Equestria Superhero Girls: The Apple of Death's Eyeby Time Agent ponyChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4EpilogueChapter 1Applejack wasn't the type to get jealous, it just wasn't who she was, but sometimes she couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her friends, a feeling that flickered through the transit of her mind. The reason for her jealousy of her friends wasn't because of anything they owned, but because they had the one thing that had been taken from her and her siblings. Applejack got occasionally jealous, envious even, of her friends because they still had their parents. Applejack's parents, Bright Mac and Pear Butter, had died when Applejack and her brother, Big Mac, were very young. Their sister Apple Bloom was a baby, so she had little memory of their parents. Granny Smith had tried to take charge for a while, but due to her age, she didn't have the energy nor the youth to become the head of the family full time. As a result of their parents passing and her granny's waning health, Applejack taken it upon herself to take charge and fill the hole her parents left, becoming the new head of the household, even at a young age. She, her brother and Granny Smith had taken it upon themselves to raise Apple Bloom until she was old enough to help with the family business. Fortunately, the Apple Family received additional help from friends, neighbours and other members of the family. Over time, the Apples managed to recover and achieve some level of normality. But the pain of loss was still there for Applejack, lingering just under the surface and on the anniversary of their deaths. Once a year, the feeling would break through to the surface. It was a new year, which meant that the anniversary was fast approaching. It started like any other day, Applejack woke up and began taking care of the house work and preparing breakfast, until her brother, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom woke up and joined her. After breakfast, Applejack helped Granny Smith with the washing up, Granny insisted she could do it on her own, but Applejack wouldn't budge. Following that, Applejack headed for the orchard at the back of their house, where her brother and sister had already started picking the apples from the trees. Big Mac waited until Apple Bloom was out of earshot before talking to Applejack. "That time's coming up again," he said, in his deep yet wise voice, "you think it's time for Apple Bloom to join us this time?" Applejack's brother was a soul of few words, usually, but there were rare occasions where he talked more and shared his thoughts with his sisters and others. "Not a chance, Big Mac," Applejack replied, "I feel she's still too young." "She's gonna need to face it eventually," Big Mac responded, "I think she's old enough to be a part of it." "NO!" Applejack replied, she realised she had raised her voice, "no," she said, quietly. "I just...." she continued, taking off her hat, it was her father's hat, "I just don't want Apple Bloom to go through the same pain I went through." "I know, sis," Big Mac nodded, "but holding her too tight won't keep her sheltered forever, she gonna have to experience it at some point." Applejack was silent for a while, as she watched her little sister doing her best to gather apples from the trees, "Alright," she said, finally, "I'll think about taking her with us when we go to the cemetery tonight." Big Mac smiled, seeing that his sister was thinking about what he had said. The siblings continued their work, unaware of what the day's events would bring. Elsewhere, in the realm of Death of the Endless. "Well," Death of the Endless smiled, "it's time, again." She put down her book and stood up from her couch, proceeding towards the exit of her realm, pausing for a few moment to feed her fish, Slim and Wandsworth. Every century Death of the Endless lives life as a mortal for 24 hours to better understand life and all of its beauty, it seemed that the time had finally come around again. After taking care of her pets, Death moved towards the exit to her realm, the realm itself being a small white void with the previously mentioned items, along with a teddy bear being the only other thing there. As Death was about to leave, she was greeted by her brother, Dream of the Endless. He and Death were part of a group of beings called The Endless, not gods, but beings that stood above both mortals and gods. The other members of the Endless were: Destiny, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delight, now Delirium. "Here to see me off, brother?" Death asked, giving her brother a smile. "Indeed," Dream replied, "I wish you well, sister, I look forward to hearing about to your adventure." The smile remained on Death's face as she grabbed her sigil, an ankh, which she placed around her neck, all the Endless had a sigil, an object that represented them. Having grabbed her sigil, Death waved goodbye to her brother as departed for the mortal realm, whistling a tune as she went. Chapter 2Later that day, at Canterlot Mall. Applejack had finished helping her family with harvesting their apples and was now working at her part time at a juice bar. When Applejack wasn't at CHS, building her future education, she would ether be hanging with her friends or working to earn extra money for her family. Her family did earn enough money from selling their apple food products, but it didn't hurt to bring in some extra money on the side. Applejack was thinking about what Big Mac had said about letting Apple Bloom accompany them when they visited the cemetery in the evening. She was lost in her own thoughts, slicing fruits and veg when a girl approached the juice bar counter. The sound of whistling shook Applejack from her daydream. She turned around and approached the counter, "Howdy," she greeted, the girl, "what can I get ya?" "Hmmm," the voice of the customer answered, "surprise me." Applejack complied mixing random fruit and vegetables to create a smoothy for the costumer. "There you go," she smiled, "hope you like it." The customer took the drink and sipped it, "not bad," she said, "but I can't pay for it." Applejack looked up to see the customer's face, she had a friendly smile on her face, the clothes of a goth and a black umbrella with her. "Don't worry," Applejack replied, smiling back, "lets consider this one on the house." "Thank you," the girl answered, "you're very kind." "Are you new here?" Applejack asked, "I don't think I've seen you around here, before." "I've been here, before," the girl replied, "I travel a lot, so I'm always moving from place to place." "Is that so?" Applejack remarked, "well, in that case, let me be the first to welcome you back to Canterlot." "Thank you," the girl responded, "I don't think you told me your name." "Name's Applejack," she answered, "my family's products and apples are sold far and wide across Canterlot." Upon hearing Applejack's name, the girl suddenly recognised it. "Oh, I've heard of you," she said, "I knew your parents." "Really?" Applejack replied, "I don't remember my parents mentioning you." She couldn't recall anytime in her childhood, that she had ever encountered the girl that stood before her. "What did you say your name was?" Applejack asked. "I didn't," the girl answered. Applejack was about to press for more information, when the girl finished her smoothy, smiled and walked away, leaving Applejack in utter confusion. A few hours later. Applejack walked into the Sweet Shoppe, the mysterious girl from earlier still stuck in her mind. She sat at a table, the girl wasn't the only thing on her mind, the evening was drawing near and her visit to her parents graves with Big Mac was too and still didn't feel comfortable about Apple Bloom accompanying them. Applejack was shaken from her thoughts by the arrival of Mrs. Cake, the owner of the bakery. "Hey