coward."

"So the others?"

"Discord got them," Spike said sadly. "We're the only ones who survived."

“Sweetie Belle?”

“I’m not sure exactly what happened to her,” Spike admitted. “After Discord beat you, I rescued Philomena from the ruins of Canterlot, left her here with Peewee, then went off to try to find a way to bring you back. I was gone a really long time, like a hundred and thirty years. I think she became a singer, but I’m not sure.”

"That's another thing. If it's really been a thousand years, how am I still alive? Surely I couldn't have just fallen asleep."

"Um... well..." Spike said awkwardly.

"Spike, she's gonna find out eventually. Might as well tell her while she can't freak out and hurt herself," Applejack said.

“Freak out about what? Did something happen?" Rarity asked.

"Fine. Rarity... Discord did something to you. Because of that you're still alive, and will probably live for a long, long time. Maybe longer then me," Spike said. "Right now, your soul is in an artificial body, and I've applied magic runes to it so you can use it like a real body. I don't know if anypony but Discord could undo what he did, but this is the next best thing."

"Artificial? What do you mean, artificial?" Rarity asked nervously. "Never mind, I'll just.... why isn’t it working?"

"You can't do magic, I know," Spike said. "I might, someday, work out a way for you to do magic again, but it wasn't on my list of priorities."

"Uh huh."

"Peewee, could you get a mirror?" Spike called. The phoenix took off at once, flew over to the bureau, picked up a hand mirror, and dropped it as he flew back. Spike easily caught it. "Look."

"What... am... I..." Rarity cried, looking at herself.

"If Ah remember right, Discord said, yah always acted like such a doll, yah oughta be one," Applejack recited.

“You’re what’s known now as a golem. It’s an ancient form of magic that involves using runes and a soul to power an inanimate body. In your case, Applejack here found a rune that makes your soul remember who it is so you are actually you, not a mindless slave like other golems,” Spike explained. “You’re completely free. Or you will be once I finish adding the runes.”

“Oh this is just awful! My mane! Don't look at me!"

"Rarity, it's okay. We can fix it," Spike said.

"Why would you even let me be like this?" Rarity whined. “I’m just a thing, not a pony.”

"Because I care about you," Spike said, crying. "I had to watch you all get killed one by one, even Celestia and Luna. Plushie or not, I wasn’t going to leave you. Ever.”

“Hold on, Rarity," Applejack said sternly. "Don't take it out oh him. He's spent a thousand years workin' tah get yah to the state yer in. Ah thought yah were dead the second Discord hit yah with that spell, but Spike never gave up. Now Ah can see this ain't exactly ideal, but there's a bright side tah everythin'."

"I fail to see how being turned into a toy could be an improvement," Rarity grumbled.

"Well fer starters, yah don't have tah worry bout wrinkles no more," Applejack said.

"And since your body is artificial, we can change it however you want," Spike added. "As long as the runes stay intact, that is."

"Runes?"

"These things," Spike said. He adjusted the mirror and pointed to one of the stitched symbols. "This one is what's letting you see."

"You can really do anything?"

"As long as these stay. You can even use different materials."

"Hmmm....”

“See, it ain’t so bad,” Applejack said.

“And I will be able to move? I could sew myself a new body?” Rarity asked.

“Tomorrow I’ll add the runes,” Spike said.

“And my magic?”

Spike looked down. “I’m not sure. Normally golems can’t use magic.”

“Ah don’t think Ah’ll be able to find another human golem. He said he was the last one, and Ah doubt he was wrong.”

“Runes can give a golem some control over magic, or so I’ve read, but it would be dependent on ambient magic. It would only be a fraction of what you used to use and behave very differently,” Spike added.

“Very well. Hoof stitching it will be. I’m guessing my boutique is no longer open. Once I can walk, I’ll head into town and pick up some fabric,” Rarity announced.

“We can go together,” Spike said. “Applejack, want to join us?”

“Ah’m not stickin’ around fer long. Gotta keep movin’.”

“You’re fighting Discord, I assume?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah. Say, Spike, can Ah crash here fer the night? It’s late and Ah don’t know if their runnin’ trains at this hour.”

“I’ll get the guest bed,” Spike said, walking off.

“Applejack, could you take me over to a window?” Rarity asked.

“Sure.” Applejack carefully picked up the toy and carried her to the window by Spike’s bed. She raised the shade a bit while placing Rarity down on the sill.

“My. Things have certainly changed,” Rarity observed.

“Yup. How do yah feel?”

“My head won’t stop spinning. I just can’t believe I’ve been dead for a thousand years.”

“Yah just been sleeping is all. In fact, Ah recently met a golem who’d been around fer thirty thousand years. He’s the one who gave me the rune Spike needed tah bring yah back.”

“It sounds like you’ve been here awhile,” Rarity said.

“Couple months.”

“How’s your farm?”

“Good. One ah Apple Bloom’s great, great, add a lot more greats, grandson’s runnin’ the place now.”

“I’m surprised they would keep track of something so specific,” Rarity commented.

“Well she managed tah make apple trees grow in Zebanna. That’s worth a whole family rememberin’ yah.”

“All the things we missed.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s funny. Magic might have been Twilight’s talent, but now that I can’t use it... imagine losing a leg.”

“Spike’ll come up with somethin’. Ah’m sure he will.”

“I can’t even list all the things I used to do with magic. I simply don’t know how I’m going to sew anything without it, and it doesn’t help I’m the size of a newborn.”

‘Ah’m sure Spike’ll help.”

“He seems to be doing well without us,” Rarity said. “To be all alone all this time...”

Applejack nodded. “We took the shortcut. Shame it was just us two.”

“Do you know where our friends are?”

“Right down there abouts,” Applejack said pointing out the window. “Discord won’t let Spike mark em, but they’re there. Even the Princesses are there. What he could find of them, anyway.”

“And I can’t even remember what happened,” Rarity said.

“Ah could tell yah. Ah don’t think Ah’ll ever be able tah ferget it.”

“We have all night. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep. I can’t shut my eyes, and I’m not sure I even need to.”

Applejack picked Rarity up. She moved to the side of the bed and placed her on the floor. Applejack then sat down and began. “It all started when Twahlight got a letter from the Princess. It said Discord had broken free again and she needed us tah turn him back tah stone. So she went and got us...”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Applejack Meets a Goddess

Samurai Applejack

Saga IV: A Rare Break

Chapter X: The Next Step

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

Applejack awoke feeling rested for the first time in many weeks. She yawned and stretched. Already, she could see the other inhabitants of the Library were up. The phoenix pair were flying about outside, and Spike was gone, presumably to take care of his duties.

All that remained besides Applejack was a certain toy pony. Applejack saw her right away, across the room. Rarity was staring out the window like she had last night. Rarity sighed loudly.

“Mornin’ Rarity,” Applejack said.

Rarity actually looked over. Applejack then noticed the new runes adorning her back. “Good morning.”

“How yah feel?”

“Better. I didn’t sleep but I don’t feel tired.”

“Ah’m almost jealous. Ah could get a lot more done if Ah didn’t need tah sleep.”

“I wanted to cry my eyes out all night,” Rarity said, her voice wavering. “But I can’t. I can’t shed a single tear. I don’t know how you keep going like you do.”

“Ah just keep goin’. It’s about all we can do.”

Rarity just stared out the window. Silently, Applejack left the room and headed downstairs.

“Hey, Applejack,” Spike greeted. He was busy making some toast.

“Spike, she’s really miserable, and not havin’ magic is makin’ it worse. Are yah sure yah can’t do anythin’?” Applejack asked.

“Well, there is one thing I might be able to do.”

“The magic runes?” Applejack asked.

“In a way. See the problem is she would need something to generate the magic. Using it would be easy, but actually generating it is the hard part.”

“Ah know it sounds rather evil, but could yah take somepony’s horn and give it tah her?” Applejack asked.

Spike laughed a bit. “No. Unicorn horns are merely a focus for magic. Their magic is made by an organ inside them. All ponies have one, but it doesn’t work in other ponies. Even you have one.”

“Ah never knew that,” Applejack said, surprised. “Course, Ah didn’t really pay attention in school.”

“It’s important that you do have one. Otherwise a unicorn born to non unicorn parents might not have magic.”

“So where is this goin’ exactly?”

“I could...” Spike trailed off. The toast was ready and he passed some to Applejack who took a slice. “If I could find a willing donor, I might be able to transplant it into her body. I’d need to create a support structure. I know she wants a larger body, so I can include that in the new one.”

“So the trick is tah find a unicorn willing to give up magic,” Applejack said glumly. “Ah don’t see that happenin’ ever.”

“We could use anypony,” Spike replied. “We’d need to give it a jumpstart, but I think I could do it. In my travels I met a small village of earth ponies who could all use magic because they had worked out a way to make their bodies start producing magic. I think I could mimic their technique.”

Applejack munched on the toast for a moment. “Take mine,” she said.

“I couldn’t,” Spike said, shaking his head. “You need it.”

“Fer what? Ah ain’t a unicorn.”

“It also allows for latent magic control. You might not realize it, but earth ponies use that magic to grow crops and things.”

“So?”

“So if I took yours, you could never go back to farming. You wouldn’t be able to grow anything, no matter how hard you tried.”

“Take it,” Applejack said.

“I won’t.”

“Look how miserable she is without magic,” Applejack said. “She needs it and you know it.”

“And you need it to.”

“Ah don’t need it tah walk and fight, do Ah?”

“Well, no,” Spike said.

“Then take mine,” Applejack said definitively. “Ah don’t think Ah could go back tah farmin’ after this, anyway.”

“I still need to figure out how to keep an organ alive and functioning in a golem,” Spike said.

“Send me a letter when yer ready,” Applejack said.

“You’re not staying?”

“I’ve had enough ah Discord gettin’ in mah way. Ah’m gonna kill him in this time, find a way back, and kill him again,” Applejack said.

“Applejack, you can’t do that,” Spike said.

“Wanna bet?”

“Look, if you kill him, you’ll doom the planet,” Spike said. “With Celestia and Luna gone, he’s the only being powerful enough to turn the planet.”

“Everypony keeps sayin’ that. Ah don’t get it. Ah thought Celestia moved the sun.”

“Yeah, she said that,” Spike said. “She was lying. She merely turns the planet we live on. She and Luna took shifts that coincided with day and night. Now Discord does it. If you kill him, basically all life will be doomed.”

“What about the unicorns? Didn’t they-”

“Another lie. Celestia controlled it before the tribes united as well. And we would need hundreds to equal her power, and then, getting them to focus for that long would be impossible.”

