Fractured Apple

Chapters

Chapter One: A Brief Glimpse
Chapter Two: A Sudden Scare
Chapter Three: A Swift Escape
Chapter Four: A Quick Fix
Chapter Five: A Split Decision
Chapter Six: An Abrupt Change

Chapter One: A Brief Glimpse

Two wooden carts stopped in front of a large old shed on the border of an orchard of apple trees. An orange mare and a big red stallion unlatched their harnesses and stretched. The mare looked the shed over and whistled.

“It must’ve been mighty impressive in its day,” she said in all honesty.

“Eeyup,” replied the stallion.

The mare looked to her brother, in which he did the same and they both nodded at the same time. “I’ll take the tools inside, you gather up the outside,” she instructed.

“Alright, Applejack.” He went off behind the shed to where the larger tools and machines no doubt were.

Applejack smiled to herself; Big Macintosh was always a stallion of few words. She opened the shed door to be greeted by cobwebs and stale air. A coughing fit later and she started sorting out the various tools, tossing them in the cart outside to haul back.

Rakes, hoes, and shovels of all sizes were the first to go. The shafts and handles of them which were wood would need to be replaced, but that was easy enough to do. Repairing the metal heads would save them a load of bits that would’ve been spent on new equipment. Various shelves lined the walls at differing heights, each with many boxes or bowls of items such as screws, nails, and wire. All the bottom shelves were second to go as she decided to work her ways up.

The day passed eventfully, the inside of the shed being diligently picked clean over time and stored within the cart outside. As Applejack lifted a large sledgehammer, her hoof nicked a crooked nail coming from out of the floorboards. She groaned quietly to herself while setting down the sledge with a dull thud. A sharp snap quickly followed by a crash of metal on wood echoed throughout the shed.

“Consarnit,” said Applejack as she fanned the dust with her brown stetson. She stared at the toolbox embedded in the floorboard, its tools and appliances scattered around it. The shelf it was on had snapped suddenly, the wood old and rotted.

She looked around to see if anything else was going to happen before placing her hat back atop her head. This was all the more reason to clear out the old shed in favor of a new one. She pulled the toolbox out of the floor leaving a hole, and began putting the scattered tools back in.

‘It’s sure sad to see this old place go, but it’s too much of a hassle to maintain so far away from the house,’ thought the mare as she put the last tool away and closed the box with a rusted squeak. A glimmer from within the hole caught the mare’s attention as the light from outside shown past her. Curious, she inched forward and peeked inside. A corner of a small black box poked up from out of the soft ground, hard to see with barely any light. With a shrug, she leaned back and started chipping away the old floorboard with a hoof enlarging the hole.

She leaned down over widened hole, and attempted to pull the box from the dirt. The surface of the box was so seamless and smooth to the touch that she could not get a good grip. With a click of her tongue she scooped the dirt away from the corner, revealing more of the mysterious box to be perfectly smooth cube. With a stronger grip between two hooves and more room to work with she pulled it free with ease, and set it down a bit from the hole.

“Well aren’t you somethin’,” she mused. The box was an extraordinarily smooth cube of black, and when light hit it just right a shine of the rainbow could be seen for a moment. She didn’t keep track of how long she stared at the cube, snapping out of it when she heard a voice from the doorway.

“Applejack,” said Big Mac from her side. “You okay there?”

Applejack shook her head lightly and looked outside behind her brother. “Yeah, just lost track of time is all,” she said quietly, the light of day well into the afternoon. Her brother looked from her to the black box before motioning for her outside.

“We’ll haul this back home, and finish the rest tomorrow,” the stallion said factually. He hooked himself up to one of the two carts filled with various tools and devices that were from the old shed. Applejack picked up the toolbox and black box and put them both in her cart before putting the harness on.

“Sorry, Big Mac. Thought Ah could’ve finished cleaning the old shed out today.” Applejack and Big Mac started pulling the carts through the orchard of apple trees back home.

Big Mac looked over to his sister and sighed. “Don’t be hard on yourself, we’ll finish up tomorrow.” The stallion knew his sister always pushed herself, trying to take on as much as she could. Applejack slightly smiled at her brother’s attempt to support her.

The journey to the barn was uneventful and quiet, both ponies focusing on the task at hoof as they moved through the shadows of the trees. They unloaded the carts in a room inside the barn, and put the carts away as well when they were empty. Applejack took the black box after she was done, intent on figuring out what it was. She exited the barn as Big Mac closed it up, and sat down on the front porch looking over the mysterious box. She couldn’t put a hoof on what about it made her want to figure it out.

Big Mac passed by her entering the house, a moment later poking his head out to call to Applejack. “Granny says dinner will be ready in a bit.” Applejack just nodded while casually toying with the box, poking or prodding it. She was so focused on it she managed to notice a change when she held it up to the afternoon sun. The smooth black surface seemed to melt in the light. She stared at the change, got up from the porch and held the box out in the sunlight as high as she could. The side of the box facing the sun melted swiftly.

Applejack gave a small laugh in triumph as she spun the box around, the entirety of what the cube was made of melted into a thick sludge over her hoof and dripped to the ground. “Hah!” she shouted out loud, before looking around in embarrassment.

In her sludge-covered hoof was an odd artifact of pristine condition. It was a small copper sphere with many runic engravings across it with two long pyramid spikes protruding from opposite ends. Applejack stared at it with a heart full of victory, although it was a small one.

‘Looks like some magical doohickey.’ Applejack looked to the sky to check on the position of the sun. It was still a good height in the sky, giving her enough time for a trip to town. “I’m sure Twilight will know what it is,” she said with a chuckle. She stashed the strange artifact in her blonde ponytailed mane and poked her head inside the front door. “I’ll be back for supper, gonna head into town real quick!”

“Well make it snappy, missy!” yelled an old mare from within the house. Applejack chuckled again and set off for Ponyville, eager to see her friend after a good day of hard work. She trotted with a brisk pace down the long dirt road to Ponyville, enjoying the scenery as she did every time. In the light of the afternoon the world gave off a calm feeling that Applejack shivered to in response. She enjoyed such moments in her life.

Though she couldn’t enjoy them for long. “LOOK OUT BELOW!” yelled a familiar rainbow blur as it crashed directly into Applejack. She winced as something pierced the back of her neck while staring at the orange tinged sky. “Heheh sorry there, AJ.” The cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail jumped from laying unceremoniously on top of Applejack, did a backflip through the air and landed gracefully with a pose.

“It’s fine, Rainbow,” said Applejack as she took Rainbow Dash’s outstretched hoof. Pulling herself up she felt the piercing pain leave the back of her neck. She rubbed the spot and looked at her hoof to see a bit of blood.

“Uh, you alright?” Rainbow Dash looked at the hoof with concern.

“Just a scratch, nothin’ to it.” Applejack spat on her hoof and rubbed the wound gently. “I’ll look at it right when Ah get home. Now what caused the crash this time?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, there I was practicing my newest, most awesomest move yet when this bird flew right in my path! A sudden turn here, a thunder cloud there, and you know the rest,” explained Rainbow Dash, a sheepish smile on her face. Applejack stared in wonder as her friend wondering how she boasted being the best flier, and yet crashed all the time.

“I’m glad you’re okay, sugarcube. I’m in a bit of a hurry,” she said as she trotted past Rainbow Dash. “Found somethin beneath mah old shed, gonna get Twilight to look at it.” She wasn’t that far from Ponyville now, and wanted to hurry back so her supper wasn’t cold. That, and avoid Granny’s temper. She always hated when they wasted food.

“Don’t let me keep ya hangin,” said Rainbow Dash before she yawned. “I feel a good, long nap coming on. Later!” The wind whistled quietly in Applejack’s ears as Rainbow flew straight up before arcing back to her cloud house in the distance.

Applejack reached town just as it seems most ponies were closing up their markets or stalls. She waved a hoof and greeted familiar faces, but didn’t stop for any conversation. The whistling wind picked up in volume. Applejack shook her head to clear it out, but it didn’t help any.

“The wind is getting awfully strong,” she whispered to herself as she walked through town. Something swiftly flickered in the corner of her eye, Applejack turning to look as fast as she could. Nothing was there. She looked around the now empty town for any signs of what she saw. She pushed the thought out of her mind and turned back towards the path to the library. A face of shadow appeared before her, causing her to blink in surprise.

“Ah!” There was nothing there. The whistling of the wind ever growing, Applejack hurried through town to the library, now slightly spooked although she wouldn’t admit it to anypony. Movement through the darkness in the corners of her visions, always vanishing when she focused and looked.