Applejack," she greeted, "nice sunny day isn't it?" "I guess," Applejack replied, sighing and staring down at the table. "Arr," Mrs. Cake remarked, seeing the girl was distressed, "what's got you all blue?" The look in Applejack's eyes told Mrs. Cake what she needed to know, "Oh," she said, "it's that time again, right?" Applejack nodded, she didn't need to explain anything, Mrs. Cake was a kind soul and had been friends with Applejack's mother before she met her father, she and Applejack's mother had been friends when they were students at Canterlot High. It was Applejack's mother who helped Mrs. Cake, back when she was known as Chiffon Swirl, find her calling and pursue a career as a baker. Mrs. Cake and her husband had always been practically like family to Applejack and her family. Sensing Applejack needed some alone time, Mrs. Cake moved away to continue her work at taking orders around the shop and helping her husband run the café. She and her husband were planing on starting a family of there own. She did give Applejack a smile and a wink, before she moved off. Applejack's thoughts continued to linger in her head, "Your sister is old enough, you can't keep on protecting her forever, she can handle it." "Maybe Apple Bloom is old enough," Applejack murmured, to herself, "maybe I should..." She stopped her train of thought. There, walking through the shop door, was the mysterious girl from earlier. Mrs. Cake seemed to know who the girl was and proceeded to take her order. After which, the girl took her order, whistling the tune from earlier, as she headed out the door. Applejack was about to ask Mrs. Cake who the strange girl was, but before she could act, her phone buzzed signifying she had received a text. It was from Fluttershy reminding her that she had an appointment to get her dog, Winona, groomed at the Animal Shelter & Clinic, where Fluttershy helped at during some of her free time. Applejack was slightly annoyed that the she was again denied an answer to the mysterious girl's identity, but not wanting to keep her friend waiting, Applejack left the shop and headed back to her house to pick up Winona, then headed for the Animal Shelter. Chapter 3Applejack, along with Winona, walked along the pavement, heading towards the Animal Shelter & Clinic. The mysterious girl was weighting heavy on her mind, as far back as she could remember she couldn't recall encountering a girl like the one she had been seeing throughout the day, nor could she remember her parents ever mentioning a girl matching the girl's description. For now, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she and Winona entered the building. They were met by Fluttershy, who had just finished examining a pet. "Hey, Applejack," she greeted. "Howdy, Fluttershy," Applejack replied. The look on her friend's face told Fluttershy that Applejack's mind was elsewhere. "Are you alright, Applejack?" she asked, "you seemed to be distracted by something." Applejack wanted to lie and say that nothing was wrong and put on a brave face for her friend. But Fluttershy was one of those people you couldn't really lie to, she was just too kind and caring. Applejack sighed, "I got a lot on my mind, sugercube," she answered. "Do you wanna talk about any of it?" Fluttershy asked, "you know, after Winona's finished with her appointment." "Yeah," Applejack nodded, "I'd like that." Fluttershy smiled. She may have a gift when it came to animals and thanks to her geode her gift had been elevated to whole new level. Fluttershy also liked to think that she was just as good with comforting people, as she was comforting animals. While her friend took care of her dog, Applejack tried to distract herself by reading some magazines and newspapers in the clinic's waiting room. There was the Daily Bugle with J Jonah Jameson's usual rambling about Spider-man being a menace. "How does Spider-man cope?" Applejack wondered, "I might have to ask some time." Then there was Daily Planet with articles on Superman and his various heroics, reported by Lois Lane. Finally a magazine discussing whether robotics were worth pursuing, because of threats like Ultron, Brainiac and Ultimo. After a while, Applejack's mind wondered back to the previous events of the day. She was again thinking about the mysterious girl, who was she? How did she know her and her parents? The questions buzzed around inside her skull, more so than the other dilemma on her mind. Applejack was saved from driving herself crazy with her thoughts, by Fluttershy. "Winona's finished her check up," she said, patting the dog on the head, "she's such a good girl." Applejack smiled, she'd had Winona even since she was puppy, aside from her hat, Winona was one of the few connections Applejack still had with her parents. "Are you ready to talk about your problems?" Fluttershy asked, taking a seat beside her friend. Applejack sighed, she really didn't want to burden one of her friends with her problems, she was very stubborn about issues like that, but, on the other hand, she knew she had to tell someone otherwise if she kept her thoughts bottled up inside it would drive herself mad. So she explained to Fluttershy about mysterious girl she had been seeing and the decision to take Apple Bloom with her and Big Mac when they made their yearly visit to their parents graves. Applejack confided that the girl mentioned that she knew her parents, but she couldn't recall ever encountering her ever. Fluttershy listened, until her friend had finished explaining then took a long time to think of a response. "Well," she said, finally, "in regards to your first problem, I think that your brother is right, Apple Bloom is around the age to understand and deal with grief." "But she's my sister," Applejack replied, "when my parents died she could barely walk and speak, she was just a baby so we never mentioned them around her, she doesn't know them like I did, how do you tell someone about parents that they didn't remember?" Fluttershy was silent for a moment, "the first step is always the hardest," she uttered, eventually. "What?" Applejack asked, confused. "You have to take a leap of faith," Fluttershy continued, "I know you love your sister and the rest of your family, like how me and the others help and support each other through any difficulties and hardships we face and I'm sure Apple Bloom's friends will do the same for her." Fluttershy had a point, like her big sister, Apple Bloom had her own circle of friends, consisting of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, which formed the CMC (Canterlot Movie Club) where they would get together at the local cinema to catch a movie that all three of them were fans of. When Apple Bloom was with her friends they were practically inseparable, their friendship was just as strong as the friendship Applejack had with her friends and teammates in the Champions. Applejack knew what she had to do, but it was so hard to imagine that Apple Bloom wasn't the little sister she had taken care of and protected throughout her younger years. She had created an ideal version of her little sister in her head, that was sheltered and needed to be protected at all times. She just didn't know if her sister could handle the sadness and grief of seeing her parents graves. "It's like birds," Fluttershy stated, "the baby birds always need their mother for a while, but then they grow up and leave the nest." "I'm not following," Applejack said, not quite understanding her friend's words. "What I'm saying is," Fluttershy replied, "all children leave home sooner or later, the joy is to watch them fly." Applejack was about to reply, when a familiar whistle suddenly was heard. She began glancing around, trying to identify where the whistle was coming from. "Applejack," Fluttershy said, "are you okay?" Just then, the mysterious girl walked through the entrance and headed for the section