Pony's Story

“That way.” Her hoof fell on the final trail, the one on the right, with the sign that read “The Unremarkable Tower”. She shook her head, sighing as she trotted down the trail. ‘Really, who thought that was a good idea?’ She chuckled as she thought of some names that would be better for a tower, but decided to keep them to herself.

As she walked, she wondered at the world around her. The air was warm and pleasant, and the sky was clear, albeit a bit tinted. It almost felt like a perpetual shadow hung overhead, but that wasn’t what drove Applejack’s thoughts into ones of darkness. Something about the path she was taking felt wrong. It felt almost too inviting, too friendly. She knew that she shouldn’t worry about something so trivial, but she had been separated from her friends by some sinister magic force, and now she was walking down an unfamiliar trail to a tower in a strange land. A step of caution was, in her mind, in her best interests.

The tower she was heading towards appeared on the horizon. Even from the distance she was at, it was tall and imposing, something that even Rainbow Dash would have been impressed with. But, from what she could tell, the sign wasn’t wrong. The whole of the building seemed to be unremarkable. Pausing, she took a moment to take in what she could. There wasn’t much to go by, so she plodded on, determined to get through.

After some time walking, Applejack finally reached the base of the tower. There was a large set of wooden doors fixed into the front, and, looking up, she couldn’t see the top of the building. Clouds obscured it from view. Shaking her head, she walked up to the doors, gripping one with her hoof and pulling. It didn’t budge. She heard the rattle of a lock from the inside.

“Are ya’ll bein’ serious?” She groaned, sitting down in front of the doors and fixing her eyes on them. Sure, she could try to buck them down, but she didn’t think that would work. She knew woodworking and the like - having raised her fair share of barns - and she knew that these doors were thick and sturdy, and weren’t likely to break if she bucked them ‘til sundown. She had to find another way in or try going around. That sounded like the best idea, so she trotted around the right side of the tower. Unfortunately for her, the path did continue, but it was about fourteen stories up a sheer cliff face that spanned for some distance.

Applejack stomped the ground in annoyance, angered that her path was now blocked to the point where she would have to turn back. It had been a long walk getting there, and now she had to do it all again. She was ready to turn about when she heard a noise coming from her left. She turned to see a very strange pair of objects hovering just above the ground. They appeared to be discs with propellers fixed to the bottoms. It was these propellers that were keeping them aloft. And, walking over, Applejack realized that they were more than just platforms.

They were meant to be ridden.

She tapped one hesitantly with a hoof. The platform ducked down for a moment before slowly and steadily beginning to rise. She watched it go until it hit a strange outcropping that looked almost like a ledge. There were numerous of these, but none of them seemed to be within jumping reach. Applejack then realized just what she was supposed to do. And she took a step back.

“Oh no. No way, Ah’m not gettin’ on that.” She shook her head, trying to drive away the thoughts of what might happen if she got on that thing. But, no matter how she looked at it, she had no other options. The walk would be too long to take back, and she didn’t want to be out alone in a strange world after dark. Besides the point, there was no other way to go. Sighing heavily, she stepped back over to the platform and steeled her nerves.

“Alright... here goes nothin’.” She closed her eyes and gingerly leapt onto the platform, feeling it sink beneath her weight. Almost instantly, the platform began to rise into the air. Applejack opened her eyes and looked around. She was moving up the side of the tower. Her speed wasn’t very significant, but it was enough to worry her as she remembered the outcropping above her. Gazing up, she saw that she had time to get out of the way, but she needed to be quick about it. Time was running out.

Taking a look down, she didn’t see any sort of controls or wheel, so she tried the next best thing. She took a step to her left, taking care not to step too far. The platform tilted beneath her, edging to the left at a decent rate. Applejack allowed herself a small smile.

“So that’s how these things work... ah can do this. Ah can fly this thing.” Nodding to herself, Applejack began the ascent up the tower. The platform was a little touchy, and seemed to like moving at a greater angle than Applejack originally intended, but soon she figured out a pattern for how to control it better. But that wasn’t the hardest thing for her on this tower. No, there was something else.

