The Lord of the Ponies: The Friendship of Equestria

Ch.9 Harsh Realities

"Good night, Apple Bloom," said Spike.

"Good night, Spike." The two friends departed each other. Apple Bloom started towards Sweet Apple Acres, and Spike to Ponyville's library.

It was awfully scary around Sweet Apple Acres at night. The friendly fields of apple trees became menacing, the trees taking on demonic shapes, and nocturnal creatures penetrating the perpetual silence of the night with wild animal calls. Apple Bloom knew this better than most ponies, but she wasn't scared. She was a big pony, just like her big brother and sister. But even her falsified courage didn't stop her from rushing to the door, and shutting it behind her as she entered the house.

The house was dark, and the floorboards creaked as Apple Bloom trotted across them. Lunar light filtered through the windows, illuminating trace objects on one hoof, and casting sinister shadows on the other. Apple Bloom noticed that the study window was opened in a suspicious manner. If she had paid closer attention, she also might have noticed the slightest motion of a shadow behind her.

Apple Bloom moved into the study, creaking floorboards betraying her presence to the intruder. She stepped lightly, hoping to catch the infiltrator by surprise, but what she didn't know was that the trespassing individual was waiting behind her, and in a perfect position for a killing strike. A hoof reached out of the shadows behind Apple Bloom, and grabbed the filly's shoulder, startling the Earth pony in the most alarming manner.

"Is it secret?! Is it safe?!" interrogated Twilight Sparkle.

Apple Bloom turned to see her dear friend... in desperate need of one of Rarity's coveted makeovers. Twilight's hair was a bedraggled mess: shoots of the Unicorn's mane shot out on all sides. Her face was drenched in sweat, which dripped onto the floor. Twilight's current form, and the shock of her friend's intrusion, led Apple Bloom to not formulate an answer, which caused Twilight to shake her shoulder roughly.

"APPLE BLOOM! IS IT SECRET? IS IT SAFE?" Twilight asked in the utmost urgency.

Twilight's volume knocked Apple Bloom to her senses, but the Earth filly still didn't orally answer. Instead, Apple Bloom ran to a box which sat beside the fireplace, and started to dig through its contents. Twilight fell in behind Apple Bloom, peering over the filly's shoulder as to see if the ring was safe or not.

"Here ya go, Twilight." Apple Bloom pulled herself from the box, holding an envelope in her hoof, which carried the distinct bump of a ring at the bottom corner.

Twilight, using her magic, ripped the envelope from Apple Bloom's hoof, set the hearth on fire, and threw the package into the burning flames; the paper seal combusted instantly.

"What are ya doing Twilight?!" exclaimed Apple Bloom, surprised at Twilight's most recent action.

Twilight simply watched the fire, eyes fixed on the burning parchment. The ring soon became visible, and once it was free of its fragile confines, she levitated it out of the fire.

"Hold out your hoof, Apple Bloom," commanded Twilight, levitating the ring towards Apple Bloom.

"It's quite cool." Apple Bloom was reassured by this, and held out her hoof for the ring.

Twilight dropped the ring into Apple Bloom's awaiting hoof, and it was quite cool, much to Apple Bloom's astonishment. And for some strange reason, the golden band was also noticeably heavier.

"What can you see?" Twilight's tone was ominous, as if expecting the worst possible thing to be read from a simple ring.

Apple Bloom stared at the ring, and as time passed, the Earth pony didn't discern any differences on the ring's surface.

"Can you see anything?" Twilight's question was hurried, as if she couldn't wait for some terrible evil to spring forth from the ring.

Apple Bloom twirled the ring between her hooves, peering into every metaphorical nook and cranny on the band to ensure that she hadn't missed anything. Satisfied that nothing was different on the ring's golden surface, she calmly assured, "Nothing. There's nothing."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief: maybe what she read didn't apply to the ring which Apple Bloom now possessed.

"Wait...There are markings," stated Apple Blloom. And just like in the Archives, Twilight's hopes were dashed.

Apple Bloom noticed distinct markings on the ring, fiery letters which illuminated an inscription. She recognized the language from one of Cheerilee's many lessons: it was Old Alicornian, a language that hadn't been heard in over a millennia.

"It looks like Old Alicornian, but I can't read it," said Apple Bloom, hoping Twilight could shed more light on the mysterious text.

"You're half-right, Apple Bloom. The language is a sub-division of Old Alicornian belonging to the Changelings, but I will not utter it here." Twilight's tone grew grim, as if she were about to reveal a climatic secret.

"Changelings!" Apple Bloom realized the severity of what she had just heard, and she noticed the anguish on Twilight's face.

"In the common tongue, it says: One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all... and in the darkness, bind them!" translated Twilight.

***

"This is the One Ring... forged by the Dark Changeling Lord Sauron in the fires of the Smokey Mountain. Taken by Isildur from the horn of Sauron himself." Twilight relayed the grim news to her compatriots: Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie. The latter of which had somehow realized that she broke her Pinkie Promise to the Princess. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie was quick to forgive, as the jubilant party pony realized the situation was of literal life-or-death.

