The Shadow, the True Self

Chapters

Applejack I
Applejack II
Applejack III

Applejack I

Headcanon Adjustment for This Story: Equestria has black-and-white television, the old boxy models you saw in the 1950’s with turn dials. It’s a new thing for ponykind, less than ten years old.

The Shadow, the True Self
Part 1: Applejack I

Dear Princess Twilight,

Something bad has happened, we need your help. Applejack went missing a few days ago, and now she’s on TV. I think something is very wrong with her. Turn the TV on at midnight, to the channel on the dial with no number. You’ll see what I mean. Please hurry, I might be next.

~Fluttershy

Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle frowned with concern at the letter. Gently rolling it up again, she checked the time. The sunset court was not over yet, and she couldn’t just leave early. Princess Celestia and Luna had ordained her to rule the kingdom from 3pm to 11pm (the “Twilight Hours”, they decided to call them, since there were three princesses in Canterlot now). She had another hour or so, but this sounded dire. “Captain Dusk Glory?” she asked, looking to one side of herself. The guard turned with a snap in his hooves. “Cancel any further appointments. Something has come to my attention that needs my focused attention.”

“Cutting the court short, your majesty?” he asked, sounding shocked.

“Is… is that a problem?” Twilight said timidly, still not used to all the authority thrust on her.

The stallion coughed, quickly getting his guard-face back on. “O-of course not! There were only a few appointments, I’m sure they’ll be fine to return tomorrow!” he would not be responsible for making his new princess cry or something. The royal guards had been trying to get a vibe on Princess Sparkle since she’d arrived to assume the throne a month ago. Her odd mood swings were very different than the anchor-like Celestia or the passion of Luna, it was difficult.

“Thank you.” Twilight nodded, minding her wings as she stepped off of the throne (The first night she’d face-planted down the dais, sending the entire throne room into an uproar). “Tell Princess Luna I’m sorry, I had to go to Ponyville right away.”

“Yes your majesty!” Dusk Glory saluted. “I’ll muster a sky chariot for you, and a pair of Lunar Stallions for your journey.” He turned on his heel, then went to send squires to do the message-running.

Twilight walked quickly and worriedly to her private chambers. It was not unusual to get letters from her friends in Ponyville, and she made a habit of visiting them once a week, but… Fluttershy’s letters were often longer, more detailed and filled with details about her animal friends. Five sentences was nothing for a Fluttershy letter.

The purple Princess arrived, stepping daintily into her room and shutting the double doors behind her. Setting her crown and regalia aside, she opened her closet. Pushing aside a few book stacks, she found a great hulking shape pressed into the back of it. Levitating it out with magic, she set it out next to the outlet. Pulling the dust quilt off, she stared at the device. TV was an odd concept to Twilight Sparkle, but she’d been given one when they’d been invented. Fumbling with the plug for a bit, and then the buttons, she turned the channel dial back and forth.

She checked the clock, it was some time until midnight. Frowning anxiously, she went into her private bathroom. Grooming for a bit (still unused to her wings), she did her best to waste time until the midnight hour was upon her. Why had she left the court early, if only to waste time afterward? Sigh. She was no good at this Princess thing yet. Princess Celestia still swore there was not a book to read about being one, but Twilight wasn’t sure she believed her.

Ah! Finally! The Princess found it to be midnight. Leaning eagerly, she crouched in front of the box TV and got down on her belly. She clicked it on and the strange machine whirred to life. The hum of electricity and white-noise slowly filled the room, until she turned the volume down. “Channel… dash-dash? What does that mean?” she mumbled, reaching up for the channel dial again. She click-click-clicked from channel twenty-five to channel three— then two— then double zero and then dash-dash. She jerked to a halt. “Dash-dash.” She mumbled. The TV was supposed to tell what number the channel was, but there was a not-number channel? Hmm. The screen wasn’t showing anything. Not even white noise or static. It was a nothing channel. How strange. The clock struck midnight, making Twilight jump a little.

Whuk-wuh-whrrrrr---!

Light slowly filled the dark bedroom as the TV suddenly decided to bring up a picture. It was filled with static at first, warped beyond any sense. Lines went up, then down, then rushed back up again. Twilight leaned back, like the strange device might blow up in her face. It labored and whined, forcing a picture slowly into focus. Before her eyes, a scene took shape.

It looked a lot like Sweet Apple Acres! There was the barn, huge and mighty as it always was. There were the corn fields, the apple orchards, everything looked okay… but wait no. The barn was covered with swing-open windows. All over it. Why, if that arrangement of windows was correct, that would make the barn ten stories tall! Twilight knew that couldn’t be right. She rubbed her chin, squinting and leaning to try and see better. “BOY HOWDY!” Applejack’s face suddenly crammed itself up into the camera, startling Twilight back with a shriek. “Welcome, y’all! Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! Name’s Applejack, and boy are y’all in for a treat!” The orange mare was in her normal Stetson, but she had a loop of rope across her shoulder. “Ah’ll have y’all know, the Apple family produces some’uh the finest stallions in Equestria! And we’re gonna rope one just for me today, yee-haw!” she reared, flailing her hooves about.

Twilight cocked her head with a frown. What was this supposed to be? Was Applejack making an advertisement for Sweet Apple Acres or something? She leaned, trying to get a better look at her. The black and white image didn’t help as much as she would have liked-- but she could tell from squinting, Applejack’s eyelashes had been done. There was a light blush to her cheeks. She was wearing a ponytail holder on her tail. Odd.

The farming mare did a couple of rope tricks, jumping gaily back and forth in her excitement, grinning from ear to ear. The camera changed angles a few times, which made Twilight frown a bit. No matter what angle she was being seen from, none of the cameras ever showed any of the other cameras. A mental chart of the area came up in her mind. Either each camera was invisible, or something weird was going on here. “Welcome toooo---!” Applejack reared up and suddenly fireworks blasted across the screen, displaying a strange logo that read:

APPLE FAMILY ROMANCE HOE-DOWN SPECIAL: SEXY STUD STALLIONS EDITION!