of the building where the rescue animals were kept. "Thats her," Applejack uttered, "thats the girl." "I wonder what she wants with the rescue animals?" Fluttershy murmured. The two followed behind the girl, until she arrived at her destination. The girl entered the room, the animals being surprisingly quiet as she passed by their cages, apart from Fluttershy the animals had never acted like that around anyone else. The girl stopped by a cage with a partially blind cat in it. The cat looked up at the girl, who smiled and stroked the cat's fur. "Don't give up, little one," the girl said, "your destiny does not end here." The cat seemed to understand and began purring as the girl continued gently stroke its head. Eventually, the girl stopped stroking the cat, closed its cage and turned to leave, but stopped when she saw Applejack and Fluttershy standing by the entrance. "Hello again," she greeted, smiling, "we really need to stop meeting like this." "I've never seen the animals so well behaved around strangers," Fluttershy replied, "you must be really good with animals." "I guess you could say that," the girl answered, "lets just say I'm not really a stranger to them." It was then that Applejack spoke up, "Who are you?" she asked, "why are you following me?" The girl seemed unfazed by the questions, "Well," she replied, "I'm just who you think I am and I think you'll find that you've been following me." "But I don't know who you are," Applejack retorted, "I don't even know your name." Fluttershy nodded in agreement with her friend, she also didn't know who the strange girl was. The girl continued to smile, "Terribly sorry to cut this short," she started walking away, "but I have lots of things to do and very little time." "Wait," Applejack said, "we're not done here, how do you know my parents, they didn't mention anyone like you and certainly don't remember meeting you when I was younger." The girl stopped near the exit and turned to face Applejack and Fluttershy, "catch you later," she stated, after which she left the building. "Are you alright, Applejack?" Fluttershy asked, after a while. "Yeah," Applejack answered, "I'm fine." And without another word, Applejack along with Winona exited the building. She walked along back to her house with Winona walking alongside her. Applejack didn't know what to think, after the experience she had just had with the mysterious girl she had even more questions then answers. There was one thing she did know, after thinking, she finally understood what Fluttershy had been trying to tell her back at the Animal Shelter & Clinic. She had to let Apple Bloom grow up sometime, she couldn't keep her little sister in a bubble forever, she still didn't like the idea, but she could take baby steps. She had already decided what her first baby step was going to be, she had finally made up her mind, she was going to bring Apple Bloom along when she and Big Mac visited their parents' graves in the evening. Chapter 4Later that evening. The siblings walked, silently, along the pavement heading towards the cemetery. Big Mac was happy that Applejack had decided to bring Apple Bloom along and he was also okay with his sister's plan to slowly over time give Apple Bloom more freedom and independence. After a few more minutes of walking, the Apple siblings arrived at cemetery gates, the same cemetery that Applejack, her friends and other universe Lanterns fought the Black Lantern zombies. "Thank goodness, Ma and Pa weren't taken over by the black rings," Applejack thought, "I can't imagine what I might have done if that had happened." Applejack placed a hand on the gates, she always hated when she and Big Mac visited the place. Not the visit to the cemetery itself, but amount of mental courage required for simply walk through the cemetery gates. "You okay, sis?" Apple Bloom asked, breaking the silence. For a moment, Applejack didn't answer. "I'm fine, sugarcube," she replied, "I'm just fine." Eventually, Applejack pushed the gates and she, her brother and her sister entered the cemetery. The three walked past rows and rows of gravestone, some belonging to superheroes and some to regular people. Finally, the siblings stopped by two graves that were positioned in a special corner of the cemetery. The graves themselves were positioned underneath an old apple tree and an old pear tree. Their father, Bright Mac, was buried underneath the apple tree and their mother, Pear Butter, was buried underneath the pear tree. Their headstones read, "Bright Mac and Pear Butter, mother and father, loved by all and missed by all." The siblings stood in silence, staring at the cold stones before them. Apple Bloom was feeling so many emotions at that moment, she didn't know what to say. Now it was Applejack's turn to be concerned. "You okay, sugarcube?" she asked, looking her sister in the eyes. Tears began forming in Apple Bloom's eyes, she had tried to hold it all in but, she couldn't take it anymore. Big Mac knew exactly what to do, letting his little sister bury her face in her chest and let out all her sadness and grief. Applejack understood, she had gone through the same thing when she first visited the cemetery with Granny Smith when she and Big Mac were younger. After a few minutes, Apple Bloom finished letting out her grief and Applejack wiped the tears out of her sister's eyes and gave her a hug. After a while, Applejack let go of her sister and the siblings faced their parents gravestones. "Howdy, Ma, Pa" Applejack said, "me and Mac are here for our yearly visit and we brought Apple Bloom, she's all grown up now." Trying to not to cry again, Apple Bloom approached the gravestones. "Hey, Ma, Pa" she sniffed, "I feel like I'm meeting you and Pa for the first time, probably because I was so young that I don't remember you." Big Mac smiled and put a hand on Apple Bloom's shoulder, "I'm sure, they would so proud of how much you've grown," he said. Apple Bloom smiled, thankful to her big brother for comforting and reassuring her. Applejack felt tears coming to her eyes, seeing her big brother and little sister supporting each other. Her momentary joy was interrupted by a familiar whistle that came drifting on the wind. Applejack turned, only to be greeted by the mysterious girl she'd been seeing all throughout the day. Big Mac and Apple Bloom noticed the girl too and they looked just as surprised as Applejack. The girl gave Apple Bloom a smile, "Your parents would must certainly be proud of you, little one," she said. She turned her gaze on the other two Apple siblings, "all of you," she finished. Finally, Applejack had had enough, the frustration of not knowing was too much for her, she wanted answers from the girl and she want them now "Thats it!" she cried, lighting up her Lantern ring, "I can't stand no more of this, I want the truth! HOW DO YOU KNOW MY PARENTS!?" Both Big Mac and Apple Bloom watched from the sidelines, surprised by their older siblings sudden burst of anger and rage towards a, seemingly, random stranger that had just appeared from nowhere. "Maybe you should calm down," the girl replied, seemingly unfazed by Applejack's outburst, "this is a cemetery, you don't need to shout, there is no reason to get upset." "No!" Applejack responded, "I have no intention of calming down!" She was stopped from being fully blind by her anger by Apple Bloom grabbing her hand. "Applejack," she trembled, "stop, you're scaring me and Big Mac." Upon hearing her little sister's voice, Applejack's anger and rage suddenly evaporated and she snapped back to reality. She looked at her hands, still bunched into fists, she couldn't believe she'd let her anger almost consume her. Now it was Apple Blooms turn to be the shoulder to cry on, as Applejack hugged her and let her tears flow. After she had finished her crying, Applejack turned to face the mysterious girl again. "I still want to