Don't Be Afraid

by Cinnamon Spice

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Soarin, Other, Romance, Adventure, Flash Sentry, Crossover, Human, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack
Length: 3324

An MLP/Divergent Crossover. Applejack and Twilight Sparkle choose Dauntless, but begin to question their surroundings and who they can trust.

Divergent/MLP Crossover.

On the day of the aptitude test, Twilight Sparkle gets Dauntless. She didn't want to, she wanted to escape her Erudite home and her strict mother, but not like this. In her head, Twilight always got Candor. She was supposed to choose Candor and become a successful lawyer. That's what was supposed to happen. But at the choosing ceremony, she just can't keep her hand away from those burning coals...

Applejack lives in Candor with her abusive father, and can't wait to leave. She's obviously built for Dauntless, and that's what her aptitude test said. But it also said Candor. And Abnegation. At the choosing ceremony, she doesn't think. She just cuts her hand and blood falls on the burning coals.

In Dauntless, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle meet. They immediately hit it off, and become good friends. But soon, fear landscapes start up, and they start asking questions. How come Twilight's test said Dauntless, but her landscapes say Divergent? What are those voices Applejack is hearing at night? And what does "Darkness is coming" mean?

So many questions, and the answers are all in this story! Read on, bronies!
(Other characters include Bic Mac, Shining Armour, Fluttershy, and Trixie.)

Published 2015-06-20 03:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-06-20 03:50:01 UTC

Second Hardest Day

I wake up to the beautiful morning sunshine pouring in from my window and know that this is going to the second most difficult day of my life. The first being the choosing ceremony.

“AJ! Get your sorry behind down here!” My father yells. I rub my eyes and roll out of bed and stumble down the stairs.

“What took you so long?” He asks as I get out a plate for breakfast.

“Dad... I just got up, like, ten seconds ago.” I say, annoyed.

“I don’t care. You should've, LIKE, gotten up earlier.” He says, mocking me. He slaps a piece of toast on my plate. Once I've finished it he says,

“Go clean yourself up. Big day.” I stomp out, grumbling angrily.

“Maybe you should take your own advice.” I mutter.

“I heard that!”

“Heard what?” I ask innocently. A spoon whizzes past my ear, bouncing off the wall and clattering onto the floor.

“You missed.” I giggle.

“I won’t next time.” My father threatens. I keep walking up the stairs.

“Yeah, yeah.” I say without looking back.

Upstairs in the bathroom I struggle to brush my unruly blonde hair. Once I’ve gotten most of the tangles out, I get dressed. I can hear my father yelling at me to hurry up from downstairs, but I choose to ignore him. I put on a black dress, and, since I’m supposed to always wear black AND white, I wear an off-white headband. When I get downstairs, my father is sitting at the table, sleeping. I give him a noogie and walk out of the house. The last thing I hear before I get out of our yard is,
“Not funny. You should know better than to do that, A...” I smile.
You’d think after all that, I’d be scared to death of my dad. But I’m not, truth is. That’s how it’s always been. According to all my older neighbors, my mother was much worse. Apparently, she was really abusive to my sister, Apple Bloom, because she ran away to Amity when she was eight and we haven’t heard from her since. Mom also had a really bad drinking problem. I don’t know how bad, but I do know that she has several other kids that aren’t my father’s from drunk nights with some of her friends.
But she got arrested after they found out how awful she was to Apple Bloom, and I think she’s dead now.

Choosing

“Applejack.” The man says. I stand up and walk to the center. The man hands me the knife, and I glance back at my dad, who is sleeping. Figures.

I wasn’t nervous until I got up here. Now my hands are shaking, and I know it’s because of my aptitude result: Divergent. I know that no matter what I choose, I’m taking a risk at people finding out.

I already know what I want, though.

I cut my hand, and a drop of blood falls onto the burning coals.

“Dauntless.” People cheer. I go over to the dauntless and one of them pats me on the back. I sit down next to an empty seat, probably for another initiate.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Twilight Sparkle.” The announcer calls. My mother pats my back, and Spike gives me a thumbs up. I really am going to miss him.

I walk up to the center and take the knife. I feel really bad for whoever is afraid of knives today. I close my eyes, make a cut, and hold my hand out. Spike will be so proud. My mother will be so mad.