Twilight blanched. What the heck was all this?! She turned the volume up a little, eyes glued to the screen. Applejack turned, batting her lashes at the camera with bedroom eyes. “Mares like me ain’t got time to search far and wide for the right stallion, ah tell ya! We’ll be goin’ for the strong and dependable variety, right here at home!” Turning, the farming mare went to a conveniently-placed chart on an easel. “Here’s the plan!” she gestured. The chart showed a little cartoon Applejack, a little cartoon Big Macintosh, and a big heart around them both. “Easy enough, right?! Now let’s go rope us a loverboy! Yeeee-haw!” she turned, bucked the barn doors open, and dashed inside. They slammed behind her. After a few moments, the channel with no number stopped broadcasting and the picture vanished.

Twilight stood, more than a little disturbed. Fluttershy was right. Something was very, very wrong. Wherever Applejack was, that certainly wasn’t Sweet Apple Acres. It just looked like it. Turning, the newly-born alicorn dashed out her bedroom doors with no crown or regalia on. “Guards!” she said. “We need to go now!”

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

The wee hours of the morning were not kind to Twilight Sparkle, she’d not slept at all. After sending letters to each of her Ponyville friends, she’d set off for the town itself. She’d not received any replies. Arriving via sky-chariot pulled by two Lunar Stallions, she’d stopped at Fluttershy’s cottage first. Nopony was home. She went to Rarity’s boutique next. No answer. Sugarcube Corner produced a grumpy Mr. Cake being awakened at three in the morning, but no Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash was not in her cloud home. “Where is everyone…?” The Princess murmured worriedly. “Let’s go to Sweet Apple Acres.” She bade her chariot stallions. They obeyed.

Sweet Apple Acres looked normal enough. The barn was most certainly not ten stories tall like it had been on the strange TV show. It was just four stories like it was supposed to be. The crisp quiet of the night time air was not even broken by crickets. Twilight was no nature expert, but absolute silence often meant trouble—or a predator. The two Lunar Stallions perked their ears, sniffed around, searching for any signs of life or movement. Their bat-blood helped them sort out anything that might not belong, but there was nothing.

Getting off her chariot while the guards silently searched, Twilight Sparkle stuck her head into the barn. No Applejack. She found the row of tool tacks and hanging hooks on one wall. Sure enough, one of the ropes was missing. Wherever Applejack had gone, she’d taken her rope with her and… and why was she acting so strange? It was a terrible, unfounded stereotype to think about incest in an earth pony herd. The Applejack on the TV had looked positively in heat, and even had visual aids that she had… intentions, with her own brother. Something bad was going on, and nothing was adding up.

Where were her friends?

Why was Applejack on TV, acting so oddly?

Why would somepony make a TV show meant to look like Sweet Apple Acres?

The questions spun in the alicorn’s mind, and she held her temples for a moment. She didn’t have enough evidence. She looked around. There didn’t seem to be any signs of struggle on the dirt floor of the barn, she’d not been taken, surely? Though, Applejack odd behavior sure made Twilight wonder if she was drugged or something. “Somepony knows. Somepony has to know.” The Princess murmured, turning to go outside. Her two guards had turned up nothing. “Surely this would’ve been all over the newspaper? Or I would’ve heard if suddenly my friends all vanished at the same time? They’re the Elements of Harmony!”

“Should we question the townsfolk, your majesty?” One guard asked.

“No. At least not yet.” Twilight said tiredly. “I don’t want to start a panic, with this many mares missing. I need more facts before I can string this all together.” She hunched for a moment, sighing in frustration. “I need to go and watch the midnight channel again to see what’s going on.”

“The what?” asked the other guard.

“There’s a channel on TV that has no number, and it only shows something at midnight.” Twilight said, folding her wings as she got back into the chariot. “Back to Canterlot. I have to gather more information.” They stallions hitched up and started at a brisk pace for home.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Princess Sparkle sat hunched in front of her TV the next night, waiting for the midnight channel to return. She flicked her eyes up at the clock. Chimmmme. “Midnight.” Twilight licked her lips and, sure enough, the channel with no number on the dial began to whir to life. The black-and-white Sweet Apple Acres returned, and once again Applejack was front and center, trumpeting exactly what she had before. “Oh Applejack, what’s happened to you…?” the purple mare whispered, reaching up and gently stroking the screen where her face was. “Where are you? Where are our frien—nyahhh?!” Her hoof went right through the glass of the screen and sank in with a ripple of magic. Twilight leapt back, rubbing her hoof feverishly. The TV screen bubbled a bit, then returned to normal. The rerun of Applejack’s odd behavior kept playing. Panting in anxious fear, Twilight went back to the screen. Was that it? Was it really that easy? “She’s really… IN there?” she got a quill, poking at the TV screen. Nothing.

She tried her hoof again. It bubbled, rippled, and sucked at her with a shivery sort of ethereal magic. The image warped and twisted about, wanting more of her arm to become one with the TV. The purple mare took a deep breath, feeling around inside. It felt like dirt and grass on the other side. She checked her bedroom door. Nopony would believe this, it was too literal! Taking another deep breath, she tucked her head and climbed into the TV. She squeezed her eyes shut, not sure what to expect. The not-glass consumed her with a loud sucking sound, and then the Princess was gone.

When the screen had settled back into a normal shape, the TV whirred and gave loud static sounds like it had been before. Applejack was standing in the middle of the barn area in (not) Sweet Apple Acres. She looked directly into the camera— and grinned. Then the TV flipped off all by itself.

End of Part 1

Applejack II

The Shadow, The True Self
Part 2: Applejack II

Twilight could feel herself falling gently, spiraling down between layers and layers of what looked like round-edged TV screens. Down, down, down she went until she slowed and was deposited on the ground. Her wings flapped this way and that as she scrambled to get up. She still wasn’t used to her huge wingspan yet. Dusting herself off, she peered around.

Well, it certainly looked like Sweet Apple Acres, but the barn was all wrong. It was massive, and jutted oddly in different directions. If a madpony’s crew of builders added one room after another with no real plan or purpose on a house, it would probably resemble this monstrosity. There were oddly-shaped windows, little balconies and other little portals to look through. Should she fly to the top and work her way down? Should she just go in the front double doors? She wasn’t sure. Applejack had gone through the main entrance, that would probably be best.