know," she said, "how do you know my parents? Tell me," her voice began to shake, "please." The girl smiled, a warm, gentle smile, "Believe me," she began, "I really didn't want to take them from the three of you, but it was their time and I couldn't change that." The Apple siblings all stared at the girl, collectively stunned by what the girl had said. "You mean you killed them?" Applejack asked. "I didn't do anything," the girl replied, "the end of Bright Mac & Pear Butter's story was already written in the Book of Destiny, before they sucked in their first breath." "I don't know what you mean!" Applejack exclaimed, feeling the anger and frustration well up in her, again, "can't you give me a straight answer!?" The girl nodded, "I suppose I do owe you that much," she breathed, "allow me to introduce myself, Death of the Endless, pleased to meet you all." The siblings were all silent, not knowing how to react to what they had been told. "You're, you're...." Applejack stammered, "Death." Time seemed to freeze around the Apple siblings, everything around them seemed to stop moving. "Indeed I am," Death replied, "I am the personification of Death, I am here for the birth and death of every sentient being in the universe and eventually I will come to all things. When my job is finished, I'll put the chairs on the table, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave." Again, tears filled Applejack's eyes, "How..." she stuttered, "how can you tell us all this and be so calm about what you do?" "Believe me," Death answered, "if I could have intervened I would have, but no one can escape Destiny or his book." Before Applejack could speak, Apple Bloom stepped forward. "Excuse me, Miss Death," she said, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you here among the living?" "Oh, that's simple," Death replied, "once every century I spend 24 hours as a mortal, so I can understand the beauty of life and all its little foibles" "I sure hope we didn't mess up your holiday," Applejack said, "sorry, about flying off the handle at ya." "There is no need to apologise," Death responded, "your anger towards me is justified, I'm the one who took your parents from the three of you." "Speaking of which," Applejack continued, "I don't suppose you have power over the dead? You could maybe..." She was cut off, Death seemed to know what she was trying to say. "I know what you're thinking," she said, "but once a soul has been taken to the great unknown there is no coming back." "Oh," Applejack sighed, sadness filling every corner of her being, she had been hoping to see her parents, one last time. Big Mac and Apple Bloom looked just as depressed as Applejack felt. "But," Death continued, "I think one of my siblings might be able to help." "One of your siblings?" Big Mac repeated, "you have a family?" "Of my family is on a whole other level," Death smiled, "you would not believe." Suddenly, the siblings realised the amount of time that had passed since they entered the cemetery. Death seemed to notice it too, "looks like my time's up," she said, "time for me to go." Death of the Endless began to fade away, blowing away like dust in the wind. "Thank you," Apple Bloom called, "thank you Miss Death for sharing your last few mortal minutes with my family." "I should be thanking you," Death retorted, she continued to fade away, "you and your family are truly special, to your friends and everyone around you, look after each other." "We will," Applejack smiled, putting an arm around Apple Bloom and smiling down at her. "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded. With one last final smile, Death of the Endless finally faded away into nothingness, returning to realm and the rest of the Endless. EpilogueLater. Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Mac were back at home and were now asleep, the day had been long and strange but now they were heading to where all mortals go when they sleep, the realm called the Dreaming. The Dreaming was the realm where the brother of Death of the Endless, Dream of the Endless lived and presided over. The Dreaming itself was a metaphysical plane of symbol, belief and imagination and its landscape was ever-changing. Despite the fact, that the siblings were sleeping apart they were all sharing the same dream. The environment the siblings found themselves in was a replica of their apple orchard with their house situated at the end of it. "I know this place," Applejack murmured, "I know this orchard and that house." "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded. "You should," said a voice, "you and brother always liked playing hide and seek in this place in between helping me and you pa with yard work while also taking care of your little sister." The three siblings turn to see their mother and father, Pear Butter and Bright Mac standing there. "Ma! Pa!" Applejack cried. With tears in their eyes, the siblings ran up and hugged their parents. "It's good to see you all," Pear Butter smiled, happy to see her children all grown up. "But how?" Apple Bloom asked. Bright Mac smiled and ruffled Apple Bloom's hair, "We don't rightly know," he answered, confusedly scratching his head. "I can answer that," a new voice replied. The siblings and their parents turned to see, Dream of the Endless appear before them. "Who are you, stranger?" Pear Butter asked. "I have gone by many names," he said, "Morpheus, Oneiros, Lord L 'Zoril, The Sandman and many more, but you may call me Dream." "Sandman?" Bright Mac repeated, "as in the lord of dream Sandman?" Dream nodded, confirming Bright Mac's suspicion. "You mean this is a dream?" Big Mac asked, "this looks like our farm and house, it looks so real." "Within the realm of the Dreaming," Dream replied, "all things are possible." "So our parents aren't real?" Apple Bloom said. "As long as you remember them," Dream responded, "they will always be real, they will always live forever in your memories and your dreams." "Thank you," Applejack smiled, "thank you for this wonderful dream." "It is my sister, Death, you owe thanks to," Dream replied, a small smile on his face, "she informed me of your desire to meet the ones most dear to you." Dream began to leave, he had an entire realm to oversee and thousands of dreamers to watch over. "Thank your sister for us," Applejack called, as Dream began to disappear, "tell her if she's ever in the mortal world again, apple cider and smoothies are on the house." "Will do," Dream replied, as he finally disappear fully. Once Dream had left them, the Apple siblings and their parents spent hours of quality time together. Pear Butter and Bright Mac told Applejack how proud they were of her stepping up and taking charge of the farm, along with raising Apple Bloom and taking care of Granny Smith in their absences. They were equally proud of both Big Mac and Apple Bloom for all their accomplishments and how strong both had been grow alongside Applejack. The friends that they had made along the way, the Applejack and her friends had saved the world and brought about the new age of heroes. Both Bright Mac and Pear Butter were surprised and even more proud of Applejack's accomplishments. After they were done catching up, the siblings and their parents processed to play with each other, making up for all the lost time they had lost. In the waking world, as the siblings slept they all had smiles on their faces, in a way, they were reunited with their parents and would never lose them again. Elsewhere, outside of time and space. Two beings watched as a wave of antimatter began sweeping through the multiverse, consuming any earth in its path. "So it has begun," the first being said. "Indeed," the second being nodded, "we must act fast, before all of the Multiverse and then the Omniverse is lost. Images of Twilight, her friends and the rest of the Champions appeared before the two beings. "And I think I know where to start," the first being stated.