"Granny Smith found it. In Gollum's cave." Apple Bloom head lowered, having an epiphany of the grimness of the facts laid before her, and what they meant for her future.

"Yes. For 60 years, The Ring lay quiet in Granny's keeping, prolonging her life, delaying old age." The truth of Twilight's words hit Apple Bloom like a sack of bricks, and the fear of her realization showed on her features.

"But no longer Apple Bloom. Evil is stirring in the Unicorn Range. The Ring has awoken. It's heard its master's call," continued Twilight.

"But he was destroyed. Sauron was destroyed." Apple Bloom was quick to make such an accusation, as that's what Cheerilee had told her in one of their history classes.

As if insulted by the prospect of its master being 'destroyed', The Ring pitched in its own thoughts, which manifested as a fleeting whisper in the Black Speech (the Changeling language mentioned earlier). All ponies presiding heard it, but only Twilight felt the full impact of its words, as she was the only one who could understand it.

"Well, this is just getting too CrAzY for me. So I'm just going to go now." Twilight had forgotten that Pinkie Pie was still present in the present discussion, but she was happy to be rid of her at the moment. What she needed to declassify should only be heard by the pony who it actually affected.

"No, Apple Bloom. The spirit of Sauron endured. His life force was bound to The Ring, and The Ring survived. Sauron has returned. His Changelings have multiplied. His fortress at Barad-dûr is rebuilt in the Unicorn range. Sauron needs only this Ring to cover all the lands in a second darkness." Twilight paused, as if to add dramatic effect. It was also noticeable to Apple Bloom that Twilight occasionally glanced at The Ring, which sat innocently on the table before them.

"He is seeking it. Seeking it, seeking it. All his thought is bent on it. For The Ring yearns above all else to return to the hand of its master." Apple Bloom slowly declined into shock, the veracity of Twilight's words obliterating any hope Apple Bloom retained for the safety of herself, and her family.

"They are one: The Ring and the Dark Lord. Apple Bloom, he must never find it." Twilight didn't need to say that last bit, as Apple Bloom had already figured out the cataclysmic consequences of letting Sauron embrace his most powerful creation once again.

Apple Bloom quickly snatched The Ring from the table, and trotted into the study.

"All right. We put it away. We keep it hidden. We never speak of it again. No one knows it's here, do they?" Twilight didn't respond to Apple Bloom's question. Apple Bloom just hoped it was because Twilight wasn't paying attention.

"Do they, Twilight?" Apple Bloom asked again, and turned to her companion, finding Twilight utterly grim.

"There was one other who knew that Granny had The Ring. I looked everywhere for the creature Gollum. But the enemy found him first." Twilight recalled what she had heard at the border of Canterlot and the Unicorn Range. She remembered the agonized screams of the creature Gollum, and the two words that were comprehensible through all of its inane babbling.

"I don't know how long they tortured him. But amidst the endless screams and inane babble, they discerned two words: Ponyville, Apples." Apple Bloom realized that her security, and the safety of all Apples, was in jeopardy. Every Apple in Ponyville was in possible danger.

"Ponyville. Apples. But that would lead them here!" realized Apple Bloom.

***

Big Macintosh walked in the opposite direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Having too much hard cider, Big Mac departed Sugar Cube Corner, heading for home. However, the cider in his system impeded his sense of direction, and Big Mac continued in the opposite direction of home. Right now, unbeknownst to him, he was half-way to Dodge City... that's when he heard the loud clopping. Big Macintosh looked up, and in a drunken haze, discerned the forms of some black, cloaked ponies racing towards him.

"Who-a grapes thert?" asked Big Mac. His drunken speech incomprehensible to even himself.

He never got an answer, as the nearest Ringwraith unsheathed a sword, and swung at his neck.

***

"Take it, Twilight!" Apple Bloom rushed towards Twilight, The Ring sitting in her hoof, "You must take!" Twilight backed from the advances of Apple Bloom.

"No, Apple Bloom." Twilight's answer did nothing to slow the progress of the tiny Earth Pony.

"You must take it!" Apple Bloom was desperate, hoping to rid her family of The Ring which had, unbeknownst to her, already caused the loss of a family member.

"You cannot offer me this Ring!" Twilight's voice rose in volume, and she stood her ground, hoping this would be an obvious enough sign to Apple Bloom that she wouldn't accept The Ring.

"I'm giving it to you!" Apple Bloom was beyond desperate, and now tears swelled in her eyes.

"DON'T, tempt me, Apple Bloom!" Twilight's sudden harshness snapped Apple Bloom back into reality, and she swiftly lowered her hoof.

"I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe." Twilight's voice quietened down to a near-Fluttershy level, and she looked down at The Ring, a certain zealotry becoming apparent in her gaze.