“Dauntless.” He says. I go over to the Dauntless section, and everyone is cheering. I sit next to another Candor girl with emerald eyes and a face covered in freckles. Once the whole ceremony is over, I follow the Dauntless up the stairs. Before I start running, I glance back, and my mother looks furious. Spike is beaming and we lock eyes. Someone grabs my arm and I turn away. Several people pass me as I’m running, and when we’re about halfway up I start panting. When we finally get to the top, we all climb a ladder and I see a train approaching.

“You gotta get on the train.” Someone says to me. So I grab hold of one of the bars on the side of the train, but the wind is so hard I smack into the side, which knocks the wind out of me. Someone grabs my hand to help me in. Once I’m sitting down, I see that it’s the girl I sat next to during the ceremony.

“Jeez, you ok? That looked painful.” She asks me.

“I’m fine.” I breathe.

“Applejack,” she says, sticking her hand out. “But I prefer AJ. I plan on changing my name once we get to Dauntless. You are?..”

“Twilight Sparkle. Erudite.”

“I’m Candor.” AJ smiles. I laugh a little.

“No offense, but I really couldn’t tell what faction you were! I thought you might have been Dauntless, what with the only white thing you’re wearing is a hair clip.”

“Yeah, you could say I was born to be Dauntless.”

“Get up, guys! We’re coming to the roof!” Somebody says. I stand up, and AJ says to me,

“You know we have to jump, right?”

“WHAT!?” I exclaim. “I did NOT know that, actually. I was hoping we would get a ladder or something. Is the train at least going to stop?”

“Um... not that I know of.”

“Well, that’s just wonderful. Ok... let’s do this.” I squeeze my eyes shut, but then she forces them open.

“You should probably open your eyes when you’re jumping onto a roof.” AJ laughs.

“Yeah...” I say nervously.

She grabs my hand and we run off the train. First, I’m in the air.

The next thing I know, the wind gets knocked out of me. Something smashes into my nose, and I feel hot blood trickle down my chin. And then it’s dark. I hate the dark.

Volunteer

I scream. The brick wall is old, and pieces of crumbled cement fall all around me.

“Twilight! Someone! Anyone! Help us!” I look up and know that I could swing myself over this wall, easy. But I’m weighed down, a barely conscious Twilight slowly slipping out of my tight grip.

“You guys OK?” Someone asks. A boy leans over the edge and grabs my hand. He takes his time pulling us up, as if he has seen this before. It’s then that I realize he’s one of the instructors. I’m flung onto my stomach, and I struggle to breathe. Twilight jerks awake right before hitting the gravel on top of the roof. She lands on her side, and rolls over onto her back, groaning.

And then she laughs.

“Why are you laughing?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” She says between giggles. It’s then that I realize we both could’ve died.

“It’s not funny.” I say, but I’m laughing, too. I guess it’s a relief strategy or something.

“Everybody gather ‘round!” Someone shouts. I stand up and brush myself off, and then I see that the voice came from the same instructor that saved us. We all gather in front of him, and he says,

“I’m Mac. This is Armour. We’ll be your instructors during initiation. Now you all know from the past that if you get cut, you’re out. Yes?” Mac says, and I glance back to see a boy with brown bangs and a blue suit raising his hand.
“What do you mean by cut?” He asks, smirking. He obviously knows what it means; probably wants to scare the wimps.
“You get cut if your score is under the red line. Either that or you aren’t brave enough to complete any task we give you.” Armour says. He has the same smirk as the Erudite boy, and also Mac.

A ripple goes through the crowd and one person says,

“So, do we go back to our parents if we get cut?” She looks worried.

“No. Even if your parents wanted to take you back, they can’t. Law says that if you get cut, you’re factionless.” I see the girl struggling not to start crying.

“Alright,” Gordon says, looking bored, “Who’s gonna jump first?”

“Jump?” I hear Twilight murmur.

“Be careful this time,” I breathe. “If you land in the wrong place, it could cost you your life.” We both laugh softly. This catches Armour’s attention.

“You two want to be the first ones?”

“No... sir.” Twilight says nervously.

“Too bad.” He grins. Armour must be enjoying this.

“I’ll go.” I say bravely. Twilight releases a breath neither of us knew she was holding, and I step up onto the raised part of the roof. Someone woops.

“Alright!” They say. “You go girl!" Someone snickers. I hear a wolf whistle and roll my eyes.

I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and fall.

