A storm. A disaster like no one had seen before. Yet Applejack’s luck saw her stuck trying to take shelter in a cave with her brother. The clouds were something insane. They were pitch black, so dark that they blotted out the sun, the only guiding light being the strokes of strange multicolored lightning that struck the ground and shook the earth. The rain came down like pebbles, and made a gray fog everywhere it touched down. Everything was in chaos. Every strike of lightning followed by thunder that sounded like it was right next to you. Trees were uprooted, boulders thrown…it terrified the little filly.

Applejack looked to her brother for reassurance. His gaze was fixed worryingly on the chaos outside, his red face looking very unsure. In turn, AJ was worried. What would happen to Ponyville at this rate? Ma and Pa were out making a delivery too! She sighed in relief as a break in the constant, back-to-back crashes of thunder stopped. They sat there, listening to the bullets of water rain from the sky for a moment. Just staring out into the gray gaze.

“Big Mac…”

“Eeyup.”

“You think Granny, and Ma n’ Pa will be okay?”

“…”

“…”

“Big Mac, please.”

“…Ah think…Ah think that granny will be fine. She knows she’s gotta be since she has Apple Bloom.”

“…what about Ma n’ Pa?”

“…”

“B-Big Mac, what about Ma n’ Pa?!” When she turned to face her brother, the oddest sight occurred to her. The lanky colt and tears coming down his face. Tears he didn’t understand himself.

“AJ. Muh- I-”

He took a deep breath as he stabilized himself, the influx of sudden emotion overcoming him out of nowhere.

“Applejack…my heart’s hurtin, an’…I don’t know where Ma n’ Pa are…”

The orange filly was silent, an anxiety building within her as she faced the gray rainy haze again.

It felt like hours that they had sat there, waiting to hopefully find a break in the storm. Yet nothing changed aside from the occasional break in the constant lightning. Applejack was getting worried that she was getting used to it as she felt herself starting to doze off. But that was when she saw it. Somepony lying on their side, unconscious in the storm.

Applejack didn’t know if it was her worry for her parents, and her seeing them in the collapsed pony, or just her natural compassion. But she bolted without giving her brother so much as a word of warning to get to the fallen pony.

“APPLEJACK?!”

She didn’t stop for a second, the shaking of the ground tearing through her body with everything touchdown the lightning made, but she pushed through. She had to. She needed to. A tree crashed and fell down right in front of her, and would’ve crushed her if she had been a bit further. Yet she didn’t let it phase her. She leapt right over and continued to run for what she was beginning to see was a purple pony. In fact, the brightest color of purple she’d seen on anypony. She didn’t have long to think about it as she felt her hair and coat stand on end. She suddenly shot herself to the side and tumbled against the mud, and only about two seconds later lightning struck right where she had been.

“APPLEJACK!!!”

Big Mac’s voice was faint against the noise and the rain. She got back up and dashed right for the lavender pony. She was just a few feet away! Yet if anything, the storm wanted to keep her from this filly. She had found herself dodging strikes her coat was predicting whenever she stood up, yet was still getting closer.

Then her coat stood on end again, but only in the front toward her face. The next strike wouldn’t hit her. It was gonna hit the unconscious filly.

”NO!”

Applejack dove. Tackling the filly and was sent rolling. She clung on to her body tight. She was limp. This filly was really out of it.

Applejack checked her body quickly. She had managed to only sustain a tail burnt to half its original mane length. Not bad if Applejack had to say so. She tried to prop herself up, but her hoof missed the floor. She flinched in shock, looking over. It was a ravine. Bless Applejack’s lucky stars. She pulled the sleeping filly up into a sitting position. The first thing that stuck out to her, were the bloody fragments of…something sticking out of her forehead. Oh lord, did she get impaled?! Applejack put her near to the filly’s chest. She was breathing. Whatever was lodged in there wasn't deep.

“APPLEJACK!” She could hear her brother properly again. He looked ragged running through the rain, and the side of his barrel looked a bit singed. This was good, now he could help her get this filly to the ca-

Her fur stood up near the front of her body.

”BIG MAC STOP!”

Right between them a blast of lightning struck. She had just saved Big Mac’s life!

Why was everything getting lower.

It was dark. Twilight couldn’t feel anything. She couldn’t see anything. Her body was wracked with nothing but pain, yet she could feel everything shaking violently. But now she could feel something. Cold-

She couldn’t breathe. Something was getting into her lungs, she couldn’t breath-

For a moment that ended. Then it happened again, and for longer. When she came up again, she was wet and still being moved. But someone had their forelegs around her. Is that Shiny? She could hear a voice. She sounded scared but…she was telling her she would be okay…but nothing was okay. She wanted to go home.

Suddenly the legs wrapped around her tighter before they slammed into something. She was against something softer. It was whoever had been holding her. Whoever this was didn’t falter, shielding Twilight the entire way. But she was gonna get hurt. She could die! Even unconscious, her panic was rising. She didn’t want anyone to die! Why was this happening to her! She just wanted to go home! She could feel herself crying before her head exploded in pain.

Then Twilight was fully unconscious again.

Applejack felt herself getting woozy as she and the filly were washed down the ravine and were being thrown against the rocks. Applejack had been taking the brunt of the impacts, but didn’t know how much more she could take. But she wasn’t about to let the filly go. No matter what. The poor girl was terrified, Applejack could feel her shaking and even saw tears.