As she approached, a big neon sign whirred to life. The neon tubes whined and crackled on, flickering before they displayed the disturbing logo text: APPLE FAMILY ROMANCE HOE-DOWN SPECIAL: SEXY STUD STALLIONS EDITION! The alicorn looked up at it, frowning a bit. This was really weird. Shivering in the night time fog, she walked towards the massive red structure and tried to door. It opened easily, and she stuck her head in. It was a mud room. Twilight frowned, folding her wings. The barn didn’t have a mud room. Then again, this wasn’t Applejack’s barn. Stopping a moment, she looked around for whatever cameras had recorded her on the midnight channel. She didn’t see any. Hrm…

Going inside, the purple mare found another door ahead. It led to a hallway, which led to an empty room, which led to another hallway, a curved hallway, then a few more empty rooms. It was like a maze, but there was only one way to go. Odd. All the walls were painted bright red, and the occasional hay bail blocked her path. But, what was so strange was the silence. She could hear herself walking, and not much else. It was enough to make anypony nervous.

Turning a corner, Twilight suddenly found herself in a bar. She jolted to a stop. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the long hall behind her. She squinted a bit, not sure it was real. She nudged a hanging glass with her magic. It felt real enough. But, but that was impossible. Nopony would just build a bar in a barn, strange place or no. It looked like someone had ripped the guts out of a building in Appleoosia, then stuffed it into the strange space, floorboards and all. Twilight nudged the chandelier with her magic, frowning in disbelief. “Easy there, missy, unless you wanna pay fer that.” The bartending mare said from under her Stetson.

“O-oh, sorry.” Twilight said, approaching the bar while she looked around. It was a shady-looking place. There were plenty of patrons, all of them hidden under cowboy hats. Some of them had ropes at their hips, others were hunched over games of poker— it was an animated place. A sorry-looking juke box bumbled through a country music jaunt with a mare leaning against it. It didn’t take Twilight long to notice she couldn’t actually see anypony’s face. What was with all the secrecy?

Tak! The purple mare jumped when a dart flew across the room, hitting a dartboard on the wall. A trio of hat-wearing mares were mumbling to each other, making angry gestures at the board while they played. A polaroid of none other than Cheerilee from Ponyville Elementary was mounted in the middle. Tak! A dart hit the picture square in the forehead, and there was cheering and pointing. Twilight wrinkled her nose a little.

“Care fer a drink, then, missy?” The bartender asked from under the lip of her Stetson. The broad, charming smile and muzzle was all Twilight could make out in the half-shadows all around the room. This place could surely use a firm light or two, but the lack of windows didn’t help. “We got apple cider, hard apple cider, apple juice, and a few other apple-related things around here.” She gestured to a series of taps.

“No thanks.” Twilight said as politely as she could. “S-say, I don’t suppose you saw a pony named Applejack come through here, did you? She’s orange, has a cowboy hat, probably a rope on her?” she tilted her head, leaning her chest on the bar a bit.

“What, you mean like EVERYPONY in here?” chuckled the barkeep in her charming southern twang. Twilight looked around, feeling rather stupid. Everypony in the bar was a mare, was orange, had a stetson on and… and… what? “Like eeeeeverypony in here.” Whispered the barkeeper from under the creepy, dark lip of her hat.

Twilight turned sideways to look around the room. Her pupils shrank a little. Her brow wrinkled up into a worried expression. She could see by the way their heads were tilted and ears perked, all of them were listening. The juke box’s song suddenly ended, and the room was plunged into silence. The trio playing darts in the corner turned slowly to look at her, their heads moving as one. She could see the pinpricks of light in their eyes, but not their faces. It was too dark to see anypony properly. Twilight felt like she was in a spotlight, standing in that shady bar. “Who… who are you ponies?” she asked nervously.

The barkeep started cleaning a mug. “We don’t take kindly to strangers around these parts.” She said a little nastily, turning the rag back and forth in the misty, stained insides of the glass. “We like competition even less, sugarcube. You and yer raggity doll can back off.”

“Sugarcube…” Twilight said vaguely. “Sugarcube?!” Her pupils shrank into dots, and she whirled about to yank the barkeep’s hat off by magic. “Appleja---AAAIEEECK!?” The barpony struck her in the face so hard with the mug it shattered over her muzzle. Twilight went down hard, blood blossoming from her nose. She crumpled into an agonized heap, stray feathers scattering across the floor. “My d’ose!” Twilight cried, clutching at her face. Blood dripped back and forth on the floorboards. “My d’ose!” she steadied herself on the bar, looking up with tears in her eyes. The barkeep was gone. “W’huh?” Twilight snatched the rag from the half-clean mug, pressing it to her poor face. “Where’d she…?” she turned about to scan the room, but everypony else was gone too! “Wh… what…?” The poker players were gone, the juke box mare was gone, even the dart players. It was quiet. Very quiet. Mindful of the glass shards around her, she carefully sidled away from the bar to a table.

Resting at a chair for a minute, she eyed the room warily. This was getting stranger and stranger. Dabbing her muzzle until she was sure she was done bleeding, she was relieved when it became a dull throb of pain. She wasn’t versed in healing magic, but thankfully she’d not been hurt too badly. Dusk Glory, her private guard, was going to have kittens when she got back… Dabbing a bit more at her poor muzzle, she blew a few times to make sure she didn’t have glass up her nose. Deciding it best not to linger, Twilight trekked on.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Hallways. Lots of hallways. Stairs. There were plenty of those too. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to anything in this place! Twilight went down a straight hallway so long she could have used it for a perspective drawing. There was no way the barn was so large. But, in this place maybe it didn’t matter. She did crawl inside a television, after all. When she turned a corner she found another door, several more empty rooms, then a long hall with several doors. Cantering along, she was going to choose the furthest door but stopped when she found one was already cracked open. She put her eye to it, wary of what she might find after that strange bar.

It was a long room with a high ceiling. She could hear a small pony sniffling softly. Long rows of benches filled the room, but she could see a tiny pair of ears perked over the lip of them. Walking slowly and carefully, Princess Twilight leaned to see a pair of foals sitting in the seats. One orange, a filly. The other red, a colt. Both were blank-flanked. She was pressed into his chest, bawling softly. He’d wrapped her in his knobby-kneed forelegs. He was crying too, though more quietly. The purple mare looked towards the front of the room. Caskets. Two of them. She backed up a step, unsure about the whole place. The bar had been habitable, at least.

