Red swollen apples fell into caskets scattered around the field under every tree as Applejack kicked the apple trees with her hind legs. It was a hard and repetitive job to do, but Applejack didn't mind it, she actually enjoyed it. Her hard work would make sure that her family had food on the table, and it gave the farm a well needed income. It also provided her with some nice exercise and training, something she was glad she got out of her ordinary life, especially when the annual Shade competition in Yanhoover was just two days away. She had already spent a lot of time practicing the runs and the obstacle course. Neither one of them was the real thing, but as the competition course changed every year it was impossible to train on the perfect course. She didn’t win any blue ribbon at the Equestria Rodeo, but it simply made her more excited for the contest, and her chance to win more blue ribbons, even if they were different compared to the other contest ribbon prizes.
The remaining apples fell from the last apple tree, and she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her entire orange body was wet from the sweat, but she still had to pull all the caskets back to the farm, and it wasn't few of them. As she loaded the caskets on the cart she had brought with her, she thought of the next day. She had been in Yanhoover for the Shade contest two times before but never won. A fifth place was the best she had managed to position, the contesters had been really good, but it surprised her that she had never seen them at any other contest. Ponies like them was the ones she figured would take every moment to shine with their skills, yet they only appeared for the Shade contest. The contest didn't have any high prize money but the real prize was the mysterious gift the winner got. It had always puzzled her and when she never saw the winners again, she got suspicious of what might be going on, but she had come to the conclusion that the gift was so good that they never needed to return.
On the eve of the morning she would go to the station with her family, there her friends would be, and she would wave them all off under the rain of good lucks. The train ride took quite some hours, so she would get quite a bit of well needed rest. After arrival she had planned to go directly to the docks, the city itself wasn't big and there wasn't much to see, but the townsponies were nice. Although there were very few boats in the docks the times she had been there, she still cherished the moment she would feel the ocean breeze through her blonde mane again. She very rarely got the opportunity to see the ocean so every moment of it mattered.
When she reached the house after having left the cart with apples in the barn, the rest of her family was already asleep, and it was up to her to blow out the candlelight on the table. It was dark outside and the moon glowed through the window to the kitchen. She blew out the light and headed for her bed. Nothing could possibly come between her and the bed now.
She woke up the next morning feeling tired, her sheets lied on the floor all creased, the pillow was sitting atop the windowsill. The sun had just started slowly going up, so it was still only morning. What happened during the night? She moved clumsily out of the bed.
No pony was down in the kitchen and it seemed like they all slept. The candlelight had burnt down further than she recalled, but other than that the kitchen looked the same. The carpet filled with apple motives lied beneath the table and the kitchen sink looked unused. She hastily fixed some breakfast which consisted of three red apples and an apple pie. It tasted good, but she still couldn't overcome the feeling of tiredness.
Apple Bloom was the first one down. "Morning, sis." She was quick to grab some apples with apple marmalade. "Are y'all prepared for tomorrow? I would so love to see the mysterious prize."
"Ah'm feeling tired," Applejack admitted and swallowed down the rest of her apples. "Don't y'all worry, it'll go over soon."
"We all will be rooting for y'all," Apple Bloom said. "And be quick please, Granny Smith makes me do embarrassing things."
Applejack laughed slightly at the expense of her sister and ruffled her sister's red mane, carefully avoiding the ribbon. It wasn't much longer until the contest started and yet the thought of what happened with the winners and the rest of the contesters nagged itself stuck in her head, she had a good theory, but even that wasn't enough to keep it out.
After having a long conversation with Apple Bloom about the contest and ribbons, Big Macintosh came down together with Granny Smith. They also praised her and after having talked with them for a while they ate their breakfast. After the breakfast they finally moved on to the station, everypony but Applejack was very excited.
The train was already at the station that was full of ponies, including her friends, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy. She recognised the other ponies and they gave her a cheer similar to the one she had received when she went to the Equestria Rodeo.
"Now Applejack," Mayor Mare said after having moved out of the crowd. "You winning this contest would be a great boost for our image, and our finance. I've heard that the first prize is a million bits, something we could very well use. We are all counting on you."