Before her was the library, a huge tree that had been hollowed out and built into a home. She held a hoof to her chest to calm herself. “Calm down, AJ, there’s nothin’ there,” she whispered. The wind seemed to be blaring in her ears as she knocked once on the door. Then she noticed, the fur on her hoof. She knocked twice, the shadows in the corner of her eye grew larger. Her coat was calm and smooth, not rustled by even a slight breeze. She knocked thrice; the door opened. The wind silenced instantly, and the darkness disappeared. No, it didn’t disappear.

The light of day vanished as the entire town was black, the only light coming from the stars above. Applejack gulped as she entered the library. It was not as she knew it, the walls and shelves were worn and rotten, ash and tattered books the only sign of knowledge that was once stored. The furniture was broken and scattered as if a whirlwind were in here at a time. She walked in further, only to spot more destruction and age.

“Heya, Twilight?” she asked the darkness. “Spike?” She looked around at the shadowed library, it desolate and destroyed. Applejack wandered into the kitchen, her hooves clicking on grimy tiled floor. Everything from the floor to the silverware was old and decayed in various ways. The blackness of the world was amplified here where starlight could not reach giving even darkness shadows.

Many thoughts were racing through her head, the most prominent one being where was she? It was Ponyville, but looked as if it was decades into the future. “Where in Tartarus am I?” Applejack opened the pantry door to find it still stocked, although everything but rusted cans had become ash. She turned a can around to read what it was when a shadow moved in the corner of her eye. She spun to look at it, fully expecting it to disappear as it had earlier. It did not.

Crawling slowly out of the shadows of a rotted table was a nightmare. Applejack backed away from the advancing shadow beast. It skittered slowly across the ground toward her on four spidery legs with two scythe-like claws extending from a small oval body. A tail three times the length of its body whipped lazily behind with a small round bulb on its end from which a stinger protrudes. A thin curved neck supports a featureless spade-shaped head. It paused while looking in Applejack’s direction, she stopped soon after. Seconds or hours passed, she didn’t know. The shadow’s head split to form an open mouth from which a white light glowed, and a terrible screech rang out.

Chapter Two: A Sudden Scare

The startling screech pierced the air so powerfully that Applejack had to hold her ears. ‘What’s goin’ on? What is that thing?!’ she thought as she hit the back wall. Her mind blanked on what to do. She squinted from the pain from her ears looking for anything at all. Rusted silverware was strewn about close to her, just another small fact that she wasn’t home. She tried to kick the knives and forks at the creature, most falling short. A lucky one slid across the floor and flew off an angled tile right into the creature’s throat. The screech stopped as it began clawing at the fork in its mouth in desperation.

Applejack let go of her ears and looked at her hooves; her right hoof was slightly damp with blood. She straightened her head to keep a good sense of balance before jumping over to the erratic monster. Thin wisps of shadows began to come off of it like a black steam as it even clawed at its throat now trying to cut through its chitinous shell. She knew this was her only chance and charged as it sliced through its own throat, the fork falling through coated in something akin to oil.

The creature tried to begin its screech again, but had its head crushed into the tiled floor by Applejack with loud crunch. The black steam was cold as it rose against her hooves from the writhing body of the small monster, its tail lashing wildy behind it scratching up the floor and wreckage around them. Applejack pushed off and brought her hooves down again, a web of cracks in tile ran from under her. Panting she backed off, falling back on her haunches and stared at what she had killed. Killed. A word she wouldn’t think of describing any action she would do.

The cold black steam stopped rising as the white glow from the monsters mouth faded with its life. A puddle of blood eerily close to oil when lit by the starlight grew steadily around it. She rubbed her right ear to soothe the now pulsating pain lost in thought. What was that creature? Why is it so dark in the afternoon? Why does everything look decades old? Where was she? That was the biggest question. She rose to her hooves and slowly approached the kitchen window. It was definitely Ponyville, but it wasn’t hers.

Houses and shops that she frequently passed by were collapsed or damaged in unnatural ways. The night wasn’t normal, as if it was the night of nights. Her breath created wisps in the chilling air, only now after the sudden rush of a fight that she felt it on her body. Above all were the shadows. They moved when she wasn’t looking, barely catching them in the edge of her vision.

“Okay, AJ. This ain’t no dream,” she muttered to herself. She tried to think about what could have caused this. Nothing was different today other than finding that mysterious box and object. She paced back and forth in her mind before it clicked. Of course! A weird looking object that came from a just as weird box that was also probably magical? Obviously her problem right there. She reached back into to her mane only to feel the spot that was stabbed by something. She searched diligently in her long ponytailed mane to find nothing.

How could there be nothing? Applejack froze in a wide-eyed stare around her. She was trapped here. The world began to spin and her head throbbed in ache as the realization hit her. “Wait... one... second,” she said in gasps. She collapsed to the floor with a loud thud. Her body felt like it was overheating in the cold night air, quite literally. Wisps of black steam similar to what came off the creature earlier that was dead opposite her rose from her body.

‘This is bad, extremely bad!’ Applejack crawled slowly to the nearby pantry. Staying out in the open was the easiest way to die. She couldn’t let any monsters see her now, her mind swimming with her vision as she inched into the pantry beneath the lowest shelf. Her breath was coming in short gasps as the white of hot air mixed with cold black steam flowing up from across her whole body. She tried to pull the pantry door shut, and succeeded on her third try.

Darkness filled everything. It felt like a furnace atop a mountain as her mind created images in the black. Her eyes squeezed shut as pain wracked her whole body. It took all her willpower not to scream. Another surge, this time worse in her head as she felt hot liquid flow down from her right ear. She was so tired. Her mind quieting, the sounds of outside the pantry silenced. A muffled cry and a tear streaked down her face before sleep took her. ‘I don’t want to be alone...’

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Her eyes opened slowly as light streamed in from the window. With a groan she turned over and asked the sun for five more minutes. Seconds passed before she sat up in a rush. She held her hoof out in front of her, admiring the way the sun glistened off her coat. Her bed was a mess, a sign that she was tossing and turning all night long in a fit. She ran a hoof over the back of her neck and felt no wound. Her vision blurred as tears streamed down her face.

“It was all a dream?” whispered Applejack to her empty room. She laughed sadly to herself before wiping her eyes. Of course it was a dream. Wrong, it was a nightmare. She hadn’t had nightmares since she was a foal, they stopped after her parents... She shook her head.

“You kids get down here for breakfast!” Granny Smith called from below. Hoofsteps both slow and strong alongside light and noisy came from the stairs heading down. Applejack smiled as she pulled herself out of bed, put on her brown stetson, and headed down for food. Now that it was on her mind her stomach roared to be filled. When she entered the dining room Big Mac and Applebloom were already seated with flapjacks in front of them.

“Sit down, missy. We’re waitin’ on ya.” Applejack smiled as she enjoyed the company of her family. That nightmare had gotten to her. She pulled out her chair and sat down as Granny Smith plopped down a stack of pancakes, buttered with syrup and ready for eating. She looked to her family as they all held their heads down in respect, her quickly joining them.

Granny smith cleared her throat and recited, “Let us give our thanks to Celestia for her sun, to without there would be no light. To Luna for her night, to without there would be no rest. We give our thanks to nature, to without there would be no life. To our family, to without we would have none to share.” A moment of silence passed. “Now eat up, ya young uns. We got a busy day ahead of us!”

The Apple family began to devour their breakfast eagerly. A frenzy across the table as they conversed with half-full mouths while being scolded by their elder who was in a similar situation. Applejack’s mood changed for the better, that nightmare pushed back in her mind. Breakfast finished as quickly as it started, the dishes washed and put up. Applebloom was about to head off to school when Applejack gave her a hug.

“Uh, sis? I’m gonna be late,” she choked out in Applejack’s bear hug. Applejack chuckled as she released Applebloom. A scream of pure terror sounded out. She looked around to where it came from but found none. It rang out again, this time she saw it rather than heard. Applebloom’s frightened eyes looked into hers as her sister backed away in a panic.

“Applebloom?” she asked. What had scared her sister so much? She reached out a hoof to calm her only to see a black claw. A claw shaped like a scythe. Her yell joined her sister’s as Applebloom ran across the room. The sunlight from outside disappeared suddenly. Applejack’s world grew around her. She saw Big Mac run in from the kitchen, his eyes widened before steeling themselves in a scowl. “Big Mac, what’s goin’ on?” she meant to ask, but all that came out was a horrible high-pitched screech.