The caskets were dark wood, maybe mahogany. White flowers were placed on both. Twilight was suddenly overcome with a feeling of icy dread. She backed away, clip-clopping step by step. The crying filly was getting louder and louder. She turned her ears back. BOMPH. One of the caskets jarred itself from the inside. Twilight jolted in horror, mouth going agape. The filly wailed louder. The little red colt hushed her, shushed her, kissed her mane and crushed her to himself in a big hug. Tears streamed from her cheeks as black, smoky nothingness began to seep from one of the caskets.

Shaking herself free from her deer-in-lamplights, Twilight grabbed both foals with her magic, carting them through the air to herself. They flailed and shrieked in confusion and panick, and she set them both on her back. Turning and flaring her wings to hold them steady, she bolted for the door. Thundering along the floorboards she flinched when the other casket jolted hard, pouring black smoke into the air. The stench of burning flesh filled the air, nauseating the running alicorn. “Whulk?!” Twilight veered back and forth suddenly, for the colt had grabbed her around the neck with all his might.!

Snarling and snorting hot steam from his nostrils, he shifted his weight and face-planted the Princess straight into the ground. Both foals went tumbling and Twilight shrieked as she went ass-over-teakettle into the hallway. The red colt rushed to the little orange filly, using his broad muzzle to nuzzle her firmly. She whimpered and cried, refusing to move from where she lay bawling. He stood over her instead, taking a stand like a long-legged tent. He wasn’t old enough to have a stallion’s barrel yet, but he threw his chest out and snorted. He scraped a hoof at the ground, growling threateningly. “You ain’t our ma!” he shouted in a squeaky, prepubescent voice. The door SLAMMED itself in Twilight’s face just as the smoke began to fill the room with its black, vaporous aura.

“W-What is this place?” Twilight said, pale as a sheet. The smoke went under the door, stinking of burning flesh. She feverishly tried the doorknob, pulling and them pushing as hard as she could. She tried to force the doorway with her magic, but it wouldn’t yield. Something was holding the portal, even from her. The smoke soon began to cloud the hallway, and she backed up. She didn’t hear the foals coughing inside. Had they gone? Where to? Were they even real? Twilight wasn’t sure.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Twilight finally understood that wherever she was didn’t follow logic when she came to an outcropping. It was outside the main structure of the barn… on ground level. She’d gone up so many stairs she couldn’t count them! There was no way she should’ve been on the ground level anymore! Impossible! Groaning in frustration, she could only keep going. Her neck hurt a little where the surprisingly strong colt had mare-handled her into a faceplant. She finally came to a stop when her hooves touched grass. It was some sort of… stall area. Not only that, but there were occupied.

The stalls were wood with steel bars, chest high doors that swung outward left enough room to stick one’s head and shoulders over the lip. Twilight made a brief count, there were at least thirty of them. All of them had a pony inside, it seemed. It was too dark to tell who they were though. Not to be fooled by a hiding Applejack twice, Twilight lit her horn with a simple light spell. Stopping at the first stall, she saw a plain brown stallion with an hourglass on his flank. There was a plaque on the wall above him:

Time Turner: Watch and Clockmaker
Good Smarts, Poor Work Ethic, Not Strong, No Family
Judgement: Nope

He was standing there with a rather blank expression on his face, occasionally tilting his head back to look at the ceiling and drool a little. “Reverse the polarity of the… the neutron flow… yeah… yeah…” he mumbled nonsense to himself, the line of drool touching his chest. His eyes were derped in odd directions, like he was long gone in the head. Twilight opened her mouth to voice her concern, but closed it again. After what she’d seen, she was sure that wasn’t actually Time Turner from Ponyville. He scratched himself in a rude place, making a grunting sound and getting a mouthful of hay from the nearby trough. He was acting like a horse, the poor thing seemed brain dead! Twilight’s brow wrinkled in worry, and she slowly wandered to the next stall.

Snow Flake: Gym Owner and Personal Trainer
Dumb as a Rock, Medium Work Ethic, Very Strong, No Family
Judgement: Nope

The stallion in that stall was white, covered with muscles and had red eyes. Twilight startled when he snuffle-snorted at her. He bobbed his head a few times, a not-so-intelligent look in his face. He dug his teeth into the chest-high door that blocked his exit, but he couldn’t seem to figure out how to get it open. The purple mare watched him for a time. He turned, flicking his tail to get a fly off of himself. Then suddenly his tail mortally offended him, and he started to chase it with a loud roar of fury. Then he hit the wall, stunning himself. Twilight winced, then moved on.

Mr. Cake: Sugarcube Corner Co-Owner
Medium Smarts, Medium Work Ethic, Not Strong, Family
Judgement: Nope (also married)

Twilight frowned, trying to piece it all together. Smarts? Family? Judgement ‘nope’? This was just another puzzle and she wasn’t getting enough pieces to make a picture with yet. Maybe she had puzzle pieces from different puzzles! She had no idea what she was looking at, and she didn’t feel any closer to Applejack. She peered at the plaque over not-Mr. Cake. while the stallion sat on his haunches and chewed on his hoof with a puzzled expression. These were stats, like hoofball cards or something. How smart. How hardworking. How strong. Family or not. Hrmm… she decided to see one more. The alicorn walked slowly, glancing in at a few stallions as she went. She recognized almost all of them from Ponyville. Some of them didn’t have names on their plaques, others had unfinished ‘stats’ on their little signs. Had Applejack made these? Why? These couldn’t be real ponies. She’d seen Mr. Cake at Sugarcube corner not two days ago, she knew she’d not seen him in that stall back there. Twilight decided to stop at a stall that had a golden plaque on it, instead of a silver one.

Big Macintosh: ~~Brother~~ Farmer
Fancy-Mathematics Smart, High Work Ethic, Very Strong, Family
Judgement: Eyuup!