“Fine! Ah’ll go back then!” Applejack snapped.

“There might be something we can use, but I have no idea how to find it, if it even exists,” Spike said. “Long ago, when there were alicorns, they turned the planet themselves. Rumor goes they had a device that they powered to turn the world for them so they wouldn’t have to focus the spell. If we could find that device, we could use unicorn magic to power it.”

“So no clue where it is?” Applejack asked.

“Only that it’s in the ruins of Alicornia, what Pony lands were called back then. I don’t know where the ruins are; no pony does. They’ve been lost for three thousand years.”

“Well, Ah have somethin’ tah do first. Ah may have lost the notes, but the spell thingy should be still there. Do yah think if Ah brought yah a whole bunch ah runes, yah could work out which ones will send me home?”

“Huh?”

“Ah met a bunch ah unicorns out there. They teleported to a whole other planet using some spell thing they carved into a rock. Could yah use those runes?”

“I might....”

“Funny story, them unicorns, we know them,” Applejack said. “Two were descendants ah Shinin’ Armor, and one from, Trixie.”

“Huh. I would have thought he was killed when Canterlot fell. He and/or Cadence must have escaped in time.”

“Ah guess.”

“Are you going to be in town long?” Spike asked.

“Ah might see Kendall, then stop by here bahfore Ah head back tah get those runes.”

“Okay. We’ll be in town if you need us.”

“Howdy, Kendall,” Applejack greeted. She just ignored the golems this time.

“Howdy, Applejack. Yah back from beatin’ Discord already?” he said with a smile.

“Darn, Ah knew there was somethin’ Ah fergot tah do!” Applejack shouted, pounding her hoof into the floor but smiling.

“It’s easy to forget when yer savin’ towns and becoming a wanted pony,” Kendall said. “How’s yer quest going?”

“Ugh,” Applejack groaned. “Ah was so close and Discord ruined it. Ah had a spell tah bring be back, and a gem that ah bunch ah unicorns could power tah do it. Discord broke the gem and burned the spell.”

“Ouch. What are yah gonna do now? Certainly not throw in the towel.”

“Heh. That one’s a stretch.”

“Ah try not tah rhyme, but Ah can’t help it sometimes,” Kendall replied. “But really, what are yah gonna do?”

“Ah’m gonna head back where Ah was. Maybe Ah can find somethin’ there that’ll work too.”

“That was quite the feat yah pulled in Appleloosa. Ah lot ah ponies owe yah their lives.”

“It was nothin’.”

“Listen, Ah’ve been doin’ some diggin’,” Kendall said in a hushed tone. “Ah’m askin’ round the family tah see if anypony knows what happened tah yer brother. Ah haven’t found anythin’ yet, but if Ah do, Ah’ll let yah know.”

“Ah appreciate it,” Applejack said. Suddenly Kendall looked around her. She turned and saw a golem standing there looking at them. It made an odd clinking noise that Kendall seemed to understand.

“It seems they ran into ah problem in the east orchard. Ah’d better go check it out,” Kendall said. “Lead.”

The golem turned and walked out of the barn. Kendall followed quickly with Applejack tagging along out of curiosity. She felt at home among the apple trees. Despite the clay things managing things, it was still Sweet Apple Acres.

“Well this is new,” Kendall said. “Ah’ve never seen it, have you?”

Applejack looked at what the problem was. A large ancient tree lay on its side, but where its roots had been was now a gaping hole with what looked like stone blocks on the bottom.

“Ah know that tree, but Ah never knew about this,” Applejack said, looking down.

“You, get two flashlights,” Kendall ordered a golem. “Quickly. The rest of you... get a ladder.”

They galloped off quickly, leaving the two very confused ponies.

“Ah wonder if it’s some kinda cellar,” Kendall suggested.

“It’s not like a pony tah plant over one.”

“Yah sure yah don’t recognize it?”

“Ah remember when Apple Bloom fell outta that tree and broke her nose. It’s been here ah lot longer than Ah have.”

Presently, the single golem returned with two metal lanterns on ropes. It stood there as Kendall took them and gave one to Applejack. She hung it around her neck.

“Stay here and keep any stray ponies away from this area. Don’t let them see this. When the rest return with the ladder, set it up so we can get out, then return to keeping ponies away,” he ordered the golem. It just stared back vacantly.

“Ah tell yah, those thing’s are creepy,” Applejack said, lowering herself down. She wasn’t quite tall enough and dropped down the last couple inches.

“They do good work. That’s all Ah want from them,” Kendall replied landing beside her. He switched on this light and began walking into the tunnel. Applejack had to fiddle with the unfamiliar thing for a moment before she finally turned it on and followed.

The tunnel was very short and made of stone. They were able to walk upright, but just barely. It only went on for a few yards before opening into a small room with a statue on the other side. The roof was slightly higher here, but just as simple as the rest.

The statue itself was very ornate. It was stone like everything else, but the detail was immaculate. It depicted a very large pony who’s regal appearance was matched by its musculature.

Applejack heard muttering and looked at Kendall. Her distant relative had gone into a bow and was saying something in a language she didn’t understand, but recognized the sound as the language Zecora would slip into sometimes. In that moment, Applejack promised herself then and there that if she ever made it back to her own time, she’d learn zebra, if for no other reason then to talk to her future brother-in-law.

“Do yah know who that is?” Applejack asked.

“She is the most important of the goddesses,” Kendall replied when he had finished chanting.

“Ah’m not familiar with zebra religion. Can yah explain?”

“She’s a pony goddess, not a zebra one,” Kendall replied. “That is-”

“Epona, mother of the earth ponies,” said a disembodied voice. Out of shock, Applejack bowed, but she didn’t know any prayers so she remained silent and hoped she wasn’t offending any deities. “Please get up, Applejack.”

“Yah... Yah know mah name?” she stammered.

“I have been watching you for a long time,” the voice said.

The statue had transformed from stone to flesh. A large brown pony stood before her now, with a tan mane and long tan feathers hiding her hooves. The pony was definitely female and taller than an alicorn. Gone was much of the regality, replaced with the hardened exterior of a hard worker. Every inch of the mare spoke power.

Applejack looked around and saw that the room had vanished and she and the mysterious pony were standing in the middle of a seeminly endless field. There was sea of green grass stretching in all directions.

“You have earned my favor,” she said.

“Me?” Applejack exclaimed. “Whah me? Ah’ve never gone tah church, hay, Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever really prayed, except that one time. Ah always felt-”

“If you can’t earn it with your own hooves, you don’t deserve to have it,” Epona finished. “This is exactly why I chose you. I want my earth ponies to be self reliant.”

“Ah don’t really know who yah are tah be honest, apart from bein’ ah goddess which I just learned.”

“Then allow me to explain. Long ago, ponies were just beasts, little wild things with no real intelligence. Things that you don’t need to know about happened, and we ended up with little choice then to change that. However we each had a different view of what we wanted your race to be like. I wanted you to be strong and resilient. My brother, Argo, wanted you to be quick and agile, and my sister, Eido, wanted you to be wise and regal. After some... trial and error, we worked out an agreement. We sort of split you into three races, each with the qualities we wanted.”

“The three tribes...”

“Exactly. However, as part of the agreement, we had to put limits on what our ponies were capable of. I’m sure you’ve noticed that alicorns have not only the abilities of the three tribes, but are far stronger in every area. We had learned it would cause many more problems if all ponies were that strong, fast, and magical.

“However, it seems my siblings were aware of something that I was not. They removed the limits from certain newborn ponies. One from each of their tribes, to be precise. They wouldn’t risk unbalancing the world unless the ponies would be needed for something, and did it when they were foals so they wouldn’t remember it happening.”

“Do yah need me tah find em?” Applejack asked.

Epona shook her head. “You knew them both, but they are long dead.”

“Ah did?”

“Surely you remember a unicorn with magic like no other, and a pegasus who could fly far faster than the rest.”

Applejack stared at her in disbelief.

“However, the time has come for me to break our pact as well.” Epona stepped towards Applejack and pressed a hoof to Applejack’s forehead.

Applejack felt a tingling all over, like parts of her were falling asleep and waking up in quick succession. Her muscles suddenly felt very sore, then a second later, totally refreshed, then sore again, and so on. After a minute, Epona removed the hoof and stepped back.

“There.”

“What... what did yah do to me?” Applejack muttered, looking at her hooves.

“I removed your limits, like your friends had theirs taken away.”

Applejack looked at her with curiosity. “So, am Ah like super strong ‘er something?”

“No,” Epona said, giggling a bit. “But there is no limit to how strong and fast you can get now. You know how ponies can only get so strong before they just can’t get any stronger without artificial help? Well you no longer have that problem. If you are willing to put in the time and effort, you can become stronger and faster than anypony in existence. You might notice some other minor things, but nothing too drastic.

“I also gave you another ability, one I kept from my ponies for a very good reason. If you ever find that your strength is not enough, you will be able to push your body past its normal limits and use it to its full potential. The drawback is this can seriously hurt you. Your body isn’t meant to handle that level of stress for long periods of time. Your body uses so much power, it literally starts to tear itself apart. Use it sparingly, if at all.”

“How do Ah use it?”

“When you have need of it, you will know.”

Applejack bowed. “Thank you fer yer gift. Ah promise Ah will put it tah good use.”

“There is something I ask of you in return,” Epona said.

“Right,” Applejack replied. Give me ah power Ah didn’t ask fer, then make me pay fer it. Classy. Wait, can she read mah thoughts?

“This will benefit you far more then it will me. May I please see that compass you are carrying?”

Applejack rummaged around and pulled out the chaos clock and gave it to Epona. The goddess looked it over. Applejack thought she saw a tear fall from the majestic pony’s eye.

“This was mine, a long, long time ago,” Epona said. “These were made so that we might find each other if we needed to. I lost mine eons ago, and it seems it has found its way back to me.”

“Yah can keep it. It does belong tah you, after all.”

“No, you will need it on your quest. When your quest is over, I would like it back, but do not feel pressured to return it with any haste. Time is no issue for me.”

“Can yah explain how it works? Cause the first time Ah used it, it led me tah these things called elephants who were made slaves of a group called sapiens. When Ah saved the elephants, they wanted tah make me their slave. Ah wanna know why it had me go there in the first place.”

“I’m not sure. You would have to ask the maker and I don’t know where he is. They cannot locate him either, a design flaw I’m sure he put in intentionally.”

“What is this place anyway?” Applejack asked. “Ah mean where Ah was anyway.”