The tower, from below, had appeared to be quite plain, and not overly tall. As Applejack rode the platform up, however, she realized that the name on the sign had been a lie. This tower was anything but unremarkable. As she rose steadily, she noticed that the climb was taking much longer than it should have. Looking back up, she saw that she hadn’t made much progress. Not only that, but the sky around her had gone from day to night in less than an hour. She tilted her head.

“It looked to be about an hour after noon when Ah got here... what the hay is this about?” She narrowed her eyes, understanding sweeping through her like the breeze she flew past. “Magic. This place is under some sorta spell... great.” Sighing again, she redoubled her efforts. No matter what, she had to get past this and back to her friends. Even if that meant enduring a tower that turned day to night and made flying a chore, it would be done.

The flight continued uneventfully for quite some time. It was only after she had reached what she thought was the tenth story of the tower when she began to grow tired. And it was right then when she needed her stamina most. There was a loud rumbling coming from inside the tower, and Applejack turned to see the walls peeling away to reveal cannons whirring into life, not unlike the one Pinkie Pie always had with her. Granted, these looked a good deal less friendly than the party cannon, and they were all pointed at her.

The first cannon let loose its shot with a roar. Applejack had to duck as a large bullet flew past her head. She noticed that the bullet had arms, eyes, and even a mouth, but the smile it wore was less than friendly. It wasn’t trying to hurt her. It was trying to kill her. She wasn’t about to let them, though. The top of the tower was growing closer, and she was determined to reach it. She cast a menacing look towards the cannon shifted her position, causing the platform to lurch to the side at an alarming rate. The outcroppings had grown closer together, and she immediately made her plan.

As the platform grew close, she took a gamble and made a flying leap across the gap, right as the cannon in front of her opened fire. Her hooves brushed against the top of the bullet and landed none too gracefully on the outcropping. Applejack rolled and whirled around, facing the next outcropping and group of cannons. They were still pointing her way, but she had her plan. And the outcroppings were her best bet.

Leaping from outcropping to outcropping, Applejack waited until the cannons fired before dashing off to her next position. As she ascended out of the way, the bullets would strike the outcropping behind her, detonating and destroying the masonry. She had no way back down, so she carried on, carrying out her maneuver at each outcropping.

At last she reached the roof. As her hooves landed on the slanted shingles, the cannons disappeared from sight. She took a moment to turn back and look at just how far she had come. The ground wasn’t visible from where she was standing. She had no idea how high she had risen, but it was way too high for her. She wanted down. Turning about, she expected to see the trail in front of her, leading her off and away. But instead, she found herself staring a a blue and white umbrella. It was open, and seemed to be holding itself up near the opposite end of the roof.

“What in tarnation?” She muttered, walking over to stare down. This tower was way more than enchanted, it was cruel. The ground lay below her, with an identical rise behind it. But there was no way down. No platforms, no outcroppings, no stairs, nothing. Applejack stepped a few paces back and roared in frustration. “Now this ain’t fair! What am Ah gonna do here?” She stomped her hoof, unsettling the only object with her on the roof. The umbrella fell to its side, still opened wide. Applejack stared at it for a moment. “No...”

She strode over and picked it up awkwardly. It was hard to hold with a hoof, but there was a leather strap on the side that was obviously designed for a hoof. Slipping it on, she turned back to the tower edge, looking at the pillar opposite her. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do. But she could see no other option. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped off the edge of the roof.

She half expected to feel the ground the moment she left the roof. She was sure that she was going to die, and that this was the worst mistake she had ever made. She knew that her friends were going to lose her, all because she had acted on a whim. All because she had gotten herself killed.

But she didn’t. Opening her eyes, she noticed that she wasn’t falling. She wasn’t plunging towards certain death. Instead, she was gliding gently down, her hoof in the air and umbrella opened wide. She sighed in relief. At least the magic defied all logic, just like Pinkie Pie did. This was something only the party pony would be capable of pulling off. The fact that she wasn’t a stain on the dirt was something to be thankful for.

The descent was slow, and it gave Applejack time to think. She wondered what had happened to this place. This wasn’t something she remembered from the original story. Granted, it had been years since she had read it, but this was certainly not part of the original text. This was added in. But by who... and why? These two questions were forefront on the fillies mind as she landed softly on the cobblestone path separating the two towers. She quickly dropped the umbrella and dashed forward, hurrying on to her next challenge.