The word ‘brother’ had been hastily scratched out by hoof and a sharp object. So… Big Macintosh was the ideal stallion, then? Twilight could secretly admit to herself that yes, Big Mac was quite the guy and certainly appealing but… brother. Twilight remembered the TV broadcast and shuddered. Leaning, she stuck her head in. Big Mac was not at home. The stall was empty. She did find a saddle, crop, bridle, rope, and other tools at the ready though. The stall had an extra big trough, a water barrel, some hay bales, and a nest of straw to lay in. It looked ready to receive a stallion, but he wasn’t there. Twilight tried not to eye the provocatively red apple sitting in the middle of the stall, out in the open. Bait maybe? She wasn’t sure.

“Eyes on the prize, filly.” A decidedly southern voice drew Twilight’s eye and she quickly dashed down the rows of stalls. “Just gotta rope ‘im in good, show 'im we’re the proper kind’a mare for… hey you! This is private!” A red-eyed Applejack scowled at the alicorn, emerging from the shadows. She was dressed in rodeo struts, a blue-starred hat, and had a lasso across her chest. Loops of rope hung ready in her front-right hoof. “What’re you doin’ in mah barn?!” Her scowl deepened when she saw who it was. “You again! Get off’a mah property!” she shouted. “I thought ah told you t-!”

BZZ-ZAP!

Twilight’s horn smoked a bit, and the smear of ash on the ground smoldered. There were a lot of Applejacks here, she was starting to grasp that. But that certainly wasn’t the right one. Never, in all the years she’d known her farming friend, had she ever… EVER shouted the stereotypical southern phrase of ‘get off’a my property.’ “This is starting to make a little more sense.” Twilight whispered, frowning at the ashes. She turned to look at the strange stalls. “It’s adding up, just a little bit…” the gears in her brain were turning a bit quicker than before. It wasn’t so much that it was a TV world, but an Applejack TV world.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

The hallways and empty rooms began to fill with family portraits, foal’s artwork and plenty of Apple family memories. Pictures of Big Macintosh plastered the walls, photographs of the household of Apples standing together and beaming. More stairs. More stairs after that, then twisted hallways that doubled back on themselves. Princess Sparkle’s ankles were starting to complain. How long had she been trekking through this mad maze?

Finally, she came to a rather large set of double doors. She groaned a little. Was this it? Was this the heart of all this craziness? Folding her wings tiredly, Twilight pressed the door open with magic and stopped on the threshold. It was some kind of great room. The floor was covered with straw and the high ceiling had beams like the barn it was supposed to be. It made her feel very small, like she was in a church. A bale of hay here, a rusty toolbox there… there was plenty of empty space but it felt like a bigger room than it should have been, as though a space had been made for a big event and there wasn’t enough scenery to fill it. Like a normal room had been… stretched.

“Twilight?” Applejack was standing near the center, looking uncertain. The Princess tensed, waiting for some assault or trickery. The orange mare looked back and forth, her eyes frightened. “Where are we? What is this place? This ain’t mah barn…” she said, looking about. “It’s stretched all funny, lookit that ceiling beam!” she gestured. Sure enough, looking closely enough showed a stretch in the pattern of the wood. It looked like somepony had made the barn’s framing hot, then stretched it like wax or taffy. It looked wrong.

“Applejack, is that really you?” Twilight asked cautiously, lifting a hoof in case the orange mare suddenly sprang on her. “How do I know it’s you?”

“Well jeez, sugarcube, who else would I be?” Applejack frowned, approaching at a canter. Her eyes slid down the Princess’ sides and ribs. “Them wings still look so different on yah, y’know.” She shook her head with a worried smile. “Ah’d say let’s catch up, but this place don’t feel normal. We should prolly skuh-daddle.”

“Ah’d say yer lying. Ah’m Applejack.” Another Applejack had appeared behind them, making both mares whirl. She looked… sharper. More angular. There was aggression in her eyes, and the Stetson on her head was cut into sharper edges. Twilight looked back and forth between the two. Aside from the tiny details, they looked just the same.

“Wh… whut?!” Applejack next to Twilight gaped. “That t’ain’t funny! Who’re you tryin’ to fool?!” she sauntered up to her strange-looking twin. “You a changeling? You a spell from Discord?! T’ain’t funny, quit lookin’ like me!”

“I’m in love with mah brother.” said not-Applejack. Real-Applejack choked on her own spit, falling silent. Her cheeks went red, and her eyes widened in icy startlement. “Big Mac is the best stallion in the world!” she sang, cupping her hooves to her heart. “I’m wanna keep him all fer mahself! He’s mine!”

“Wh-wh-whut y-y-y-you shut up! That ain’t right! That ain’t funny!” Applejack’s face was scarlet. “Don’t listen to him, Twilight!” she jerked her head around, her face on fire. “She’s spinnin’ lies! Big Mac’s my brother, but we ain’t like that!”

“I’m so in love with mah brother Big Mac!” swooned the strange, almost-Applejack. She put her forehoof dramatically to her forehead, wavering back and forth. “I’mma love him, and seduce him, and make sure that we have happy lives together here on the farm!”

“That’s sick! That’s sick and wrong!” Applejack’s face was as red as her native crop. “I-It ain’t like that, we’re just close!”
“No other stallion is good enough, they’re just stupid! They don’t work hard! They ain’t that smart! They won’t protect me like Big Mac does!” moaned the shade suggestively, seeming to quiver at the very thought of her incestuous love affair. “If ah could just catch his eye, ah’d make it worth his while! Every night if he wanted it! He’s the perfect stallion! The stallion fer me!”

Twilight’s magical radars were going off. Something was happening. Something nasty. She’d not felt magic like this since Sombra. She looked around the room. The ceiling seemed to be getting higher. The room seemed to be twisting, twisting bigger. The wood groaned and shuddered as she looked fearfully around. It wasn’t a barn, it was some… some sick thing that was tugging at Applejack’s heart! “A-Applejack…” Twilight tried cautiously, reaching for her friend with concern.

“SH-SHUT UP!” Applejack shouted, shaking with fury and embarrassment. “Don’t lookit me like that! Stop it! Stop lookin’ at me like that! Ah ain’t some incestuous, southern hick!” her whole body was shivering, and she looked ready to take the mare’s head off.

“Of course you are!” The other Applejack smiled proudly. “I’m you, after all! We’re the same!” she gestured back and forth between them. She threw her head back in a bombastic laugh that sent ice through the veins of the other two mares.