Her brother dashed as fast as he could between Applejack and his littlest sister, all the while yelling at her. She couldn’t understand, the screech was too loud. She tried to go to them, but a hoof met her face. She held up her hooves to block, the claws tearing as the red stallions body. She screamed for him to stop while trying to do the same, but nothing happened. Blows were exchanged, blood was scattered. Why was this happening? Big Mac looked down fiercely and raised on his hind legs.

“Macintosh!” she yelled, hearing her own voice before the hooves swallowed her vision.

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Applejack opened her eyes to nothing but darkness. She closed them and couldn’t tell the difference. A flush of hot tears flowed down her cheeks. She wondered which was truly the nightmare, the dream or reality. She wiped her eyes and pushed her sadness to a corner of her mind. Self-pity would get her nowhere. How long did she sleep? Her body was still in pain, her muscles sore from being cramped when she passed out.

Crunch. Schlrrrpt. Crunch.

Her ears perked to the sounds coming from the other side of the door. She noticed her breathing was ragged and loud and immediately switched to long, slow breaths. The noises were dulled through the door, but weren’t close. With a held breath Applejack slid the pantry door open as quietly as she could, pausing when she sensed it would creak. Light poured into her hiding spot through the small gap, it being as open as she dared.

Applejack squinted from the sudden light, it being brighter than she remembered. She slowly shifted her scrunched up body to a position where she could see out the gap. Two small black creatures identical to the one she had killed earlier sat around its corpse. She focused harder, her vision blurry from what she suspected a terrible fever. The beasts were eating the dead body. Their whip-like tails wagging in obvious delight at a meal, the light emitted from their mouths vanishing every so often, blocked by a piece of dead carapace. One leaned to the ground and acted like it was drinking. Applejack gagged, repressing the urge to vomit at the sight. It was drinking its black blood,

She must’ve been out for a long while as they were just finishing up their dinner. Frozen in suspense and fright Applejack watched them continue until nothing was left but a shadow on the floor, it looked the same as one of the monsters. Her mind blanked at this impossibility as there was nothing casting it. The two creatures turned to each other, one emitting a quiet screech of different pitches before raising a claw.

‘What?’ was all she thought. The shadow was cut in two halves. Both of the monsters each took a piece and added it to their own shadow. She quietly shut the door and hid there shivering in terror. They grew. They both grew slightly larger.. She held her hooves over her mouth as she retched. She was scared, her whole body and mind was in pain, and trapped for all she knew in a world of demons. Tears continued to flow despite her will to suppress them.

Sounds from the other side. Applejack looked towards the door. She waited. And waited. The sounds had stopped, but she continued to wait. She had started counting several times in her head, losing track each time as she continued. Her stomach hurt from hunger and growled for food. She held her gut to try and quiet it to no avail. Soon her eyes closed and she continued waiting until fatigue took her.

Her eyes shot open. She didn’t remember drifting off to sleep, so maybe it hadn’t been long. She held her breath and listened for anything other than her racing heartbeat. After hearing nothing she slowly slid the door open to peek out. The kitchen was still a mess of ruin and darkness, although there was no sign of anything else. Pulling the door all the way open, Applejack crawled out to open space. It was still, no signs of anything other than herself being here. She stretched fiercely, joints cracked and muscles stretched in pain. She shook it all off as her stomach growled loudly this time.

She glanced around and saw no signs of a threat. A small sigh escaped her as she turned back to the pantry. She took a few cans off the shelves that were poptop, the labels faded past deciphering. Sitting on the ground with cans at hoof she carefully opened the first one, or tried to. The tab broke off as soon as she lifted it upwards. Swearing curses that nopony would ever hear, she looked around at the many cabinets and drawers. Knowing Twilight, she would probably have multiple can-openers. That mare was prepared for everything.

It took a couple minutes of searching and good guesses, and indeed there was a worn drawer at the end of the room that was full of assorted openers that included a few of the can variety. A small smile has her success, and she was truly opening her first can. As soon as the seal broke the smell hit her in a wave. It was a can of brown beans that smelled something awful, though not rotten. Applejack’s gut roared in hunger as she unceremoniously lifted the can up and scarfed it down, head tilted back. It tasted better than it smelled for sure, the can’s seal doing its job well.

Her body satiated for the time being, Applejack wandered carefully back into the main room of the library. The light seemed to be better now than it was when she suddenly appeared here, many things more noticeable. She climbed the stairs as silently as she could to Twilight’s bedroom in hope of finding anything. Applejack didn’t know how she arrived here, or how to leave. She also had no supplies to survive until she did find a way, so she counted herself lucky that she found herself here of all places. If anypony was prepared for the end of the world, it would’ve been Twilight Sparkle.

Chapter Three: A Swift Escape

The second story was almost entirely a bedroom that overlooked the main chamber. It was in the same worn out and destroyed state as the rest of the library had been in. A large window, notably lacking the frame and glass that was now in pieces under it, sat behind a still intact queen-sized bed. The usual tattered pages and book casings littered the floor as well as a few personal effects. Two things stood out to Applejack, a bulky wooden desk and a closet.

Applejack crept over to the closet first with many things in mind, but above all to check if there were any monsters inside. She gulped as she hesitantly pulled open the closet and jumped back, prepared for an attack. With a slow creak the door hit the back wall and stopped revealing many ragged and torn clothes. A shelf above the clothes had a few boxes, but what was on the floor really caught her eye. A faded lavender faux leather satchel with a pair of grey metal six-pointed star clasps.

She put it on noting that it was still in decent condition, tightening the strap to make sure it was secure and snug. After tearing up some of the old clothing and lining the inside with it for padding, Applejack investigated the desk. It was absolutely covered in papers and utensils, a broken desk lamp still hanging above it. She looked through the papers quickly but carefully for any information. None of it was any help, be it the ink was too degraded to read or the paper was torn or aged to the point where it became ash when she touched it.

She looked around for anything as the drawers squeaked from being pulled out. Three had more papers and tools for writing or what she guessed math, the fourth having something that she took. It was entirely empty except for a small brass key on a keyring. It could be the key to the front door, the mailbox, or even some lockbox full of memorable tokens of the past. Applejack tucked it in her new bag and headed back downstairs to the kitchen.

It only took a moment to store three cans of food, a pair of can openers, and a couple of each eating utensil in her satchel. Nopony could say she wasn’t a survivor. Other than shelter, food and water are a must when stranded, which by her standards she was. Applejack peered out the window next to the front door, the light catching her eye. The light was slightly brighter than the light of the stars, but still left the world shrouded in darkness.

As she looked into the sky it took a few moments to believe what she saw. The moon was out, but it didn’t glow its usual pearly white. The lunar orb in the sky was shattered into dozens of pieces all hovering around a third of the moon that was still intact. It was a dull grey, the light barely enhanced by it. Applejack shivered as the terrible truth hit her. The moon was broken, and earlier the sun was gone. She stepped back from the window and sat down.

If the celestial bodies were missing or destroyed, what had happened to the princesses? What had happened to her world that made it this way? So many questions, and nopony to answer them. Sad to admit it to herself, but whenever Ponyville had a problem Twilight usually had an answer, or would quickly find one. Applejack smiled to herself, her friends would always be there to help no matter what the problem.

As she got up she saw a simple door that was ajar on the far side of the room. The door to the basement. Didn’t Twilight have some sort of laboratory down there? She remembered something like that, but more importantly it was the basement. No doubt some sort of creature was down there, the spookiest place of all houses. She poked the door as it opened without a single sound. A set of stone stairs led down to pitch black. Times like this Applejack wouldn’t have minded being a fancy unicorn.

The descent was slow and cautious; she kept her ears open for any noises at all and prepared to retreat back upstairs at the drop of a pin. Applejack’s heart beat loudly in her ears as she still felt the after effects of her earlier fever. She almost tripped over herself as she reached the bottom, a soft hum emitted from the entire room when her hoof hit the floor. Soft yellow lights lit up from the corners of the room shrouding the basement in shadowy light. Her eyes easily adjusted in no time while trotting over to one of the lights. A small gem had been set in the wall, no doubt it was enchanted.

Many odd machines of differing size and bulk lined the north and west walls from coming down the stairs. An out of place metal door framed in red tape sat on the south wall, probably a panic room for that paranoid mare. Another workspace that was complete with a large wooden desk and metal filing cabinets filled the wall that the stairs made ascending. Applejack examined this new desk with fervor.

It was in all ways identical looking to the desk in the bedroom, although was perfectly organized with blank papers neatly stacked on the right side and the desk lamp not broken. She pulled out the drawers to find ash, but this time it looked as if somepony set fire to the inside, its walls were burnt and blackened. As she tried the last drawer, it was stuck. Applejack grunted in annoyance noticing a small keyhole. She contemplated the chances at this being the brass key’s counterpart and how unlikely that should’ve been.

