Applejack was dead, she was sure of it. The place she was in was dark with no light other than herself, no ground under her hooves she guessed since she was floating, and no apples to make her feel comfortable. As she contemplated her surroundings she noticed balls of light and music floating towards her out of the darkness. Peering into each she saw visions of possible things, each accompanied by song.
Applejack widened her stance as she growled at the horde standing before her. She smiled inside as an old song from the Pony-in-Black himself played through her head. It was fitting, seeing as these were the worst monstrosities from the depths of Tartarus, and she was the only thing between them and the rest of Equestria. And she wasn't going to back down one bit.
The mare's body hit the ground with a heavy thud. She tried to rise, but knew her wounds were too grave. Looking around, she spotted her old faithful stetson lying beneath a large willow tree. Oh how she wished it was an apple-tree instead. Feeling the heavy tread of the beast approaching, the mare pulled herself towards the hat.
O why was Ah so foalish to think Ah could take this critter on by myself? The mare chided herself on her pride and stubbornness. If only she had waited a day, then her friends would have been back in town and together they could have beaten the beast. Twi could've used some of her fancy magic, or Rainbow could've stunned it with her Rainboom, or Fluttershy could've 'Stared' it timid. Heck even Pinkie could've driven it insane with one of her songs!
Hearing a snuffling sound as she reached her hat, the mare looked back to see the beast sniffing at a bloodstain. Grimacing, she knew the trail would lead to her. Crawling the rest of the way to the tree's trunk with hat in hoof, Applejack braced her back against it.
Picking up the hat, she could've sworn she heard her mother calling her name. Putting her hat back on her head she pulled the brim over her eyes, the mare felt the world slipping away. "I'm sorry, Mama."
The dust rolled over the plains, masking the battlefield from wayward observers. The battle had been fierce, and the enemy had been strong. But victory was a small consolation to the mare. Though she could no longer see them, she knew the bodies of her friends were lying out there amongst the corpses of their foes.
Rainbow had kept them from the skies by creating rainboom after rainboom, tell her heart gave out. Fluttershy had commanded hordes of woodland critters with military precision to retrieve Dash's body, only to fall to a cowardly attack from behind. Twilight had devastated legions with her magic, but was eventually overwhelmed by the enemy's vast numbers. Pinkie Pie had even laughed till the end, making even her death a party. Rarity had fought back to back with the farm-pony, each trying to protect the other.
Applejack knew that Spike had taken Rarity's body to bury in secret, but could not tell which way they had gone. Lifting her sightless eyes to the heavens and cradling the stump of her right fore-hoof with her left, the humble earth-pony sang out her sadness as her body grew colder.
The orange earth pony sighed and wiped her brow. With a final jab, she buried the head of the shovel she had been using in the ground in front of her. Lifting her head, she gazed at her surroundings. A new sapling stood, newly planted, in a row with five older trees. Beyond lay the rest of Sweet Apple Acres, with it's miles upon miles of apple trees. Thanks to Big Mac, Applebloom, and many more Apple-kin the Acres had thrived.
Beyond the Acres, the city of Ponyville bustled with the daily lives of its residents. The Castle of Friendship glistened in the fading light of the afternoon. The spires were still decorated with the banners mourning the passing of the city's hero. That day had been sad but life goes on, as the farm-pony well knew.
"All things change with time, even me." said the mare to the trees. Sitting down on her haunches, she removed her faithful stetson. Pausing after dusting it off, she continued, "Ah know we all promised to finish this journey together, but I never meant to keep mah secret hidden from y'all. Yeah, Ah know, element of honesty me. Ah couldn't tell a regular lie to save anypony, but to keep mah secret...well, secret... Ah guess that Ah could do that all too well. Sorry."
Wiping a tear from her eye, she gazed again at the sapling. "Ah guess you figured it out in the end, Twi. You always were the smart one. Heck, even Celestia and Luna guessed."
"Well, Ah got a lot of new Apple-kin to tend the Acres for me now. Ah guess they can handle things for a while." She paused again to gather her words, fiddling with the hat in her hoofs. "Am gonna go travelin' again, see what I can find this time. But don't you lot fret none, I'll come back around and see ya from time to time."
"Y'all were true friends, so don't take this as my last farewell, just farewell till next time." With that the mare placed the old stetson on the handle of the shovel. Then the mare turned and trotted through the orchard, away from the farmhouse and Ponyville.
And so passed another, if not fun and exciting, new chapter in the existence of the Immortal known as Applejack.
Just when she thought they were all going to be gloomy, she heard a song that lifted her spirits and jumped headlong into the bright sphere it came from.
