Chapters Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
Applejack ran down the corridor, she ran faster than she ever had in her whole life. She ran, because she was being chased by them. 'Them' being white creatures that vaguely looked like ponies except they were completely featureless. They had no faces. They had no manes. They looked like the bare minimum of what a pony looked like. And they were chasing after her.
Applejack turned a corner and saw a shelf full of books. She knocked it down as she ran past it, in the hopes that it would slow them down, even for just a little bit. She took the risk of looking back at them, and immediately regretted. The book shelf had no slowed them down at all. In fact, they seemed to be running even faster now.
Applejack screamed as the monsters pounced upon her and wrapped their front legs around her body, as if they were childishly hugging her. As soon as the monsters made contact with her, she could feel her body temperature dropping. She tried to buck the monsters off of herself, but failed. She could feel her losing herself. She fought furiously to buck the monsters from herself, but she couldn't.
When her body temperature fell low enough, she finally stopped fighting the monsters. She fell to the floor, and the last thing she remembered was the monsters letting go of her and gently stroking her mane.
Applejack lay in bed, trembling slightly. "Another nightmare." she said out loud. Three weeks, this had been going on. Three weeks, she had nightmares of the same monsters that had been chasing her, the same nightmare night after night. There was, however, another nightmare that happened occasionally where she was being drowned by a large, white pony with a pale blue mane. The large pony also wore a mask that seemed to be made of solidified darkness.
She got out of bed and opened the curtains, only to recoil at the sight of such brilliant sunshine. "Mornin' already?" she asked out loud. That was the last straw. For three weeks, she had nightmares, and for three weeks, she refused to ask for help. At first, she seemed to be doing fine, but now, the nightmares were getting to her. After all, she just flinched from sunlight, and she loved the sun.
She needed help. But who was there to help? She needed somepony intelligent, somepony, great with the workings of the mind. "Twilight!" she said out loud. "Maybe she'll have a spell to cure me." And with that, Applejack walked out the door and went on her way to the library.
She did her best not to be seen in the current state that she was. All of her friends had noticed that the usual optimistic, hard working Applejack had become more solitary and withdrawn. None of them had yet seen her the way she currently was, though. Not this messy, unkempt Applejack with bloodshot, baggy eyes. Not this Applejack that seemed so weak and exhausted.
Despite all of her efforts, though, somepony did see her. It was Rarity. "Applejack, darling!" Rarity said. "I haven't seen you in so long and-" Rarity let out a gasp in her usual overdramatic fashion.
"Applejack!" she said. "Are you alright? You look positively dreadful! And I haven't seen you in three weeks!"
"Well, shucks, Rarity, I didn't want ya to see me like this." replied Applejack somberly. "I've been having nightmares for three weeks now, and I was going to ask Twilight for help, maybe possibly a cure."
"Well, I'll be there to support you." Rarity said happily.
"I think this is going to need more than that, but I appreciate the thought, sugarcube. Tag along if ya want." And then they walked the rest of the way to Twilight's place.
Applejack knocked on the door to the library. Nopony answered it. "Consarnit, Twi, ya can't still be asleep at a time like this...." Applejack grumbled as she knocked on the door again, this time a little harder. The door started to open. "Oh, finally." said Applejack. "Look, Twilight, I nee-" Applejack stopped herself as she realized that it was actually Spike who answered, not Twilight.
"Hi, Applejack." he said, rubbing his eyes. "Haven't seen you in a while." He stopped rubbing his eyes and took one look at Applejack, and then let out a gasp of concern. "You ok, Applejack? You look exhausted."
"I AM exhausted." said Applejack. "I've been having nightmares for three weeks and I was wondering if Twilight could help."
"Well...." began Spike. "She's not here right now. She went out."
"When will she be back?" asked Applejack, not meaning to sound desperate, but not being able to hold back her frustration.
"I don't know, she could be a while.......but I do know this: Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had similar problems, too." explained Spike.
"Really?" Applejack asked, surprised to find out that two of her closest friends also had similar problems.
"Yeah, really. And both times, Twilight used a spell to cure them."
"What spell?" asked Rarity.
"Oh, hi Rarity!" Spike said, completely forgetting about Applejack and nearly facepalming himself for not having noticed her earlier.