"Don't listen to her," Twilight said and led Applejack close to the train door. "Regardless where you place, we will be proud of you. Remember that, you're our friend and we'll love you regardless."
"Just don't run off again," Rainbow said. "Chasing you down was fun and all, but we rather want you here."
"Ain't y'all worry about it," Applejack answered with a smile on her face. "Ah'll be back, with or without a blue ribbon."
"Pinkie promise?" Pinkie asked excitedly.
"Cross my heart," Applejack responded, and starting to do the movements. "Hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She made sure her hoof didn't hurt her eye as she finished the promise.
“Darling, you can’t go naked like that,” Rarity said, switching the subject. Applejack looked thought that was weird as she normally didn’t wear clothes, but then it dawned for her, she had forgotten her hat. “I made this one for you a while ago. It isn’t the newest fashion anymore, but alas its better than nothing.” It was a white with black stripes coloured hat, it was round and much smaller than her own hat, on the top a few lavender feathers.
“Thank you Rarity,” Applejack said. She didn’t like it as much as her own but that was something she didn’t want to say, she knew how much work Rarity did with the clothing, and she didn’t want to lie either, so she avoided saying what she thought of it.
The train indicated that it was about to leave with an ear crushing sound. She waved goodbye to all her friends and the other ponies that had come and went on board the train. The door closed behind her, but she could still hear the cheers of good luck through the walls. Slowly but surely the train started to move, and she did one last goodbye wave to her friends through the train window. Within seconds the station platform disappeared from sight and with it all her friends and the rest of the ponies.
She was still feeling very tired and all the sofas around her in the carriage, was looking at her with a sight that begged her to choose just that sofa. Some other ponies were also in the carriage, but they were quite busy talking to themselves or sleeping. She simply chose a sofa that was close to a window and close to the other ponies. There she laid herself down comfortably and closed her eyes.
All the time she could hear the train moving fast, it stopped at a few stations and more ponies poured in. None of these things annoyed her, what really annoyed her was that she couldn't fall asleep. She had been lying with her eyes closed for around an hour with no success. She then tried different positions, she had even done some exercise to the surprise of the ponies that shared the carriage. But it didn't cleanse her tiredness, and she was still incapable of falling asleep. It really bugged her out, and she wondered if it possibly could have had something to do with the mess her room had been when she woke up. She had been on many contests earlier but never before had she been having so much issues sleeping before. Therefore she gave up trying to fall sleep and decided to look at the view while thinking about Yanhoover, she could see Canterlot in the distance becoming smaller, it made her think of her adventures with her friends instead of the contest.
She hastily awoke when a blue unicorn wearing a grey conductor's uniform shook her gently. The train had arrived at its final destination, Yanhoover. Already the other ponies from the carriage were leaving. She thanked for the wake up and moved out with the others. She didn't feel so tired anymore, but she did recall falling asleep and waking up constantly throughout the journey, nonetheless she was happy she got some sleep.
Yanhoover was nothing like she had remembered it being, the simple houses had been replaced by tall magnificent buildings with colourful light spreading all over the city. The station had earlier stood alone, a bit away from the rest of the city, but now it was being surrounded by the rest of the city. The lights were at the station as well and large posters with the word, Shade, were spread throughout the entire station. She didn't recall there ever being any posters for it before, with all these changes she decided to go to the stadium where the contest would be taken place, before going to the docks. One thing was certain to her, this wasn't the town she had previously known.
As she walked through the streets she noticed that the ponies that previously had been happy now looked very sad, they all walked for themselves and didn’t talk to anypony else. She also noticed that there were no variations in the buildings, they all had the same silver coloured walls with a grey door and some numbers above it to indicate which house is which. They all looked around the same size and had the same amount of windows, but not a single light was coming out of them.
"Don't go there!" somepony screamed from behind her, and she turned to check what it was all about. A white pegasus mare with a light blue mane and tail, came running up to her panting. "You're going to the Shades, aren't you? Don't, it's all a lie. There's no one million bits prize, they'll take you away and do bad things to you. Go back to where you came from, or you'll become like us."
