Hello, my friends, it’s Sunburst again. Remember when I told you that story of Applejack beating Discord in a fiddle duel, with her very soul at stake? I also told you that I didn’t know if Discord returned in ten years time as he promised.
Well, my friends, there’s more to the story. I’ve discovered a memory orb deep in Starswirl’s archives, hidden away in a dusty old lockbox with a bunch of other orbs I’ll probably get around to showing you when I get the time. But this one caught my interest the most. But first, let me get you up to speed.
10 years ago...
“So… That’s how it’s going to be is it?” Applejack snarled. “Fine, show yer stuff!”
And so the Devil did, and began playing “The Devil’s Dream” real fast and everything became a whirl of colors as the rain poured and thunder crashed and then it began to snow a frosty blizzard. as Discord pulled the bow across the strings with an evil hiss. It sounded like one hundred witches howling. Finally, when the noise was all over he looked smug and asked “Now… How do you beat that I ask you?”
Applejack grimaced, but she played anyways. She played Fire on the Mountain before switching rapidly to “The Devil's in the House of the Rising Sun” and then “Chicken in a bread pan pickin' out dough” before at last to “Granny, does your dog bite? No child no.” And throughout every moment of it you could feel the energy of the strings and even Discord had to admit as he broke out into an old Russian jig of all things, this mare was good. With a dejected sigh, he laid that fiddle on the ground at Applejack’s hooves and she smirked before saying this.
“Discord, just come on back if ya ever want to try again but Ah done told you once you son of a bitch, Ah'm the best that's ever been.” Applejack boasted.
Discord suddenly smirked, his dejected demeanor vanishing in an instant and produced yet another fiddle, and he began to play “Black Cat in a Briar Patch” in a incredibly skilled fashion as the ground erupted and chains wrapped themselves around Applejack like snakes. The sky turned blood red and fired erupted around Applejack as Discord smirked. “The best there’s ever been? I think not,” Discord laughed. “And really, son of a bitch? Might be accurate if a dog birthed me, and therefore I wouldn’t be so offended, but did you really think you could best moi?”
“Ah… Ah…” Applejack tried to protest before her mouth was promptly gagged and bound with red licorice of all things. Discord switched tunes and began to play “The Battle of Cedar Creek” as the fires of Hell dragged Applejack down as her sister screamed out her name in the background. Discord cackled long and loud. Applejack’s soul was his, now and forever.
“Oh, you could have beaten me if you played the “Orange Blossom Special”, but alas… Hall was rented, orchestra engaged but you couldn’t do the dance.” Discord smirked as he turned into a serpent and followed his captive down to the fiery pits below. Once he was gone, the ground sealed up leaving no evidence of Discord’s appearance. Apple Bloom ran to where her sister once was, pounded at the ground with her little hooves but she soon realized the effort was futile. Upon realizing that, she broke down sobbing.
“Applejack…” She choked out. “Damnit, why’d you have to go and be an idjit and be so stubborn and prideful…? Now… He has you and I can’t get you back…”
Apple Bloom, now at twenty-three years of age woke up with a start and breathed a sigh of relief as she threw off the covers and brushed her long red mane out of her face. Sweat trailed down her muzzle as she panted hard. It… It was just a dream. That’s all it was. She knew for a fact that she had won that duel, as shown by the fact that Discord’s Golden Fiddle was displayed in the hallway downstairs for all to see. That was ten long years ago, and time had flown on by. Now, she was famous throughout the land for showing the Devil up and beating him at his own game.
“But still, can’t hurt to check,” Apple Bloom thought to herself as she grabbed her Stetson that Applejack passed down to her per family tradition, and walked slowly down the hall. The wooden floors creaked with every hoof-step she made. With a swallow of nervousness of what she was afraid to find, she nervously opened her sister’s bedroom door. She sighed in relief at what she saw. There, snuggled up under the covers was Applejack. Two brilliantly orange forelegs, even brighter than Applejack’s own, were wrapped around her. A mane of dark fuschia rested itself on a pillow. The two mares slept peacefully, wrapped around each other.