“Yer lyin’!” Applejack said, tears rushing up and into her eyes. “Yer nothin’ but lies and hocus pocus tomfoolery!” she rushed up to the fake Applejack, seizing her by the shoulder and lifting a hoof to punch her lights out. “YER NOT ME!”

Crackle.

Spark-Crackle.

Twilight shuddered, like she’d been dropped in ice water. Her magical radars were suddenly overloaded. Something slimy was rushing to the forefront, so powerful it was visible! Not-Applejack’s eyes turned blood red. There were no pupils or irises anymore, just redness. Her fur began to stand on end, and a molten aura of gooey, slick blackness began to emanate from her body. Applejack continued to scream and shout obscenities at her doppleganger, and the blackness rushed back and forth between them. It flowed from the real Applejack into the fake one, like a sickly pollution of miasma and smoke. After a few more moments, Twilight’s friend wavered on the spot. She looked… she looked so tired… ponyfeathers… thump. Applejack splayed out on the ground, passed out. The shadowy-aura’d Applejack smiled cruelly, turning her head slowly towards Twilight Sparkle.

“Wh… what are you?” Twilight whispered, taking a few steps back. She tried to grasp Applejack with her magic and levitate her away, but there was too much dark interference, even for her alicorn powers!

Not-Applejack hunched as though straining, chuckling under her breath and drinking in all the power that flowed in the air around her. It was like dark smoke, boiling and rushing and swirling about her. Her hat flew off and burst into ash while the bindings of her ponytail’d mane snapped in rapid succession. The air around her wriggled like it was super-heated, making Twilight squint. The dark chuckle rose into mad laughter as she threw her head back in joyous, uproarious glee. Her outline grew dark, then her fur grew dark, then even her eyes were blotted out. Twilight felt like she was blind, looking so hard into an abyss of dark magic. The smoke swirled rapidly back and forth, lancing at the air and burying the mare’s figure in a shrouded blackness. Then, it started to grow. It grew, and it grew, and it grew even bigger. It was morphing, shaping, twisting, writhing as it lost all semblance of Applejack’s shape and grew into something more monstrous. Twilight’s eyes widened as she was cast into shadow by it sheer size. She lifted a hoof, leaning back and tilting her head all the way back as it seemed to fill the room with its presence and body. A pair of titanic hooves jutted from the storm, thundering down onto the dirt floor. The ground cracked with its weight. It began to emerge.

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth to contain the scream. It was a massive red stallion. Its maw was filled with rows upon rows of gnashing, curved teeth. Its eyes were red and glowing, darting about like they couldn’t quite focus. Its muscles were huge and disproportioned, quivering and coiling back and forth. The massive, slimy cock hanging down between its legs was without a sheath, dripping from seemingly recent ‘use’. Its tail and mane were frazzled, orange and fiery, moving without a breeze like alicorn hair, or even like fire. The hooves were black, studded with razor-sharp horseshoes and titanic screws holding them on. The black saddle on its back had leading lines that led up to the beast’s eyes. Pressed over the sides of both eyes were line-of-sight patches, attached with silver studs. The alicorn slowly backed away, eyes like saucers, ready to run at the sight of the abomination before her.

Turning, the alicorn made to flee in unholy terror, but then she saw the collar around its neck. A slim, golden chain led down beside it. Not-Applejack stood there, grinning with her flashing red eyes. The chain was wrapped around her… no… no it was a PART of her. The chain sank into the skin of her foreleg and travelled up her arm like a burrowing snake. Blood and puss dripped from the entry wound and all over the floor— sickening! “Ah am the shadow! The TRUE self!” She said, her voice warped into something demonic. Twilight’s scream finally escaped her throat.

End of Part 2

Applejack III

The Shadow, the True Self
Part 3: Applejack III

Not-Applejack wrapped the thin, golden chain around her arm a few times, grinning devilishly form under the brim of her hat. Her eyes flickered red, and she gave the chain a light tug. The monstrous, stallion-like creature snarled and tossed its head a few times. “Applejack ain’t even close to honest with herself! If a pony can’t be honest with herself, there’s no point to it at all!” She whip-cracked the chain and the monster started forward with purpose.

Twilight shrieked, throwing up a shield around herself as its massive hooves came crashing down. Her knees buckled and the floorboards around her exploded into a crater-like circle. She yelped at the pure, tectonic force of the beast’s weight, pumping her wings to gain a bit of distance. “I don’t know what you are, but you’re not going to hurt Applejack!” she turned, flaring her wings mightily—just in time to get head-butted right out of the air by the stallion-beast. She cried out, pinwheeling through the air until she struck a wall. Sliding down it until her butt hit the floor, she moaned and held her head.

The shadowy Applejack gave the chain a tug, nursing the open wound that attached it to her foreleg and arm. The massive monster scraped his hoof on the floorboards a few times, snorting steam and rolling his eyes ferally back and forth. She tugged again, barely able to contain his power and virility. He was her strength, after all.

Twilight coughed a couple of times, snorting a piece of straw out of her nose and rising to her hooves. Scowling angrily, she reared up as her horn ignited to life. An arc of pure arcane force blasted straight into the beast’s barrel, stutter-stepping his next charge. The alicorn gave her mane a toss, lowering her horn at him threateningly. He walked sideways, back and forth, as though he were a pacing lion unsure what to do. The thunder of his sheer weight back and forth on the floorboards was disturbing, and Twilight’s eyes kept jumping to his hanging cock. It was like a cart wreck in the middle of the road: she didn’t wanna look, but she kept doing it anyway. Blushing angrily, she ignited her magic once more and blasted him again! The creature grunted, but otherwise seemed unphased. She wasn’t strong enough to actually hurt him, it seemed.

Not-Applejack gave the chain another whip-crack, and the beast reared with a roar. She ran alongside him, under his barrel and between his hooves. The beast lowered his head. Twilight’s eyes shrank into dots. The impact was thunderous as the monster crashed headlong into a wall, Twilight having teleported out of the way. Turning, the alicorn grabbed one of the ceiling beams with her magic and ripped it free. The barn, or whatever it was supposed to be, only looked like it did for Applejack, she was willing to bet. The alicorn knew pulling beams wouldn’t bring the roof down. Wielding the wooden beam like an extra-large club, the purple mare waved it back and forth threateningly.