“Where we are now is what you might call, my realm. Where you were is just one of the temples from the old days when ponies remembered me. I can channel my will through places like this. It is very fortuitous you stumbled across one, I have been looking for a way to contact you for some time now. If you happen across another, I will attempt to contact you again.”

“Yah don’t mind mah family farmin’ right over here?”

“Your family has always been hard working. I must say I was quite fond of you. I am very sorry I was unable to intervene during the fire.”

“So what do yah need me tah do exactly?”

“Simply follow this,” Epona said returning the chaos clock. “I have given it a few destinations you need to visit. Make sure you follow it, no matter how strange the path is.”

“Can Ah ask somethin’?”

“You just did, but I know you meant something else.”

“Spike said Princess Celestia made the world turn, and now Discord does it. If Ah kill him, can’t one of you gods take over?”

Epona shook her head. “I’m sorry, that is not my domain, nor the domain of any god or goddess who walks upon this or any world. There is nothing I can do. You will have to find a solution on your own, I’m afraid.”

“Horseapples,” Applejack grunted, then immediately put her hoof in her mouth.

“Please don’t feel the need to watch your language with me. Very few of us take offense to such things and I am not one of them.”

“Ah should still watch what Ah say,” Applejack declared. “How about mah brother. Do yah know what happened tah him?”

“I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise,” Epona said. “Do you have any more questions?”

“Ah don’t think so, and Ah can always come back.”

“Good luck on your journey, Applejack,” Epona said.

“Ah’ll do yah proud.”

“You do every day.”

“Thank you,” Applejack said.

“Huh?” Kendall asked.

Applejack blinked and rubbed her eyes. She was back in the stone temple. The statue was back where it was, and Kendall was staring at her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah... did yah hear any ah that?”

“Any of what? I just said this was a statue of Epona when you just stopped. You looked like you were in a trance or something.”

“She... she spoke tah me,” Applejack said, rubbing her head.

“That’s impossible. Epona died thousands of years ago.”

Applejack frowned. “If she’s dead, then whah did yah bow and do all that praying?”

“She did great things. It is only right to honor the dead.”

“Ah’m tellin’ yah, she was real. She said she can talk tah me in places like this.”

“I didn’t see or hear anything,” Kendall said. “Let’s go above ground, okay? I have to seal this place up soon.”

“What?”

“If Discord finds out about it, he’ll destroy my farm along with it.”

“But...”

“Consider it another incentive tah beat him,” Kendall said. They had reached the end and found a ladder was now in the hole with them. He climbed up, followed by Applejack. “Yah wanna stay fer lunch?”

Applejack took out Epona’s clock and saw it was pointing dutifully off in one direction. “Sorry, but Ah got someplace tah go.”

“Well grab some apples on yer way.”

“Thanks, Kendall,” Applejack said.

“Good luck, Applejack.”

“What do you think? Satin or silk?”

“I don’t know, what about the fleece?”

“Too thick.”

“Right. Well maybe for my mane?”

“That could work. It would be a bit hard to style though.”

“Okay, well what do I use for filler?”

“I think you have wool right now, but it shouldn’t matter.”

“How about-”

“Hey, Applejack,” Spike greeted.

Applejack just kept walking.

“Applejack?” Rarity called.

“Huh?” Applejack muttered. Then she noticed them. “Sorry, Ah’m just distracted is all.”

“With the amount you have to worry about, I’m not surprised,” Rarity said. Applejack had to stifle a snicker. The former unicorn was hanging out of the top of an old mailbag Spike was wearing.

“It’s not that... Something just happened tah me. Kendall said it didn’t, and he was there. Ah’m not sure if Ah’m seein’ things or he just didn’t see it er what.”

“Well don’t keep us in suspense, what happened?” Rarity asked.

“Some ah Kendall’s golems found an old shrine on the farm. Ah never even knew it was there.”

“A temple to who?” Spike asked.

“Epona,” Applejack replied.

“Oh! I had no idea there were even any temples to the pony goddesses anymore,” Rarity stated.

“Anyway, when we went in, Ah mentioned Ah had no idea what it was, Ah’ve never been tah any sort ah Church or nothin’. That’s when what Ah say and what he says differ. He says he said it was tah Epona, then Ah sorta zoned out. Ah don’t even remember him sayin’ it. What Ah do remember was Ah wasn’t even there anymore. Ah was in this field talkin’ with who Ah guess was Epona herself.”

“You- okay, let me get this straight, you’re in a temple to Epona, then all of a sudden, you’re somewhere else talking to a pony you only guess is Epona?” Spike said in disbelief. “How could you not be sure?”

“Well she said she was, but how should Ah know? Ah’ve never been tah church, and Ah’ve only ever prayed once, when... well it was one time. Anyway, we talked, she told me tah go where this thing leads me,” Applejack said, tapping the clock in her robe. “Then she was gone and Kendall was lookin’ at me.”

“Wow...” Rarity said.

“But now Ah’m not sure if Ah’m crazy or it happened and somehow Kendall didn’t see it.”

“Well since I’ve never spoken with any sort of deity, I don’t know what to tell you. She like the other patron pony deities died a long time ago, but it’s possible fragments of her remain. That would explain why she chose to contact you in a temple devoted to her.” Spike told her. “Though if the chaos clock is pointing somewhere she told it to, it probably did happen.”

“That’s another thing, you said you had more, right?”

“Just one,” Spike replied. “I found four and I’ve given three of them away, including yours.”

“She said the one you gave me... was hers. She sounded like it was made fer her bah another god.”

“You mean this once belonged to a god?” Rarity asked, pulling out a similar clock out of the bag. It seemed impossible that she could lift it, given it was about as big as she was, but she managed. This one was distinctly different from Applejacks. While hers was plain and simple, this one had elegant gilded swirls in the edges, and the hands were covered in decorative details.

“Probably, but you’d have tah ask her which one.”

“Hmm...” Spike hummed. “Maybe Kendall couldn’t see it because he’s part zebra. Well it would really be up to Epona who she wanted to speak with, so maybe she just wanted to talk to you alone.”

“What did she say?” Rarity asked.

Applejack paused. Epona hadn’t said her revelations were secret, but on the same token, she’s specifically prevented Kendall from hearing them. She must have had some reason.

“It’s probably an earth pony thing, seeing as she is their patron goddess,” Spike said.

“She did say she wants Discord defeated,” Applejack told them. “Ah think she bascially said she’s givin’ me her blessin’ tah do it.”

“Well let us know when you do face him,” Rarity said. “We’ll be there as your backup!”

“Ah appreciate it. Ah gotta get goin’ though. Got a lot ah travelin’ tah do.” Applejack turned and headed off to the trainstation.

End Saga IV

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Applejack Under the Sea

Samurai Applejack

Saga V: Back to the Matrix

Chapter XI: Applejack under the Sea

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

Applejack stepped off the train and took a deep breath of air. It was warm and salty. She’s been on the edge of her seat for the past few miles when she realized her journey was taking her by the ocean. Sure she’s seen it on her few trips to Manehatten, but this was different. She’d be able to walk along the beach, sunbathe, maybe even go swimming. She’d be able to, but she wasn’t going to. She had a mission.

Still, Applejack felt lighter as she stepped off the platform and gazed at all the coastal ponies milling about... the... Wait a tic... The ponies in town were unlike any ponies she had ever seen before.

They weren’t hairless, they at least seemed to have the same fine coat other ponies had, but they didn’t have manes and their tails were flat and broad, only covered in the fine coat. She had thought they were pegasi at first, but as they moved around, occasionally stretching the appendages on their backs, she saw that they were featherless fins, not wings.

Applejack stood, mouth agape at the bizarre ponies everywhere. They weren’t the only inhabitants, but they were definitely a significant majority.

“First time to the coast?” one, a light brownish yellow finned pony asked her.

“Uh... ye–yeah,” Applejack stammered.

“Don’t feel bad, most of you land dwellers have a similar reaction.”

“What?”

“We do get occasional visitors. They are typically surprised to see us.”

“Well yeah, Ah thought there were only four kinds ah ponies, earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, and alicorns.”

“And sea ponies, and fairy ponies,” the pony added. “Though alicorns and fairy ponies are both extinct I think.”

“Uh huh... So yer the sea ponies then?”

“No, the fairy ponies,” the pony said sarcastically. “My name is Sandbar.”

“Ah’m-”

“Applejack.”

Applejack reflexively grabbed the hilt of her sword.

“Do calm down,” he said, “We have no love of Discord here.”

“Good,” Applejack said, sighing. “So do yah greet all ponies like this or am Ah an exception?”

“You’re the only one here,” Sandbar replied.

Applejack looked around. The station platform was completely empty and the train was already pulling away. True to his word, she was the only one who had gotten off.

“So what bring you to our little port? Need help fighting Discord?”

“Nah, Ah’m just passin’ through, Ah think,” Applejack said. She pulled out the compass and saw it was still pointing out to sea. “Looks like Ah’ll need a boat.”

“You’re out of luck. We don’t have any transport vessels here,” Sandbar said. “Though if you need to get across the ocean, there are other ways.”

“Ah don’t suppose some pegasi can fly me over.”

“No but we have a large number of cities on the seafloor and transportation between them. If you come with me, I can set you up. I work in the transportation system.”

“Okay,” Applejack agreed.

Sandbar motioned and Applejack followed him through the town. The wooden buildings that made up the town were heavily weathered and the paint was faint. Still they were quaint and a rather nice change from the big cities. As they went, Applejack kept count of all the ponies she saw that weren’t sea ponies. She ended up with a hooffull.

Sandbar led her through the town and to the port. On the sea edge was some bizarre glass like structure that stuck out of the ocean. As they got near it, Applejack saw it was what she could only describe as a tunnel that went under the water. It was completely open to the outside but she could see there were two pipes running along the top with a large open area on the bottom with stone steps leading downward. She couldn’t see far because of the angle at which it slopped, but it it was well lit and seemed to extend forever.

“This way to Starfish Crack,” Sandbar said, heading down into the tunnel. Applejack paused hesitantly at the edge. “What? It’s perfectly safe.”

“Excuse me fer not wantin’ tah drown,” Applejack retorted.

“The whole city is dry. You don’t have to worry about air down here,” Sandbar said.

“Well... okay,” Applejack said. Tentatively she followed him into the glass tunnel.

As they walked, her fears waned. Every hundred feet or so there were gates that could seal the tunnel. The glass itself was solid and scratchless. As they walked, she was enthralled with its clarity. She could see fish swimming by and colorful rocks began to appear as they traveled farther deeper. Suddenly she stopped when she saw a pony swim by, using its wing-fins to maneuver through the water like one of the fish.