She pulled the small key and fit in into the lock, turned it, and heard a simple click. Well, a stroke of good fortune? Who was she to complain. Opening the drawer the got a face full of completely stale air, inside was a well preserved book, its cover once a glossy purple and its pages yellowed in age. No, it was rather thin for a book, more like a diary. Applejack’s eyes widened as she greedily grabbed the book and opened it to the first page. The ink had faded in many parts, but most of it being legible.

Journal Entry #001

23 / 12 / 1006 C.R.

A Brand New Day,

I was browsing the convention when I saw this cute booth selling journals, so I bought one to document my scientific studies on a new phenomenon that has recently been discovered. This phenomenon, which was discovered by Professor Quick Thinker, is none other than shadows! How exciting, right? I know you might think that shadows are an everyday occurrence, but it was recently found out that they are not just the dark areas that are created from an object obstructing a path of light. Professor Quick Thinker has found out that they can become tangible, and even be touched as something physical, not a projection!

I’m going to begin my own personal studies on this in hope to discover... well anything. It’s such an excitement to have such a new field of study. Nopony has found an apt name for this field as of yet. I’m sure Princess Luna has known about this, what with being the deity of the night, and will release the correct terminology soon. For now I’ll simply dub it Shadology. Not very creative, I know, but it’s practical.

I’m hoping my equipment in my lab will be sufficient for this, my personal funds are rather limited at the moment. I’ll take stock on everything when I get home, maybe get Spike to help rearrange. He has grown quite tall, yet is still so cute. So many ideas keep rushing to my head that I’m afraid I need to draft them out.

On the train home from the Canterlot Magic Expo

Applejack stared at the first page of the journal. Twilight’s personal journal. Was this some sort of future world? She shook her head in disbelief, but still wondered. If this was the future, was this her future? The date was only four years ahead. She flipped to the second page eager to read on, but stopped as a metallic clicking came from behind her. Her ears fell back as she turned to see a small white glow. Then two, and then three. She froze on the spot as six small black creatures similar to what she saw upstairs crawled out of the machinery on the opposite side of the room.

Slowly, very slowly she put the book into her satchel and clasped it shut, the creatures looking around casually as far as she could tell since they had no face other than a grotesque mouth. She tried to be as silent as possible rising to her hooves, and began backpedaling toward the stairs. She inwardly winced at each clop against the stone floor, constantly watching the creatures as they crawled all over the machines.

As she thought she reached the stairs, she kicked what looked to be a small garbage bin full of crumpled and old papers. Her eyes widened, frantically dashing between the machinery and the trash bin in mid-flight, landing with a loud clunk and proceeded to bounce off the wall and roll noisily right up to the machines. Machines that had the dark monsters on them. She swore she didn’t know her own strength.

All heads quickly turned to Applejack, the glow of their mouths brightening. She knew what was coming and covered her eyes with her hooves right before the intense piercing cry of half a dozen creatures hit her. Her knees buckled causing her to fall to the floor on her side. Her vision began to blur as she couldn’t manage the strength to flee. She felt her right ear begin to bleed again, the wound reopened. She managed to sit straight up before the screech suddenly stopped. Panting heavily she lowered her hooves and looked at what was going on.

All the beasts turned to look at the metal door to the panic room, or what she thought was it. She felt a tremor in the ground, followed by another each with a loud thud. A feeling of encroaching doom encompassed her as she sat there. An awkward silence reigned over the basement.

BANGBANG

Two large dents outward appeared in the metal door. The surrounding yellow light disappeared, replaced with a glow from different gems that bathed the room in a deep red. The creatures backed away from the door in a fit as they scrambled around to hide. If they were scared, then what should she be? Two more large dents popped the door mostly off the frame, held together by its study hinges and lock. Applejack froze as a deep-pitched but all the same screech rang out as the door flew from its hinges and smashed into the wall, bouncing off and landing on the stairs to block her path upwards.

The first thing that came out was a sickle-shaped claw that was followed by another, only these claws were twice the size of a pony leg. It slowly dragged itself out of the room as a deep hum of machinery came from inside. It was identical to the small creatures standing in fright across the room, but it was a little over twice her height and many times bigger than its brethren. Its tail was so long that it could only stay in the other room as it whipped wildly against the walls. Applejack stared up in horror as the glow in its mouth was not a pale white, but a pale red seemingly lost in the already red glow of the room.

Her body moved before she thought to and ran straight for the stairs. She jumped to clear the metal door, barely making it over before a piercing screech rang out for only a few seconds, dazing her landing and caused her to fall off the stairs onto the desk. She rolled over to fall on the floor, and rose to her hooves with her ears now burning in searing pain. She looked wearily at the huge monstrosity and it seemed to laugh it a weird chirping manner.

It was intelligent, far more than the small ones. She backed toward the base of the stairs preparing for another dash upwards. While it stared straight at her with its featureless face, it raised a claw and struck the desk ripping it in half. It was practically daring her to try and run. Applejack bent down in a position to pounce; the beast bent low and stretched out both its claws in a sweeping motion.

The moment dragged on for minutes, each being in the room tense as can be, both the prey and the predator. Applejack wasn’t sure how long it would keep toying with her, but watched in the corner of her eye as a small one crawled out of a machine made of two large cylinders and jumped at the large one. Its claws sank into the large creature’s armor causing it jump slightly and look down in anger.

She looked between them and the panic room, the doorway half-filled with a monstrous tail. The large one reared its head back and with a swift bite swallowed its offender. In a split second decision Applejack released the built up pressure in her legs and dashed toward the doorway. The large creature turned its attention to her and struck out, both claws slicing the ground next to her as she jumped over its tail and into the room. A deep screech louder than its last hit Applejack and sent her tumbling herself.

Catching herself, she ran down a large hallway filled with glowing red gems. The tail, reaching all the way down to the main room ahead, thrashed side to side trying to crush her. She managed to duck under the first blow, receiving the second to the back that winded her, and the third slammed her against the wall. Running through the pain in her chest and head she managed to tumble out into an expansive metal room.

Sleek metal walls covered in scratch marks the size of her leg filled all but one wall in the room. The rightmost wall was destroyed, most of the metal torn inwards revealing a massive cave leading on into darkness. Comfort items such as a table, couch, and bed were torn apart and scattered across the room along with any furniture at all. Gems were embedded at places in the walls, all dark except the ones glowing red. A door on the opposite side of the hallway seemed to be the exit, blocked by only a massive bulb and stinger on the end of a large tail.

Applejack dashed to the right and held herself close against the wall as the tail thrashed around the room in a fit of rage. Screeches sounded down the hallway but weren’t nearly as painful as up close. The door was locked by a lever on the wall next to it, only a pull away from freedom. She readied herself, trying to time her dash with the movement of the tail, when she noticed a glass box surrounded in faded red paint, emergency written in all capitals above and below it. She unclasped her satchel, ran over while hugging the wall and smashed the glass with a powerful buck. She forced herself through the pain of glass shattering on her hooves, small pieces sticking in her legs. A small brown bag, the size of a coin purse, sat on a pedestal. Applejack snatched it up, put it safely in her satchel, clasped it shut, and dashed for the door.

She ducked under a sharp black stinger as it pierced one of the metal walls; a thin dark purple fluid flowed from the stinger as it pulled itself out. She yelled as she yanked the lever down, the hiss of air filled her ears as she jumped through the half open door. She looked back, and saw the monster facing right at her.

The door was sliding open. The monster dexterously maneuvered its tail to stab her. Her eyes widened as she jumped over a flying stinger and slammed a leg upwards on the lever. The door reversed its movement. A screech of terrible rage. Clopping hooves against stone. Wooden doors bursting open. Sudden rush of freezing night air. Burning pain from across her body.

Applejack ran away from the cellar doors as fast as she could, her body screaming at her to stop and rest. Shadows moved on the edges of her vision as she ran through the town. A crumbled candy building moved into view as she bolted down the street. She slowed down and as quietly as she could while gasping for air, she opened the front door to the bakery and locked it behind her. Slumped against the door, she could no longer hear anything but the beat of her heart and the sound of her breaths.

Chapter Four: A Quick Fix

A chilling wind blew through Sugarcube Corner, the candy building’s windows destroyed or missing opening itself up to the elements. The sweets bakery was in a terrible state all too similar to the library, although there were clear markings from battles between things not equine. Applejack’s mind turned itself down from panicked to cautious, the adrenaline wearing off as she became fully aware of her body’s condition.