“Just- AH! Just hang on! It’s gonna be okay!” Applejack wanted to just let go so bad as she saw them approach another rock. But she held strong. As Applejack braced for her back to meet the stone again something…magical happened.

An explosion of shimmering light exploded from the purple filly’s body. The current itself seemed to instantly halt around them, the raindrops freezing where they fell. A shimmering ball of energy surrounded Applejack and the lavender girl. It was something incredible, Applejack had never seen something like this from…anypony! She was…she was magic!

The two were gently levitated over to a ledge where they were going to be gently laid. However a sudden sputtering and flickering came from the filly’s horn, and suddenly there was a wet splurt and AJ founder herself covered in blood, roughly dropped against the ledge, and the filly was screaming bloody murder.

She looked at her in a panic. She writhed on the ground in pain, her forehead looking as if something small had exploded against it.

“Oh mah stars. Oh mah stars, oh mah STARS!” She scrambled over and quickly wrapped the filly tightly in her forelegs as she trashed around in pain.

“It’s okay! I-It’s gonna be okay! Ah’ promise! Ah’m telling the truth, you’re gonna be okay!” She said as she managed to wrangle the flailing filly to the ground. Applejack removed a ribbon from her mane that was being used as a bow and managed, with no help from the filly of course, to wrap the filly’s head to keep it from bleeding out too much. Her screaming began to quiet to whimpering. Then the whimpering turned to silence. Then her silence went to stillness. Applejack started to sigh in relief as she filly stayed quiet for a while. Then she started to get worried as she checked to hear her heartbeat again. Still alive.

“…heh…must’ve, tired herself out…” Applejack said tiredly. She looked back over the edge of their cover to the rushing waters, she sighed. They were gonna be here for a while.

Three days. That’s how long it took until AJ had actually woken up to the ground not shaking like a maniac. The rain itself was even…light. There were rays of sunshine even peeking through the clouds. She was so hungry, but for the sake of her friend she had kept pushing. There was no shortage of water, and often she used it to substitute food. Her friend, which she had nicknamed Sparkling for now, was still unconscious. In fact, she hadn’t woken for the past three days. It…scared her, but she was still breathing!

Applejack began to chuckle happily.

“Sparkling, Sparkling! You know what this means?”

There was no response. Applejack's expression softened as placed a hoof on the pony’s head. ‘Sparkling’s’ head tilted up toward it. It was the main thing that kept Applejack’s hope for her lit. She always seemed to react to AJ’s touch like this.

“We’re finally gonna get cha’ outta here Sparkling.” To the apple farmer’s surprise, Sparkling…sighed in relief. Applejack blinked and retracted her hoof in surprise. She gently shook Sparkling. No response.

“Well…ah’m happy you’re gettin’ better.” Applejack smiled as she gently got the purple filly on to her back. She checked the makeshift bandage made of ribbon. It peeled off and she winced at the sound. Under it Sparkling’s forehead was scarred white, and even stranger, it was scarred in the shape of a six-pointed star. Also,

“Bleugh!”

It spurted blood into AJ’s face again. Still wasn’t fully healed and it didn’t like being exposed to the air. She rearranged the ribbon to the driest spot she could find and affixed it again. Now. How were they gonna get out of here? She thinks she saw a way that they could climb up a bit further down. The water was calm enough for an easy swim until it drained out and Applejack was confident she could do it while carrying her friend. Okay then. Here we go-

“Applejack! Where are ya!”

Big Mac!

“Big Mac?!”

“Applejack?!”

“We’re down here!”

”Oh thank the sun- just hang on! Everyone else in Ponyville’s a’ comin’!”

And true to his word, the town came to Applejack and Twilight's aid. Within the hour the two fillies were retrieved and brought indoors.

“H-Hang on wait- w-where are ya’ takin ‘er!” The apple farmer said in distress. Two medical ponies had begun to take Twilight away.

“A-Applejack…she’s hurt bad, she needs doctors.”

“B-But she needs me! She’ll-“

“Applejack! Calm down!” Her grandmother’s voice cut through the rain. She knelt down to the orange filly.

“Applejack, there’s something important you’ve gotta know.”

That night, Applejack returned feeling like an apple mash. The only thing she wanted now was the one thing she had managed to save.

When !&$#%*!?#’s eyes opened, she could barely feel anything. Where…was she? Looking around it was dark, but she at least knew it was a medical room. Was she hurt? !&$#%*!?# looked over her body. She was wrapped in bandages. Yes. She had been hurt. What happened to her? Where was that kind voice that held her in its forelegs?

She froze when she heard something creak open. It was the window, she watched as someone shoddily climbed in and tumbled in to the floor.

“Agh! Consarnit!”

That voice…

“Oh Sparkling…Ah’m sorry I let ‘em take- y-you…”

!&$#%*!?# tilted her head.

“Sparkling? Sparkling yer’ awake!”

“…Sparkling?”

Applejack’s eyes widened. She gently touched the lavender filly’s forehead, coming to a realization.

“Yeah…Sparkling. Sparkling Cider.” As she spoke, Cider gently leaned into the hoof on her forehead and closed her eyes in a blissful comfort.

“…everything’s gonna be okay Sparkling…”

“Everything’s gonna be okay Twiliy.”

Author's Note

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