Sandbar saw her staring and smirked. “What, did you think these were for show?” he asked, flexing his fins.

“Yeah but how do yah breath? Yah dont have gills, do yah?” Applejack asked.

Sandbar smiled. “A long time ago the goddess Aquas gave our tribe the ability to breathe both air and water. Or so the legends go.”

“Huh.”

“I don’t really believe it myself,” Sandbar admitted. “It seems far more likely we just developed this living by the ocean so much.”

“Sounds like a nifty trick,” Applejack commented. “It don’t do much away from the ocean, but still. It must be kinda annoying every time yah come out of the water though.”

“Not at all. See, we have two sets of lungs, one set that works with water and a smaller pair that works with air.”

“Huh.”

“Here we are, Starfish Crack,” Sandbar announced. They had arrived at the final gate, though this one was closed. A pair of sea ponies stood outside. When they saw Applejack and Sandbar approach, they leaped into action and opened the watertight seal. Beyond it was a town as bizarre as the ponies that inhabited it.

It was clearly built upon a dried area of the seabed. Most of the buildings were carved out of stone. Those that weren't were made of wood and built onto the rock. The ground was mostly sand. Far overhead was a glass dome that held back the sea water. It was quite beautiful because the rock was a multitude of colors. The town was quite small too, only about the size of the center of Ponyville in her time. The sights brought a slight smile to Applejack’s face.

“My brother and I work for the air tubes. We’ll be able to set you up with transport,” Sandbar explained as they neared the center of town.

“Thanks,” Applejack said. She was distracted by all the ponies staring at her. She began to feel uneasy. It seemed she was the only one who wasn’t a sea pony. “You don’t get many earth ponies down here, do yah?”

“No, they tend to stay in the port if they stay at all. Hey, there he is. Hey, Storm Surge, look who I found!”

A dark blue sea pony looked over quickly. “And just who have you found, Sandbar?” Storm Surge walked over and looked Applejack up and down. “There’s no way that’s Samurai Applejack,” he said to Sandbar.

“Ah’m Applejack.”

“She looks just like the wanted posters,” Sandbar said.

“I find it hard to believe you’re the one causing Discord so much trouble,” Storm Surge said.

“Look Ah ain’t here tah argue. Sandbar here said he could get me passage across the ocean,” Applejack explained.

“Where are you headed?” Storm Surge asked.

“Well,” Applejack said, pulling out Epona’s compass. She hrmmed when she saw the needle was wondering aimlessly now. “Huh. It seems I’m where Ah’m supposed to be.”

Storm Surge had been noticeably taken aback by the clock and stared intently at it. “Um... may I see that?”

Applejack tilted it towards him but kept it close. “Ah’m not at liberty tah give this away. Ah’m borrowin’ it.”

“That looks a lot like the Aquas' Clock,” Storm Surge said. “It’s a relic kept in Barrier City. I wasn’t aware there were others.”

“Yeah, there are a few,” Applejack said. “It’s pretty useful. It leads me where Ah need tah go."

"If you are where you need to be, why do you need transport?" Storm Surge asked.

"This thing is never clear. Maybe it wants me tah go see your clock," Applejack said.

"Barrier City is several hours away. Why don’t you come over to my house we can work out a travel plan," Storm Surge suggested.

Applejack's stomach rumbled, reminding her that her last meal had been two apples she had eaten on the train ride. "Sure. Ah ain’t in a big hurry."

Applejack followed Storm Surge to his home. It was cut from the stone with a wooden addition on top. Sandbar tagged along. Storm Surge led her inside where she was introduced to his wife, a nervous pale green sea pony named Seafoam. He then showed her to his all wood study where he pulled out a map and began explaining how underwater transport worked.

Applejack didn’t really understand what pneumatic meant. It didn’t seem possible to her that air could move things that quickly. If he was exaggerating or not didn’t matter. She would still get to Barrier City. It seemed odd that Epona's compass had stopped so far from the destination, but even now that she knew where it came from, it was still mysterious.

"Um... dinner is ready," Seafoam said quietly from the door.

"I think we're all set. Do you think you can remember all the stops?" Storm Surge asked.

"Ah’ll probably need tah write them down, but it don’t sound that hard," Applejack replied. "Ah’ll do that now then head out."

Storm Surge put a hoof on her shoulder. "It’s a long trip and you won’t be able to eat on the way,"

"Ah don't want to impose..."

"I cooked with four ponies in mind," Seafoam said.

Applejack frowned then smiled. "Okay. Ah wouldn't mind trying sea pony food.”

Seafoam led them downstairs to a stone room with a wooden table. The meal was quite unusual. The table had several plates with little bits of food in mostly bite sized pieces. There was a lot of rice and what looked like wet reeds but the rest Applejack couldn’t identify. Sandbar was already sitting down. The rest joined him.

Before eating, the three sea ponies bowed their heads and began muttering. Applejack had seen this once when she had joined Rarity for dinner. Applejack joined them but wasn’t sure what to say. She caught ‘Aquas’ a few times.

“Err... Ah’m not sure yer even listenin’, Epona, but Ah’m where yah wanted me tah go. Ah’m not sure what tah do but Ah’ll figure it out,” Applejack murmured.

The others finished and began scooping up bits of food one by one. They seemed trustworthy but Applejack waited for them to start eating first. She’d declared this a personal rule after everything that had happened. There didn’t seem to be any adverse effects so Applejack picked up a disk item and looked at it. It was rice wrapped in a leaf with something she couldn’t identify in the middle. She frowned and sniffed it but still couldn’t tell.

“It’s sushi. A sea pony delicacy,” Sandbar said, noticing her hesitation. “I know you don’t have it on the surface but it’s perfectly safe.”

Applejack gave it a final sniff then popped it in her mouth. “Hey, it’s pretty good.” She quickly grabbed some more and tried them too. It didn’t taste like anything she had ever had before, but it was a nice treat.

“So, Samurai Applejack,” Storm Surge began.

“Just Applejack. Ah don’t know whah they call me a samurai. Ah don’t even know what that means.”

“So, Applejack, what is your story?” Storm Surge asked.

“Nopony knows for sure who you are or why Discord hates you so much,” Sandbar added.

“I heard you survived a war golem attack and swore revenge,” Storm Surge said.

“I heard she’s the last of the royal guards, and she’s come to fulfill her duty to the crown,” Sandbar said.

“I heard you’re actually Epona come to stop him,” Seafoam said.

Applejack nearly laughed at that last one. “No, Ah’m pretty sure Ah’m not her.”

“So what is it then? No one really knows for sure,” Storm Surge urged.

Applejack thought about it. Ah could tell them the truth. No harm in it, but it’ll raise a lot of questions. Ah should probably just give them a simple answer and hope they accept it. Finally she shrugged. “He’s evil. Ain’t that reason enough tah fight him?”

“Yeah but you have a huge bounty on your head,” Sandbar stated.

“Well Ah’ve been causin’ him a bit of trouble.”

“Fine, don’t tell us then,” Storm Surge grumbled.

“Yah know what Ah don’t understand? Whah Ah never see yah ponies in Equestria. Ah’ve been all over the place but Ah never saw a sea pony bahfore.”

The three sea ponies fell silent and shifted in their seats.

“We’re not allowed in Equestria,” Sandbar said, staring at his plate.

“Huh?”

“Aquestria isn’t part of Equestria and never has been. Because we’re a separate country we need to get a passport to enter,” Storm Surge explained. “This isn’t because of Discord, Celestia, the ruler before him, did it too. It was actually only during the confusion when he took over that we were able to build some towns on land.”

Applejack looked at them in confusion. “Passports? Ah’ve never needed one and Ah’ve definitely left Equestria.”

“But you’re not a sea pony. Land ponies don’t like us,” Seafoam said quietly.

“This rule only applies to us,” Storm Surge snarled. “And of course they’ve never once issued a passport.”

“It’s a rather notorious moment in our history when our ambassador was physically ejected from Canterlot. He had gone simply to explain our desire to be a part of Equestria,” Sandbar added.

“Ah don’t understand. Whah would they not like you? Ah thought we had gotten over the whole tribe fightin’ thing when we founded Equestria,” Applejack said.

“Well there are probably a few reasons. Our patron goddess is Aquas, who isn’t one of the three pony deities, and we still actively worship her. She’s still thought to be alive too, which may have caused some jealousy. While we are the descendants of coastal dwelling pegasus ponies, our way of life is fundamentally different to yours,” Storm Surge answered.

“Though the main reason is we’re omnivorous,” Sandbar added.

“Hmmm,” Applejack hummed in thought. “Ah feel like Ah should know what that means.”

“Well a carnivore only eats meat and a herbivore only eats plants. An omnivore eats both,” Sandbar told her.

Applejack stopped what she was doing and let the piece of sushi slide off her hoof and onto the table. She stared at him wide eyed. “What did you say?”

“I’m so sorry, didn’t you know?” Seafoam asked.

“Sushi is a fish based dish. There aren’t many plants that grow underwater or near the shore so we adapted to include fish in our diet,” Storm Surge explained.

Applejack nearly gagged at the thought. “And yah didn’t think tah mention that sooner?”

“You said you wanted to try it, I assumed you knew,” Sandbar said.

“Well Ah didn’t know what Ah was eatin’ used tah be alive.”

Storm Surge rolled his eyes. “Plants are alive too.”

“But they don’t have feelin’s,” Applejack replied.

“Fish don’t have feelings, they’re made of foam latex,” Sandbar said. Applejack stared at him in confusion. “Just a joke. But really, eating meat is fine for ponies and there are no harm in eating it, despite what you might think.”

“If we had told you, you won’t have tried it and learned you like it,” Storm Surge added.

“No side effects, even though Ah ain’t a sea pony?”

“Well if you eat if over the course of several dozen generations, your teeth get sharper,” Sandbar said, opening his mouth wide. His teeth weren’t predator sharp, but they were definitely more pointed than a regular pony’s.

“It wasn’t bad,” Applejack admitted. The table was mostly empty now and they seemed full.

“Are you ready to head out?” Storm Surge asked.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Sandbar and Storm Surge led Applejack through the city to the Pneumatic Tube station. It was a separate section of the dome that was sealed off. It was fairly large with a clear tube in the middle with a sliding door on the top. The tube extended out through the glass into the distance. Along the walls were control panels and there as one on one side of the center tube.