"Hi, Spike." said Rarity, smiling sweetly at the young, lovestruck dragon. "Do be a dear and show us what spell she used, will you?"
"Will do!" Spike said happily as he bounced back into the library, leaving Applejack and Rarity outside.
"Why do you want to see the spell that Twilight used?" Applejack asked Rarity.
Rarity laughed quietly. "Isn't it obvious? Since Twilight isn't here, I'm going to give it the spell a try."
"Uh...." Applejack began. "Are you sure about that? I mean, that's sweet and all, but..." Applejack tried her best to not show doubt, but she made it pretty clear: she didn't want anybody besides the smartest pony in Ponyville to cast any spells on her.
"Of course I'm sure. After all, we're both unicorns, so we can both do magic. Come now, do you not trust in my abilities?" Rarity looked at Appeljack with big, pleading eyes that just screamed 'Oh, Applejack, please let me do the spell for you instead, please.'
"Fine." Applejack relented.
Spike had returned and stepped out with a peculiar book in his claws. "Here." Spike said, handing the book to Rarity. "The book that has the spell."
"Perfect!" said Rarity. "Thanks, Spikey-wikey." She placed one big smooch on Spike's cheek, much to his delight.....and his sudden loss of consciousness. After laughing at the sight of a baby dragon fainting before her, Rarity turned to Applejack. "Well, shall we?" she said.
"We shall." replied Applejack. They closed the door to the library, turned around, and went on their way to Carousel Boutique.
"Ya sure ya know what ya'll are doing?" asked Applejack nervously as she watched Rarity flip through several pages. After they had arrived at the Boutique, Rarity had immediately sat down and flipped through many pages.
"I....I've got this..." Rarity said, uncertain. She flipped through several more pages before stopping and saying: "Ah-ha!"
"Found something?" asked Applejack as she got up and walked over to Rarity's side.
"Why, yes, darling. I found this spell that lets me look at your dreams." said Rarity.
"Uh....look at my dreams?" asked Applejack, who received a nod from Rarity. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
"Well, if I don't know what you're dreaming about, I won't know what spell to use, now, will I?" asked Rarity, in a haughty manner. "Now, hold still, won't you?" Rarity focused her magic into her horn, making it glow with a pale light....only for it to fizzle out. "Um....don't worry....I'll get this right..." Rarity said sheepishly as she focused her magic again. This time, the magic stayed, and she lowered her horn to Applejack's forehead.
Applejack ran through the corridor and narrowly dodged the deathly embrace of one of the pony-esque monsters that chased her, and then ducked under a table. She burst through a door and came out the other side and was surprised to see an enourmous hole in the floor, filled to the brim with freezing cold water, and the only bit of dry land being next to the entrance.
She was trapped, with no way of escape. Applejack turned around and saw the monsters galloping towards her and shrieking in high pitched voices filled with anticipation. They abruptly stopped in their tracks and lowered their heads, seemingly bowing to a higher power.
A low growling sound could be heard from behind Applejack. She turned and saw it. The white pony. It had either suddenly appeared out of nowhere, or Applejack had somehow missed it the first time. It approached her slowly. The closer and closer it got to Applejack, the further and further her body temperature dropped, until even her very blood seemed frozen solid.
Without warning, the white pony quickly grabbed Applejack by her neck and forcibly dragged her to the edge of the pool. It forced her into the water, causing her to gasp at the coldness. The temperature was even lower than that of her own body. The white pony forced her entire body into the swimming pool, drowning her.
From somewhere, a woman's scream could be heard.
"Oh, my." said Rarity as she stepped back, trying to catch her breath. Not only had she seen the images in Applejack's head, but she had felt them, too. The coldness of the monsters deathly embrace, the dropping of the body temperature, everything. She shivered at the thought of all that she had just seen and felt.
"I warned ya." said Applejack quietly. "Do ya still want to keep doing whatever it is ya'll are doin', or do ya want to wait 'til Twilight comes back?"
"Applejack...." Rarity said slowly. "After I saw what I just saw, I can't just wait for someone to help you. Besides, you heard what Spike said. It could be a while before Twilight gets back."
"He said it could be a while. He didn't say it would." said Applejack.