“Right, can’t believe Ah forgot. Hell, took the whole family by surprise when Applejack “Came Out” as ponies like to say,” Apple Bloom mused to herself, slapping herself in the face at her own forgetfulness. “Suppose Ah should have seen it sooner really. Gawdess knows Applejack never looked twice at a stallion, not even when that fancy travel writer Trenderhoof came to town. Ah know I certainly took a gander or two.”
Apple Bloom smiled to herself as she carefully shut the door, not wanting to disturb the sleeping couple. “Still, having a cook from South Neighsia in the home brings some new food to the table, in more ways than one. Saffron sure knows how to cook, that’s for sure. We haven’t had meals this good since the man came around and took away Granny from us.”
As Apple Bloom yawned and went back to her bed to get some more sleep, she failed to notice a pure white horse with a skull cutie mark walk through the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. The stallion flashed his horn pure black and a balance scale appeared in his hooves. He weighed it carefully. Right now, it was at an equal measure. Time would only tell which way the scales of Lady Justice would tip.
Discord smirked in the flaming pits of Tartarus. He should have been seething at Applejack defeating him and showing off the fiddle she’d won to anypony who would listen to her tale, but he was actually happy for that fact. You see, Discord knew that Applejack was still prideful, and now that she’d gotten married, would be very protective of her family. Hell, she always was, but now that she had a wife, things would be better than ever for him. Plus, he had something else on his side. Out of pure chance, Applejack had lapsed in her fiddle practicing and had grown weak and ripe for the plucking.
“Such a waste of talent really, she did beat me. She should be up there on the big stage, playing to her heart’s content,” Discord thought even as flaming hot embers licked away at his fur and scales. Not that he cared about the pain really, he’d grown used to it by now amongst many other torments, such as sitting in a bushel of cacti, being shot full of holes, cattle-branded, or cut by his own demons. It was ironic really. He used to be the one to inflict pain upon condemned souls, and now because Celestia had suddenly grown a sense of humor the horseshoe was on the other hoof. For a moment, he had a lapse in thought. Perhaps Applejack had grown humble in her ways, scary as the thought was? Then he brushed that thought away as quickly as it had come. “NO! I know ponies like Applejack, they never lose that sin of pride. She was an arrogant mare the first time we dueled, and I’m willing to bet my very being that she still is.”
Discord laughed long and hard as a plan hatched in his mind…
Meanwhile, unaware of the storm that was on the horizon Applejack and her wife set out on their daily routine. First, breakfast. Applejack laid out her usual spread of buttered pancakes while Saffron laid out some food from her home country such as a type of flatbread known as roti and some spiced potatoes.
“You know,” Saffron asked as she looked towards her sister-in-law, who was eating some pears. “You’re old enough to have moved out of the house by now, so why haven’t you? Your big brother’s now living with that Rainbow Dash mare, so why haven’t you found a mare or stallion of your own?”
Apple Bloom shrugged. “Guess Ah just like it here. There’s always been a certain… charm about this place. Plus, Ah haven’t had the time to be sociable really and find a special somepony. Too much work here for me to worry ‘bout that,”
Now Apple Bloom was far better at lying than her older sister, so neither Saffron nor Applejack herself could tell when she was. In truth, Apple Bloom had always stayed because of that recurring nightmare of Applejack being beaten by Discord and taken away never to be seen again; she feared it happening again.
“Besides, moving away from Ponyville?” Apple Bloom laughed. “Why, Ah’d miss on all sorts of stuff. Ya know when that idjit Flam started proclaiming he could predict the future and all that?”
Both Applejack and Apple Bloom laughed uproariously at the reminder. Applejack, in particular, had to wipe tears from her eyes.
“Don’t ya mean Brother Hadj Abdoul Rama Sunshine as he called himself?” Applejack cracked up and Saffron growled in derision and disgust. She too remembered him, and she had run into her fair share of swamis back in her home country, but as it turned out a lot of them had been faking just for a quick buck. Swami Sunshine was no different. Even when he up and vanished, everypony thinking he’d ascended, both Saffron and Applejack snorted. They knew perfectly well he was faking. They found him a month later with his brother, laughing their heads off at the long game they’d pulled. Needless to say, they’d both been run out of town real quickly, Saffron in the lead firing off spells left and right for pulling a stunt that was very offensive to her home country. Swamis were sacred, and to fake one was a criminal act in her mind.
