Breaking Boundaries

"This here town is so much. . . diff'rent," Applejack sighed.

It was the first night of the mission. Applejack had just left Cadence's headquarters and was now near the gates of Ponyville, her hometown. However, the town seemed different. The ponies living there all seemed tense. There was no real sense of a happy community. It almost seemed like an alternate world, where everypony just wasn't quite themselves.

She walked into town and looked at all of the shops. The streets were mostly desolate, but she noticed one pony, Bon Bon, crying at a table nearby a small cafe.

"Hey there, miss! What's got to ya?" Applejack asked, as kindly as possible

"L. . ." Bon Bon couldn't help but sob even harder. "Lyra! T-They took her!"

"Lyra? That sweet little pony? Wha'd she do wrong?"

"T-They said. . . t-they said that she was a threat to society because s-she was experimenting with. . . otherworldly beings!" she cried out.

"Really? Well, shucks, I'm sure she did nothing wrong! They'll have her o-" Applejack attempted to comfort her.

"THEY KILLED HER!" Bon Bon screamed, slamming her head on the table, knocking over a cup of juice, landing on the seat across from her. As it fell, Applejack noticed the remnants of stained blood.

"This ain't right, this ain't right at all. . ." Applejack mumbled to herself. "Well, I'm so sorry for yer loss, you didn't deserve none of it! Now. . . Ah'm only in town fer the next few days, but ah think mah friend Twi co-"

"NO." Bon Bon jumped on Applejack, covering her mouth with her hooves. "No pony dares touch Twilight."

"Why not?" Applejack asked, in a total state of confusion. Last time she checked, Twilight was one of the most respected ponies in Ponyville. There wasn't a single pony in town that didn't grow to like her. . . and now ponies are scared of her?

"Well, she's the one that passes judgement on us! If you do anything weird, and she sees, then you get sent to the Mirror Lake! There's no way out of there!" Bon Bon wailed. "There's just sweet release from this torture."

"Shucks, sugarcube. . . that's terrible to hear. Ah'm sure Twi ain't mean nothin' wrong by it, though. I was going ta see mah folks over at Sweet Apple Acres, but ah'll be sure ya talk to 'er!" Applejack retorted confidently.

"May Celestia be with you. . ." Bon Bon whimpered as she laid her head back on the table.

Those words. . . Celestia. . . she was the reason for all of this. All of this pain and torture, and she was so nice and calm before! She always knew about friendship and would never hurt anypony, and now she's all off? Something is definitely up here.

Applejack proceeded to walk nervously away from Bon Bon, now realizing why ponies were so tense. Were ponies just really killed on the streets? As she walked down to her barn, she noticed a few more bloodstains on various buildings. The window to the local bakery was broken, and flowers were laid in front of the door. A plaque was placed on top of the flowers, stating "Thou shalt only engage in sexual relations with the pony whom a mare chooses to wed.", with a picture of Mrs. Cake engraved into the stone. Were ponies really just being killed like this? Why wasn't Twilight doing anything about this?

She reached the barn after shedding a few tears in front of Mrs. Cake's crudely made plaque, her body being. . . somewhere. The barn seemed just as bright as ever, but Big Mac appeared to be much more tense. He had always been known to be the most relaxed pony in Ponyville, never using words and always having a laid back attitude. But now, he was pacing back and forth, wearing a saddle bag with various quills and papers inside them.

"H-Heh, hey there, sugarcube! What's up, you filin' the tax reports fer the barn?" Applejack asked nervously. The last time these two had spoken, things didn't end up so well. Applejack couldn't tell if he was still mad at her or not. He was never one to show much emotion at all, making social cues incredibly hard to notice.

"Eeyup." Big Mac stated apathetically. "Hey there, AJ. Pardon me, ah'm 'bout ta head ta miss Twilight's house over yonder." Big Mac nervously trotted over into the direction of Twilight's library, almost jogging, but not really.

"Hold up, Big Mac! We ain't even seen each other fer the past few days! When'd ya become such the big shot?" She asked, politely trotting up to Big Mac.

"Ah'll talk later, sis. 'portant stuff ta do," Big Mac sighed as he gave no more than a small glance towards AJ.

Applejack sighed in compliance and continued walking by her brother until they silently arrived at Twilight's house. The area, like everywhere else in Ponyville, seemed incredibly different. Ponies were rushing in and out of her window and. . . apparently now, two doors.

"'SCUSE ME, SECOND IN COMMAND HERE," Big Mac screamed, one of the only times that AJ had ever heard Big Mac use his loud voice, which he generally used when he was angry. Nervous ponies almost jumped out of the way to let Big Mac come through.

"Big Mac! So good to see you!" Twilight announced as she noticed Big Mac's entry.

The interior of Twilight's house was oddly grand, considering it was so messy with books and paper most of the time. It had been expanded to contain a third floor, with a working elevator (or. . . a sort of elevator, run by a nervous little pony turning a crank). Spike had been strapped onto what used to be her bed, spitting out letters every minute or so, landing onto a giant pile that Twilight had (which somehow always stayed organized as new letters arrived.). The books were gone and the walls were decorated with pictures of Celestia. Celestia's face was calm and smiling, but her eyes pierced through the soul, and had a definite commanding style that even made Applejack's stomach turn upon seeing it. She hadn't always been like this. . .