Sandbar trotted off to the side while Storm Surge led Applejack over to the center tube. “Could you call a passenger pod?”

“Sure,” Sandbar replied. He pressed a button on a console on the wall. There was a grinding noise for a few seconds then the door on the tube opened up revealing a second door below it. Storm Surge opened this one, it swinging out. Inside was a small padded seat that was more like a narrow bench and some latched drawers.

“Okay, we’ll have to secure your things,” Storm Surge said. He reached for her sword but Applejack grabbed his hoof.

“Don’t touch it,” she warned. “Nothin’ personal, Ah just don’t like folks touchin’ mah blade.”

“Just put it in one of the storage drawers,” Storm Surge said, pulling away.

Applejack nodded and pulled the sheath off. She opened the one drawer that was big enough and gently placed the sword of harmony inside then closed the drawer. She pulled out Epona’s compass and put it in a different drawer. Her hat was the last thing to be put away. “Now what?”

“You just lay down on the seat and I’ll strap you in,” Storm Surge said.

“Huh?”

“You’re going to be traveling very fast. It’s a bad idea to have anything moving around.”

“Okay...” Applejack said apprehensively but she did as she was instructed, straddling the seat.

Storm Surge then went about binding her legs to the sides of the seat, then for good measure clasped a few more flat ropes across her back. “How does that feel? Can you move?”

Applejack wiggled about. “No,” she replied.

“Great. Sandbar, call him.”

“Er what?”

Sandbar went over to a different control panel and pressed a button.

“Lord Discord,” he said into a microphone.

“You!” Applejack snarled. She began straining against the bonds but it was no good.

“Who is this? What do you want?” came the annoyed reply.

“I’m Sandbar from Starfish Crack. Equestria’s most wanted? We’ve got her all tied up and waiting for you at the pneumatic tube station,” Sandbar said.

“I don’t believe it. A sea pony managed to take down Samurai Applejack,” Discord replied through the radio. “I’m almost impressed.”

“She was really easy to trick,” Sandbar said quietly.

“Fine, I’m coming, but you had better have her,” Discord said.

“Yer a disgrace tah ponies,” Applejack spat. “Can’t yah see Ah’m tryin’ tah stop him?”

“We know,” Sandbar said quietly, avoiding her gaze.

“Discord knew you were coming this way and said if we got you, he’d allow us to go to Equestria. Do you have any idea how it feels to be forced to the edge of the world? We are ignored. We have never been able to join the land ponies in festivals or even in friendship,” Storm Surge said, also looking away. “This isn’t anything personal. I want to take Seafoam to the top of Canterlot mountain. I want to walk through a forest. If turning you over can make that happen, then I’m sorry but we can’t afford to miss this chance.”

“He’s a liar! He won’t keep his promise!” Applejack shouted.

“He does not have the bias the old princess had. He will keep it,” Sandbar declared.

“Bow, subjects!” boomed a disembodied voice. The sea pony citizens looked around in confusion until the misshapen figure appeared towering over the stone buildings. His pony head barely fit under the glass dome. He began walking towards the air tube and he shrank in size as he went. Ponies dove to get out of his way, and those that were already out of the way pressed their faces to the ground.

“Let me go!” Applejack demanded.

“Well hello there, Applejack,” Discord said when he was small enough. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Did you find that gem you needed?”

“If Ah could move-”

“But you can’t. I am impressed these fish were able to best you.”

Sandbar and Storm Surge glared at him but didn’t speak.

“We have her like we said. And we can go to Equestria now?” Storm Surge asked.

“About the deal,” Discord said ominously. “I wanted her dead.”

“She’s helpless and all yours,” Sandbar replied.

Discord looked at Applejack desperately trying to free herself. He reached over and closed the door on her. Then he took a claw and stabbed it through the door, allowing Applejack to hear what was going on, but she couldn’t crane her neck far enough to see out. “Send her through the tube. I’ll take care of the rest,” Discord ordered.

“Yes sir,” Storm Surge said. He did something and a second later the tube slid shut.

There was a tense moment while Applejack didn’t know what was going to happen. Then she felt the pod rocket forward sending her stomach into her tail. The ride only lasted a second before she felt the pod abruptly begin to slow begin to rotate. Water began flooding in through the hole.

“You broke the pipe...” Storm Surge whined.

“The deal?” Sandbar asked.

“I wanted her dead. You failed. You’re not supposed to be on the surface at all. It’s time I put you back in the ocean where you belong,” Discord said.

“You lying, evil, henny,” Sandbar snarled.

“Look who’s finally learning,” Discord taunted.

Meanwhile, Applejack was getting frantic. The water had stopped pouring in but that was only because the water level was now above the hole, leaving her with very little air. She’d also managed to free herself by gnawing through one of the straps and undoing the rest. She’d quickly gathered her things but they were little use now. Now she had a choice. Stay until her air ran out, or open up the door and try and swim to the surface.

Not one to give up, Applejack located the hatch and tried to push it. It didn’t budge at all. She forced all her weight against it but it wouldn’t budge. There’s more than one way tah sheer a sheep. Applejack pulled out her sword and stabbed it through the side of the pod. She then dragged it about in a circle, carving through the metal with ease. With nothing to hold it back, the ocean filled the remaining space.

Applejack held her breath and swam free of the pod and tried to get her bearings. The water was dark and it stung her eyes, but she could make out the lights of the town on her left. There was no way in there, so she headed towards the surface. She wasn’t a poor swimmer but she was several hundred feet below the surface. She couldn’t even see where the sun was.

Suddenly something grabbed her robe and yanked her back down towards the city. She flailed about, trying to get free, but whatever had her wasn’t letting go.

Her lungs were at their limit when whatever had a hold of her dragged her into a metal chamber on the side of the dome. A door closed behind them and an alarm sounded. Suddenly the water began draining away. Applejack took a deep breath of air and looked and who had saved her.

“Storm Surge?”

“I’m a faster swimmer than Sandbar,” he replied, not meeting her eyes. “You were right. Discord tricked us.”

“He’s mighty seductive,” Applejack replied. “Where is he now?”

“He’s off to attack our coastal city,” Storm Surge growled. A second door on the other wall opened, letting them walk into the city. Storm Surge walked off towards the pneumatic tube and Applejack followed.

“Let me at him,” Applejack said, drawing her sword.

“You’ll never catch him,” Storm Surge said.

“Yer pretty fast, could yah swim me there?”

“Are you crazy, he’d kill you in an instant!”

Applejack looked outside at the tube. It was no longer whole, and she could see both segments drifting about. A sharp spire to rock jutted from the seafloor where the two pieces would have met.

“Huh. That ain’t glass?”

“What, the pneumatic tube? No, it’s plastic. If it was too rigid it would break with the ocean current.”

“Then that’s it. Shoot me in another thing at him!” Applejack exclaimed.

“We can’t. With the tube broken it won’t work,” Storm Surge said.

“What are you doing?” Sandbar asked.

“Ah gotta stop Discord and fast. Whah can’t yah shoot me outta that tube?”

“Because you’re sucked through it by the other end. With it broken, it’s useless,” Storm Surge said.

“Actually we might still be able to do it,” Sandbar replied. “If we throw the air pump on this side into reverse, it would launch a pod.”

“Does it even have a reverse function?” Storm Surge asked.

“No, but I can make one.”

“Do it. I’ll round up as many ponies as I can to aim the other end.” Storm Surge turned to Applejack. “I can’t believe you’re still willing to help us after what we did.”

“Stop talkin’ and move! We’re gonna lose him!” Applejack shouted.

Storm Surge nodded and galloped off. Sandbar raced over to one side of the room and opened up a hatch on the floor. He climbed down a ladder, leaving Applejack alone in the tube room.

“Anythin’ Ah can do?” she called into the hole.

“Um... call another pod,” came the reply.

“How do Ah do that?”

“On the third control panel to the right, press the big button labeled ‘passenger pod’.”

Applejack searched around and quickly spotted it. She pressed it and a moment later the tube opened up. She raced over and got inside the second pod. “Do Ah really have tah strap mahself in?”

“Normally yes, but there’s normally a technician on the other end to let you out. You’ll just have to hold on tight,” Sandbar shouted from somewhere below. “Come on, you piece of junk, bend! A little more... Got it! How are things up there?”

“It looks like the tube is pointed towards the shore.”

“Okay I have to manually activate the pump. Let me know when you’re in the pod and I’ll turn it on.”

“Hit it,” Applejack called back. She slammed the door shut as quickly as she could. There was an odd noise, like a gurgling sound and suddenly she was moving forwards. She couldn’t see where she was going and she felt the pod begin to slow as it moved through the water. She was still going incredibly fast.

Applejack slammed into the front of the pod as it came to an abrupt stop. Quickly she forced open the door and looked around. She had made it to the beach, at least. She’d actually ended up several yards up it with no gouge in the sand. Quickly she leaped out and searched around for Discord. She spotted him rising out of the water nearby and galloped towards him, sword at the ready.

“You!” he roared, spotting her.

“Me!” she shouted back. She jumped into the air and swung at his body. As the sword hit him, it didn’t. The blade phased right through his body. However, where it touched began to turn stiff and grey.

“Why won’t you just die!” he shouted, clutching the spot. He flew out of her reach and over to the pod which he picked up.

Applejack looked at him in confusion as he teleported away. She whipped her head about, trying to figure out where he went. Her question was answered when the metal pod was slammed around her. She went to slice through it like the other one, but was stopped when the pod began caving in around her. Discord was going to crush her! The metal walls got closer, pinning Applejack in place.

“Go back to your fish friends!” Discord shouted. He wound back his arm and hurled the pod into the ocean far faster than it had left it.

Applejack was unable to move or see what was happening but she could feel it. The pod hit something very solid and jarred around before hitting something else and finally stopping. There wasn’t any water leaking in but she had to get out. She had to stop Discord.

Applejack twisted and pulled until she had freed her hooves. She pressed them to the door and pushed for all her might. It still would not move. She needed more strength. She pushed harder. She felt a sudden rush of power. It was like adrenaline but many times more potent. With one final shove she pushed the door open, instantly flooding the pod.

Applejack swam free, making use of the boosted strength to move quickly through the water. She tried to figure out where she was but the dark shapes were confusing and she couldn’t make sense of it, so she simply began swimming for the surface. Her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen and her legs became heavy.

She needed air. She opened her mouth in an instinctive act, but that just let saltwater invade her lungs. She paddled and paddled but she wasn’t getting anywhere. Her vision blurred and her head pounded. Finally her legs failed. She dimly registered hitting the seafloor before blacking out.