She massaged her ribs on both sides wincing at the clear pain. She was sure of the bruises she couldn’t see beneath her coat, and hoped not something worse. With a careful pair of hooves she began pulling out the shards of glass that were stuck in her hind hooves from breaking open the security glass. She felt more than a few cuts and bruises all over her sore body, but the major problems had to be fixed first. She held her breath and jaw shut through every piece of glass, though she only managed to pull a few bloody pieces large enough to grasp with hooves out. She still felt many small ones but that was the best she could do without a first aid kit, and it was enough to walk.

Her breathing was heavy and ragged through the exhaustion, both mental and physical, that she had endured today. Applejack got up and slowly searched what was left of the first floor. The doors that led to the kitchen were blocked from the other side, the entire dining area and customer service full of debris but clear of any life. She didn’t want to be surprised by any more monsters, and began to thoroughly look through any possible spots. With nothing in there with her, she piled any ruined and knocked over tables against the open windows, barricading them from intruders as well as the freezing wind from outside.

After all the windows were secure the inside felt a bit warmer, although still cold enough to elicit shivers from Applejack. She tiredly nodded to herself at her good work and noticed the stairs along the wall leading up. She walked over and looked to the top only to see darkness. With a gulp she began her ascent, her vision slowly fading with no light, barely able to see the outline of the hallway to her right. It wasn’t very long, only a door on either side, one in the middle on the right side and at the end on the left.

Applejack tried to breathe through her nose quietly, but the sting of cold air was too much. She crept along the hallway, her muscles tense as she arrived at the first door. With a held breath she put her right ear to the door, and held down a yelp as pain assaulted her. After a moment it dulled down, and she gingerly touched her ear. It hurt, and even she could tell in a very bad way. After switching sides, listening for minutes and hearing nothing, she slowly opened the door.

The room was mostly caved in and the starlight shining from above; only a few meters around the doorway clear. With a mere glance Applejack knew what this was. Foal’s toys were littered across what was left of the room, a buried bookshelf in the corner, and a large broken crib poking from out of the rubble. It was the Cake’s nursery, and she shuddered before swiftly closing the door. She told her mind not to think about it even as tears formed in her eyes.

She pushed the feelings away; her mind was stressed enough. With a brief trot she listened through the hall’s end door, and after hearing no signs of movement, entered it with caution. It was a circular room with two damaged but intact windows. A single bathtub sat in the middle of the floor, and a sink and medicine cabinet across from her on the wall. Applejack’s eyes widened at the cabinet, and barely stopped from dashing over to it as she heard a sound.

With her ears perked she walked into the room as quietly as she could. A quiet scratching came from the bathtub that was partially covered by a moth-eaten pink shower curtain with yellow ducks. The curtain only covered the half that was facing her, so she circled to the left around the tub, squinting to see anything with the dim light coming in from the windows. A few more scratches came from the tub; she thought she saw a shadow move from behind the curtain. She couldn’t trust what she saw from shadows, they always moved even when nothing was there. As she got to the end of the curtain she quickly poked her head around to see an extremely filthy, but empty bathtub.

Applejack let go of the tension in her muscles with a sigh of relief. She turned to the medicine cabinet only to see the white glow flying at her. She thanked her reflexes as she held up her forehooves to stop the dangerous scythe-like claws from piercing into her, and fell backwards into the tub with the black creature slashing at her. She screamed in fear as its tail whipped above it and struck down at her like a scorpion. Applejack rolled as best she could, pinned the monster to the side of the tub and avoided the stinger that cracked the porcelain as it struck. The tail struck wildly as they both pushed against each other.

The creature stopped flailing its tail and opened its mouth, revealing in full a white glow that grew brighter by the second. She knew what was coming, and released some of the pressure she put into pinning it to the wall of the bathtub. With a push off the side with her hindlegs she thrust as hard as she could, and smashed its claws into its head. The glow stopped growing as the creature was dazed, and she repeated smashing it with a scream of fury. Over and over, the black shell of the creature ruptured, its claws broke at wrong angles, its head caved in and black blood covered the mare.

Applejack’s vision blurred from tears, her cries echoing in the silent bathroom as she laid there with the creatures beaten corpse. Black steam emitted from wherever the black blood was, it chilling her body to its core. She hastily climbed out of the tub to fall on the floor, her body shivering fiercely as a piercing pain shot through her whole body.

‘It’s just like before!’ she thought. She tripped the old curtain from the bars holding it up, and wrapped herself up. Her body was on fire, yet felt like freezing from the inside at the same time. She curled up in the curtain on the floor, her consciousness fading in and out as she forced to stay awake.

An hour, or what she felt was an hour, passed extremely slowly before the burning and pain were tolerable enough to move. Applejack crawled to the medicine cabinet, shakily stood up, and paused before opening it. A single crack ran across a mirror that showed her. She lowered the curtain to get a better look, and was sad at what she saw. Her brilliant orange coat was ragged and filthy, her blonde mane looked near brown and was a heap of tangles in a ponytail, and nasty black blood soaked her everywhere. She allowed herself a smile at her brown stetson that was still in its fine condition beyond all odds.

Applejack opened the cabinet to find a large stash of medicines and bottles of varying size and colors. ‘How much medication does Pinkie Pie need?’ She opened her satchel and tossed any bottle she didn’t need right now into it. Many of the names she couldn’t pronounce, let alone know what they did as she pocketed them. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

After looting over two dozen bottles and a couple pill boxes she had three items sitting on the floor next to her. She took off her satchel and curtain, setting them on the floor. She shivered at the loss of her protective layer from the cold, and began applying the disinfectant to her many scratches and cuts. Was there an expiration on disinfectant? Any was better than none right now, so she continued. It burned with each application, Applejack having paused to take a few painkillers, before continuing. She picked up roll of old gauze, its condition shoddy at best, and wrapped her ribs and larger cuts. Her first aid knowledge was an absolute none, most of it going off guesswork and what she could think of from common knowledge.

With herself treated to the best of her ability and supplies, Applejack put her satchel back on, tightening it securely, and wrapped herself back up in the curtain. It was disgusting, although not as much as her coat, and she felt slightly warmer with it on. Looking around, the room seemed the perfect spot to hole up for a while, she walked over and closed the door. The broken corpse of the creature wasn’t far away, it creeping her out just by being there. She thought about tossing it out of the room, but didn’t want to attract scavengers.

She walked over to it, and prepared to toss it into the tub. Out of sight, out of mind. As soon as she touched it, the shadow of the corpse moved. She recoiled quickly, but the shadow was quicker and vanished into her own. She looked around to see nothing else. She looked at her own shadow, it looking the same as ever, before she warily picked up and tossed the corpse into the tub.

As she walked back over to the sink her body exploded, or that is what is felt like. All of once every muscle and joint in her body flex and expand before settling, the momentary pain blinding enough for Applejack to trip and fall onto her face. It left as quick as it came, the only trace it happened was the memory of it.

With a groan Applejack picked herself up off the floor and walked over to the sink. She reflexively turned the faucet to get a drink, and to her immediate surprise water flowed out. She hastily turned it off and stared at it. Her throat suddenly felt like a desert. Without thinking she put her mouth to the tap, turned it on, and drank greedily. The water was stale and probably a third of it mud, but tasted as pure as a spring river to her. Soon the water ran dry, but her stomach was full to where she felt bloated, but was satisfied. It was most likely the water that was stuck in the drains for years.

Afraid to sleep, and in the need of any answers she could get, she curled up on the side of the window. She stayed close to the wall so nothing could see her, took out Twilight’s journal, and set it in under the window in the light so she could read. Her only clue into the mystery of what had happened to this world was within that journal.

She opened to the first page and skimmed it before turning to the second. It was full of notes that were seemingly random with many equations or questions written with them. It was interesting to note that Twilight wrote on both sides of the page, a small glimpse into her friend’s habits. The third page was this confusing diagram of some sort of experiment, though Applejack couldn’t make heads or tails of it. She turned the page and read eagerly.

Journal Entry #002

02 / 01 / 1007

Delayed Start,

It has been over a week since the Canterlot Magic Expo, and with it a demonstration that intrigued me to no end. I expected Princess Luna to comment on it, but she has not come forth with anything to say. Since nopony has released a newer term for it yet, I will continue calling it Shadology. As I expected, my personal laboratory was indeed under-equipped to handle such a project that I’m planning. It has taken me most of the week of sell off a few things, take a few odd jobs around town, and use what I had in my savings to purchase new materials and devices.

While our lifestyle isn’t threatened by my pursuit in this new area of research, Spike and I will have to do without personal luxuries for a while. Such is the sacrifice for knowledge, I suppose. I have been looking over Professor Quick Thinker’s explanation and demonstration from the Expo, and even after witnessing it with my own eyes I can barely still explain it.