"Sorry fer mah tardiness, Twi! Just had ta research a few leads that some ponies gave me!" Big Mac replied to Twilight, sitting at a protected desk on the third floor, overseeing all production.

Applejack shyly hid behind Big Mac, still confident, but slightly offput by the oddness of this entire situation. Big Mac walked over to the elevator, hitting the nervous pony on the back of the neck

"Floor three, please," he stated. The pony, with almost unpony-like speed, lifted the two of them up to the third floor. Guards stood by the entrance, dressed in attire that the Canterlot Royal Guard would be dressed in. Twilight did have her connections, after all. The two of them walked in, Applejack moving to Big Mac's side.

"STOP!" A guard screamed. Immediately, three guards jumped in front of Applejack, spears in their hooves. "STATE YOUR NAME."

"Johann, don't worry! That's just mah lil' sis. She's a bit of an oddball, but she ain't no harm. Her and Twi are good buds." Big Mac retorted calmly, not offput by the guard's intense reaction. This must have happened a lot for him. Applejack, on the other hand, was shivering slightly, her hooves on her head.

". . . Proceed." the guard stated as they went back into ranks. Big Mac pushed Applejack along as she wobbled side to side from utter fear. "Sis, these guard are just tryin' ta keep Twi safe. Lots of ponies don't 'preciate the work she's been doin'"

"Please don't kill me" Applejack breathed out, still shivering.

"Big Mac! You brought. . . Applejack along. . . hi." Twilight stated with decreasing excitement.

"Twi, ah need ta have a word w-" Applejack attempted to state calmly.

There was a burp from across the room, interrupting her mid-sentence.

"Ah! He replied!" Twilight giggled.

"Dear Miss Twilight,

I've researched the case regarding Fluttershy. I do see from her personality that she seems to be under a deep spell of bestiality. Upon being questioned, she acted very nervous and tense, and therefore, I can conclude that she is, indeed, trying to hide something. By the time you read this letter, she should already b-"

*bang*

A distinct scream sounded in the distance.

". . . Well, everything's gone smoothly." Twilight sighed. "Big Mac, you know your job. Inspect the area."

"On it, Miss!" Big Mac stated as he trotted quickly towards the elevator.

"Twi! I need to talk to ya. . . alone. . ." Applejack quickly butted in.

Fluttershy. . . Applejack was wondering what had happened to the little creature. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, but mostly Fluttershy. The sweetest and kindest pony in all of Ponyville, who had just been killed for what didn't seem to be like great evidence. Twi was a smart pony, she should have known!

"With the guards. I can't leave the guards." Twilight coldly stated.

"Fine. Twi, we've been best buds fer such a long time now! Werentcha the one that taught all of us 'bout friendship? Why are ya the pony who is killin' off all yer friends? Like, ya just killed Fluttershy! YA. KILLED. FLUTTERSHY!" Applejack passionately ranted.

". . . Guards. Leave." Twilight commanded.

The guard, with no resistance, sprinted out of the way, into two alternate rooms, to leave Twilight by herself.

". . . now that's creepy." Applejack muttered to herself.

"Let me explain something to you, Applejack" Twilight stated, ignoring Applejack's previous remark. ". . . as a friend." Twilight's voice changed dramtically from her deep commanding voice to the caring voice that Applejack loved to hear. "I. . . I don't really want to do this, either. But I'm Celestia's top student. I'm her second in command! If I just give up and stop, she'll think I'm a failure! I'm not just scared to fail. . . but have you seen the power she has? I could lose everything if I stop. I still remember everything about friendship, I honestly do. . . but I'm just. . ."

"Twi. . . I understand. However, you can't just hurt yer friends like that! After all, when ya. . . when ya. . ." Applejack trailed off.

Fluttershy is dead.

Twilight killed Fluttershy.

She is a murderer.

What if. . . she was next?

". . . kill yer friends, they don't come back." she continued on.

"I understand. . . however, I can't let Celestia down. Applejack, I want you to run. Don't talk to anypony else. Just run. What's happening here will happen all over Equestria. If you're found and they find something wrong with you. . ." Twilight pressed a button next to her, causing the guards to immediately file back into their ranks. "I will be forced to kill you. Now leave." Twilight's commanding and brash voice immediately re-appeared after this. Applejack, with no second thoughts, ran as fast as her instincts would let her. She sprinted immediately back towards Canterlot.

Loyalty turns ponies into monsters. It breaks harmony and it breaks the magic that had been existing in Ponyville for the past few years upon her arrival. But Applejack couldn't rest now. She had to run back to Cadence and tell her everything. Twilight wasn't that bad of a pony, but she was still, for this case, their enemy. As an enemy, if she had to be defeated, then that was the blood necessary to win this war. She teared up slightly, still thinking about Fluttershy, as she dashed towards Canterlot and entered the headquarters.