The path ended in a set of double doors, similar to the ones she had encountered earlier. The only difference was that when she pulled on the handle this time, the door swung open. There was a long groan as it slid out of her way, revealing the inside of the tower to her. The light was dim, but she saw that there were a lot more platforms in here, leading up the tower in a circular pattern. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she felt confident. This was much easier than leaping to uncertain demise.

Leaping from platform to platform proved more taxing than she had first anticipated. They weren’t set close together, and the sizes and shapes varied as she rose, getting gradually smaller the higher she got. Each leap needed timing and precision to pull off. She smiled as she made a particularly tricky jump, landing unsteadily on her hind hooves. ‘At least Ah’m a good jumper. Got that goin’ fer me.’

Higher and higher the tower wound, and soon Applejack’s stamina reserves began to deplete. She felt each jump growing more taxing than the last, and knew that if she didn’t stop for a rest, she would more than likely plummet all the way back down. She had also discarded her umbrella, so a fall from her height would be catastrophically bad.

Panting heavily, she sat down on a larger platform and wiped her brow with a hoof, gazing up at the path ahead. There wasn’t a lot to see. It just kept winding up and up until it reached the shadows that lay ahead. She couldn’t see beyond that, but she didn’t have to. There was a beam of light ahead, brighter than the rest of the lights in the tower. It was shining in through an open window, and seemed to be calling her to it. It was the way out. A way of escape. And she was willing to give it a try.

Her stamina renewed, she rose and began to make her way up to the light. Every leap became much more difficult the higher she rose, and soon, she was landing on platforms that were thinner than she was. But no matter the danger, she remained focused. Even when a chunk of platform fell away, she didn’t falter. She had to get out.

She reached the light not long after, dashing out as the platform crumbled beneath her hooves. Gasping for air and startled to a great degree, Applejack almost failed to see what was giving off the light in the room. There, in the center, resting on a pedestal, was the Element of Honesty. It was pouring out a great deal of light, almost as bright as the day. It was a comforting light, and Applejack wanted it as close to her as possible. She quickly stepped over and took it up, placing it around her neck.

Almost instantly the Element reacted, flaring like a sunburst as it came into contact with its bearer. Applejack shielded her eyes from the light, trying to block out the pain. When the light had subsided, she opened her eyes and blinked. It was only when her vision had recovered that she realized that she was face to face with none other than Pinkie Pie. The party pony was wearing the biggest, silliest grin she could manage.

“You’re back!” She cried, wrapping Applejack in a bone crushing hug. The farmpony grunted, trying to worm her way out of the vice grip as the other ponies rushed to her, wrapping her in even more hugs. Applejack would have sighed could she breathe, but she didn’t have long to wait. Pinkie released her death grip, still smiling as the farmpony gasped for air. Twilight gave her a minute to recover before beginning her questioning.

“So what happened? How did you get back in here?” Applejack paused, taking a glance around to see where she was, before answering.

“Well, Ah was climbin’ this here tower, Ah found the Element of Honesty, and bam! Here Ah am, back with ya’ll. Don’t ask me, Ah don’t right know what happened out there.” She shook her head. Whatever had created all that magic back at the tower, at least it was over now. She was safe, or as safe as she could be, given the circumstances. "How long was Ah gone?"

"Fifteen minutes." Twilight's answered was quick. Applejack gawked at her.

"That ain't possible," She said, struggling to make sense of what she had just been told. "Ah was out there fer a whole lot longer than that. Ah climbed a tower, fer cryin' out loud!" Twilight paused, a small smile playing at her lips.

"That would only make sense if the two places ran of different time streams. Which is entirely possible." Applejack shook her head.

"If you say so. But how did Ah get back here?" Twilight's smile widened.

“It seems that whatever was holding you back was broken when you came into contact with the Element... interesting...” Twilight muttered as she turned to face the door, which was directly behind her. “I haven’t been able to get that open since you went through. I wonder if it will open now.” Trotting over, her horn lit up as she reached out, trying to find the handle of the door once more. Smiling as her magic came to rest upon it, she gave it a pull. The door swung open.

“Oh my...” Taking a step back, Twilight gestured the others over. When they saw what lay beyond, they all fell silent, unsure of how to continue. Rarity decided to voice her thoughts.

“How filthy!”