"Well," said Rarity. "I'll keep going. I can't just leave you like this." And it was true. Although Rarity and Applejack didn't always see things eye to eye, they were closer than they appeared. She flipped through several more pages, quickly reading through descriptions of spells before dismissing them and searching again. "Ah-ha!" she said again. "There's this spell called the Mind Delve. It's supposed to help directly find the source of nightmares. Let's try it out." Rarity's horn glowed again. She slowly started to lower it to Applejack's forehead.
"Uh, sugarcube?" Applejack began as Rarity's horn got closer and closer. "Are you sure you should be using some random spell you found in the book?"
"Well." replied Rarity. "The other spell that let me see your dreams worked, so why wouldn't this one?"
"I supposed you've got a point." said Applejack, right before the horn touched her on the forehead. Applejack's vision slowly blurred out, and then went black. Applejack thought she felt herself falling, but she couldn't be sure if she was or not. The sensation of falling and the blacked out eyesight stayed that way for a while, until everything suddenly returned.
Applejack looked around to see where she was, and just as she suspected, she was still in Carousel Boutique, although something about it was different. Not just something, but a lot of things. All the carefully organized materials and sewing equipment was gone, the entire boutique was empty. Rarity was also nowhere to be seen.
"Rarity?" Applejack called out as she searched throughout the boutique for her missing friend. She was nowhere to be found. Applejack then noticed some items on a table. The items were a bag, a digital camera with a strap on it and a small screen used to show pictures, and a flashlight with a band on it that allowed it to be strapped to a pony's head. Or, in Applejack's case, her hat. Another item to be found was a map of Ponyville. On the map was an X. Applejack looked at the location of the X closely and saw that it was Twilight's library. "Well, I might as well find some clues there." Applejack said as she put all of her items into the bag and stepped out of the boutique.
"What in tarnation?!" Applejack did a double take when she saw the sudden shift in weather. It was snowing heavily; practically a blizzard at how much snow was piling up in the streets of Ponyville. It was also nighttime, as the sun wasn't shining.
"Now what could have caused it to snow so hard all of a sudden?" Applejack muttered. "Some smart aleck pegasi looking to prank all of Ponyville or something? And why is it nighttime already?" It didn't matter, either way. Applejack had to get to her next location, so she strapped the flashlight to her hat and began galloping at a steady pace towards the library. The snow was several inches deep, and everytime Applejack took a step, her legs went all the way down to the ground, making progress a bit sluggish.
She stopped dead in her tracks when a high-pitched whining sound suddenly came from her bag. "Now, I wonder what that could be." She looked in her bag and dug through her items to find out what was making the noise. It was the camera. Her flashlight flickered between dim and bright, on and off. She had no idea what was going on, but something told her she shouldn't just brush it off.
She took several steps forward, with the light flickering even more than before, and the camera's whining noise becoming louder. Without warning, a bright flash of light shone in Applejack's eyes, and the whining noise stopped, and the flashlight stopped flickering. The bright flash dimmed before it vanished completely, and Applejack could see again. "Now what in tarnation was that supposed to be?!"
A buzzing sound abruptly came from the camera and stopped just as soon as it came. Applejack took it out of the bag and looked at it. On the small screen of the camera was a picture of a stallion unicorn wearing a business suit. His face had a malevolent look to it. That pony looked familiar. Looking at him brought up fuzzy recollections of old memories from Applejack's past, but only mere glimpses. She had a feeling that this would not be the last time she saw this pony.
Putting the camera back in the bag, Applejack continued on her way to the library.
Upon arriving at the library, Applejack saw that the door was already open, as if it were beckoning to her to go in.
"Twi?" Applejack called out as soon as she stepped in. But no. No Twilight Sparkle to be found. Nor a Spike. The library was completely empty, just like the boutique. The only bit of furniture that Applejack could see was a table in the middle of the library. On it was a note. Applejack walked over to it and read it.
"Can you feel the sunshine? Does it brighten up your day? Don't you feel that sometimes you just need to run away?"
"Now I wonder what this could mean..." Applejack muttered. She looked around and see what looked like a cellar door that originally wasn't in the library. The peculiar thing about it was that it was completely frozen in ice.
"Now how long has this been here?" Applejack wondered out loud. She inspected it closely. It was strange that the cellar door was completely frozen, because it was a lot warmer inside than it was outside. Applejack tested the strength of the ice by stomping on it. It didn't even make a scratch.