While the documented information explaining the demonstration is extremely lengthy and put into as many possible words as he could, it summarizes to how to make a shadow and then pick it up. I drew up some possible theories other than the one provided on how to do it, but cannot conceive of anything like it. I will just have to perform the test and then break down the process into my own words and thoughts. The last of my equipment should be arriving within the week, unless Ditzy Doo loses the package again. I love that mare, but I still don’t know how she keeps her job.

While I wait for my mail I will go out and try to earn some spare income. Spike has been a real helper, and with his growth spurt a couple months ago he has had a bigger stomach, literally, and deserves a few snacks.

Eagerly awaiting the mail from her home

Applejack reread the part about picking up a shadow in amazement. She looked at her own shadow cast by the starlight. She slowly reached out and touched it only to feel the smooth floor beneath. The fifth page was full of more scribbles and mathematics, she grumbled as she flipped to the next page. She began reading only to stop at the sound of drums. Rapidly beating drums that were so fast the beats blurred together. She looked out the window before pausing in realization. The sound was coming from above.

Chapter Five: A Split Decision

The drum beats sounded quietly from above, the source far away from Applejack. She looked out the window for any signs of the sound, her eyes searching the skies. Only the a few sparse clouds were high above other than the expanse of the night sky with its stars and shattered moon. She shivered from the cold and pulled the curtain tighter around herself. The painkillers had come into full effect, the pains of the many wounds dulled to a tolerable level and the ache of her muscles numbed.

Soon the quick drum beats disappeared leaving only the low howl of the wind outside to fill the air. Applejack read through a couple more journal entries, their contents mostly about Twilight setting up her lab. She had deemed it fit to install a safe room in her basement to experiment and contain any mishaps that would no doubt occur. Much of what was written Applejack could understand, save a few long scientific words or when Twilight started rambling about an idea.

An hour passed quickly; Applejack wasn’t the fastest reader. She flipped past another page of calculations and diagrams and started on the next entry. The occasional page that wasn’t a journal entry did spark an interest, but she didn’t understand any of it.

Journal Entry #006

08 / 01 / 1007

Just The Beginning,

Success! After a half dozen tries I have succeeded in replicating the results of the demonstration shown at the Expo on picking up a shadow. It is truly fascinating on how such a thing could occur. In history there have been very few unicorns whose magic specialty has been shadows, but as far as books go there was no recorded spell to make a shadow into a third-dimensional object.

An interesting note is that the shadow I have successfully raised from a projection of light has become permanently so. I am as of yet not sure if this is the result of residual magic that was used in the experiment, or now simply a fact of its being. I have contained it in a secure chamber within the safe room.

The shadow is small, as I did not want to have something too large to start with, and in an amorphous shape. It is close to a black putty that always shifts to never retain a permanent form. It disturbs me that it does this, tomorrow I think I’ll check for any vital signs. It seems to be alive in the way it moves, but it is just a shadow, right? In any—

She stopped reading, confused as the starlight had suddenly disappeared. Applejack was so engrossed in the journal that she didn’t hear the drum beats return. She looked up out the window to see a enormous shadow cast over her, the sky blocked by an very large bird. She squinted to see it in the darkness; the bird was extremely high in the air.

The two massive wings, double the length of its large body, were beating what sounded like a couple dozen times per second as she couldn’t see anything but the blur of the wings. It flew over the town of Ponyville casting its shadow as it flew. In moments the starlight returned as Applejack watched the bird disappear behind her line of sight. She released a held breath before returning to the journal. The constant beat of wings stayed in the background.

— case I have it contained and will continue tomorrow. Spike has been a great help of the last few days, easily carrying the equipment I needed down to the basement. I really should do something to show how much I appreciate him. I wonder what he would like... guess I will have to subtly ask him. Oh, this is a great time to record what the mind of a teen dragon desires!

Transcribing in the bedroom with fulfilled results

“Hay, Ah sure hope the end of the world ain’t Twilight’s fault,” muttered Applejack. She knew Twilight was a good scientist and would never intentionally harm anypony, but she had a bad streak of becoming enthusiastic about things much like what happened with the Pinkie Sense.

Her stomach growled in hunger, although it had only been a couple hours she didn’t eat that much earlier. She sat up and pulled the satchel around to her front, shivering as the cold air filled the gaps that the curtain now hung loose at. After gently putting away the journal and pulling out a can and its opener, the light went out again.

Applejack looked out the window again; the large bird was a lot closer than last time. The steady beats never left the background, rising or falling with distance. It flew out in the distance and circled around as she watched and began opening the can. She crouched when it looked like the bird was flying toward Sugarcube Corner. It sped across Ponyville toward her as she watched thinking it was impossible that it would be after her.

She stopped opening the can and ducked as low as she could to peek over the windowsill. It flew right over her building; she swore that a large glowing eye stared right at her as it passed. Her mind yelled at her to move, that she wasn’t safe. She grabbed the can of food and dashed behind the bathtub in the center of the room. The curtain fell to the floor behind her as she peered over the edge of the tub out the window and waited.

The sound of wings still in the air grew louder before disappearing altogether. The silence was deafening causing Applejack to tense up. Her body argued in response as she prepared to run. If she had to learn anything about these sort of creatures it was that they were smart in a deceiving way.

Her breath came in heavy gasps as she became panicked. Minutes had passed and still nothing but silence and wind. Was it her imagination that it had seen her? She dared not to make a sound. Her stomach rumbled, and with a sigh picked up the can. A thought bloomed in her head as she looked at the can. With a not-so-subtle toss it hit under the window and landed loudly on the floor.

The window shattered sending glass everywhere as two large black talons ripped through the bottom of the wall where the can was. The heavy yet rapid beat of wings roared beneath her; the bird creature rose to meet her eye to eye. Its body was similar to a hummingbird, but that was where it ended. Two huge dragon wings beat so fast they were a blur keeping itself aloft. Its head was that of a hummingbird, with a large thin beak and two eye sockets with brightly glowing white lights where its eyes would be.

Applejack screamed and bolted for the door. She hastily opened it and ran down the hallway, her body screaming through the painkillers for her to stop. A beak pierced through the wall right in front of her, Applejack jumping over it. A talon ripped off the roof above her as she ran down the stairs to the first floor. She had no idea where to go, trapped in this building with a flying predator trying to find her.

As stood in middle of the large dining area looking around for a solution the roof caved in behind her, the bird dragon monster crashing down through with it. It shook off the debris and quickly found its target. Applejack’s eyes met its as hers widened in terror. She ran and jumped against the front door as a beak smashed where she was, piercing into the ground with ease. The door broke against her weight; Applejack rolled across the ground outside before rising back to her hooves. She felt splinters and cuts through the numbing of the medicine, her brain receiving so many signals of body parts hurting.

She looked ahead down the street that led back to the library and shuddered before turning to the right and running down the street. Wing beats filled the air behind her, a glance back showed the enormous bird flying out the hole in the roof it made and heading swiftly after her. Applejack pumped her legs for everything she got as she ran down the street. Her hooves pounded away on the dirt, the chill of the wind rushing against her.

After she rounded the next corner cutting between a street lamp and a building a loud clang with the clatter of rubble followed just seconds behind her. The wind whistled quietly in her ears as she dashed into the nearest building. She took in her surrounds while breathing heavily and quickly recognized this as the Ponyville Post Office.

The talons of a foot pierced around the front door, ripped it out, and tossed it into the street. Applejack dashed around the counter to the back room and found an exit, the door have fallen down long ago. She glanced behind her to see a beak tear through the wall, the monster having no problems wrecking through the decrepit buildings to get to her. She ran outside and through the alleys as the wind’s whistle picked up.

Applejack arrived at the end of the alley, glanced left and right as the sounds of the post office collapsing in destruction came from behind her. The shadows moved in the darkness down the right path, so she took off to the left trusting in what she saw. She breathed in quick gasps, her body reaching its limit. Applejack could feel her wounds open further and her fur become damp.

The forlorn town of Ponyville raced past her as she ran through its streets. The beat of drums echoed through the air and began to follow her. As she rounded another corner shadows enveloped her area before something smashed against her side. She heard her ribs make horrible sounds as she flew through the air and through a nearby wall landing inside. The brown stetson that had loyally stayed atop Applejack’s head floated down a little ways from her.

She fought back tears and, through all the pain, got up. She walked over to her hat, picked it up, and put it back in its rightful place. The bird creature broke down the wall with nonchalance and stared at Applejack. Applejack smiled as the wind whistled loudly in her ears.