“Point,” Saffron commented. Just then, there was a loud rumbling sound as the morning skies turned pink plaid and lightning cracked and the skies opened up to give way to chocolate rain. Applejack’s eyes widened in fear as she began muttering “No… No, not him. Anythin’ but him.” under her breath as a tea cozy came to life. There was only one creature in all of Equestria who could perform such a feat, but he was supposed to be smack dab in the darkest pits of Tartarus!
Right about then, the entire home lifted itself up in the air, and turned upside down dropping everypony inside along with Discord’s Golden Fiddle out of it and into a hoard of pillows below.
“Well, well, well,” a very familiar voice chuckled. “Look at what we have here. Never thought you’d see moi again, did you AJ?”
“Discord…” Applejack growled as her younger sister’s eyes widened in fear.
“Ding ding, we have a winner!” Discord laughed as three duplicates of him cheered sarcastically in the background. “Just as smart as you were ten years back, which is to say…not very. Once a hick, always a hick. Still…I think even you have the intelligence to figure out why I’m here.”
“Lemme guess, you want to duel again. Ah done told you once you son of a bitch, Ah’m the best that’s ever been. Ah beat you once, you old dog, and I will whip your butt again if Ah have to.”
“My my, aren’t we cocky?” Discord chuckled. “Well, this time the wager is bigger, more on the line so you better not lose. This time…it isn’t just your soul on the line, but your family's’ souls as well!” he cackled, dropping the metaphorical bomb on Applejack. Her jaw dropped.
“Get out of here, Kali!” Saffron shouted. Her horn glowed with magic but Discord snapped lion paw. Saffron’s horn went out and then flopped over like a wet noodle.
“Huh, never thought I’d see a mare be unable to keep herself up,” Discord sniggered. Applejack snarled as she picked up the Golden Fiddle.
“In truth, Ah haven't played much since mah Granny passed last June, but give me half a minute an' Ah'll get this fiddle back in tune,” Applejack confessed as she ran the bow across the strings like an old friend. A tune began to play but then, the fiddle vanished with a pop, reappearing in Discord’s claws.
“Now, that isn’t very fair is it?” Discord mocked.
“Since when have you ever cared about fair?” Applejack challenged.
“True, true. Think of this as a little extra… incentive to win,” Discord admitted. Applejack gritted her teeth and ground them up against each other but finally gave in.
“Fine, ya just go on back to Hell and practice, and back to the barn Ah’ll go.” Applejack said. Discord smirked before he vanished in a flash of flame.
As it always did, word made its way around town like a wildfire and soon everypony had heard of the second duel between Applejack and Discord. It eventually got to the point where Saffron had to erect a barrier of magic around Sweet Apple Acres and tell ponies, “Now you all better just turn back if you want my wife to win, because honestly, practice is the only cure for the problem she’s found herself in.”
Meanwhile, all night long Applejack practiced in the barn, intent on winning this duel once and for all. She sighed as she played a sour note. She was out of practice. Discord was right. He had her, and she and her family were as good as dead. But then, she remembered something.
“Naw, you didn’t make a mistake, sis. He can get to anypony, and he did it through the worst way of all…family. Now you say yer the best fiddle player ever born and Ah believe that,” Apple Bloom said before continuing. “Now, they say the darkest hour is just before the dawn, and the Devil’s back in Equestria so will ya stand up to the test or will ya let him be the best?”
Applejack shook her head and her little sister smiled. “Good. Now, so tomorrow when he shows up, ya go out there and whoop that there Devil’s ass!”
Then, keeping her little sister’s words from before straight in her head she began to play again with renewed confidence. She ran the bow across her father’s fiddle, hoping Bright Mac was watching her play and hoping his spirit was with her tomorrow. She started off nice and slow, remembering each and every note a fiddle could play. Then, she sped up as she got more in tune with its workings. Finally, hours later she had it. The perfect tune to defeat Discord one last time.