Applejack searched the library even further and found a set of shaped prisms, and a box with holes to fit the prisms. There was a cube, a triangular prism, and and a rectangular prism. On the cube was a picture of a smiling sun, on the triangular prism was a picture of a calender, and on the rectangular prism was a picture of a running cheetah.
"Oh, ha-ha, real clever." grumbled Applejack as she set the prisms in the correct holes, and the correct order. "Can you feel the sunshine..." said Applejack as she set the cube in first. "Does it brighten up your day...." she then put in the triangular prism. "Don't you feel that sometimes...you just need to run away..." she then put the rectangular prism in.
Suddenly, the ice melted off, the water quickly evaporated, leaving the cellar door accessable.
"As if I couldn't solve a simple puzzle like that." Applejack grumbled as she opened the door to the cellar and stepped inside.
It was a very small cellar. There was a single lamp in the center of the ceiling that shown weakly but valiantly in the darkness. However, the one thing that got Applejack's attention was a note that was in the center of the floor of the cellar. She stepped over to it and read it.
"Welcome to Silent Ponyville, kiddo."
As soon as Applejack read the note, the entire world seemed to tremble. "An earthquake?!" yelled Applejack in surprise.
But no. It was anything but. Ice started to form in one corner of the cellar, before it rapidly spread over the walls and ceiling. The ice slid underneath Applejack's hooves without interfearing with her balance, albeit, the trembling still continued. Before long, the entire cellar was covered in ice, and the ladder that led into the cellar was glowing a soft blue light.
Applejack barely had enough time to comprehend all of this, before she heard shrieking. The high pitched shrieking of the pony-esque monsters.
Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
"F-fluttershy?" Applejack said, not believing what she was seeing. But she saw what she saw, and she was very glad. They stared at each other for a long time, for Applejack, it was as if she was trying to confirm Fluttershy's presence, and for Fluttershy, to see if Applejack was ok.
"....Fluttershy." Applejack wrapped her arms around Fluttershy, who gave a hug in return. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other's warmth and presence in this cold, desolate version of Ponyville.
"Applejack." Fluttershy said as she released Applejack from her hug. The firmness and strength and lack of timidity in her voice surprised Applejack. "Are you hurt? At all?" Fluttershy looked Applejack up and down, checking to see if she had any injuries, but she looked perfectly fine. In fact, she looked prefectly immaculate.
"No." replied Applejack as Fluttershy finished assessing her condition. "I'm fine. Now tell me. How did ya get here anyways?"
"Applejack." said Fluttershy, her face hardening in a serious mask. Again, Applejack was still surprised at how...how....not-timid Fluttershy was. "Before I tell you that, let me tell you this. You're not in Ponyville anymore."
"I realize that by now, sugarcube." said Applejack, resisting the urge to be sarcastic.
"Tell me something, Applejack." began Fluttershy. "Have you heard a siren blaring? At least once?"
"No." answered Applejack.
"Really?" asked Fluttershy in mild surprise. "No sirens at all? No hellish world covered in blood and rust populated by monsters that want to maim and kill you?"
"You got the monsters wanting to kill me part right, but they don't try to kill me in quite the way you're probably thinking. And no, no blood or rust. Just ice."
"Huh." Fluttershy mumbled thoughtfully. "Strange. I guess your version of this world is different for you somehow. Maybe it's because Rarity did the spell instead of Twilight."
"Different? Different how?" asked Applejack curiously.
"Well..." Fluttershy said, not really sure how to begin. She then looked at Applejack and saw that she was wearing a bag, which seemed to bulge ever so slightly with the items that were inside it. "I can see you got a bag and some materials to guide you." Fluttershy gestured to Applejack's bag.
"Oh, this thing?" Applejack said as she looked down at her bag. "Yeah, this was on a table in Carousel Boutique when I arrived. I just took 'em, because there wasn't anything else in the entire Boutique."
"So, the fundamental rules are still the same." Fluttershy concluded.
"So, about ya saying this world is different." said Applejack, bringing up the previous topic. "I'm guessing when Twilight used that spell on ya, the same thing happened, but you were in a bloody, rusty world. Am I right?"
Fluttershy nodded.
"And that brings me to my next question. How'd ya get here anyways?" Applejack asked.
