Applejack stared down out the open window, her chest heaving as she saw the dark shape disappear into the river far below. She continued to hold her hoof out in vain, as if by some miracle she'd be able to reach out and pull her friend out from her head first dive into the clutches of death. Twilight Sparkle had long since crashed into the waters below with a sickening simultaneous crack and crunch, and let Applejack still stood there, staring downward like a blind mare, as if something would change just by her voiceless denial and desperate, tearful stare.
"Again. . .again. . .that's two times now. . .twice. . ."
Applejack's own thoughts and overall mental state seemed to mirror Twilight's own descent. The disfigured earth pony mare was in an inner downward spiral as the thoughts of her former friend surrounded her, particular those of the dead pink earth pony nearby and the dead unicorn that lay far down below. These thought coaxed Applejack into putting her outstretched forehoof down onto the windowsill. Then, the screams of Applebloom amid the roar of flames, as well as the sound of Big Macintosh's body hitting the ground with a thud, caused Applejack to move the rest of her hooves forward as well.
Applejack was just beginning to lean forward out of the window when she head sound of approaching hoofsteps mingled with a female voice.
"Why?"
Applejack turned around to see a pony she had never met. She was a unicorn, with a pale pinkish-lavender coat. Her mane and tail were a dark purple with a light blue strip within, and both had a slight curl to them. Her persian blue eyes were wide with a mixture of pity and confusion as she studied the earth pony as she approached.
"Why didn't any of you see?" the mare continued, "Twilight Sparkle was a very intelligent mare. Shouldn't she have known that friendship is not more powerful than. . .time."
The mare shook her head, then looked back up at Applejack and said, "Come closer. Talk with me."
Applejack's old anger flared up at being told what to do, and she growled and said, "Why should Ah?"
The mare shrugged and said, "If you plan on doing what I think you are, then, well, I have no desire to physically stop you. I doubt I even could. But, if you are going to do that anyway, and have truly made up your mind that you will, then I don't think taking a few moments to talk to me before you go is going to make any difference, now will it?"
Applejack thought on the stranger's words for a moment, then she stepped off of the windowsill and grumbled, "Only because Ah want to know why the Hell you're even here. What business do you have being here anyway?"
The mare smiled calmly and said, "Well, I won't lie to you. I've been following her. Twilight Sparkle, that is. She always fascinated me. The late Princess Celestia's personal student. A brilliant mind and powerful mage. Killed by the Mares of Diomedes along with her mentor. Of course, I never believed that she was dead-."
"Whut?" Applejack said, her eyes fixated on the unicorn.
"I have my sources, " the mare said, and Applejack could've sworn she saw the mare's horn glow slightly, "There were also a few whispered rumors, although most were related to whatever sixth sense your pink friend had."
"Her name is Pinkie Pie!" Applejack shouted , rage flaring up in her eyes.
"Yes, of course, I'm sorry," the mare said quickly, "Anyway, most of my days were spent staking out the area around Canterlot. Sure enough, my patience was, well, maybe not rewarded, per say." The mare shook her head and spoke with the tone of disappointment, "WelI, I had the privilege of shadowing her in her last moments, watching as she got to experience the effects of time on all of her friendships."
Applejack took in the mare lackadaisical tone and facial expression, and it quickly fueled the fires of her rage even further. "And you just watched her fall," she said as she took a step closer to the mare, "You didn't even try to save her."
"Oh, she'll be saved, believe me, she will. Just not by me. She'll be saved the pony that I will be saving shortly," the unicorn explained casually.
"Ah'm not gonna sit here as you disrespect my dead friends with your nonsense and riddles!" Applejack shouted, spraying spittle in the unicorn's direction.
The mare seemed strangely unafraid of the massive, furious, muscular, violent, and enraged earth pony standing in front of her. In fact, she closed her eyes and said to herself, "Yes. . .you're the right mare for the job. Determined, strong willed, still able to care, sober, and definitely willing to do anything to make things right. A bit of an anger problem, but still the best bet. That anger might come in handy to keep things in line."
"LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Applejack roared.
The unicorn opened her eyes and smiled the happiest, brightest, most sunniest smile Applejack had seen in a long time. Then she said, "What if I told you that I knew a way for you and your friends to get a better ending?"
Applejack froze, taken aback by the mare's smile as well as the question. "Say whut now?"
The unicorn smiled and said, "You'll have to start over, pretty much. Well, okay, maybe not all the way over, but pretty far. 6 years is a long time, but then again, seeing as how you pretty much lost everything, well, starting over just might be your heart's desire right now."