"Take it easy sugar cube," Applejack said confused, she recognised the pegasus as last year’s winner, but why would she be screaming warnings about the contest? "Take it easy and breath, and then y'all can say what y'all have on yer mind."
"No time," the pegasus answered. "Heed my warning and be free." With those words, the white pegasus ran past Applejack in a high speed, and she felt a great compulsive to follow the pegasus, but she stopped herself when she saw blue uniformed ponies running after the competition winner.
"Are you okay, citizen?" one of the uniformed ponies, who had stopped at her, asked. "Did she cause you any harm?"
"Ah'm fine," she answered honestly but confused of what was going on. "Who was that?"
"If I were you, I would stay away from her, citizen," the uniform dressed pony said and ran after the others.
Applejack simply sighed at the sight, the city had changed so much that she wondered if she really was at the right place. None of the nearby had ponies had stopped to watch what was happening, instead they all continued on their walk of sadness. She continued onwards to the stadium, but her mind was racing with different questions that she wanted to get an answer to.
The one thing that hadn't changed since her last visit was the stadium, it was still small, but it gave a feeling of superiority even with all the tall buildings surrounding it. Ponies were running in and out of the stadium, and they actually looked happy.
She soon found herself on the course where she soon would be running, ponies from all over Equestria were mingling with her, yet she didn't recognise any of them. Already some ponies were making themselves prepared for the contest, or showing of their muscles to others. The stand had ponies eating or simply cheering at the ones training. It all looked so familiar to Applejack, and for the first time on this journey, she felt that this was where she belonged.
The booth to the sign in had a long line with eager ponies wanting to participate. She clarified her name and occupation to the red pony keeping track of the register. At the mention of Ponyville, she received a weird look from the red pony and all the ones standing in line behind her. It crept her out a bit, but she got her registration card and hotel key card, everything was set for the contest.
Instead of going to the hotel first, she decided to head down to the docks as she originally had planned but later changed. Getting out of the stadium was actually quite a feat compared to getting in, but after a lot of bumping into other ponies and apologising, she got out. The hotel was nearby and if it wasn't for the sign that clearly said, Shade Hotel, she would have had quite a hard time finding it since it looked just like all the other houses in the city.
What the white pegasus had said, still lingered in her head as she walked down the road she had walked a few times. There were warning posters of kidnapping on some of the houses, nothing seemed like it had been. But she didn't think that would warrant such extreme things. She also wondered why the guards were hunting the pegasus, had she done something bad, or was it she that actually was the real culprit?
Applejack tried to wrap her head around it with little success, but she did reach the docks during her thoughts and could feel the wind sweeping through her mane. Only one small boat was docked in the small dock, in the distance she could see one boat slowly sailing towards a small island. The cafe that had been on the docks when she had been there earlier was now gone with nothing to replace it. With the exception of herself, the dock was empty of ponies, and she figured the cafe had to close down, due to low amount of customers. It still made her disappointed, because she had enjoyed a few nights there.
She stood at the end of the dock yawning, while enjoying the water sight and the breeze. It was a onetime per year event for her, so she intended to make the most of it. Her plans were ruined when a pony scream filled with fear came from behind her, and she felt obliged to check what was going on. The white pegasus that she had run into earlier was now running into the docks. The scream didn't seem to come from her but from further within the city,
Applejack was really curious of what was going and wanted an answer, with no hesitation but with a sigh, she followed the white pegasus from a distance. Instead of using the small boat at the dock, the white pegasus took her turn back into the city far from the screams. As Applejack expected, the pegasus ran incredibly fast, something that is expected of a winner. She herself was fast, but she found herself slipping further behind after she ran back into the city. Her tiredness did nothing to help her running ability, and she was a bit worried of exhausting herself before the contest, but she decided that getting an answer to what's going was more important.
She found it difficult to navigate the city in a high speed, because the city's inhabitants paid her no mind and didn't care for moving out of the way. The white pegasus on the other hoof seemed to know exactly how to navigate the streets and had no issues with doing it.