"Oh, Twilight connected my mind to yours. I'm in your mind now." Fluttershy explained.
"In my mind? Yeesh, only Twilight would be able to do something like this." Applejack chuckled softly. "Anyways." Applejack took out her map and showed it to Fluttershy. "The X is the location I need to go to. X marks the spot."
Fluttershy looked thoughtfully at the map and saw the X. "In the Everfree Forest?" she mumbled. "That sounds dangerous." she said.
"But as long as I have you by my side, I'll be ok." Applejack said reassuringly as she folded up her map and put it back in her bag. "Let's go."
They began walking in the general direction towards the Everfree Forest, staying close together, with Fluttershy checking every which way to see if any monsters would show up, but none ever did.
"The monsters only show up when everything is frozen." explained Applejack. Fluttershy didn't want to take any chances, though. She checked again and again, until finally, she gave up searching and just focused on the current task at hoof.
"Look." said Applejack as they approached the entrance to the Everfree Forest. "We're almost there." And then they resumed their walk.
They were just about to go in the Everfree Forest....until Applejack felt it. She stopped in her tracks, with Fluttershy stopping as well.
"....What is it?" asked Fluttershy after several moments.
"Hush, sugarcube." Applejack said as she waited. "You feel that?" she finally asked after a while.
"....Yes, I do." Fluttershy said. "Tremors." As if on cue, the minor tremors turned into massive trembling. The world shook so hard, Equestria even seemed ready to crumble upon itself.
Applejack and Fluttershy fell to the floor, and couldn't do anything to get back up. They merely covered their heads and hoped that it would end.
When the trembling stopped, Applejack was the first to open her eyes. Just as she suspected, the entire world was frozen again. Which meant that the monsters were back.
"Frozen in ice, just as you said." stammered Fluttershy as she stood up slowly, struggling slightly to maintain her balance after experiencing such a large earthquake. "I must say, though, the 'alarm' that you get is a lot more.......prominent....than just a simple siren." She looked at the entrance to the Everfree Forest again. Almost every tree was frozen in a block of ice, and every block of ice was connected to each other to form a solid wall, which left only one opening to the Everfree Forest.
Fluttershy's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of static coming from Applejack's camera and the flickering of her flashlight.
"There's no time to lose." Applejack said as she stood up. "We better hightail in there." She gestured towards the entrance to the Everfree Forest. The sound of the monster's high-pitched shrieking filled the air.
"What was that?" Fluttershy asked, ears perked. The high-pitched shrieking noise was heard again.
"They're coming." said Applejack simply. "For us. We have to move. Come on." And then they galloped to the Everfree Forest.
The ice that had formed around the trees were all connected to make large walls, which all made one large, single hallway. The static that came out of Applejack's camera never stopped, nor did it get quieter. In fact, it seemed to get louder everytime they ran several feet.
"They're close." Applejack said. They stopped before a fork in the in the hallway. There were three paths that could take. Applejack dashed for the middle path. She checked to see if Fluttershy was still following close behind, which she was glad to see that she was. She turned her head back in front of her, expecting to see an empty hallway, but instead, she saw them.
The monsters were there. And they were running right towards them! Applejack turned right on her heels. Fluttershy, upon seeing the monsters, did the same, following close to Applejack.
When they went back to the fork in the path, Applejack turned her head left....only to see more monsters coming out of that path. She then turned her head forwards to see the path that they had come from earlier was also teeming with monsters. They were surrounded on three sides, which meant that they only had one more way to go.
"This way!" Applejack said as she turned right into the other fork of the hallway, with Fluttershy following close behind. She quickly looked down the path to see that it was, conveniently enough, monster-free.
They ran and ran and ran, with the shrieks of the monsters and their stomping hoofsteps egging them on like nothing else. Applejack looked to her left and noticed for the first time that the ice was transparent. She saw monsters of the other side of the ice, banging on them in a futile attempt to get in.
They ran for what seemed like an eternity, until Applejack saw it. They reached the river! They ran to the edge of the river and stopped. Applejack's hopes got up.....and then shot back down as soon as they had got up.
They had reached the river, but what now? It was encased inside of a giant room with walls of ice on all four sides, with only one opening that connected to the giant room, the same opening which the monsters were now pouring out of. The river was the only thing in this room, and probably all of Equestria right now, that wasn't frozen.