Applejack scowled and said, "Ah thought Ah told you to stop spouting nonsense and riddles! What do ya mean, 'start over'."
The unicorn huffed, seemingly starting to lose her patience, as she said, "Oh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, assuming you could even understand it. Besides, it's not like I even plan on giving you a choice here anyway. My plan needs to work, and it will." She then regained her composure and smiled at Applejack again, "I just have one question for you before you go. After Pinkie Pie. . .died. . .Twilight went on and on about how all of her friends were good ponies and didn't deserve what had happened to them. Do you agree with that sentiment?"
Applejack slammed her hoof onto the ground and answered angrily, "Yer darn right, I agree with that!"
The unicorn replied with another, almost casual smile and said, "Really? And you don't find that. . . strange?" She gestured to the disfigured former farm pony and said, "Look at yourself. If the six of you really were good ponies, then why did things end up like this? A twist of fate? That's just a prettier way of saying 'life's not fair.'"
The unicorn frowned solemnly and said, "In which case you'd be right. Life isn't fair. It isn't equal. But I-."
She stopped herself mid sentence, then chuckled and said, "Oh, sorry. No spoilers. And sorry again, but I actually still have one last question." She cocked her head to the side questioningly and asked, "Why did Twilight wake up when she did? Why then instead of earlier, or later?" She turned to Pinkie's body and remarked, "Did she hear Pinkie calling for her?"
The unicorn then gave one final shrug and said with a smile, "See you earlier, Applejack."
She then produced an ancient looking scroll and powered up her horn. She cast her magic upon the parchment as the very air hummed with the power of the spell she'd just activated. A strange object appeared in the room, right above Applejack. It was a glowing, ethereal, bowl shaped construct with various runes moving upon it.
Applejack suddenly felt herself being lifted off of her hooves and into the mysterious nexus. She didn't even have time to call out to the strange unicorn before she was sucked right into the portal, which then disappeared in a flash.
The orange mare was crying out in fear as she was propelled swiftly through a tunnel of light. As she flew onward, she could feel her very body being eroded away. It wasn't a painful experience, but it was unnerving in the highest levels. In seconds, the once huge, strong mare was a disembodied spirit, flying through time and space at frightening speeds.
Then, the other end of the tunnel became visible, and Applejack found herself falling down through a clear blue sky towards an apple orchard, and straight into the body of an orange mare she new oh so very well.
"Pinkie Pie is right. Twilight is alive. Her Pinkie Sense ain't ever wrong."
"Listen Mac, we don't need no loans from any shady characters. Ah'll be watching you."
"Rainbow, you ain't as close to the Bolts as you are to us, right? Just keep that in mind."
"There's griffon slavers in the Everfree Forest Fluttershy. Ah'd feel better if you you stayed on Sweet Apple Acres. There's plenty of room for your animal friends."
"Pinkie Pie ain't crazy, and it's time Ah proved it. C'mon, we're seeing Princess Luna right now!"
"Sorry, your Majesty, but Ah can see right through your lies. The only way you'll stop me from trying to see Twilight is by killin' me!"
"Trust me, girls. Twilight will wake up from her coma. We gotta believe in her."
"Yer gonna probably laugh at this, RD, but Ah just don't like looking at those arches. They make me nervous. I keep imagining a pegasus flying through 'em and getting their wings sliced off."
"Ah know business is tough, Rares, which is why you should really just let the Crusaders help you. Ah know, Ah know, but Ah'm sure Scootaloo and your sister can learn to do the simple stuff. And Applebloom, well, shoot, just look at what she made the other day! I think designin' and aesthetics are part of her special talent! They'll gladly work for free or for cheap. And you didn't forget Fluttershy's freaky knowledge about sewing either, did ya?"
"You know Twilight wouldn't want you to hurt yourself because you were doing a stunt show in her honor, Dash. Just imagine how Twilight would feel about that."
"Pinkie, if you keep just throwing practice parties for Twilight, you'll end up losing the rest of your party planning skills. There's so many ponies who still need cheering up after what happened to Celestia. Don't they deserve a special day of their own? Twilight wouldn't want us to be selfish."
"Ah-ha! Glad I had Fluttershy's animals keep an eye on you. You ain't getting no loans from those criminals! Time to swallow my pride. If'n we need charity, Ah'll take it. Ah'm sure Luna will help us, seeing as she'd still be Nightmare Moon if'n it weren't for me."
"Ah know what your doozy means, Pinkie: Twilight's awake and is coming home soon!"
"SURPRISE!"