What is she doing? Applejack asked herself as she followed the white pegasus out of the city and into the nearby field. A road was passing through the entire field, leading far up north to the cold mountains. Trees were scattered all over the field, but the distance between them made it impossible for anypony to hide in. The pegasus made her movements far from the road, and soon Applejack found herself so far away from the city that she could only see the rooftops of some of the houses. Where is she going?
The white pegasus stopped at a small cabin hidden by a few trees. It was far from an impressive cabin, the roof had a few holes in it and some parts of the walls had mould all over it. The garden only consisted of the trees and a few dead bushes, Applejack saw lots of opportunities on the ground to grow a really beautiful garden with apple trees. She had had enough of running and was relieved over the stop. She didn't want to prolong the wait any longer, so she moved up to the pegasus directly to get her answers.
"Don't be afraid," Applejack said panting. "What's going on? Why did y'all warn me?"
The white pegasus didn't look even the tiniest surprised that Applejack had followed her the entire way. "Quite a feat of you to follow me all the way here, Sapphire's personal guards hasn't managed to do it. But you want to improve you hiding skills a little bit, I could see you from a mile away."
"Sorry Ah followed you," Applejack replied, still wanting her answers and not liking the white pegasus's way of dodging them. "Y'all got me worried when y'all ran up to me from nowhere."
"Heed my warning and leave this place," the white pegasus said while drying of her sweat with a small towel. "You'll only get yourself into trouble if you stay. Where are you from? It's definitely not from here."
"Ponyville," Applejack admitted, she wondered what kind of relevance something like that would have. "Name's Applejack. Ah just want to know what's going on, nothing is the way Ah remembered it."
"I'm Ametrine," the pegasus responded and shook Applejack's hoof. "This conversation should be taken somewhere else, if you really want to know then follow me. I do recommend you to leave though."
That was the third time Ametrine had warned Applejack to leave, and she was getting annoyed by it. She had gotten so far and her success had not been given to her, she had fought for it. "Ah won't be leaving."
Ametrine smiled back as a response and let her inside the cabin. It consisted of only two rooms, one large living room and a small kitchen. The entrance was a part of the living room, there wasn't much in the room, but a small bed with a table stood in the middle of the room. The walls were decorated with white wallpaper. The floor was wooden planks, and they looked like it had been built by an unprofessional, some of the spikes hadn’t even fully gone in and was a danger to ones hooves. The kitchen didn't have more things, just a small stove and a broken shelf filled with various foods.
"Anything to eat?" Ametrine asked as she headed straight into the kitchen area. Applejack nodded and received a red apple. "For your cutie mark."
Applejack hadn't eaten since her breakfast, she had planned to eat on the docks, but with the cafe gone that had been impossible. "Thanks." The apple didn't taste as good as the apples from her farm, but it sufficed to alleviate her hunger. "Why are y'all running around screaming warnings? And why did y’all run to me of all ponies?"
"You really are from the outside," Ametrine responded, taking a pie with her and jumping into the bed. "I should have known when I recognised you from last year. The Shade contest is being financed by Sapphire."
"Who's that?" Applejack sat herself down on the edge of the bed, the pegasus worried her, but she had to find out the truth. If ponies were in danger, she would never forgive herself for passing up such an obvious invite.
"She's the mayor of Yanhoover,” Ametrine answered and took a large bite of the pie which made her voice sound all crunchy. “She's the one who rebuilt the city, from a small city to a big top modern one. Only it has made the citizens quite unhappy, they are however being kept in control by a large police force." She interrupted her talking only to eat, and Applejack noticed the pegasus's cutie mark. It was three snowflakes, so white they almost blended in with the coat. "Now Princess Celestia would be doing something about it, but she doesn't know what's going on. Sapphire is good at hiding her tracks, and somepony like me won't be trusted without proof. The mysterious prize that the winner of the Shade competition gets is nothing more than a free treatment. You see, most ponies that participate are actually under the control of Sapphire. The ponies from the outside know how strong the contesters are, and for that reason they decide not to sign in or even come to Yanhoover."
"What is this free treatment?" Applejack asked confused, she couldn't wrap her head around what was really going on, and she had a sense of doubt inside of her, the story seemed far too unrealistic to be true.