The monsters approached them slowly, instilling fear into them. Their slow progression slowed down even further and further, until they suddenly stopped. Applejack couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu from this scenario that was not unfolding right before them. Applejack couldn't quite place her hoof on why she had this feeling, until she felt a presence from behind her.
She had a feeling as to what the presence was. She turned around slowly, slowly allowing the presence to slip first into ehr peripheral vision, and then her main field of view. What she saw was a stallion, with white fur. She looked up at it's face....only it didn't have a face. It wore a mask. A mask that pulsed and throbbed with what seemed like pure darkness. It had a pale blue mane that seemed to glow dimly.
Fluttershy then turned around and noticed the white pony for the first time.
"Ah." She said thoughtfully. "So this is your demon."
Applejack didn't seem to hear her. She felt cold. Very cold. Colder than when the monsters wrapped their arms around her in their deathly embrace. Colder than she had ever felt before. As the white pony approached her, she felt colder and colder. Her mind raced. A voice in her head told her to run, but run where? She was trapped.
The white pony stopped before them. It looked at Applejack and Fluttershy, studying them both closely. Without warning, it raised one arm and grabbed Fluttershy first. She struggled and fought against the white pony's iron grip, but her efforts were futile.
Then, again, without warning, Applejack had a vision, at the same time that the white pony also grabbed for her.
Applejack once again saw the farm that she was raised on. She saw the pony in the business suit, again with that air of maliciousness around him. Only this time, his smile was gone, with somewhat of a look of anger.
"No thank you." said Applejack's father firmly. "And that's final." Applejack's father led his wife and kids into the farm and then slammed the door shut. The pony in the business suit looked furious, however, he forced himself to remain calm.
Fluttershy continued to struggle violently against the grip on the white pony, however, Applejack's efforts were not as strong. She was somewhat half-heartedly fighting the grip of the white pony, yet another part of her was too engrossed in the visions she was having.
The white pony dragged them both towards the river. Applejack knew in her gut what the white pony was going to do to both of them.
Young filly Applejack was in a wooded area near the farm. There was a flowing river nearby. She was alone with the pony in the business suit. "Don't worry, little filly." The business suited pony said to a young filly Applejack. "I'm not going to hurt ya."
Suddenly, the business suited pony grabbed filly Applejack by the scruff of her neck and dragged her to a river. "Just kidding. I lied."
He submerged her in the water, drowning her. Applejack fought and struggled against the grasp of the business suited pony, but alas, her efforts were meaningless. The pony was too strong for a young filly like Applejack.
It was nighttime, and it was near winter. Far enough from winter so that there was not yet snow, yet close enough that it was quite cold outside.
The water was cold upon entry, but as Applejack fought and struggled against the business suited pony, she could start to feel Death's embrace, and Death's embrace was very cold; much colder than the water she was submerged in.
Just as Applejack was feeling Death's embrace in her vision, she was also starting to feel Death's embrace in Silent Ponyville. It felt a lot like the freezing cold embrace of the white pony-esque monsters that populated the town.
Just as Death began to embrace filly Applejack, she felt herself lifted out of the water and thrown onto the ground, coughing water out of her lungs and shivering violently. She looked back and saw her savior. It was her father.
Her father bucked the business suited pony hard in the face. Blood shot out of the business suited pony's mouth, teeth flew out, and he stumbled back and grabbed his face tenderly.
Snarling in fury, the business suited pony's horn lit up. A bolt of magic shot out, aimed at Applejack's father. He dodged it and bucked the business suited pony's face again, this time causing more damage, as his face swelled up, and he had a black eye.
Applejack's father looked at her. "Run." he mouthed. Filly Applejack did what she was told.
She looked back as she ran. Applejack's mother had also joined the fray. Filly Applejack stopped to watch. She had faith in her parents. They were strong, in mind and in body. Surely they would win this fight.
The business suited pony was bruised and battered. He howled loudly, louder than filly Applejack thought was ponily possible. His horn lit up once again, bolts of magic flying everywhere. One of the bolts hit Applejack's father. He fell to the floor, not moving. He was dead. Applejack's mother screamed, as did filly Applejack.
Filly Applejack could feel tears streaming down her face, she could barely keep her eyes open however, she forced herself to keep watching.