First Jumper, Last Jumper

I’m the last one to jump. Hooray. Now Armour and Mac probably think I’m a wuss. Perfect.

All of us initiates follow Armour to a strange room with what looks like a fighting ring in the center. AJ turns to me and says,

“Now this... this is what I came here for.” She has an eager grin and she’s rubbing her hands together like she’s plotting something evil. I can’t help but chuckle.

“Be careful,” I say, teasing her. “You’ve already been injured twice and we haven’t even started initiation yet!” It’s true. AJ has a pink mark across her temple from landing on the rope after the jump in a wrong way, and her nose is crusted with dry blood from hitting that brick wall.

And she’s still standing, I think. I can’t help but admire her for it.

“Ok! We’re gonna start fighting now!” Armour announces.

“First jumper!” Applejack saunters up to the ring.

“Last jumper!” Crap.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Last jumper!” Twilight walks up, shaking, and I suddenly don’t know what to do. Hit her? Let her makes the first move?

My question is answered when I feel a fist hit my cheek.

Didn’t know Twi had it in her to punch like that. I think.

“Oh so that’s how it’s gonna be?” I ask, raising my fist. I hit her square on the temple, and the fight is over. I’ve won. I’m so proud that I almost smile. But then I see Twilight on the floor. I don’t think she’ll be getting up anytime soon. It's then I can feel the vomit rising.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My head hurts. I’m laying on the floor of the fighting ring. I look around to find AJ, and she’s turned around, throwing up. Neither Armour nor Mac are helping her. Then, I remember the fight. It must have only been a minute ago, because I can still feel blood running from my forehead.

AJ punched me.

I punched her.

At least she’s ok. I think. Why is she vomiting? I didn’t hit her that hard. Did I?

“AJ, Twilight, get up.” Someone says. I look up. Mac is speaking. He doesn’t offer a hand to either of us.

“Wha... huh?” I say. I hear AJ sputter and then she turns around, wiping her mouth. She shoots me an unreadable look, and stalks off the platform. I slowly stand up and walk after her as two new fighters begin to circle.

“What was that?” I snap. She whirls around.

“What was what? You swung first.”

“But I didn’t hit as hard as you did. Did you not see me black out?”

“Of course I did! That’s why I was throwing up.”

“Oh. I--uhm-- sorry.” I stuttered.

“I don’t care.” She says. I begin to feel worried, but then the feeling resolves and is replaced with anger.

“You know what?” I say, “I’m actually not sorry. That’s what we were supposed to do, and you’re the one who took it too far!”

She went silent and looked very sorrowful. Sensing that our conversation was over, I stormed away to meet some new people. I’m not going to be treated like I was back in Erudite in my refuge.

Aptitude

I walk into the test room, shaking. I’m very nervous that I will have to live a life of trying to be as smart as everyone around me.
Then I see her. A tall young lady with the most gorgeous hair I’ve ever seen sits on a stool by the aptitude chair, all business. But I know the real reason she stands out to me is her black and white suitdress. I have wanted to be Candor my whole life, and if luck is in my favor, I might just end up in an outfit just like this ladie’s, jumping up in a trial and boldly shouting ‘Objection’.
I sigh. One can only dream of the future she wants the most. But she must fulfill it practically. That’s what my mother always says, and I thought I knew what she meant. I hope it means practicality is being honest.
The lady looks up, unsmiling. Oh, what a life she must live! I think. She says five words.
“Sit down and drink this.” She hands me a small cup, and I gulp it down eagerly.
Suddenly it gets dark. I hate the dark. And then I’m standing. Standing in a large room full of... me. There’s literally mirrors as far as the eye can see. Mirror me says,
“Choose one.” I look behind me to see two pedestals. One with a basket of cheese, and one with a knife. I think, Grab the cheese. Whatever you do, don’t touch that knife. I race to the pedestals and grab the knife. The second I do, the cheese disappears. No! I think. Why did I do that!? I slap my palm against my forehead, and just as I do, I hear a bark. Not a puppy bark, a dog bark. No. I think. No no no no no no no. Not knowing if I will be able to defend myself from a hostile dog with a knife without hurting it, I run towards the dog with my knife hand extended in an awkward way. As soon as my body makes contact with the dog, I wake up, my whole body sweating and shaky. The Candor lady smiles,
“Congratulations, Miss Sparkle.” I feel my pulse rush. This is it. This is the moment I find out what faction I am best fit for. The lady continues,
“Your result was dauntless.” And with that, my heart stops, and I faint.