“Heh, don’t think that Ah’ll just let you have me.” Applejack coughed, blood spraying on the ground. “This mare don’t go down without a fight.” She knew it was crazy, that all few instincts told her to run until she dropped. It was as big as that ursa minor that showed up a while back. The monster bird merely took a step forward, and gripped the ground hard enough to tear it up.

With a yell Applejack charged the bird, almost tripping over herself. The bird stepped back and thrust its beak at its charging foe. Her vision blurred and she swayed to the left, luckily dodging the beak that pierced the floorboards. Applejack dashed under it between its black scaly legs as it missed her with a talon by seconds. She halted behind it, tensed up her muscles and let out a buck that would fell a tree. It hit at the ankle of the bird’s left foot with a sickly crunch.

It roared its head upwards, beak open, but let out no sound. It swiftly turned to take Applejack, its eyes glowing bright with anger. The kick had caused obvious damage; the scales were cracked and broken with a black oily blood seeping out of the wound. It returned a kick with its damage talon, a toe slamming into Applejack sending her tumbling down the street.

The edges of her vision blackened as her body surrendered to her many injuries. With a chuckle she watched the bird walk up to her and stare at her. The wind whistled so loud it deafened all other sounds. Applejack weakly held a forehoof if front her as she looked up to the star filled night sky. The fur rustled in only a slight breeze. She turned to see the bird rear back its head. Applejack smiled; she had tried her hardest to survive. The beak surged forward, her eyes closed, and the world went silent.

Chapter Six: An Abrupt Change

The first thing she heard was hoofsteps that were shortly followed by screams. Every sound was obscured as if heard through water. What willpower she had left asked for her to move, to open her eyes, but her body refrained. Murmurs she couldn’t understand came from around her as she faded into unconsciousness.

She awoke to the smell of antiseptics, along with the light odor of forest air freshener. Again murmurs and whispers all obscured came from around her. Her body did not respond to any signals, so she lay there in what was like a soft bed. What felt like needles and tubes coiled around or pierced into her, her entire being numbed to the point where she only felt tired.

“Where... she was?... horrible...” The words were barely understood between the nonsense. Another voice, masculine and trustworthy, talked with obvious concern. She couldn’t bring her mind to focus on anything, the void of unconsciousness beckoning her. Unwillingly she fell asleep.

Occasionally she woke up for mere moments, enough to get a sense of what was happening, before falling back asleep. She vaguely recalls being moved on a platform to a place where the train whistled. The air smelled like home, but the next time she awoke it had the smell of many odors, most likely a well-traveled location. The entire way she was being talked to, by one or more different ponies.

She recognized their voices as her friends, though she couldn’t hear their words too clearly. They spoke in such sad and soothing tones, although it all sounded like she was underwater, that it made her sad as well. The next time she awoke she was much more lucid. The smell of antiseptics returned, although there was no homey feel to it.

“...did everything we could. She was in a terrible condition when brought here, but is healing at abnormal rate,” said a stallion, his voice easily described as old and experienced.

“They moved her here as fast as they could after performing all they could, but the local infirmary didn’t have any doctors skilled in the needed type of surgery.” Yes, this voice brought warmth to her heart. It was easily identified as her antisocial, yet lovable friend Twilight Sparkle.

“Her ears were in horrible condition, the... wait, did you...?” The elderly stallion paused, his steps coming closer to her. She tried to feel her limbs, and was met with a small response. Her whole body still somewhat numb, but felt a lot like her entire body fell asleep, she opened her eyes slowly.

The light nearly blinded Applejack disorientating her for a moment. She blinked several times before squinting through the extremely bright light to see a white roof. She looked to the left and right; white walls shaped the small room, it being bare of decor save for a few chairs and small end tables designed for visitors. Her bed was very much a hospital bed; metal railing and medical stands on both sides of her from which tubes and wires attached to her.

She sat up slowly as she was assaulted with imaginary pins and needles from her sleeping muscles. Two ponies stood a little ways away from her, the elderly yellow stallion in a white coat being closer and a lavender unicorn with a navy-blue mane broken with a two-tone pink and purple stripe just behind him. They both had their eyes on her.

“My word, how are you awake? I mean, not that it isn’t great news, but you should’ve been out for another couple days with your injuries.” The doctor seemed to be in a stupor as Twilight rushed to her right, opposite of the doctor, with tears in her eyes.

“Oh, Applejack, thank goodness you’re okay. Umm, wait, okay is not the right word. Alive? No, no that sounds like you were going to die. I’m glad to see you are in a better condition than you were,” said twilight with a nervous, yet happy smile. Applejack opened her mouth and tried to speak, but her throat hurt from being dry and sore.

“Oh, one second!” Twilight trotted outside the room for few moments before returning with a paper cup full of water held aloft in a bright magenta magic field. Applejack began to sit up as the doctor pulled a lever on the bed and pulled it up to an incline.

She took the cup of water and drank it, the cold clean water soothing her throat as the chill reached down to the pit of her stomach. She coughed, inhaling a bit from drinking too greedily, and smiled at Twilight.

“Thank ya kindly, Twi.” Applejack’s ignored that her voice was hoarse. She met Twilight’s eyes only for the mare to recoil with a face of shock and confusion.

“Applejack?” Twilight said with obvious concern. “Are you, umm, feeling alright?” Applejack’s ears flicked, her hearing was quite clear, and therefore surprised at what she had heard.

“Seriously? That question ain’t obvious?” She knew Twilight was smart, but that wasn’t really the brightest thing to ask.

Twilight smiled sheepishly before walking up closer to her. “I did not mean it like that. Your eye, does it hurt?”

Applejack frowned. Her eyes felt the same as usual, though the light in here was terrible and distracting. After a few quick blinks and a roll of the eyes to see if they hurt she shrugged. “Eenope.”

Twilight and the doctor, who has been lost in thought, shared a look. Applejack looked between them both and sighed. All she wanted to do was get out of this bed and leave. She looked around the room again and now noticed just behind Twilight was a plain square window. She squinted to look past it, but her mind caught up to her swiftly when she saw daylight. The sun was shining just outside.

Her eyes widened as she frantically looked at Twilight and urged herself to move. Sluggishly she began to crawl out of her, tubes and needles pulling out of her skin and patches tearing from her fur.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Twilight quickly maneuvered herself over to Applejack’s side to support her.

“You shouldn’t be moving! You’re still in bad condition!” yelled the doctor as he magically, and correctly, removed anything attached to Applejack. She nearly fell when her hooves touched the ground, only managing to stay up thanks to her friend supporting her weight. Thoughts were coming and going too fast to keep up with.

“Applejack, please lay back down. We don’t know what is going on, so please, lay down.” Twilight looked her right in the eyes wearing what she was feeling on her face. Despite the need to run out and head straight to her family, Applejack managed with help to get to one of the soft chairs in a corner and sat down.

Maybe it was the medication or whatever she was on, but she felt well enough to leave. All the grievous pain seemed nothing more than the past, although plenty of bruises and soreness filled her whole body. The worst of it seemed to be her entire ribcage where she had taken blows from those huge monsters.

She sighed, and brought a slight smile to her face from seeing her friend again. “Alright, it’s just Ah wanna see mah family so bad.”

“Now, Miss Applejack, you are, or should be, in bad shape. And that’s putting it lightly. You were rushed here after Ponyville Infirmary treated you to the best of their ability as they didn’t have any staff required to heal you.” The elderly stallion floated over a clipboard with a bunch of papers and notes on it. “You had numerous cuts, scrapes, and bruises that resulted in a lot of blood loss. One broken rib and three fractured, so please do be careful when moving about. Your ears were the worst, requiring surgery and extensive magic to repair them. Luckily they weren’t damaged beyond repair, and in time should make a full recovery.”

Applejack listened to the doctor, but felt mostly fine except for her ribs. Her ears twitched at every sound, they were hearing clearly although extremely sore. She felt a few of the deep cuts stitched but still not as bad as he was describing. Even she knew it was weird, but there was a question hanging over her that she had to ask.

“How long was Ah gone for?”

“About three days. The last pony to have heard from you was Rainbow Dash. Big Macintosh visited saying you were on your way to see me. Now—”

Applejack screamed internally; she had been missing on the farm for over half a week. Applejack interrupted Twilight asking, “Four days!? Ah have to get back, there’s so much work to be done!” She halted her train of thought at another question. “How long have I been back?”

“Three days. Wait, what do you mean ‘back’?” asked Twilight. Applejack reached up to pull her hat down over her face when she grasped air.

“Ah, mah hat! Where is it?”