"Elimination," Ametrine responded sighing, the thought seemed to hurt her. "They get sent to the frozen north without any equipment. Most contestants also get a large supply of medical treatment, so that when they participate in the contest, they'll be much stronger and faster than anypony that hasn't undergone the medical treatment. The first symptoms are constant tiredness. But trust me, it’s not something you want to use, becoming addicted to it is not a pleasant ride."
"How did y'all get away?" Applejack asked worried. She had been feeling tired the entire day even though she had slept, so Ametrine's words scared her a bit. She had no better explanation, nor could she explain the mess of her room. It was something she had never done before in her sleep.
“By strength, the cold wasn’t strong enough to get to me. And the medical treatment helped me, but once I got out of there I made sure that every last remnant of it disappeared from my body. Sapphire sure knows how to trick everypony, with the contest she’ll keep the inhabitants happy. In reality they suffer, all their movements are watched by the guards and their freedom is restricted. So many new laws have been passed lately, even the police force is feeling unhappy. But the superiority of those under the treatment, keep outsiders out of the contest. They know they don’t stand a chance, all but you.”
“Why did y’all warn me?” Applejack raised herself from the bed. She didn’t want to believe but yet. She had participated earlier and that had worked out fine. “What so bad could harm me?”
"She didn’t want you to come close to me," a voice answered her from the front door. A yellow unicorn with a red mane was standing in the living room. It was a unicorn she recognised from the Shade Contest, every year the same pony spoke from a platform to set the contest off to a good start.
"Sapphire!" Ametrine called out and got out of the bed instantly.
"My dear Applejack," Sapphire said levitating both Applejack and Ametrine easily with her magic. The two ponies’ struggles did nothing to improve the situation. "I had everything set up for you, I even gave you the treatment. And this is how you repay me, by mingling with the enemy. I suppose I'll have to get rid of you both."
"Ah want no part in yer dirty schemes," Applejack responded and tried to fight her way out of the spell. Her attempts didn't seem to even bother Sapphire, and she soon found herself on the outside of the cabin headed towards an air balloon. It was red with a large picture of Sapphire all over it. In an instant she regretted having doubted the explanations, it all seemed to be true, but she didn’t think it would have made much of a difference.
"What are you planning?" Ametrine asked struggling to get free. "How did you find me?"
"I was stalking your little friend here," Sapphire answered. "I couldn’t let such a valuable be lost to me, yet the result was the same. But enough talk, it's time for you both to become food."
An invisible force covered Applejack's mouth, making her unable to both breath and talk. She had to rely on breathing through her nose, but she did want to apologise to Ametrine. She had shown her doubt towards the pegasus, by following her. Because of that they both were now trapped by a powerful magician who they stood no chance against. She knew her friends would come and look for her if she didn't come back. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late, nor did she intend to let it go that far. She could still fight and prevent Sapphire’s plan from coming true, the whole food thing didn’t make her excited as she kept on fighting the magic. From the air she could see Sapphire's cutie mark, which was a grey stellar safe.
The air balloon took off into the air with both Applejack and Ametrine on board as prisoners, they weren't being levitated any longer, instead they had both been gagged by magic, and their legs had been tied with a strong rope. Sapphire stood in the middle, making sure the fire kept burning to keep the balloon in the air.
"You’re not going to ruin my plan," Sapphire said to Ametrine, her eyes glowing with excitement. "I have waited my entire life for this, to finally become somepony. A whole life of despair, and now I am something. I won't let puny beings like you stand in my way. Tomorrow, I'll finish what I started and finally become what I was destined to become."
Applejack didn't feel sorry for the unicorn, despite her story, she felt pity for her. Her movements were making the rope move, but it was tied quite well, and it was only slightly they moved.
"The current is really powerful here," Sapphire said as the balloon slowed its speed down dramatically. "It’s a pity that you’ll miss my moment, but I won’t wish you any luck."
Applejack felt her body being lifted as she and Ametrine were being levitated by Sapphire's yellow glowing magic. Far beneath them the water raged on with high waves, she could see Yanhoover far off in the distance but no boats were anywhere to be seen. In a sudden grasp of fear, she felt the invisible force keeping her up disappearing, she fell quickly down. She could see Ametrine desperately trying to fly, but with her wings tied up, it made little difference. Applejack hadn't given up herself, and she was trying to untie the ropes with all the strength she could muster.