Early that next morning, Applejack and Discord stood each other down. Then, it began like a roar of thunder as Discord began playing “The Devil’s Dream” real fast. Fire erupted from the ground and the moon eclipsed the sun.
“Same ol’ tricks Discord? Learn some new ones, like Ah have.” Applejack taunted, before she began playing a tune like nopony had ever heard before. She ran the bow across the strings with a violin like style and then began playing fast and fierce, her style elegant, almost like a dance.
“Lightning Dust is green, Mah big brother is red,
Scootaloo loves picking out that shortening bread,
Discord's dream is that he can win,
but Ah’m here to tell ya that Ah’m the best that there has ever been!”
Applejack chorused. Discord repeatedly tried to reach out and grab her bow or change it into cotton candy. However, Applejack just bucked him away into a tree every time he tried even as flames surrounded the battlefield. Musical notes became visible in the chaos and Discord’s and Applejack’s soundwaves became visible. Applejack’s was orange, Discord’s an angry red, waves of energy clashing against each other.
Soon, Discord was blasted away by a wave of sound, his fiddle falling to his hooves. He snarled and snapped his fingers. Chains burst into the air and wrapped around Saffron and Apple Bloom.
“Just for that…they’re coming with me,” Discord snarled.
“Hey, that’s not fair!” Apple Bloom yelled out even as she and Saffron struggled and the ground began to open up beneath them to reveal a pit of fire.
“Your big sis was right, since when do I know the meaning of fair? Death himself predicted that there was going to be somepony judged today, and I think it’s Applejack for cheating.” Discord mocked.
“No,” a Trottingham accented voice commented. A pale horse trotted up, holding up a set of scales that were tilted to one side. “You’re the cheater here, your pettiness has cost you the duel,” the stallion said to Discord in a tone of cold fury.
“I weigh the scales of fate, and cut strings if needed,” Death growled out. “Applejack may have been prideful, arrogant and even boastful, but she was fighting for her family. And I would have judged her the winner in this match. Her fiddle playing was masterful, she played something new while you still relied on old tricks. And even when you lost, you still couldn’t admit defeat and take souls as your ‘reward.’”
“Hello, Devil?” Discord asked, pointing to himself. “I take souls, it’s part of my job.”
“Yes, sinful ones. But these two are innocent,” Death pointed out. He gave a brief nod and the chains around Saffron and Apple Bloom vanished in a flash of light. “Yours, however, is not.”
Discord screamed as he began to crack like glass, red angry light pouring through the cracks. He exploded outwards into a puff of smoke, any trace of him vanishing in the wind. The Golden Fiddle dropped to the ground and burned to ash, leaving only the smell of sulfur behind. Applejack walked over to its remains.
“Welp, guess it’s for the best that damn thing is finally gone, Ah suppose.” Applejack mused. That fiddle, it was nothing but trouble for her and her family, and she was glad it was finally gone for good along with its owner.
“Good riddance,” Apple Bloom sighed as Death vanished in the wind. “Now, are ya finally going to give this up?”
“I agree with your little sister, this nearly consumed you.” Saffron put in and Applejack nodded as she kissed her.
“Yeah, now Ah can finally focus on the important things in life, like y’all. Yer mah family and Ah nearly lost ya today. I’m not going to let that happen again.” Applejack smiled as she hugged Saffron tightly and all was well. Saffron and Applejack lived the rest of their lives happily, finally free from Discord’s influence. As for Apple Bloom, she did find herself somepony for herself as well...even if she did stay on the farm till the day she died, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
THE END
Author's Note
Well, here we are again. Discord, and Applejack dueling fiddles for the sake of a soul. Anyways, I wanted to do this idea for a long time, and while I admit someone beat me to it, that version was... lackluster in my opinion so it only spurred my resolve on. I gave Sandstorm94 permission to write a sequel to my original story, this is my version. Anyways, your thoughts on my version are greatly appreciated.