“Oh dear. We can’t have you perish here. There is still a lot more for you to do. How about I give you a little gift to keep your tale going? I’m sure Epona won’t mind.”

“Applejack! Wake up!”

The voice finally stirred her. Applejack got up and immediately began coughing up water. It went on for several minutes and by the time she felt okay, her throat was raw and she felt sick. But she was alive.

“Thanks fer the save,” she said. “Ah thought Ah was toast there.”

“We thought so too.”

Applejack looked around and saw there were quite a few sea ponies gathered around, notably Storm Surge, Sandbar and Seafoam.

“Where’s Discord? Ah gotta go after him!” Applejack said, suddenly remembering what had happened. She tried to get up but Seafoam gently held her back.

“Discord’s long gone,” Sandbar said.

“But the town!”

“Demolished. Both of them,” Storm Surge replied. “That pod shattered the air dome and flooded the city. It’ll be months before we can make a new one if we ever are able to.”

“Ah failed. He got away.”

“No, we failed for listening to him,” Sandbar said.

Applejack tried to stand up but immediately fell flat on her face. Her front legs were wracked with immense pain. It felt like every muscle had been torn. So this is what she meant by having a good reason not to let us use this.

“Are you okay?” Seafoam asked, worried.

“Ah’ll be fine,” Applejack said, getting up more slowly now. Her legs ached but she would work through the pain. “So if the dome is gone, where are we?” Applejack asked. They were clearly inside an underwater air dome and in a similar looking town.

“We’re in Vent Fissure. It’s the closest town to Starfish Crack,” Storm Surge informed her.

“Well thanks fer gettin’ me here bahfore Ah drowned,” Applejack said,

“Err...” Storm Surge mumbled. “We really didn’t.”

Applejack looked at them in confusion. “Huh?”

“With all the wreckage it took us more than an hour to find you and it was a couple more hours to swim here. I don't really know how you survived,” Storm Surge said.

“Aquas must have given you her blessing,” Seafoam said quietly.

“Huh. Wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened, seein’ how you all can do that,” Applejack said. “What are yah gonna do?”

“We’re going to have to rebuild, but we will,” Sandbar said.

“What about you? Is there any way we can help you?” Storm Surge asked.

Applejack pulled out Epona’s compass. The direction needle was now stiffly pointing in one direction. “Well....”

Applejack waved goodbye to the three sea ponies. They waved back then dove below the waves. Applejack trotted up the beach and found a shady spot along the shore, then sat down.

They had helped her cross the ocean from the bottom to where the compass pointed. The last few miles had been through open ocean. There were other surface to town tunnels but they were too far out of the way. It had been interesting when she had first stepped out what they had called an "air lock". She had been hesitant to see if she really could breathe underwater.

Her first... breath if you could call it that had been awkward. She eventually did calm down. The water tickled her nose but she could indeed breathe the water like it was air. The water didn’t sting her eyes either, which was very nice. She couldn't keep up with the sea ponies so Storm Surge and Sandbar took turns towing her along.

She spent the time experimenting and seeing just how well she could now survive underwater. It wasn't perfect. She found she ran out of breath very quickly and her breathing was more shallow. Still she couldn't complain.

When she left the water she expected to have to cough up a lot but found she really didn’t need to. She did feel a bit heavier though, and it wasn’t just the food they had kindly given her.

Applejack made sure no pony was watching before pulling out a securely wrapped package. She opened it up to reveal the last of her sushi supply. This stuff really ain’t that bad, she thought as she chowed down.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Applejack and The Minotaur Part 2

Samurai Applejack

Saga 5: Back to the Matrix

Chapter 13: Applejack and the Minotaur Part 2

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

My Little Pony created by Hasbro

“Cider,” Applejack ordered. The griffon barkeep nodded and walked off.

Applejack took a seat at the bar and waited for him to return. She wasn’t planning on getting drunk, but she did love cider. Her mission had taken her through this remote donkey village. She hoped she wouldn’t be jumped by bounty hunters. It had been a good day and she wanted to keep it that way. The sobbing coming from the rear of the tavern was threatening to ruin it though.

“Here you are.” The barkeep had returned with a frothy mug.

Applejack grabbed the mug and took a swig. It wasn’t Sweet Apple Cider, but it was cider. “Thanks.” She sat there for a while, taking a sip every few seconds. The crying was beginning to get very grating. It was several degrees louder than the other patrons, but they seemed to be ignoring it. Finally she had had enough. She drank down the last of the cider and went over to see what was going on.

Even she was surprised by the amount of booze this creature had drank. The empty mugs formed a neat little mountain on the round corner table, making it hard to see who was crying behind them. She peeked around them to see a great orange beast slumped over the table. She couldn’t get a good look at it as its face was hidden by its arms, but she saw a familiar large, runed, sword leaning against the wall next to him.

“Uh... hello?” she said loudly, trying to be heard over his sobs.

The bovine face looked up at her and immediately ducked down below the table. That small glance was enough. It was The Minotaur! He came up again, but this time his face had been dried somewhat though his eyes were still red.

“Well if it isn’t Samurai Applejack,” he greeted with fake cheer. “How’ve yah been?”

“Still fightin’ Discord. How are-” Applejack was cut off by a fresh wave of sobs.

“It’s awful. Me wife’s been kidnapped!”

“Yer wife... Ah didn’t know yah were married,” Applejack said. She didn’t really know minotaurs had marriage.

“Aye. She’s the most beautiful creature tah ever grace thah world with ‘er presence.” The Minotaur gazed up, smiling. Then his tears returned. “But now she’s gone. She’ll be dead by the next full moon.”

“Full moon, that’s tomorrow!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Aye.”

“Well whah ain’t yah tryin’ tah save her?” Applejack asked calmly.

“She’s been taken tah the castle ah Theseus. It’s the home of army o’ demons. Ah could never do it alone and me clan is forbidden tah help.”

Applejack grabbed an empty chair and sat down. She scratched her chin as she thought. “That’s quite a pickle. So yer family can’t help?”

“The druids have ferbidden it,” The Minotaur replied.

“Well what about friends?”

The Minotaur perked up. “Yah know, they didn’t say nought about that! Yah’d be willin’ tah face almost certain doom at the hands of o’ hundred demons tah save me angel?” The Minotaur got up and grabbed Applejack, pulling her into a backbreaking hug.

“How could Ah refuse ah friend in need?” Applejack wheezed. Epona’s mission could deal with a delay. She hadn’t said it was urgent.

The Minotaur and Applejack charged across the open land. She wasn’t exactly sure where they were going but The Minotaur seemed to know the way.

“Me wife’s so beautiful. She’s got these flowin’ locks like rivers ah gold. Her eyes twinkle like ah star,” The Minotaur said as he panted. “And her voice. It’s so beautiful Ah could just listen tah it fer the rest o’ me days. And did Ah mention her hair?”

“A bit,” Applejack replied.

They’d been traveling for about four hours so far and this was probably the twentieth time bringing up the subject, but she let him. It distracted him from crying again. She was beginning to get tired from all the running but she wasn’t about to stop for a break before he did.

The scenery changed as they went. The relatively flat but thick forest gave way to hills and fewer trees. Soon she could see mountains in the distance.

They crested yet another hill. “There,” The Minotaur declared. He pointed straight ahead to a small, square, stone castle. “There is the home of me clan.”

“Nice,” Applejack said.

The castle was unlike Canterlot Castle. This one was made solely to repel attacks without any attempt at aesthetics. It had high ramparts and a wide walkway surrounding a central roof. The corners did have square towers with flat roofs.

As they got near, Applejack saw the giant wooden door was wide open. The Minotaur slowed down to a walk and entered. Applejack nervously followed.

She had been curious when she first met The Minotaur. She’d only ever seen one other minotaur, a smooth talking and annoying motivational speaker. With this limited experience, she had little to draw on for what to expect a bunch of minotaurs to look like. She’s wondered if they were like ponies, mostly random colors, but once inside this notion vanished.

They numbered at about a hundred. They did seem to vary in color but not greatly. They ranged from red to yellow with every color in between. But she could still tell them all apart. They all wore similar patterned clothes to The Minotaur. Some had hats, others plain shirts with the plaid skirts. A lot had nose rings. She was actually disappointed. None seemed to be female, not that she knew what the differences would be.

“Hey yah blarney faced mooks, Ah’m back!” The Minotaur shouted.

They crowd turned and smiled, showing off rows of crooked, rotten teeth. They gathered round, saying things like “So yah decided tah suck it up ae?” and “Speak fer yerself.” Then all at once they noticed Applejack. A dozen swords were drawn all at once and pointed at her.

“And just who are yah?” demanded one minotaur.

“Ah’m Applejack. Pleased tah meetcha,” Applejack said. She pulled off her hat and bowed.

“What’s she doin’?” a minotaur whispered.

“Maybe she dropped somethin’,” suggested another.

“And what’s with the getup? Is she goin’ tah sleep?” asked a third.

The Minotaur slammed their blades into the floor with his hands. He shoved them aside and stood next to Applejack. “She’s with me. She’s promised tah help me rescue me wife!”

“What, this wee pony lass?” asked one minotaur. “She’s too wee tah prop up our wobbly table.”

The Minotaur got right in his face. “She and Ah survived the cursed swamp tahgether. She’s a good warrior and ah lot braver than you buffoons!”

A loud series of grunts started suddenly from beyond the crowd. The minotaurs seemed shocked and immediately parted for a single minotaur. It wore long robes that hid its body but it was clearly very scrawny. Its face was obscured by a bull skull. It must have been a massive wild bull because this minotaur was wearing its skull like a full face helmet. The only hint it was a minotaur at all was the horns sticking out of the skull where the original horns were.

He slowly moved towards Applejack. He waved his arms about and grunted. The minotaurs seemed to understand him and nodded.

“Who is that?” Applejack whispered. “What the hay is he saying?”

“Our clan druid. They knows all sorts of mystic stuff but they only speak in an old language,” The Minotaur whispered back.

The druid kept up his grunting. The Minotaur listened and nodded every other grunt but his expression seemed annoyed.

“He says yer weak but he don’t know yah like Ah know ye,” The Minotaur summarized when the Druid had stopped grunting.

“Okay?” Applejack said.

“Yer gonna have tah do a test of strength teh prove yer strong enough,” The Minotaur explained.

“What kind of test?”

“A rock throwing contest!” The Minotaur declared. The crowd had moved outside. Applejack was in the middle of an open grassy area presided over by the druid. The Minotaur stood close by but out of the way of a pile of rocks. Rocks the size of Applejack's head or larger.