The impact with the water made her entire body hurt, and she was starting to feel dizzy. The ropes had gotten wet, but she was sinking like a stone. The hat she had received from Rarity parted with her and sink all on its own. Up above she could see the water surface, and she longed to get back up there. Ametrine was next to her, sinking as well, but the white pegasus didn't move, and Applejack feared that she had passed out. The force that had held Applejack's mouth shut was gone, and she was chewing off the wet ropes as fast as she could. Even though she was strong, she had never truly trained her mouth to bite hard, and it was showing now, her bites did barely any noticeable effect on the rope. Her oxygen was running low, and her lungs had already started hurting slightly from the carbon dioxide. The current was not only taking her deeper but further away from land as well, there were still large amount of light reaching down through the water, but she couldn't see bottom.
She was far from willing to give up, even though a part of her said that there was no hope. She still fought at biting the ropes apart, and it was having an effect as all that remained of the ropes where she had bitten, was a thin line. It was however strong enough to make sure her strong legs couldn't break it. The reflex that wanted to make her take a deep breath had started to pain her, she was holding it back but the feeling of closing her eyes and let it end was very tempting. She was still tired, that she had ran a great distance earlier didn't make her feel more energised. Ametrine wasn't making any movements at all, and she wondered if it already was too late.
As she continued sinking, her bites and kicks got less powerful, she didn't have the strength to break free, even less to get up to the surface again, it looked to be so far away for her, a distant dream of safety. She did another weak bite under heavy pain when she felt something grasping her throat. At first she thought it was some kind of sea monster and that it was all over, but when she checked down she didn't see any monster, she saw a golden necklace with an orange and green apple crystal. It was her element of harmony, the element of honesty, but it didn't make any sense to her how it had gotten there. It reminded her of her friends, and how much she wanted to see them again. Together they were a force that never gave up, no matter how grim things looked, they always fought for what they believed in.
What she was doing wasn't fighting, it was giving up. Although she still tried to break free, it was so weakly attempted it made no difference. Even if she didn't have the strength to break free, the necklace had given her the will to truly try it back. She bit down on the rope more powerful than before, and with a strong kick the rope broke. Her legs tangled free in the water, and she had to take a second to make sure she wouldn't sink further. Below her Ametrine was still sinking without a movement. The condition of the pegasus was a mystery for her, but she did know that she wouldn't be able to save Ametrine if she first went for the surface and air, but if she went for Ametrine first, she would most likely not be capable of reaching the surface, leaving both of them in the water.
It was getting harder for her to control her reflex, and the pain was getting massive, it was breaking her down from within. Yet she knew what she had to do, there were certain things she couldn't do. One of those things was letting somepony get hurt without trying to help her. She dived down towards Ametrine with the remains of her strength, like she would have done for any of her friends. The current made it easy for her catch up with the white pegasus, and she grabbed the rope tied around the pegasus's legs. There was no chance of her being capable of getting the rope off, so she did the only thing she could, she dragged Ametrine with her towards the surface.
The current had made her journey down easy, now it made her journey up hard. Having to drag Ametrine didn't make it any easier, but she kept thinking of her friends and family to constantly see what she was fighting for. As the surface got closer, the pain got more intense. She felt like her lungs would break any second, yet she kept holding out, even with her legs starting to torpid due to the lack of oxygen.
Her strength was failing, and it was so easy to just let go and fall deeper. She made one last push her and nose broke the water’s surface. Not even seconds later, her mouth was in the air as well, the deep breath she instantly took at the touch of the air, felt incredibly good. The pain from her lungs was disappearing and oxygen once again reached her legs. She pulled Ametrine's head up through the surface but couldn't tell if the pegasus was breathing or not. They were far away from the dock, but they were close to the small island she had seen earlier. It didn’t look bad, a few trees and a beach. Nothing seemed to live there, but it didn’t concern her.