“Right next to your bed, where everything you had on you is.” Twilight’s horn lit up, and her brown stetson floated over from a bedside table promptly landing on her head. Applejack relaxed in relief as she tugged the stetson down, shading her eyes from the extremely bright sunlight.

“As I was saying before, does your eye feel weird or hurt at all?” Twilight asked. The doctor who was reading fixing up the medical machines and reading charts glanced up curiously.

“Naw, both of them feel fine. Why do ya ask?” She put on her best grin to cover up that the way they were acting made her nervous that she was missing something important.

“Well, your right eye is purple.”

Applejack nearly facehoofed. Her eye color was green, not purple. The words that were said took a moment to click in her mind before she looked up in confusion. “What do ya mean it’s purple?”

“Just what I said. Your right eye is purple, including the pupil. Also, it’s glowing.” Twilight sat down on the floor and looked Applejack right in the eyes, her face quite serious. A glance to the doctor only showed him nodding in agreement.

“What in tarnation does that mean? It feels the same, everything looks the same, though it’s extremely bright in here,” she said while pulling her hat further down. She loved the fact that the sun was there again, but it could tone it down a few notches.

The doctor began scribbling down something on the clipboard as Twilight looked out the window. “It is not that bright, only a little bit after noon,” she said looking back at Applejack. Twilight’s face shifted into the familiar puzzle solving expression. “You might have vision more adept for low light conditions, although I am not sure why that would be.”

It clicked in Applejack’s head. That horrible world she was in was lit entirely by the light of the stars. Why her eyes would change now she had no idea, but she at least knew why.

“Well, Miss Applejack, Miss Sparkle, I have to attend to more patients. Please don’t do anything stressful and stay in your room, Miss Applejack. You are in recovery, so follow your doctor’s orders. I will be back shortly,” he said, and disappeared out the door.

“Wait, Twi, where are we? Where is mah—”

Twilight held up a hoof to silence Applejack, and adjusted herself on the floor to be sitting directly opposite of each other. “I know you have plenty of questions, as do I, so I’ll answer the ones I can that you would want to hear first.

“We are in Canterlot General, the hospital in Canterlot. Our friends are in the city, but we couldn’t all crowd in here, so we rotate out to watch over you.” She smiled sweetly as she was glad to have her friend awake. “Your brother and sister couldn’t come here when you were being transported, although I am positive they wanted to. They are arriving today, any time now actually.”

Applejack held back tears of joy that she would soon see her family again. It had not been that long, but it felt like an eternity since she last saw them. “Thank ya, Twi. Ah understand why they couldn’t, can’t just leave the farm all suddenly for days. Gah, these last couple days have been a nightmare!”

“Where have you been, Applejack? We searched everywhere and couldn’t find you. Big Mac formed a search party the next night when you didn’t show up.”

Applejack bit her lip. It was sound crazy that she was suddenly dropped into a future world filled with demons and shadows after finding some magical artifact beneath her old tool shed. Sounded almost like a bad fantasy novel.

“Well, thing is, Ah don’t know where Ah was. I had found some weird artifact underneath the old tool shed engraved with fancy runes, and figured you’d know what it was. Right as Ah got to the library it changed.”

“What do you mean ‘changed’?” Twilight waited patiently for her friend to think of how to explain it clearly.

“That’s the thing about it. Everything got dark and the air was freezin’. I was still at the library, yet it wasn’t yours.” Applejack shuddered at the memories of the creatures, choosing to leave that part out. “I think it was the future, or one of the many futures? Ah don’t know. It’s just good to be back home.”

Twilight took all this in silently. She looked back to the table next to the hospital bed and, with a magenta glow, levitated a worn out and bloodstained pale lavender satchel. Applejack’s eyes widened at the sight of proof that she hadn’t gone crazy.

“You had this on you when you were found. Now, none of us went through it to respect your privacy, even given the circumstances.” Twilight frowned at how she sounded so accusing. “It looks similar a satchel I have back at home, though this one has seen better days. The whole future idea looks a lot more believable with this, though.” She offered a smile, telling her friend she believed her. “What is in it, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Applejack took the satchel and held it with mixed feelings. Her only proof that she had gone through what she did, and yet proof that it wasn’t just a horrible nightmare. “A couple cans of what Ah guess is old food, some forks and spoons, a can opener, and... the journal!”

She quickly unclasped the satchel to find everything she had said to be in there, including a slightly glossy purple journal with yellowed pages. She simply stared at it.

“What? Applejack, what journal?”

“The journal Ah found in the library’s basement. It’s your journal about, well, stuff from that world. It makes no sense, Ah getcha, but it’s all Ah got.”

“My... journal?” Twilight’s face shown several emotions, intrigue and fear included. Applejack clasped the satchel shut and got up to rest back on her bed. Her family would be here soon, and that was all she wanted at the moment. Twilight looked to be deep in thought as the wind blew by.

“Twi, could ya shut the window? The wind kinda creeps me out now.”

Twilight broke out of her reverie and arched an eyebrow at Applejack. “The window is closed.”

Applejack froze. She could faintly hear the whisper of the wind in the silence of the room. “What... but I just woke up. No!” She looked at the satchel sadly, and with a swift move she tossed the satchel over her shoulder and tightened it.

“Applejack, what’s going on? Calm down,” Twilight said as she stood up and tried to console her panicking friend.

“It can’t be, Ah mean, I just got back! But y’all said Ah was out for three days... Grah!” With a yell of frustration she tried to move to the door, but was blocked by Twilight. The wind was slowly but steadily growing from a faint whisper.

“Please explain what’s going on, Applejack. What can’t be?”

“The wind, it’s, look, can’t ya hear it!?” Applejack was constantly looking left and around, being far too jittery for a hospital patient and tried to move back Twilight who was blocking the door.

“No, what? There isn’t any wind, just calm down and lay back down. I think you might be having some kind of attack.”

“Oh, it’s an attack alright. Move out of mah, Twi. I don’t have much time!”

Twilight was getting scared as Applejack stood up her full height, although it wasn’t that much taller than her it had a frightening effect with Applejack’s right eye now glowing a fierce burning purple.

“We can talk about this; all we have to do is relax and take a breath.”

Applejack did take a deep breath. She feinted left, which Twilight stepped to block, and dashed past her on the right through the door. She ran down the hall to the right looking for any path down. Twilight yelled something after her, but she couldn’t make it out over the clop of hooves against the cold seamless stone floor.

Dashing down the hallways dodging any and all residents of the hospital wasn’t the greatest plan, but Applejack was in a hurry as the everflowing wind whistled louder. She spotted a flight of stairs leading both down and upwards, and began on the downward set. It was a slow four flights of stairs, as even in a rush Applejack made sure to descend them safely.

She burst through the double doors leading to the first floor and ran down the only direction there was. She could still hear Twilight’s voice behind her, the mare most likely following her. She was a good caring friend, but Applejack didn’t have time to explain. All she was focused on was trying to see her family. Twilight said they were visiting today, and would’ve arrived at any moment. In her mind that gave her as good a chance as any.

A few corners and long hallways with a lot of shouting and close calls Applejack managed to end up to the hallway leading to the front entrance. A quick glance behind her she saw Twilight not too far back, the unicorn’s horn glowing brightly with a face set on catching her.

The wind whistled deafeningly as she reached the end of the hall opening up to a large welcome center. Multiple chairs and benches covered much of the floor, the walls decorated with paintings of various art genres and a few coffee tables with a magazines scattered across them. Around a dozen ponies of all the races were here, with three new arrivals entering the glass doors now.

“Granny, Big Mac, Apple Bloom!” Applejack screamed across the center. They all looked in surprise at her, and all the other ponies like she was crazy. She dashed toward them, the wind so loud that all other sounds were nothing but white noise.

All but a series of loud thunderous booms that ended with a brilliant flash of purple, a lavender mare appearing right in front of her with a fierce expression.. Applejack tried to dodge, but slammed directly into her friend sending them into a tumble. As they rolled along the ground the wind reached its peak, and then disappeared with all the light of the world. The only sounds in the air were the grunts of the two mares laying on top one another.

Applejack was on her back with Twilight on top of her; she looked up at a grey ceiling covered in shadows. The light of the day was gone, replaced by the light of the stars that she knew all too well from her last few days.

“Ow, somepony get the number of that cart that hit me?” Twilight rolled off Applejack chuckling at her joke she had heard Spike say once. Both mares rose to their hooves with slight grunts, one looking around in familiar terror while the other in confusion. The darkness surrounded the room, the chill of the air nipping at the warm bodied ponies. Twilight looked at Applejack, her friend looking afraid as if she had committed a terrible crime.

“Oh, this is bad, isn’t it?”