Chapter 1Applejack wasn't the type to get jealous, it just wasn't who she was, but sometimes she couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her friends, a feeling that flickered through the transit of her mind. The reason for her jealousy of her friends wasn't because of anything they owned, but because they had the one thing that had been taken from her and her siblings. Applejack got occasionally jealous, envious even, of her friends because they still had their parents. Applejack's parents, Bright Mac and Pear Butter, had died when Applejack and her brother, Big Mac, were very young. Their sister Apple Bloom was a baby, so she had little memory of their parents. Granny Smith had tried to take charge for a while, but due to her age, she didn't have the energy nor the youth to become the head of the family full time. As a result of their parents passing and her granny's waning health, Applejack taken it upon herself to take charge and fill the hole her parents left, becoming the new head of the household, even at a young age. She, her brother and Granny Smith had taken it upon themselves to raise Apple Bloom until she was old enough to help with the family business. Fortunately, the Apple Family received additional help from friends, neighbours and other members of the family. Over time, the Apples managed to recover and achieve some level of normality. But the pain of loss was still there for Applejack, lingering just under the surface and on the anniversary of their deaths. Once a year, the feeling would break through to the surface. It was a new year, which meant that the anniversary was fast approaching. It started like any other day, Applejack woke up and began taking care of the house work and preparing breakfast, until her brother, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom woke up and joined her. After breakfast, Applejack helped Granny Smith with the washing up, Granny insisted she could do it on her own, but Applejack wouldn't budge. Following that, Applejack headed for the orchard at the back of their house, where her brother and sister had already started picking the apples from the trees. Big Mac waited until Apple Bloom was out of earshot before talking to Applejack. "That time's coming up again," he said, in his deep yet wise voice, "you think it's time for Apple Bloom to join us this time?" Applejack's brother was a soul of few words, usually, but there were rare occasions where he talked more and shared his thoughts with his sisters and others. "Not a chance, Big Mac," Applejack replied, "I feel she's still too young." "She's gonna need to face it eventually," Big Mac responded, "I think she's old enough to be a part of it." "NO!" Applejack replied, she realised she had raised her voice, "no," she said, quietly. "I just...." she continued, taking off her hat, it was her father's hat, "I just don't want Apple Bloom to go through the same pain I went through." "I know, sis," Big Mac nodded, "but holding her too tight won't keep her sheltered forever, she gonna have to experience it at some point." Applejack was silent for a while, as she watched her little sister doing her best to gather apples from the trees, "Alright," she said, finally, "I'll think about taking her with us when we go to the cemetery tonight." Big Mac smiled, seeing that his sister was thinking about what he had said. The siblings continued their work, unaware of what the day's events would bring. Elsewhere, in the realm of Death of the Endless. "Well," Death of the Endless smiled, "it's time, again." She put down her book and stood up from her couch, proceeding towards the exit of her realm, pausing for a few moment to feed her fish, Slim and Wandsworth. Every century Death of the Endless lives life as a mortal for 24 hours to better understand life and all of its beauty, it seemed that the time had finally come around again. After taking care of her pets, Death moved towards the exit to her realm, the realm itself being a small white void with the previously mentioned items, along with a teddy bear being the only other thing there. As Death was about to leave, she was greeted by her brother, Dream of the Endless. He and Death were part of a group of beings called The Endless, not gods, but beings that stood above both mortals and gods. The other members of the Endless were: Destiny, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delight, now Delirium. "Here to see me off, brother?" Death asked, giving her brother a smile. "Indeed," Dream replied, "I wish you well, sister, I look forward to hearing about to your adventure." The smile remained on Death's face as she grabbed her sigil, an ankh, which she placed around her neck, all the Endless had a sigil, an object that represented them. Having grabbed her sigil, Death waved goodbye to her brother as departed for the mortal realm, whistling a tune as she went.
Chapter 2Later that day, at Canterlot Mall. Applejack had finished helping her family with harvesting their apples and was now working at her part time at a juice bar. When Applejack wasn't at CHS, building her future education, she would ether be hanging with her friends or working to earn extra money for her family. Her family did earn enough money from selling their apple food products, but it didn't hurt to bring in some extra money on the side. Applejack was thinking about what Big Mac had said about letting Apple Bloom accompany them when they visited the cemetery in the evening. She was lost in her own thoughts, slicing fruits and veg when a girl approached the juice bar counter. The sound of whistling shook Applejack from her daydream. She turned around and approached the counter, "Howdy," she greeted, the girl, "what can I get ya?" "Hmmm," the voice of the customer answered, "surprise me." Applejack complied mixing random fruit and vegetables to create a smoothy for the costumer. "There you go," she smiled, "hope you like it." The customer took the drink and sipped it, "not bad," she said, "but I can't pay for it." Applejack looked up to see the customer's face, she had a friendly smile on her face, the clothes of a goth and a black umbrella with her. "Don't worry," Applejack replied, smiling back, "lets consider this one on the house." "Thank you," the girl answered, "you're very kind." "Are you new here?" Applejack asked, "I don't think I've seen you around here, before." "I've been here, before," the girl replied, "I travel a lot, so I'm always moving from place to place." "Is that so?" Applejack remarked, "well, in that case, let me be the first to welcome you back to Canterlot." "Thank you," the girl responded, "I don't think you told me your name." "Name's Applejack," she answered, "my family's products and apples are sold far and wide across Canterlot." Upon hearing Applejack's name, the girl suddenly recognised it. "Oh, I've heard of you," she said, "I knew your parents." "Really?" Applejack replied, "I don't remember my parents mentioning you." She couldn't recall anytime in her childhood, that she had ever encountered the girl that stood before her. "What did you say your name was?" Applejack asked. "I didn't," the girl answered. Applejack was about to press for more information, when the girl finished her smoothy, smiled and walked away, leaving Applejack in utter confusion. A few hours later. Applejack walked into the Sweet Shoppe, the mysterious girl from earlier still stuck in her mind. She sat at a table, the girl wasn't the only thing on her mind, the evening was drawing near and her visit to her parents graves with Big Mac was too and still didn't feel comfortable about Apple Bloom accompanying them. Applejack was shaken from her thoughts by the arrival of Mrs. Cake, the owner of the bakery. "Hey Applejack," she greeted, "nice sunny day isn't it?" "I guess," Applejack