If she was to do CPR on Ametrine, she couldn't be in the water, so she made another push towards the island with the small remains of her strength. Far above her, she could see the air balloon flying in towards the city. Fighting to keep herself over the surface proved harder than she had initially thought, multiple times she managed fall below and swallow the disgusting salt water, she could however glad herself over the fact that she managed to keep the lifeless Ametrine above the surface.
She crawled up the sandy beach and collapsed out of exhaustion. Sand covered her entire body and even managed to find itself into her mouth. The taste was nothing she cared of, it was very sweet having solid ground under her. Ametrine, she reminded herself. She had dropped the white pegasus when she collapsed, but the white pegasus’s condition hadn't change.
Applejack started the CPR she had learned from Ponyville and ignored the rope tying Ametrine's legs and wings stuck. Every time she checked down on her golden necklace it reminded her of why she was doing this, because she believed in helping others. A little sand managed to find its way inside Ametrine when Applejack provided air to her, she hoped it wouldn't be a too much of an issue. The white pegasus’s mouth tasted like tree sap, not a taste she liked much, and the ribs was strong and felt unbreakable.
After being at it for quite some time she felt like giving up, her efforts weren’t showing any results. Out of desperation she continued for a few more seconds, the pegasus had risked her life to warn her, she couldn’t give up so quickly. It paid off, as Ametrine woke up coughing and spitting out water and sand. It took a while, but to Applejack's relief the pegasus calmed down after a bit of coughing. "Thank you." Ametrine's voice was weak but showed signs of a possible recovery.
"Ah couldn't have done it without this," Applejack admitted and pointed to her element of harmony, she was glad that she had stayed true to her cause and succeeded. Ametrine looked at her weirdly but didn't say anything. Their attention shifted from the necklace to the rope still on Ametrine. Thanks to a combined effort, the ropes fell off, and Ametrine was finally free. She stretched out her wings to feel the air around them, at the same time Applejack took her rest on the sand, she could barely keep her head from burying itself deep into sand before she fell asleep.
The sleep was the longest she had slept for a long time. When she awoke, her legs felt active and she could easily stand up and trot around the beach, it was a feeling she had missed. The sun was standing high on the sky and high party sounds were coming from the city.
"I thought you would sleep the entire day away," Ametrine said hovering above Applejack's head. "It's too late now, it has already started, Sapphire won. But I won't forget that you saved my life, but I just waited to say goodbye."
"Wait," Applejack responded, she was still newly awake but she hadn't fight so hard in the water to give up directly after. She still had unfinished business with Sapphire, and she couldn't let a pony like her keep on ruling and destroying more ponies lives. She figured there was no chance of getting any help from the outside, so all that remained for her was a simple but very risky plan. "Can y'all fly me into the city?"
"I can do that," Ametrine answered. "I don't see why you would want to anyway. They'll catch you, and they won't be doing the same mistake again."
"Ah don't intend to be caught," Applejack said. "The mayor will be holding a speech for the contest, like she always does. Y'all fly me in there, while Ah take care of the mayor y'all, can spread yer message to all the ponies."
Ametrine smiled in response, finally understanding the plan. “Worth a try, but failure is on you.” She picked up Applejack by her hooves and flied towards Yanhoover. Applejack had never enjoyed the sight from above, but she had to keep her sight on the ground. The streets were mostly empty, and it seemed like all the inhabitants were in the stadium for the Shade contest or keeping themselves indoors for some reason.
If Sapphire had expected any attacks from the air, she wasn't showing it. Ametrine easily flew into the city's airspace and was soon at the arena where a familiar voice was speaking through a megaphone. Applejack did worry a bit over her plan, Sapphire was a unicorn with magic, and although she wasn't as powerful as Twilight, it still gave her an advantage over Applejack. Most of her plan actually relied on the city's inhabitants being disappointed on Sapphire like Ametrine had said they were, it was a risk of faith, but one she was willing to take.
It looked like most of the city’s inhabitants were at the stadium listening to Sapphire's speech. The stadium was filled to the limit with ponies, some pushing and fighting to get a better position, the overall mood didn’t seem all too well. Sapphire stood on a small platform high over the others. Only two guards were accompanying her but a lot of normal citizens stood behind. But Applejack wouldn't have much more time thinking about it, she was over the stadium and only seconds remained until she had to make a jump.