Steering her giant pet with the chain, the orange mare gave a mighty tug. The beast reared with a whinny, then crushed the beam between his massive draconic jaws. Wooden splinters went everywhere, driving Twilight back. The Princess grabbed another beam from the ceiling, bringing it down on his head with a sickening crack. The sound of a coconut hitting a bigger coconut rang in the room, and the beast snarled angrily. His slathering, working jaws sprayed wooden splinters to one side while she whacked at him over and over, trying to deal even a little damage. But, it was no good. He snatched it out of the air with his teeth and crushed it easily. The rush of straw dust and falling hay filled the room, obscuring everything from sight for a few moments.

Turning desperately to look for anything else to throw at the monster, Twilight hesitated a moment too long. The shadowy Applejack suddenly popped out from under her pet and tackled the alicorn to the ground. Both mares twisted wildly, curling and stomping and flailing hooves back and forth. The golden chain jangled, tangling itself back and forth between them. Twilight was no wrestler, and she was no physical combatant either. Applejack was, though.

The young alicorn yelped for mercy as she was face-planted into the ground, the chain around her neck. Standing atop her with her hoof on the back of her neck, Applejack gave the chain a mighty tug! Twilight gagged desperately, scratching at the chain and panicking. Red welts formed in rings around her neck as her windpipe was pressed closed. “Uhhhh! Uhhh! Uhhhhhk!” she cried, tears going down her cheeks. “Appleja----kkuhhh! App-aughhhh!” she gagged, flailing back and forth. Her wings flapped weakly, up and down and out of synch, as the shadowy creature pressed her face into the floorboards. She couldn’t focus, couldn’t concentrate hard enough to bring magic to the forefront. Not-Applejack held her there until her struggles started to wane, her face turning a sickly blue color. She listened to the heartbeat quickening as her body desperately heaved for air--- heaaaved--- heave-- hea—silence. The alicorn began to limpen under her. Her eyes were glazing over, and rolling into her head. Twilight whimpered, pawing at the floorboards weakly. Then… slowly… she lay her head down and resisted no more. Her eyes rolled into her head and slid closed.

The shadowy creature smirked, grinning from under the brim of her hat. She gave a few more good tugs to make sure Twilight Sparkle was dead. Her head lolled about, but she gave no other response. She gave a strong JERK on the chain, making double sure. No response. “Heh. That’s what y’all get for meddlin’ in family affairs.” She adjusted her Stetson, rising and turning to pet the beast. It leaned down with a drooly snarl, nosing at her a few times. She chuckled, seeming to understand his growly tongue. “Maybe later, big fella. We got one more mare to take care of.” She turned with a toss of her hips, bumping him with her flanks. He jittered a bit, grinning with all his massive fangs. “C’mon now.” She tugged lightly on the leash, but it was caught on something.

One of the links, in the middle of the chain between mare and monster, was glowing bright purple. Not-Applejack’s eyes widened. She whirled about. The spot where Twilight Sparkle lay suddenly burst into smoke and ash. “You’re not the only one that can make copies.” Suddenly Twilight Sparkle burst out from behind a wooden column, wings wide. When had she---?! Oh! When the dust had gone up! She'd copied herself! Holding the chain steady with her magic, she flew headlong into it and ignited her horn with all her might. Realizing only too late what was about to happen, the shadowy Applejack reached desperately to yank the chain out of the way. But no! No, an alicorn’s grip was almighty! Twilight’s horn struck the chain where she was holding it with her magic, and it exploded into pieces like so many pearls from a broken necklace. They rained all around the room like tinkling glass. “It’s not him I have to fight, it’s you!” Twilight had learned the trick.

“C’mon yah big galoot! Git her!” Not-Applejack shouted to the beast. The monster seemed at a loss. The collar and chain around his neck wasn’t being held. Nopony was directing him. Should he go left, or maybe right? His blinkers only let him look straight ahead, so he really wasn’t sure about either of his choices. He was stuck like a deer in headlights, unable to act. Sitting on his haunches, he puzzled about the secrets of the universe for a bit. Hmmm… “Hey! Hey pay attention!” shouted the angry orange mare. “Don’t be sittin’ up there thinkin’ about yer fancy mathematics and muddlin’ the iss—AHHH!?” Twilight took the rather dark opportunity to shoot her in the back with another arcane bolt of energy. She went down hard, her butt going first and then tumbling until she bashed her muzzle into a stack of barrels. They cascaded around her in a wooden avalanche that buried her. The beast didn’t seem to notice, he was too busy pondering.

“Applejack!? Applejack!” Twilight rushed to the real Applejack, shaking her roughly. “Wake up! We have to get out of here! Wake up!”

“Twilight…?” Applejack mumbled weakly, her eyes slowly sliding open. Twilight helped her into a reclined position. She looked at all the madness and debris around her, and her face went red. “Whut… whut you must think’a me…” she said softly, wilting and hanging her head. “Ah’m… A’hm just a stereotype! Ah’m so ashamed!” she buried her face in her hooves, starting to cry.

The great beast turned its head towards the crying. A couple of the barrels shifted, and the fake Applejack grunted and forced her way out. Staggering and nursing a broken front leg, she leaned on a few bales of hay to support herself. She fixed both mares with a cold, calculating gaze. Her hat was gone, she’d been partially scalped in the avalanche. Blood was going down one side of her face. She said nothing, only watched.

“Applejack…” Twilight said softly, sounding sympathetic. “I… I know how you feel.” Applejack looked up at her, dumbfounded, tears going down her cheeks. How could Twilight POSSIBLY--? “I have a great brother too. He’s strong, and smart, and it seems like he’s good at everything he does. Mares love him, and he’s a good example for everypony around him. What more could I want in a companion, right?”

“Yer in love with yer brother too?” Applejack said, blown away.