replied, sighing and staring down at the table. "Arr," Mrs. Cake remarked, seeing the girl was distressed, "what's got you all blue?" The look in Applejack's eyes told Mrs. Cake what she needed to know, "Oh," she said, "it's that time again, right?" Applejack nodded, she didn't need to explain anything, Mrs. Cake was a kind soul and had been friends with Applejack's mother before she met her father, she and Applejack's mother had been friends when they were students at Canterlot High. It was Applejack's mother who helped Mrs. Cake, back when she was known as Chiffon Swirl, find her calling and pursue a career as a baker. Mrs. Cake and her husband had always been practically like family to Applejack and her family. Sensing Applejack needed some alone time, Mrs. Cake moved away to continue her work at taking orders around the shop and helping her husband run the café. She and her husband were planing on starting a family of there own. She did give Applejack a smile and a wink, before she moved off. Applejack's thoughts continued to linger in her head, "Your sister is old enough, you can't keep on protecting her forever, she can handle it." "Maybe Apple Bloom is old enough," Applejack murmured, to herself, "maybe I should..." She stopped her train of thought. There, walking through the shop door, was the mysterious girl from earlier. Mrs. Cake seemed to know who the girl was and proceeded to take her order. After which, the girl took her order, whistling the tune from earlier, as she headed out the door. Applejack was about to ask Mrs. Cake who the strange girl was, but before she could act, her phone buzzed signifying she had received a text. It was from Fluttershy reminding her that she had an appointment to get her dog, Winona, groomed at the Animal Shelter & Clinic, where Fluttershy helped at during some of her free time. Applejack was slightly annoyed that the she was again denied an answer to the mysterious girl's identity, but not wanting to keep her friend waiting, Applejack left the shop and headed back to her house to pick up Winona, then headed for the Animal Shelter.
Chapter 3Applejack, along with Winona, walked along the pavement, heading towards the Animal Shelter & Clinic. The mysterious girl was weighting heavy on her mind, as far back as she could remember she couldn't recall encountering a girl like the one she had been seeing throughout the day, nor could she remember her parents ever mentioning a girl matching the girl's description. For now, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she and Winona entered the building. They were met by Fluttershy, who had just finished examining a pet. "Hey, Applejack," she greeted. "Howdy, Fluttershy," Applejack replied. The look on her friend's face told Fluttershy that Applejack's mind was elsewhere. "Are you alright, Applejack?" she asked, "you seemed to be distracted by something." Applejack wanted to lie and say that nothing was wrong and put on a brave face for her friend. But Fluttershy was one of those people you couldn't really lie to, she was just too kind and caring. Applejack sighed, "I got a lot on my mind, sugercube," she answered. "Do you wanna talk about any of it?" Fluttershy asked, "you know, after Winona's finished with her appointment." "Yeah," Applejack nodded, "I'd like that." Fluttershy smiled. She may have a gift when it came to animals and thanks to her geode her gift had been elevated to whole new level. Fluttershy also liked to think that she was just as good with comforting people, as she was comforting animals. While her friend took care of her dog, Applejack tried to distract herself by reading some magazines and newspapers in the clinic's waiting room. There was the Daily Bugle with J Jonah Jameson's usual rambling about Spider-man being a menace. "How does Spider-man cope?" Applejack wondered, "I might have to ask some time." Then there was Daily Planet with articles on Superman and his various heroics, reported by Lois Lane. Finally a magazine discussing whether robotics were worth pursuing, because of threats like Ultron, Brainiac and Ultimo. After a while, Applejack's mind wondered back to the previous events of the day. She was again thinking about the mysterious girl, who was she? How did she know her and her parents? The questions buzzed around inside her skull, more so than the other dilemma on her mind. Applejack was saved from driving herself crazy with her thoughts, by Fluttershy. "Winona's finished her check up," she said, patting the dog on the head, "she's such a good girl." Applejack smiled, she'd had Winona even since she was puppy, aside from her hat, Winona was one of the few connections Applejack still had with her parents. "Are you ready to talk about your problems?" Fluttershy asked, taking a seat beside her friend. Applejack sighed, she really didn't want to burden one of her friends with her problems, she was very stubborn about issues like that, but, on the other hand, she knew she had to tell someone otherwise if she kept her thoughts bottled up inside it would drive herself mad. So she explained to Fluttershy about mysterious girl she had been seeing and the decision to take Apple Bloom with her and Big Mac when they made their yearly visit to their parents graves. Applejack confided that the girl mentioned that she knew her parents, but she couldn't recall ever encountering her ever. Fluttershy listened, until her friend had finished explaining then took a long time to think of a response. "Well," she said, finally, "in regards to your first problem, I think that your brother is right, Apple Bloom is around the age to understand and deal with grief." "But she's my sister," Applejack replied, "when my parents died she could barely walk and speak, she was just a baby so we never mentioned them around her, she doesn't know them like I did, how do you tell someone about parents that they didn't remember?" Fluttershy was silent for a moment, "the first step is always the hardest," she uttered, eventually. "What?" Applejack asked, confused. "You have to take a leap of faith," Fluttershy continued, "I know you love your sister and the rest of your family, like how me and the others help and support each other through any difficulties and hardships we face and I'm sure Apple Bloom's friends will do the same for her." Fluttershy had a point, like her big sister, Apple Bloom had her own circle of friends, consisting of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, which formed the CMC (Canterlot Movie Club) where they would get together at the local cinema to catch a movie that all three of them were fans of. When Apple Bloom was with her friends they were practically inseparable, their friendship was just as strong as the friendship Applejack had with her friends and teammates in the Champions. Applejack knew what she had to do, but it was so hard to imagine that Apple Bloom wasn't the little sister she had taken care of and protected throughout her younger years. She had created an ideal version of her little sister in her head, that was sheltered and needed to be protected at all times. She just didn't know if her sister could handle the sadness and grief of seeing her parents graves. "It's like birds," Fluttershy stated, "the baby birds always need their mother for a while, but then they grow up and leave the nest." "I'm not following," Applejack said, not quite understanding her friend's words. "What I'm saying is," Fluttershy replied, "all children leave home sooner or later, the joy is to watch them fly." Applejack was about to reply, when a familiar whistle suddenly was heard. She began glancing around, trying to identify where the whistle was coming from. "Applejack," Fluttershy said, "are you okay?" Just then, the mysterious girl walked through the entrance and headed for the section of the building where the rescue animals were kept. "Thats