Some of the ponies in the stadium had noticed them, most of them were cheering like Applejack and Ametrine were part of the show. Applejack wasn’t too keen on the cheers, she thought they would alert Sapphire and ruin her plan. Her thoughts were cancelled as she found herself staring into Sapphire's cold violet eyes. The cover was blown, every second counted now, she released herself from Ametrine's grasp. It wasn’t a well timed jump, and far below her dangling legs, the ground looked like it was ready to swallow her if it got the chance. The jump was sufficient for her to land on the platform, and she lunged for Sapphire before the unicorn had the time to react.
Ametrine took no time to waste and went to the megaphone, her words echoed through the stadium. They did little to help Applejack as she tried her best to keep Sapphire on the ground, the unicorns was strong, but she was stronger and could keep the unicorn down with ease. The guards looked confused over what was happening, and it surprised her that they hadn't made a move yet. She pinned Sapphire further down with her hoof as the audience was screaming in delight over Ametrine's revelations.
We did it, she thought and looked down on the necklace. She had made what she could do, and now she hoped things would be better for Yanhoover.
"This is my moment!" Sapphire screamed and levitated Applejack off her. It was the moment Applejack had worried over, but she always knew that it would come, now it wasn't up to her any longer. Sapphire sought to get rid of her by throwing her towards the edge, but the throw was too low, and she could grab on to the fence surrounding the platform. The fall scratched up some wounds on her, but they didn’t hurt much. What she worried about was Sapphire's next move.
"Enough!" a green unicorn from the audience yelled, the guards and ponies within the audience allowed her to pass through. Some ponies from the audience were even following her example, soon even the guards did so. They all looked very upset as they surrounded Sapphire and made sure she couldn't use her magic to escape. "We've had enough of your rule, our city was once beautiful and happy, but look at it now. It's in a sad state, but we intend to change it, without your rule."
Applejack couldn't help but smile slightly as she got up from the floor, Ametrine hadn’t lied, and her plan had worked, the inhabitants of the city were the ones who wanted change, all she had done was give them the opportunity to make it happen.
The whole stadium echoed with cheers when Ametrine finished her speech. Some of the guards were carrying Sapphire out and there were talks of brining her to Princess Celestia. Applejack found that fair, but she did plan to make sure it actually happened and that the citizens didn't get the idea of doing justice themselves. She wanted to do it by the rules and not let an angry mob bestow justice. Ponies ran past her and flocked around Ametrine, cheering at her and throwing her up in the air as a tribute.
"The Shade competition has been cancelled," Ametrine screamed out to more cheers. "It is the root of evil, so we have to get rid of it, starting this very year!"
Applejack wondered who would become the new mayor as she followed the guards leading Sapphire out. It can't be Ametrine, she doesn’t really have the attitude for it. The pegasus was mostly a mystery to her, but she had already risked her life for her, yet she didn't like the pegasus's overconfident attitude and will to quickly give up all too much, at least nothing had been a lie.
"Hey Applejack!" Ametrine called out from behind her. "You can't be leaving already, there’s a party coming up that’ll last the entire night. You're invited as a special guest."
"Thank y'all," Applejack answered modest. "But Ah'll have to pass. Ah have a farm waiting for me to get back, and it'll be easier to tell all this to Princess Celestia if Ah'm the one to say it."
"Whatever," Ametrine said trying to not look hurt. "You should however stop pointing and looking at your neck, it makes you look weird." That was all she said before she flew off with cheering citizens.
Was it ever there? Applejack wondered as she checked down on her neck, the necklace wasn’t there anymore, but she had no memory off losing it. It confused her, and she wondered if the princess had something to do with it. But one thing was certain, she really missed her hat, and she couldn't imagine how she had managed to forget it. Rarity's hat was fine, but it was gone as well, and it wasn't her old one. No prize, no hat. It's all worth it when someponies lives change for the better. She took one last look back at the stadium, and then she helped the guards escort Sapphire out of the stadium. She had a long road ahead of her.