One of the larger minotaur specimens strode forward. He grabbed a rock with one hand and stood next to Applejack. He pulled his arm back and flung the rock hard. It landed with a dull thump about a dozen yards away.

Applejack looked at the short distance and gulped. It might as well been miles. Could she throw that far? If it was a pebble, sure. Horseshoe, probably. One of these boulders?

Applejack nervously went over to the pile and tried to pick one of the smaller ones. To her dismay she found they were all too heavy for one leg.

“Ho boy,” she groaned. She planted her hind legs apart and prepared for the impossible. Slowly and carefully, using the rockpile for support, she lifted herself onto two hooves. Her body burned with pain at the awkward pose. Sure she could rear up without discomfort but she now had to actually walk around on just two legs.

Applejack felt herself wobble back and forth as she tried to stay standing. A lot of the minotaurs snickered at her but she ignored them. Once she was sure she could stay upright she carefully grabbed on of the rocks and lifted it with two hooves, cupping it with them. The strain on her back multiplied as she was forced to actually lean back to keep balanced.

Finally when she was staying steady she slowly took one step. Than another. With agonizing slowness Applejack walked on two hooves back to where she had been standing. The minotaurs were laughing louder now.

“Shut it!” The Minotaur shouted at them. They quieted down but didn’t stop.

Now came the final hurdle. Somehow, while standing in this unnatural position, Applejack had to hurl this massive rock farther than she could possibly throw it on all fours. But she was determined now. This pain would be worth something.

She couldn’t exactly throw it with the way she was so she more or less popped it out of her fore legs. She brought them both up, lobbing the rock out of them. It soared through the air like a drunk, blind, pegasus before thudding into the ground about a yard away.

Applejack didn’t see it right away. She had immediately laid on the ground and rubbed her aching back. But she could hear how well she had done from the jeers.

“Hey, that was just a warmup,” The Minotaur shouted. He knelt down beside Applejack and whispered, “yah can do better, right? Me wife depends on it.”

“How the hay am Ah supposed tah throw a rock?” Applejack whispered back. “Epona didn’t make me tah walk on two legs!”

“Well the rock just has to go that far. Can’t yah do somethin’ else?”

Applejack finally opened her eyes and looked around. Her pathetic attempt now sat in the ground. She looked closely at it and remembered why she had chosen it. The rock had fairly flat sides and now created a smooth surface.

“Ah got it!” Applejack said. She got up and returned to the rock pile. This time she didn’t bother trying to stand on just two’s. Instead she rolled another flat rock off the pile. Using just one leg she pushed it over to the first one and slid it on top. She turned around and raised one rear leg up, judging its height in relation to the rocks.

She nodded in approval and returned for another rock. This one was more rounded but it didn’t matter. She rolled it over to the two rocks and carefully lifted it on top. All around the minotaurs were talking amongst themselves. They clearly didn’t understand what she was up to. Even The Minotaur was looking at her in confusion.

She ignored them and instead turned her back to the rocks. She lifted her rear leg again to make sure she was aiming right. Then she bucked the rock. Hard. Years of farm work paid off as the rock soared through the air and finally landed nearly twice as far away as her marker.

The minotaurs erupted into cheers.

“Ah knew ye could do it!” The Minotaur cheered. He easily hoisted Applejack up and draped her over his shoulder. “To the castle of Theseus!” he declared. He charged ahead into the mountains suddenly, leaving the castle and the cheering behind.

“Ah can walk,” Applejack said as she bounced against him.

“Yer helpin’ me so Ah’m gonna carry ye there!” The Minotaur replied.

“There it is,” The Minotaur whispered.

The two of them were hunkered down behind a boulder. The Minotaur had charged into the mountains and they were now in a rocky gorge. Just ahead Applejack could see a castle of some sort. It was made of black stone that blended well with the rock face around it. It was perfectly square with tall walls. Out of the first level four black square towers rose into the sky. The tallest of which was easily four hundred feet. Right in front of them, only a few dozen yards away was an open gateway inside. The door was surprisingly small, just about minotaur height.

“No guards! Perfect!” The Minotaur said. He began to stand up but Applejack put a hoof on his shoulder and pulled him back down.

“It’s too easy,” she said. She grabbed a small pebble and tossed it at the entrance. Instantly two strange creatures jumped out of nowhere.

They were wearing armor that hid their exact features. The armor looked almost like a giant helmet covering their body. It was a single piece with two holes for the eyes. The holes were separated by a metal band that hung down the front of the helmet. Behind the band Applejack could see the helmet had an open area but she couldn’t see anything. It stopped just short of the bottom but again, it didn’t reveal anything about what the creature within looked like.

Two stubby legs stuck out of the bottom and halfway up two arms. They only visible feature, the eyes, were creepy black slits on a white background. Each guard had identical weapons: a spear in one hand and a large circular shield in the other.

The two guards looked at the pebble, then they looked around. They even moved creepily. They were clearly inflexible in the armor so to look around they had to move almost their entire body. Thankfully the boulder hid Applejack and the Minotaur from their prying eyes.

“Theseus’s demon guards,” The Minotaur hissed. “Think we can take ‘em?”

“Probably but who knows how many there are. We should probably find yer wife first, then fight our way out,” Applejack replied. She carefully peeked over the side of the rock. She sighed with relief when she saw they had gone back to where they had come from. “Hmmm... We need another way inside.”

“How about that?” The Minotaur said. He pointed up the sides of the valley. Applejack followed his arm and saw a small cliff overhanging one of the four towers. It was quite far over it but nothing Applejack felt nervous about.

They silently crept back down the path until they were out of sight of the castle.

“Ah’m not sure how we’re gonna get up there,” Applejack said, motioning a hoof towards the steep cliffs.

“That may be hard fer you but not fer me,” The Minotaur replied. Once again he picked her up and tossed her on his back. He then easily began climbing the wall. His hands found plenty of ledges and cracks to grab onto. Applejack couldn’t help feeling a bit envious. As great as hooves were, hands did have clear advantages in times like this.

They were halfway up when he slipped. His hooves dangled below but his massive arms held firm. The Minotaur grunted as he kept pulling them upwards towards the ledge. With a final heave he pulled them onto the thin area. If he was tired he didn’t show it. It was too narrow for him to put Applejack down so she stayed on her perch while he slowly shuffled along.

With agonizing slowness, the Castle of Theseus came back into view. However it was now below them and they could get a better view. The top was completely enclosed but there were ramparts along the edges. They couldn’t see any guards but they seemed to be able to come out of nowhere so they couldn’t trust the lack of visible guards.

Finally they made it to the small jutting rock. Below the tower sat, just fifty feet below. The Minotaur put Applejack down and they both peered over the edge. From their vantage point they could now see the towers stood completely free of each other.

“Ah can make the fall but we’ll make a lot a noise,” The Minotaur said.

“Yeah,” Applejack agreed.

Suddenly an idea came to her. She rummaged around in her robe and pulled out a long length of rope. She’d nearly forgotten about it but now it would serve a final use. She carefully secured the rope to the rock face and gave it several hard tugs. She was confident it would support her weight but she was worried about The Minotaur. She tossed the other end over the side and tried to eyeball how close it would get them.

“We got a good ten foot drop but thats a lot better,” she said. “Ah’ll go first.”

The Minotaur nodded. Applejack carefully looped the rope around herself and lowered herself over the edge. She was far enough from the cliff face that she didn’t have to push off it. Slowly and carefully she lowered herself down, foot by foot, letting the rope slide through her hooves and around her torso. She went slowly to avoid a friction burn. The Minotaur watched from above, gnawing at his fingers.

Then Applejack reached the end of the rope. It was still wrapped around her so she held on extra tightly as she unwound it. She held on with both hooves as a last bit of support. She was very close now so she let go and hit the stone tower with a soft clack. She suddenly cursed her horseshoes and drew her sword.

Applejack looked every direction for possible attackers but none came. She relaxed a bit but kept her sword drawn. Instead she began looking for a way down from the tower. She heard a very quiet click behind her and quickly whirled around. It was only the Minotaur. He was so tall he was able to hold the end of the rope and touch the tower at the same time. He made a jerking motion and the rope fell down.

“Don’t want tah leave that behind, they might find it,” he said, handing it to her. She had been expecting she would have to leave it behind, so she gratefully tucked it away. “How are we gonna find me wife in this whole place?” he wondered out loud.

“If Ah had tah guess, she’s probably in the tallest tower,” Applejack said.

“Why would she be there?”

“Well one ah mah friends was always reading these cheesy books and whenever the heroine had to save some stallion in distress, he was always at the top of some tower,” Applejack explained.

“Ye have some weird friends,” The Minotaur said.

“Yer one tah talk,” Applejack retorted.

“Aye. But just cause some book says so don’t make it true.”

“It’s still a good place tah start.”

“Aye.”

Applejack had finally located a trapdoor. She pulled it open and peered inside. She could see a staircase descending downwards before taking a sharp turn at the corner of the tower. It was well lit with a flickering light but she couldn’t see any light source. Anyway, Applejack quietly began walking down the steps.

“Ah’m comin’ mah sweet tulip,” The Minotaur said to the tallest tower before following behind. He closed the door behind them and drew his sword.

Quietly the two walked down the stairs. As they rounded the first bend, Applejack saw the light was coming from a small blue flame burning from a semicircular torch on the wall. The inside of the tower was identical for several levels. It was just a square staircase along the outside, though every few turns there was a small landing with a closed door that they passed. None of them were locked so they ignored them.

Finally the narrow staircase gave way to a level corridor that stretched off into two directions. Applejack and The Minotaur stopped at the bottom and carefully looked out. There didn’t appear to be any guards nearby so they entered the hallway and looked around. Both directions went off at a right angle and curved quite a distance away. They seemed to run along all four sides of the building. It wasn’t enclosed though. It was open to some unseen room in the middle. There was also a staircase leading down in the other direction.

“Great, now which way? Ah got all confused comin’ down,” Applejack whispered.

“It’s that way,” The Minotaur said, pointing to the left. He slowly began walking down the hallway. Applejack followed close behind. When they reached the opening they both peeked over the side.

The middle of the castle was completely empty. It was a single large room that extended all the way up to where they were with hallways on every level. At the bottom they could see what seemed like hundreds of the guards sitting around these long wooden tables. In the center was a giant pot filled with boiling water. One guard was stirring it with a wooden stick several times larger than it was.

“Oh, they’re gonna turn me lass intah stew,” The Minotaur cried loudly.

