Doctor Jekyll and Mister Shyde

Applejack was lost, both physically and mentally. She realized she was physically lost when she finally looked around and assessed her surroundings. She had told Twilight she was going for a walk, but she didn’t intend to go in the Everfree Forest. Now she was surrounded by trees and had no idea which way was Ponyville.

As she lay down, resting her hooves, she realized that she was mentally lost. Applejack sighed as she thought about Rainbow Dash. The prismatic pain-in-the-tail was her rock. No matter what happened, Applejack knew that the brash Pegasus would always be there for her. Well, of course, she would, the little voice in her head spoke up. She’s the Element of Loyalty. That means that she would be there for anypony, not just you. That doesn’t seem very special now, does it?

Applejack growled at the voice. “Shut up.”

As a matter of fact, didn’t you hear that she’s been spending a lot of time with Soarin? Doesn’t that seem suspicious?

“Shut up!”

She always seems to talk about him whenever all our friends are around. It’s obvious they’re seeing each other; she won’t stop talking about him.

“Shut up!”

What are the chances that she’s even considered thinking about you that way? You certainly haven’t given her any reason to. In her eyes, you’re just. Not. Special.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!!!” Applejack screamed out loud at the voice, whirling around and bucking the closest tree repeatedly. Finally, it crumpled to the ground under her powerful hooves. She stood over it, panting slightly at the sudden exertion. She hung her head and, choosing a direction at random, began to walk. That was the problem with being alone, she reflected. Nopony is ever alone when they’re with their thoughts.

Within a few moments, however, another scream rang through the trees. Applejack’s fur stood on end. It seemed familiar, somehow. But…. No, that’s crazy. Still…

The orange mare made her way towards the source of the scream, hoping that it was the brash Pegasus. "Rainbow Dash! Where are ya?"

As Applejack pushed her way into a clearing, she immediately noticed two figures. One of them, trembling and whimpering, was Rainbow Dash! The other was Fluttershy. Both mares looked up as she approached. Fluttershy gave a huge smile when she saw the farmpony. “Applejack! Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. Can you please help me untie her? She’s bleeding.”

Applejack wasn’t really paying attention to Fluttershy’s words; her attention was on the cyan mare, who slowly lifted her head. Recognition sparked in her eyes and she opened her mouth to say something. Applejack didn’t care. She started running towards her friend, only to be knocked to the side.

Applejack shook her head to clear it as she looked up. Fluttershy, of all ponies, was standing over her. “What in tarnation do ya think yer doin’?” She struggled under Fluttershy but was unable to position herself to buck her friend off. The Pegasus was a lot stronger than usual, for some reason.

Applejack’s gaze met Rainbow’s and the farmer saw pain and distress mixed in her beautiful magenta eyes. Her mouth opened, and one word reached Applejack’s ears: “Run!”

Hearing the desperation in her friend’s voice, Applejack doubled her efforts. One well-aimed hoof to a stomach later, and she found herself running towards the bound Pegasus. She quickly grasped the knife and pulled it out as gently as possible. Rainbow yelled again, this time warning Applejack.

The Earth pony spun around, ready to face the unstable mare when she heard a slicing sound. In her haste, she forgot to drop the knife. The knife, which was now sticking out of Fluttershy’s leg. The buttery pony reached down and grasped the handle with her teeth, pulling the blade out without even wincing. She grinned. “Mmmm, you’re strong. But not strong enough, I’m afraid.”

Applejack felt Rainbow stiffen when Fluttershy spoke, but it definitely wasn’t Fluttershy’s voice. “Who are ya and what have ya done wit’ Fluttershy?” She asked angrily, stalling.

“Call me Keres. And I apologize that you had to walk in on me with our dear Rainbow Dash. Hmmm, you do know that it’s not nice to interrupt, don’t you?”

Rainbow was hanging her head and groaning softly at this point. Applejack glanced at her friend nervously. “Rainbow? Y’alright sugarcube?”

The butter-yellow Pegasus laughed. “Of course, she’s not alright. She-”

Keres was interrupted by two iron-hard hooves colliding with her face. She dropped like a sack of apples. Applejack turned back towards Rainbow, who was obviously still struggling with something. “Rainbow? Can ya hear me?” She asked tentatively.

The only response Rainbow gave was a small murmur, “So cold... cold, cold, so cold...”

Hearing this response, the concerned Earth pony moved to stand in front of Rainbow. Her beautiful eyes were unfocused and staring at nothing while her teeth ground together. Applejack couldn’t tell if she was aware of her presence or not, but it didn’t matter. She carefully untied the rope binding her friend.

As the rope fell away from Rainbow’s mangled body, a shudder ran through her. “Keres…” she managed to say before collapsing. The last thing the Pegasus saw was a pair of emerald eyes staring back at her.

Twilight was only a bit worried. There's no way she was freaking out. Nope. Not in the slightest. She had told Applejack to go take a walk to clear her head hours ago! She's probably fine; She's an adult mare who can take care of herself.

But she isn't in a good state of mind! She's been tearing herself up over the mysterious disappearances surrounding her apples and now Rainbow Dash. Should she really have been let out by herself with such a mentality?

These were the thoughts that were galloping through Twilight's head as she all but paced a groove in the floor with no sign of stopping. That is, until the crystal doors to her castle burst open with a crash.

"Twilight! Git over here! Ah need yer help!"

The princess immediately noticed Applejack's trademark Southern drawl and looked up. Before her, stood the farmpony on unsteady legs. It looked like she had galloped here from a long ways away. Her emerald eyes were wide and she was panting for breath. But Twilight's focus was immediately caught by who was with Applejack.

Sprawled over her orange back was Rainbow Dash. She was unconscious, and her sides were streaked with blood. Her wings were unfurled, the right one with a large gash in it. All in all, she looked bad. Actually, bad was an understatement. She looked horrible.

"Who did this?" Twilight asked as she ran over, teleporting a bed from one of the guest rooms and carefully levitating Rainbow onto it. The Pegasus groaned slightly at the movement but gave no indication she was waking up.

Applejack had somberly taken off her signature hat and was holding it against her chest, still struggling for breath. As soon as she was able to talk, she recounted the entire story while Twilight tended to Rainbow.

"...An' then she jes' collapsed. Ah turned 'round to bring Keres wit' me, but she had disappeared. Ah reckon she was still hurtin' from that buck an' ran away. So Ah picked Dash up and ran here as fast as Ah could."

By the time Applejack had finished telling the entire story, Twilight had finished tending to Rainbow Dash and was sitting quietly. She shook her head. "I still can't believe that my spell created Keres. I only hope that we can find her soon. I just want to have our old Fluttershy back."

Applejack sat down next to her friend. "Ah'm sure she'll turn up. An' when she does, we'll be ready for her." She sighed and glanced over at the still Pegasus. "How's Dash doin'?"

"As far as I can tell, she's fine aside from some blood loss. If she hasn't woken up by tomorrow, I'll contact Nurse Redheart."

The orange mare sighed again and moved to sit next to Rainbow's bed. "Ah'll stay wit' her until then. Ah don't wanna argue, Twi, but I'm stayin' here all night." Applejack finalized this statement with a glare, discouraging Twilight from giving a sharp retort.

"Fine, but I intend to talk to Nurse Redheart as soon as Celestia raises the sun. You should be well-rested at that point." She turned to make her way up the stairs to her own bedroom. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Twi."