"Understand, Apple Bloom. I would use this Ring from a desire to do good...but through me, it would a power too great and terrible to imagine." Apple Bloom heard this, but her thoughts were predominated by her wish to keep her family safe.

"But it cannot stay in Ponyville!" stated Apple Bloom.

"No. No it can't." Twilight's response was quick, and in agreement. She knew Ponyville was too small and under-defended to stop whatever the Dark Lord had sent to retrieve The Ring.

Apple Bloom's thoughts raced. She couldn't stay here in Ponyville, that would put her family and friends in danger. But where in the world could she go. She had only been to fellow Apple orchards, Canterlot, and went sightseeing at the Crystal Empire. But that itself didn't bout a lot of 'worldly' experience. So she did the last thing she thought to do: she submitted to the experience of the smartest pony in all of Equestria.

"What must I do?" asked Apple Bloom.

***

Twilight had told her to pack essentials for a long woodland trip. Food, warm clothing, the works. Apple Bloom shuffled through cupboards and drawers, placing the necessities in a saddle bag fit for a filly.

"You must leave. And leave quickly," Twilight instructed, hoping that Apple Bloom's young mind could cope with what she had, and was going to tell her.

"Where? Where will I go?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Get out of Ponyville. Make for Baltimare,"  answered Twilight.

"Baltimare." Apple Bloom repeated the city's name to herself. That was one of the few things that she couldn't forget for this trip.

"What about you?" this question nagged at Apple Bloom. She hoped Twilight wouldn't just send her into the world with no support.

"I'll be waiting for you, at the Inn of the Prancing Pony," responded Twilight.

"And The Ring will be safe there." The ultimate question revealed itself, and Apple Bloom sure hoped that Twilight had the answer she wanted.

"I don't know, Apple Bloom. I don't have any answers." Twilight's response shocked Apple Bloom greatly. How could the most knowledgeable pony in all of Equestria not have all the answers.

"I must see the head of my order. She is both wise and powerful. Trust me, Apple Bloom. She'll know what to do." Apple Bloom felt assured by the lavender Unicorn's response. At least Twilight could get the answers from someone. This thought brought a simple smile to her face.

"You'll have to leave the name of Apple behind you. That name is not safe outside of Ponyville." Apple Bloom smile faltered. Now she had to compromise her identity for the safekeeping of some Celestia-forsaken Ring.

"What about Applejack, and Big Mac? They'll be wondering where I've gone to," stated Apple Bloom.

"I will leave them a note on your location and situation...with some minor details left out," answered Twilight, already scribbling a hasty note for Apple Bloom's older siblings.

"Travel only by day. And stay off the roads," finished Twilight.

"I can move through the apple orchards faster than anypony. Crossing country should be easy enough." Apple Bloom hoped she was right, and she slipped The Ring into a tiny compartment in her saddlebag.

Twilight smiled, which Apple Bloom thought was odd for the situation. But if Twilight was smiling, it must have meant something good came out of all this terror, and that encouraged Apple Bloom to smile again.

"My dear Apple Bloom. Earth Ponies really are the most astounding type of pony out there. They can't fly like Pegasi, or conduct magic like a Unicorn, but they can still surprise even the most knowledgeable of ponies." Apple Bloom's smile grew at Twilight's compliment, and she felt ready to go on an epic adventure. Heck, it might even be a chance to get her Cutie Mark.

Rustling outside the study window disturbed the happy moment shared between the two friends.

"Get down," whispered Twilight, and Apple Bloom complied.

Twilight levitated a nearby walking stick, and held it at the ready. She inched slowly towards the window. Once she reached the window ledge, she looked down, and saw nothing. But she knew better, so she sent the stick down, where it struck something hard, and was accompanied by a yelp. Twilight dropped the stick, and with her magic, reached into the bushes, and pulled out a purple-scaled, green-spined dragon.

"Gosh darn it Spike! Have you been eavesdropping?" Twilight's accusation was short, and it left no room for error in Spike's response.

"I haven't been dropping no eaves Twilight, honest. I was just cutting the grass under the window...if you follow me," responded Spike

Twilight smirked at Spike's response. Just like Applejack, Spike was a terrible liar.

"A little late for trimming the verge, don't you think?" asked Twilight.

"I heard raised voices," continued Spike.

"What did you hear? Speak!" Twilight was now worried. Her best, and only draconian friend, was now being dragged into this compounded debacle, and she could do nothing but determine his level of involvement.

"no-Nothing important. That is, I heard a good deal about a ring, a dark lord, and something about the end of the world. But--please, Twilight, don't turn me into anything *gulp* unnatural,"  answered Spike.

Spike, of all ponies, knew Twilight's full encompassment in the magical arts, and Transmorgification was one of them.

"No?" Twilight looked over to Apple Bloom, who, like her, shared a smile, "Perhaps not."

Twilight got in real close to Spike before delivering her verdict, "I've thought of a better use for you."