her," Applejack uttered, "thats the girl." "I wonder what she wants with the rescue animals?" Fluttershy murmured. The two followed behind the girl, until she arrived at her destination. The girl entered the room, the animals being surprisingly quiet as she passed by their cages, apart from Fluttershy the animals had never acted like that around anyone else. The girl stopped by a cage with a partially blind cat in it. The cat looked up at the girl, who smiled and stroked the cat's fur. "Don't give up, little one," the girl said, "your destiny does not end here." The cat seemed to understand and began purring as the girl continued gently stroke its head. Eventually, the girl stopped stroking the cat, closed its cage and turned to leave, but stopped when she saw Applejack and Fluttershy standing by the entrance. "Hello again," she greeted, smiling, "we really need to stop meeting like this." "I've never seen the animals so well behaved around strangers," Fluttershy replied, "you must be really good with animals." "I guess you could say that," the girl answered, "lets just say I'm not really a stranger to them." It was then that Applejack spoke up, "Who are you?" she asked, "why are you following me?" The girl seemed unfazed by the questions, "Well," she replied, "I'm just who you think I am and I think you'll find that you've been following me." "But I don't know who you are," Applejack retorted, "I don't even know your name." Fluttershy nodded in agreement with her friend, she also didn't know who the strange girl was. The girl continued to smile, "Terribly sorry to cut this short," she started walking away, "but I have lots of things to do and very little time." "Wait," Applejack said, "we're not done here, how do you know my parents, they didn't mention anyone like you and certainly don't remember meeting you when I was younger." The girl stopped near the exit and turned to face Applejack and Fluttershy, "catch you later," she stated, after which she left the building. "Are you alright, Applejack?" Fluttershy asked, after a while. "Yeah," Applejack answered, "I'm fine." And without another word, Applejack along with Winona exited the building. She walked along back to her house with Winona walking alongside her. Applejack didn't know what to think, after the experience she had just had with the mysterious girl she had even more questions then answers. There was one thing she did know, after thinking, she finally understood what Fluttershy had been trying to tell her back at the Animal Shelter & Clinic. She had to let Apple Bloom grow up sometime, she couldn't keep her little sister in a bubble forever, she still didn't like the idea, but she could take baby steps. She had already decided what her first baby step was going to be, she had finally made up her mind, she was going to bring Apple Bloom along when she and Big Mac visited their parents' graves in the evening.
Chapter 4Later that evening. The siblings walked, silently, along the pavement heading towards the cemetery. Big Mac was happy that Applejack had decided to bring Apple Bloom along and he was also okay with his sister's plan to slowly over time give Apple Bloom more freedom and independence. After a few more minutes of walking, the Apple siblings arrived at cemetery gates, the same cemetery that Applejack, her friends and other universe Lanterns fought the Black Lantern zombies. "Thank goodness, Ma and Pa weren't taken over by the black rings," Applejack thought, "I can't imagine what I might have done if that had happened." Applejack placed a hand on the gates, she always hated when she and Big Mac visited the place. Not the visit to the cemetery itself, but amount of mental courage required for simply walk through the cemetery gates. "You okay, sis?" Apple Bloom asked, breaking the silence. For a moment, Applejack didn't answer. "I'm fine, sugarcube," she replied, "I'm just fine." Eventually, Applejack pushed the gates and she, her brother and her sister entered the cemetery. The three walked past rows and rows of gravestone, some belonging to superheroes and some to regular people. Finally, the siblings stopped by two graves that were positioned in a special corner of the cemetery. The graves themselves were positioned underneath an old apple tree and an old pear tree. Their father, Bright Mac, was buried underneath the apple tree and their mother, Pear Butter, was buried underneath the pear tree. Their headstones read, "Bright Mac and Pear Butter, mother and father, loved by all and missed by all." The siblings stood in silence, staring at the cold stones before them. Apple Bloom was feeling so many emotions at that moment, she didn't know what to say. Now it was Applejack's turn to be concerned. "You okay, sugarcube?" she asked, looking her sister in the eyes. Tears began forming in Apple Bloom's eyes, she had tried to hold it all in but, she couldn't take it anymore. Big Mac knew exactly what to do, letting his little sister bury her face in her chest and let out all her sadness and grief. Applejack understood, she had gone through the same thing when she first visited the cemetery with Granny Smith when she and Big Mac were younger. After a few minutes, Apple Bloom finished letting out her grief and Applejack wiped the tears out of her sister's eyes and gave her a hug. After a while, Applejack let go of her sister and the siblings faced their parents gravestones. "Howdy, Ma, Pa" Applejack said, "me and Mac are here for our yearly visit and we brought Apple Bloom, she's all grown up now." Trying to not to cry again, Apple Bloom approached the gravestones. "Hey, Ma, Pa" she sniffed, "I feel like I'm meeting you and Pa for the first time, probably because I was so young that I don't remember you." Big Mac smiled and put a hand on Apple Bloom's shoulder, "I'm sure, they would so proud of how much you've grown," he said. Apple Bloom smiled, thankful to her big brother for comforting and reassuring her. Applejack felt tears coming to her eyes, seeing her big brother and little sister supporting each other. Her momentary joy was interrupted by a familiar whistle that came drifting on the wind. Applejack turned, only to be greeted by the mysterious girl she'd been seeing all throughout the day. Big Mac and Apple Bloom noticed the girl too and they looked just as surprised as Applejack. The girl gave Apple Bloom a smile, "Your parents would must certainly be proud of you, little one," she said. She turned her gaze on the other two Apple siblings, "all of you," she finished. Finally, Applejack had had enough, the frustration of not knowing was too much for her, she wanted answers from the girl and she want them now "Thats it!" she cried, lighting up her Lantern ring, "I can't stand no more of this, I want the truth! HOW DO YOU KNOW MY PARENTS!?" Both Big Mac and Apple Bloom watched from the sidelines, surprised by their older siblings sudden burst of anger and rage towards a, seemingly, random stranger that had just appeared from nowhere. "Maybe you should calm down," the girl replied, seemingly unfazed by Applejack's outburst, "this is a cemetery, you don't need to shout, there is no reason to get upset." "No!" Applejack responded, "I have no intention of calming down!" She was stopped from being fully blind by her anger by Apple Bloom grabbing her hand. "Applejack," she trembled, "stop, you're scaring me and Big Mac." Upon hearing her little sister's voice, Applejack's anger and rage suddenly evaporated and she snapped back to reality. She looked at her hands, still bunched into fists, she couldn't believe she'd let her anger almost consume her. Now it was Apple Blooms turn to be the shoulder to cry on, as Applejack hugged her and let her tears flow. After she had finished her crying, Applejack turned to face the mysterious girl again. "I still want to know," she said, "how do you know my parents? Tell me," her voice