Twilight Sparkle was surrounded by her five best friends seconds after entering into Ponyville Library. As balloons rained down from above, Twilight was caught in the warmest, closest group hug she'd ever experienced. She even forgot about her broken horn at that point, as she was surrounded by so much love and true friendship.
Soon the five were quickly bringing their friend up to speed on how things had been for them. Sweet Apple Acres had managed to hang on during the recession. The Carousel Boutique was doing moderately well, but Rarity was content. Fluttershy and her animals worked both on Sweet Apple Acres and on in the Carousel Boutique, along with the CMC. As for Pinkie, well, she hadn't changed much at all.
After the stories were done, Twilight smiled with misty eyes and turned to the orange mare. She looked at her for the utmost gratitude and said, "Thank you, Applejack. You have no idea how grateful I am."
Applejack looked back at Twilight in confusion and asked, "Huh? What do you mean, Twi?"
Twilight just continued to smile as she said, "I met your new friend as I was leaving Canterlot. She told me about how you held everypony together while I was in my coma. You gave them advice, looked after them, steered them in the right way, kept them from making mistakes. . .you always were the most dependable of ponies Applejack. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Applejack was truly touched by the sentiment, and the expressions on everypony else's faces showed that they agreed with it. Applejack blushed and said, "Well, shucks, Ah was just doing what any good friend would do." She then gained an inquisitive look and asked, "Hold up. . .what new friend?"
"Starlight Glimmer," Twilight clarified, "You know, a pinkish-lavender unicorn."
Applejack's eyes widened. "Unicorn?" she echoed.
At that moment, Pinkie Pie entire body began to shake wildly. She looked confused as she remarked, "Huh. . . so. . .Twilight waking up and coming home wasn't the doozy?"
There was suddenly a tremendous flash, and all six ponies found themselves encased in crystal from the neck down.
"You IDIOTS!"
Starlight Glimmer strode triumphantly into the library, a wide smirk on her face as she said, "I told you my plan would work Applejack. I finally got you all here, alive. Both in the terms of your bodies and your oh so magical friendship. That's one half of what I need, and I already have the other half!"
Starlight lit up her horn, and six familiar jewels floated out of her saddle bag.
"The Elements!" Twilight shouted in shock, "But how!?"
"Oh, puh-lease!" Starlight said with a roll of her eyes, "As if any lock could possibly be a match for a unicorn as smart and powerful as me!"
Applejack's unburned face twisted into a snarl as Angerjack began to resurface, "WHY!? Why are you doing this to us! We were all happy! Everything was fixed! Ah stopped all those bad things from happening! Isn't that what you wanted me to do? Why are you doing this?"
"Why? WHY!?" Starlight shouted, a mad gleam in her eyes as she switched from intense rage to gleeful joy in an instant. She laughed and said, "Don't you get it? This entire world is so unequal. It's unfair. And as long as it stays the way it is, it will keep being unfair. We might be able to make some ponies happy, but at the same time countless other ponies are poor, starving, sick, dying, or enslaved."
Starlight's grin widened as she declared, "But I can fix that. I can finally fix everything. By making everypony. . .ieverycreature completely equal. Of course, such a spell would take an incredible amount of power. The Elements of Harmony are the perfect power source. I knew I couldn't use them, and I knew that you wouldn't agree to my plans, so the only option would be to get you all in one place, capture you when your friendship was the strongest, and then force the Elements to activate and unleash their magic. Sure, forcing such an action will kill all of you, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. A perfect utopia in exchange for a group of six ponies is an excellent deal."
As the Elements of Harmony orbited around Starlight, she looked directly at Applejack and said, "And it's all because of you Applejack. You kept the ponies I needed alive. You kept them all true to their Elements. You held the Magic of Friendship together. . .so I could harness it!"
Applejack's anger evaporated. Angerjack had been eroded away by the months of peace, happiness, family, and friendship she'd experienced. So now, Applejack could only feel despair as the end became clear to her.
"No. . .it aint fair. . ." Applejack said quietly, "Ah'd worked so hard. . .to stop what could've happened. . .Ah was making a happy ending for all of us."
Starlight let out another chuckled as the Element spun around her faster and faster until they became a blur. "Oh, but this is a happy ending," Starlight insisted as her horn glowed, causing the Cutie Marks of the crystalline imprisoned ponies to glow as well. The mares could all feel pins and needles attack their flanks, and their very souls.
". . .for everycreature else," Starlight said with glowing eyes and a demonic voice.
Applejack felt a sharp pain, and then everything went black.