Talks

“Hi, sweetie. How are you?” My mother asks as soon as I get home.

“I’m fine.” I say quickly as I head for the stairs. I need to think alone, and the best place to do that is in my room. My mother gets a stern look I’m so familiar with.

“Twilight, what were your results? Don’t lie to me, young lady.”

“Erudite, mother.” I say, not looking at her.

“Good.” Her face softens into a smile, but I know that smile. Mother is never genuinely happy.

I close my bedroom door behind me and flop on my bed on my back.

What am I going to do? I think. My mother wants me to stay in Erudite, and the aptitude test wants me to go to Dauntless. I want to go to Candor. But do I? Do I really want to go to Candor? How can I, when I’m not even honest with myself?

There’s a soft knock on my door.

“Who is it?” I say quietly. The door opens and my older brother, Spike, peeks in.

“What do you want?” I say. He comes in and sits on my bed.

“You okay?” He asks.

“I’m fine, thanks.” I say coldly, turning away from him.

“Gosh, Twi. Who died and made you Ice Queen?” He joked.

“I’m not in the mood for talk, that’s all.”

“Awww. but I love our talks. They always end well.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure you can solve the fact that I have no idea what faction to choose tomorrow!” I say angrily. Spike’s face softens and he pulls me into a hug. he wipes away tears that I didn’t even know were there, and says,

“You’ll be fine choosing whatever.”

“Promise?” I ask.

“Promise.” He releases our embrace and walks out, leaving me alone again.

My mother married my father for his money. She never loved him. She never loved anyone. But, they had Spike, and then my father wanted to give him someone to play with, so they had me. Mother never loved me or Spike, but two years ago when Spike had the chance to run off to a different faction, he chose Erudite, because, he said, he’d rather be doing what he loved in the same faction as mother, rather than doing something he didn’t like, but without mother. When Dad died a couple years back, Spike and I were devastated, but my mother was angry because he only left half of his money for us, and half for his brother.

“Twilight Sparkle! We’re eating with or without you!” My mother yells, jerking me back to reality. I walk down the stairs, wondering what I’m going to do tomorrow at Choosing.

Soarin' and Flash

My stomach sinks to the floor as Twilight walks away.

Maybe I should have accepted her apology. So, the way I see it, I have two choices. 1.) I could run to Megan and accept her apology. Maybe apologize myself. Or 2.) I could just ignore her and focus on staying above that darn red line.

I decide to make that choice later.

“What are you, a baby? Aim, Soarin'! Don’t just throw punches willy-nilly, you idiot!” Armour bellows at the boy fighting in the ring. He sneers at his opponent, a girl with wispy pink hair who doesn’t look so confident. He takes a blow to the stomach, but recovers quickly. He punches her with expert precision, right in the throat. She gasps, and falls to the ground, clutching her neck. Mac rushes to her and picks her up.

“What are you doing?” Armour asks incredulously. Mac glances over.

“Taking her to the hospital wing. You don’t want her to die, do you?”

“Does it look like I would care?”

“You’re sick! Do you even know her name? It’s Fluttershy!” Someone screams. Armour ignores it.

“If she dies, we’ll both be fired.” Mac says. Armour rolls his eyes.

“Fine, but unless she can wake up and catch a train like that Tris girl did, she’s out.” Mac nods and takes Fluttershy away.

“Alright. Who wants to fight me?” Soarin' says arrogantly. Before thinking, I storm up onto the ring and slap him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next day, I’m up on the ring again, fighting some boy with hair almost as long as mine. The whole time, he keeps getting his hands caught in it and stuff like that. Finally, Mac has had enough.

“Alright, stop.” We stop fighting. "Flash, if you wanna stay above the red line, you're gonna need to get rid of some of that hair!" He huffs in frustration. Flash looks horrified.

"What... what do you mean?" He asks.

"Everybody come with me!" He shouts, ignoring Flash's question. We follow him, afraid of what will happen if we don't.

We end up in a large room bustling with people. Armour says it's the tattoo parlor.

"But," He continues. "They also do haircuts." He looks straight at Flash. Flash gulps

One haircut and a tattoo for good measure later, we're faced with a brand new Flash. His hair is styled up, and it only reaches the bottom of his neck. I have to admit, he looks a lot better. Attractive, even.