began to shake, "please." The girl smiled, a warm, gentle smile, "Believe me," she began, "I really didn't want to take them from the three of you, but it was their time and I couldn't change that." The Apple siblings all stared at the girl, collectively stunned by what the girl had said. "You mean you killed them?" Applejack asked. "I didn't do anything," the girl replied, "the end of Bright Mac & Pear Butter's story was already written in the Book of Destiny, before they sucked in their first breath." "I don't know what you mean!" Applejack exclaimed, feeling the anger and frustration well up in her, again, "can't you give me a straight answer!?" The girl nodded, "I suppose I do owe you that much," she breathed, "allow me to introduce myself, Death of the Endless, pleased to meet you all." The siblings were all silent, not knowing how to react to what they had been told. "You're, you're...." Applejack stammered, "Death." Time seemed to freeze around the Apple siblings, everything around them seemed to stop moving. "Indeed I am," Death replied, "I am the personification of Death, I am here for the birth and death of every sentient being in the universe and eventually I will come to all things. When my job is finished, I'll put the chairs on the table, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave." Again, tears filled Applejack's eyes, "How..." she stuttered, "how can you tell us all this and be so calm about what you do?" "Believe me," Death answered, "if I could have intervened I would have, but no one can escape Destiny or his book." Before Applejack could speak, Apple Bloom stepped forward. "Excuse me, Miss Death," she said, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you here among the living?" "Oh, that's simple," Death replied, "once every century I spend 24 hours as a mortal, so I can understand the beauty of life and all its little foibles" "I sure hope we didn't mess up your holiday," Applejack said, "sorry, about flying off the handle at ya." "There is no need to apologise," Death responded, "your anger towards me is justified, I'm the one who took your parents from the three of you." "Speaking of which," Applejack continued, "I don't suppose you have power over the dead? You could maybe..." She was cut off, Death seemed to know what she was trying to say. "I know what you're thinking," she said, "but once a soul has been taken to the great unknown there is no coming back." "Oh," Applejack sighed, sadness filling every corner of her being, she had been hoping to see her parents, one last time. Big Mac and Apple Bloom looked just as depressed as Applejack felt. "But," Death continued, "I think one of my siblings might be able to help." "One of your siblings?" Big Mac repeated, "you have a family?" "Of my family is on a whole other level," Death smiled, "you would not believe." Suddenly, the siblings realised the amount of time that had passed since they entered the cemetery. Death seemed to notice it too, "looks like my time's up," she said, "time for me to go." Death of the Endless began to fade away, blowing away like dust in the wind. "Thank you," Apple Bloom called, "thank you Miss Death for sharing your last few mortal minutes with my family." "I should be thanking you," Death retorted, she continued to fade away, "you and your family are truly special, to your friends and everyone around you, look after each other." "We will," Applejack smiled, putting an arm around Apple Bloom and smiling down at her. "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded. With one last final smile, Death of the Endless finally faded away into nothingness, returning to realm and the rest of the Endless.
EpilogueLater. Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Mac were back at home and were now asleep, the day had been long and strange but now they were heading to where all mortals go when they sleep, the realm called the Dreaming. The Dreaming was the realm where the brother of Death of the Endless, Dream of the Endless lived and presided over. The Dreaming itself was a metaphysical plane of symbol, belief and imagination and its landscape was ever-changing. Despite the fact, that the siblings were sleeping apart they were all sharing the same dream. The environment the siblings found themselves in was a replica of their apple orchard with their house situated at the end of it. "I know this place," Applejack murmured, "I know this orchard and that house." "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded. "You should," said a voice, "you and brother always liked playing hide and seek in this place in between helping me and you pa with yard work while also taking care of your little sister." The three siblings turn to see their mother and father, Pear Butter and Bright Mac standing there. "Ma! Pa!" Applejack cried. With tears in their eyes, the siblings ran up and hugged their parents. "It's good to see you all," Pear Butter smiled, happy to see her children all grown up. "But how?" Apple Bloom asked. Bright Mac smiled and ruffled Apple Bloom's hair, "We don't rightly know," he answered, confusedly scratching his head. "I can answer that," a new voice replied. The siblings and their parents turned to see, Dream of the Endless appear before them. "Who are you, stranger?" Pear Butter asked. "I have gone by many names," he said, "Morpheus, Oneiros, Lord L 'Zoril, The Sandman and many more, but you may call me Dream." "Sandman?" Bright Mac repeated, "as in the lord of dream Sandman?" Dream nodded, confirming Bright Mac's suspicion. "You mean this is a dream?" Big Mac asked, "this looks like our farm and house, it looks so real." "Within the realm of the Dreaming," Dream replied, "all things are possible." "So our parents aren't real?" Apple Bloom said. "As long as you remember them," Dream responded, "they will always be real, they will always live forever in your memories and your dreams." "Thank you," Applejack smiled, "thank you for this wonderful dream." "It is my sister, Death, you owe thanks to," Dream replied, a small smile on his face, "she informed me of your desire to meet the ones most dear to you." Dream began to leave, he had an entire realm to oversee and thousands of dreamers to watch over. "Thank your sister for us," Applejack called, as Dream began to disappear, "tell her if she's ever in the mortal world again, apple cider and smoothies are on the house." "Will do," Dream replied, as he finally disappear fully. Once Dream had left them, the Apple siblings and their parents spent hours of quality time together. Pear Butter and Bright Mac told Applejack how proud they were of her stepping up and taking charge of the farm, along with raising Apple Bloom and taking care of Granny Smith in their absences. They were equally proud of both Big Mac and Apple Bloom for all their accomplishments and how strong both had been grow alongside Applejack. The friends that they had made along the way, the Applejack and her friends had saved the world and brought about the new age of heroes. Both Bright Mac and Pear Butter were surprised and even more proud of Applejack's accomplishments. After they were done catching up, the siblings and their parents processed to play with each other, making up for all the lost time they had lost. In the waking world, as the siblings slept they all had smiles on their faces, in a way, they were reunited with their parents and would never lose them again. Elsewhere, outside of time and space. Two beings watched as a wave of antimatter began sweeping through the multiverse, consuming any earth in its path. "So it has begun," the first being said. "Indeed," the second being nodded, "we must act fast, before all of the Multiverse and then the Omniverse is lost. Images of Twilight, her friends and the rest of the Champions appeared before the two beings. "And I think I know where to start," the first being stated.