“Well, no…” Twilight said with a soft chuckle. “I was when I was a little filly. I swore we would get married someday, but that was just a little filly talking.” She cupped Applejack’s cheek gently, and held her gaze. “What I meant was, I wanted a stallion that was a lot like him.” She told her friend the secret to it all. Applejack’s eyes widened. “I wanted a stallion who was strong, and smart, and supportive of me just like my brother was. I wanted those qualities in a husband… er… even though I don’t have one yet.” She smiled coyly, looking away for a moment.

“All them qualities, but not him…?” It came out like a question from Applejack, and Twilight nodded. “But there’s not any stallions like Big Mac out there!” The beast harrumphed when she said that, and Applejack startled. She saw the copy of herself standing there bloodied and horrifically injured, side-by-side with a caricature of her brother. “Who-o-o-o-a, nelly!” The farming mare squirmed to rise, but Twilight stopped her so she didn’t get dizzy and fall over.

“Listen, Applejack.” Twilight said gently, looking over her shoulder at the monstrous pair. They weren’t moving, only watching. “It’s okay to love your family very, very much. And often times, children go looking for companions that remind them a lot of their family. Whether they realize it or not.”

“Big Mac was always there for me, even when we were just foals.” Applejack hung her head a little, her eyes seeing the past as she spoke. “Ever since ma and pa died, he never let me down and he never let me be on my lonesome when I was sad. He stood up fer me, and took care’uh me-- ev’r’thing I ever wanted in a stallion, y’know? Supportive and… and stuff…” she wasn’t very good at putting words to all this, but she was trying. “Ah thought he was perfect for me, even if he was my brother.”

“I don’t think you really wanted your brother as a husband.” Twilight said softly, leaning and helping her stand. “Just a pony like him, so you would feel safe and happy. You just need to look for a pony who’s that dependable, just like you.” She smiled when Applejack found her hooves, shakily standing and trying to right herself. The alicorn put on her hat, slowly tightening it on her head. Applejack smiled gratefully, adjusting it.

Not-Applejack and the beast stood there when Applejack approached. Golden chain still dangling out of the bleeding, puss-covered entry wound on her arm her twin stepped forward. The monster stayed still, blinking slowly. The two orange mares stared at each other, and the black aura of smoke slowly permeated in the air around both of them. The shadow was measuring her, peering into her heart. The farming mare hung her head, mumbling softly, “You were right.” She whispered. “Ah was in love with Big Mac. Ah thought he was the perfect stallion fer me. But… but…” tears began to brim from her eyes as she bore her soul. “I know it ain’t right. Not between siblings. I was just supressin’ it all, like it might really work out someday. But now he’s seein’ Cheerilee, and you and Twilight came to my rescue to show me it ain’t ever gonna happen that way.” The shadow stared at her with a calculating frown. The tendrils of living shadow slowly retreated from Applejack’s form, back towards the fake and her pet monster. “You really are… me.” Appljack admitted, staring at the floor. Not-Applejack and the beast slowly faded from existence, as though they never were. Twilight looked on in awe as her friend faced her deepest inner demons, and came out triumphant. The orange mare pushed her mane out of her face, smiling a little. Applejack took a deep, shaky breath. She stared at the ground for a long time, silent and shaking a little.
Twilight slowly came to stand beside her, lifting a wing and putting it over her shoulder. They looked at each other. Applejack looked exhausted, her face tear-streaked and her whole body shaking. Strong, stubborn and loud didn’t seem to be a part of her right now. The alicorn watched her sit on her haunches, then throw her arms around Twilight’s shoulders. She smiled, leaning into her embrace. They didn’t need words. They held each other for a long time. It was over now. Twilight finally let herself relax.

“I think I’ve got a lock on her!” Both mares looked up, startled. Where had that voice come from? The ceiling. They both looked around wildly. It was a strong, bossy-sounding female voice. Princess Luna? “It’s very faint, but it’s definitely Twilight Sparkle! There’s somepony else there too!” Applejack tilted her hat back, looking around. Who was that? Where was it coming from? “She must be deep inside somewhere, I’m shalt try and pull her out!” Twilight yelped when a vague aura of magic pulled at her inner being, behind her navel. She jittered, and it let go of her. “I’m trying again, I need more power!” the voice said. “Sister, lend me your aid!” The purple mare grunted aloud when she was lifted into the air by an unknown force. She grabbed Applejack around the middle and both mares cried out as they winked out of existence. The barn-like maze ceased to be.

=-----=-----=------=------=

Princess Twilight Sparkle and Applejack tumbled out of the television set and into the real world. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and a smattering of Royal Guards were crammed into the room. As soon as both mares hit the floor moaning, a trio of guard stallions smashed the television into a million pieces with a few bucks of their hooves! More of them rushed forward, stomping on the pieces until they were ground into nothingness all over the bedroom floor.

Twilight lay there on her back, legs and wings splayed out. Applejack was next to her, much the same, panting loudly and sweating. Celestia leaned over them both, “Twilight? Applejack? Are you two okay?” she lit her horn, waving it back and forth over both of them a few times.

“Princess Celestia! You would not believe where I’ve been! What I’ve seen!” The purple mare turned to help Applejack up, but the orange mare was curled up asleep. “Applejack? Applejack are you alright?!” she shook her friend a few times, until Celestia gently stopped her.

“I think she’s just exhausted, Twilight. We alicorns are far more enduring than even earth ponies.” Celestia said softly, steadying her.

Luna knelt down, putting a hoof on Applejack’s sweaty forehead. Her horn lit for a short time. “I shalt ease her dreams. Guards, come, we’ll take her to the medical wing.” The dark alicorn gestured and a few of them moved to bear Applejack on their backs. “Be careful with her, she’s a national hero, careful now!” her voice faded with distance, but she cast a look over her shoulder as they went. She was leaving Celestia in charge, but wanting for a damn good explanation later.

“How did you know to find me in the TV?” Twilight asked softly, folding her wings at last.

“You’re an alicorn, Twilight.” Celestia smiled in a motherly way, leading her from the room. She eyed the bruised muzzle and the ghost of blood here and there in her fur. “Even when you leave this world, a magical signature as powerful as yours is not hard to find.” Twilight blushed at being called powerful by her mentor, but they pressed on into a sitting room so the purple mare could relax. “Now please,” The solar Princess settled onto a sitting pillow, checking to make sure they were alone. “Tell me everything that’s happened.”

End of Part III