“Shh!” Applejack hissed, but he continued to whimper. She just rolled her eyes and began dragging him along.

“How could they do such a thing to such a perfect angel?” he groaned.

With agonizing slowness Applejack dragged him to the correct staircase. Her wondering about how she would drag him up them was interrupted when she heard footsteps.

“Somepony’s coming!” she hissed. “Come on!”

That seemed to do it. The Minotaur reacted and instantly bounded up the stairs with Applejack right behind. They hid around the corner and waited with bated breath. The footsteps got louder and louder. Finally they could see the guard stand right in front of the steps.

They waited, weapons ready, for it to make a move. They could easily take one solitary guard but if they set off an alert there was no way they could handle them all. They barely breathed as the guard stood there, looking around. Finally, finally, it marched off and they were safe.

They didn’t want to tempt fate so they quickly rushed up the stairs. This tower was considerably taller than the other one and the climb took several minutes. This one was identical to the other one except for one detail. When they reached the final door, they found it barred from the outside.

“Love muffin!” The Minotaur cheered. Instead of simply unbarring the door, in his hubris he pulled at the wooden blank keeping the door shut and simply broke it. He wrenched the door open, revealing the prison within. It was a room made from the same stone as everything else. The only thing in it was another minotaur.

Applejack had barely paid attention to The Minotaur’s ramblings. He’d mostly repeated himself and she just ignored it. But from what she did remember, he seemed to be describing the opposite of the minotaur they now faced. Her “golden locks” were in reality the color of moldy hay. She wasn’t the least bit dainty. If anything she was rougher than The Minotaur.

This new minotaur was enormous. She was barely taller than she was wide. Her face seemed locked in a permanent scowl of disgust, like she was constantly smelling rotten food. Applejack was now certain that minotaurs had a completely different concept of beauty. Applejack had suspected that since minotaurs were basically cows on two legs that females would have an udder, but that didn’t seem to be the case. She did find it strange that her mammaries were on the top of her torso of all places. The only thing Applejack could say was nice about her, was the fact that unlike The Minotaur, she was wearing a top.

“Wife!” The Minotaur said. He clasped his hands together and smiled.

“What the tartarus are ye doin’ here!” The Wife shouted.

“Love, Ah’ve come tah rescue yah,” The Minotaur replied.

“Then were have yah been fer the past month?”

“Month?” Applejack said, surprised.

“The druids said-” The Minotaur began but his wife cut him off.

“Why would yah listen tah an idiot with a cow skull on his head? He’s a loon!” The Wife shouted. “Ah’ve been stuck up here by me lonesome while you were out, goofing off and cavorting about. Ah was glad when today came because that meant Ah wouldn’t have tah deal with such an idiot husband!”

Applejack shrank back a bit and looked over at the Minotaur. Despite the barrage of insults he gazed back with a look that reminded Applejack of a younger Spike looking at Rarity.

“And just who is this? Yah thought yah’d go and find a new wife, did ye?” The Wife shouted, finally noticing Applejack.

“Hey, Ah’m just here tah save yah,” Applejack said.

“Wife it ain’t what it looks like,” The Minotaur said. “She heard yah were trapped and offered tah help.”

“Really? Well good, maybe with two of yah halfwits yah might have a brain between yah.”

“Can we just get goin?” Applejack groaned.

“Uh... right,” The Minotaur agreed. “We should get out of here.”

Applejack quickly walked towards the door.

“Ah stubbed me toe. It hurts too much tah walk,” The Wife said.

“Don’t worry, we’ll carry yeh,” The Minotaur said.

Applejack rolled her eyes but complied. The Minotaur lifted up his wife’s legs. She tipped back onto Applejack’s back. Her knees nearly buckled under the weight, but she managed to stay standing.

“Let’s go,” the Minotaur declared. Slowly they began moving out the door. Applejack was trying to support his wife with her back but her head was in the way, She had to awkwardly crane it to the side so she could see where they were going. She had hoped his wife would stay quiet. That hope died after only a few seconds.

“Oye, be careful. Don’t yah dare drop me. Ah feel like this wee pony’s gonna drop meh,” The Wife shouted.

After three floors of this, they switched positions. If she hadn’t been so insufferable, Applejack wouldn’t have agreed to being ridden like... like... a beast of burden. Unfortunately it did little to help.

The Wife kept up the barrage of insults and complaints all the way down the stairs. Even as they went down towards the bottom floor she didn’t run out of things to say.

“And another thing. What’s with the get up? Yeh plannin’ tah go tah bed?” The Wife shouted.

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. They were on a landing. Applejack looked to the sides and saw no more stairs leading down. They were finally at the bottom of the tower. Then she looked up.

Of course they heard she mentally groaned. At sea of endless guards were crammed into the hallway, staring at them, spears at the ready.

“Hayseed,” Applejack swore.

“Time tah do what we do best!” The Minotaur declared. They tossed his wife off and drew their blades. Together the two charged into the mass of guards.

They weren’t golem but they were clearly as stupid. They were actually weaker because they only had two stubby arms and one weapon. But they were more numerous than the golems had been and Applejack only had one fighter at her side this time. She wondered if she would get to see what they looked like now, but when she sliced through the first one a black smoke erupted from where the body should have been. Only the helmet pieces remained.

They went down very easily. It only took one blow in most cases to dispel them. They tried to block her sword with their shields but the Sword of Harmony cut through the shield as easily as it did their armor. They tried to fight back but their stubby arms hindered their efforts. Applejack’s comparatively small stature gave her a huge advantage in dodging them.

Applejack swung her sword like she was conducting an orchestra. The sound of metal on metal was her brass section. Their wordless shouts was her percussion. The constant clattering of metal on the stone floor was her bass line. Her occasional bucking added a pleasant irregularity to the beat. And to her it was a beautiful symphony.

Nearby The Minotaur was holding his own. His sword was larger and had greater reach but they found it easier to counter one of the same height. He reached into a pocket on the front of his kilt and pulled out a metal egg. He bit something on it then threw it into the crowd. A few seconds later there was an explosion that sent guards flying. Even the ones knocked about turned into smoke.

Despite her fantastic start, Applejack was beginning to tire. As she got tired, she made mistakes. More and more often spears would catch her sides or she’d just barely dodge a lethal blow. They were just nicks and scrapes but they stung nonetheless. Suddenly one caught her from the side with a hard shield bash. It knocked the wind from her and propelled her through the air and into The Minotaur.

“Got... any more... of them eggs?” Applejack panted.

“Grenades? Nah... Ah used em... Ah used em all up,” The Minotaur replied. His sword was still raised but just barely.

The guards surrounded them. They closed in, spears pointed at the two.

“Well we had a good run,” Applejack said.

“Aye,” The Minotaur said. “At least we’ll have a warrior’s end.”

Suddenly the ring of identical guards parted slightly. Out of the sea of identical faces, a unique one emerged. Its helmet had a massive red plume and it was slightly taller. When it had joined the circle, it lowered its own spear and spoke. “Kill them, then throw the fat one in the pot.”

“Oh no,” The Minotaur said, his face became one of absolute fear.

“What?” Applejack asked.

“He shouldn’t a said that.”

Applejack thought more grenades were going off suddenly. Guards were flying everywhere as something charged through them. The Minotaur’s Wife forced her way into the circle.

“What did yah say bout me?!” She demanded.

The one guard looked surprised. “Grab the fat one!”

Another explosion seemed to go off. The Minotaur’s Wife jumped into the air, wailing like a banshee. She grabbed the one guard, and lifted him over her head. “Ah’m not fat, Ah’m stout!” she then slammed him into the ground with a ridiculous amount of force. His armor was nearly rendered flat by the impact. And she was only getting started. She gave a wild shriek and charged the remaining guards.

Applejack and The Minotaur watched his wife tear through the enemy ranks. She tore them in two, she slammed them into the ground and each other. They tried to keep her at bay with their spears but she just yanked them from their hands like a mother would to a child, then returned the spears right through their armor.

"Wow," Applejack said, dumbstruck.

"Aye. That's me wife."

She bit into the metal and ripped it with her jaws. She grabbed one and used it as a club to dismiss its comrades. She elbowed one and stole its shield. She then threw the shield like a frisbee through several more guards. Within minutes the hallway was littered with fragments of helmet and nothing else.

The Minotaur’s wife stood in the middle of the metal carnage, panting slightly.

“Now do yah see wah Ah love her?” The Minotaur asked, a dreamy look on his face.

“Uh... sure?” Applejack said.

“Well that’s done,” The Wife said, dusting off her hands.

“That was grand, me precious buttercup,” The Minotaur said. He walked over and hugged her. “Me life would be nothin’ but darkness without yeh.”

“Yer sweet talkin’ me?” The Wife said grumpily.

“Aye.”

She hugged him back. “Don’t ever stop.” Her demeanor had instantly changed and her voice was almost soft.

They began kissing, so Applejack just hung back and smiled a bit. She sheathed her sword and waited.

“Yer a sweet man tah come and rescue me,” The Wife said.

“Aye, and Ah couldn’t have done it without me friend. Lass, come meet me wife. Wife, this is me friend,” The Minotaur said.

“Charmed,” Applejack said, removing her hat and bowing a bit.

The Wife did a bit of a curtsey. “A pleasure.”

“Yer quite the fighter,” Applejack said. “Ah-”

“Oh enough, give me a hug,” The Wife said, bringing Applejack into a backbreaking embrace. “Yer a good lass. A bit tiny but Ah know just what tah cook tah fix that.”

“Perhaps we should get outside before we celebrate,” Applejack grunted. She couldn’t breathe and her vision was starting to get blurry.

“Aye, let’s go home,” The Wife said as she dropped Applejack.

Applejack led the way while the Minotaur and his Wife followed, hand in hand. The bottom floor was much the same as the top floor had been, square, though with several large openings to the now abandoned main room. Finally they had reached the door to the outside. Applejack looked at it, then at the two minotaurs behind her.

“Wait, we can’t go out this way,” she said.

“Whah not?” The Minotaur asked.

“The door’s too small. Yer wife is too big.”

“What did you say?!” The Wife snapped.

“Run!” The Minotaur shouted.

Applejack took his advice and galloped away as quickly as she could with his wife in hot pursuit, shrieking.

“Ah meant tall! Tall!” Applejack tried to shout over her.

“Don’t kill her, she’s a friend!” The Minotaur shouted futilely, as he ran after them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my latest story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

My other tumblr, a sequel of sorts to Forever a Changeling’s pony ending.

The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.
Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.