The business suited pony turned to Applejack's mother and fired a bolt of magic at her. The bolt of magic hit her, and she fell, however, she was still alive. She struggled to stand up.
As her mother struggled to stand up, the business suited pony fired another bolt of magic at her, gravely injuring her. The business suited pony walked slowly over to Applejack's mother, a big grin on his face. He stood before Applejack's mother, reveling in his victory.
Then, without warning, Applejack's mother threw her head back and uttered a horrible scream. A scream of agony, a scream of pain, and a scream of loss. Her horn lit up with magic for the first time since she joined the fight. Despite her strong physical build, her magic was sloppy and weak. She was more like an earth pony than even her own husband, and yet now her horn glowed brightly.
She let out one final scream, and then a bright white light flashed before their eyes. Filly Applejack shut her eyes as the bright light flashed.
She slowly opened them, and she was shocked at what she saw. The business suited pony and herm other were both frozen in a block of ice. Filly Applejack was an earth pony and knew next to nothing about magic, and yet she knew what spell her mother had just used. She knew, because one night, she had snuck into her mother's study and peeped into a book she was reading. Despite being very magically weak, she did know how to do one powerful spell. But only one, and it was a spell that almost nopony even dared to use. It was the eternal ice spell, where one sacrificed themselves to freeze themselves and one or more enemies in a block of ice. It was a death sentence, and the ice behaved just as the spell suggested it did. It never melted. It never shattered. Few things in existence were truly eternal, but this ice was.
Applejack's vision had ended. This was the first time she had encountered the white pony in Silent Ponyville, outside her nightmares, and she was terrified at first, but now she knew what it was.
The masked white pony seemed to sense that she knew what it was, as when Applejack's vision had ended, the white pony immediately let go of both her and Fluttershy and backed away.
Applejack and Fluttershy pulled themselves out of the water, coughing and shivering. Applejack looked at the white pony, now without fear, but instead, with understanding and determination.
The pony-esque monsters all crumbled and fell away, not even leaving behind dust or residue.
The white pony walked down the hallway and seemed to disappeared from view.
The world stayed frozen, however. Applejack turned to look at Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy." She said. "Thanks for offering your help, but, now I know what's going on. I know what that monster is. I appreciate if you want to continue to give me help, but now I know I have to face that thing alone."
Then, as if on cue, a wall of ice appeared, seperating Fluttershy and Applejack. Fluttershy's body started to flicker, and then started to fade away from existence.
Fluttershy smiled as she faded away. "Good job Applejack." She said. "I'm proud of you. Good luck." And then she faded away.
Fluttershy felt the world spinning. Spinning endlessly, yet rising upwards at the same time. The spinning sensation stopped, and she found herself back in the real world.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "You got disconnected from Applejack's mind?"
"Yeah." said Fluttershy plainly. "But it wasn't your fault, and it wasn't the monsters."
"Then who was it?"
"It was Applejack." said Fluttershy. "She has to finish this alone. By herself. She even said so."
Fluttershy then inhaled deeply and then exhaled. "She's doing a lot better than I did. Everything's making sense to her faster than it made sense for me."
Fluttershy then looked at Twilight. "And now all we can do is wait for her."
Applejack took out her map and checked it. The X was gone completely, and the map itself was blank. It was blank, except for one word. "Forward."
"Well, I guess that's where I should move." Applejack concluded. She put her map back into her bag and then started walking down the narrow hallway. Instead of reaching the fork in the path again, though, she saw a long staircase leading down to what looked like a pit of darkness.
She descended the stairs into the darkness.
Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
Applejack took one step on the stairs, just one step, and then a solid wall of ice formed behind her. She continued her way down the stairs, her hoofsteps echoing down the staircase.
The staircase seemed to go on forever, but Applejack kept walking at her same leisurely pace, with nothing aiding or stopping her progress. Nothing, until the shrieks of the white pony-esque monsters were heard.
'This is it.' Applejack thought as she tensed up. 'My final challenge.' She continued walking down the stairs, tensed up, ready to run anytime the monsters encountered her. The shrieks continued, echoing throughout the staircase, the sound waves bouncing off the walls, and seemingly directed towards Applejack's eardrums.
Static came from Applejack's camera. Her flashlight flickered. The shrieks of the monsters were getting louder and louder by the second.
Applejack's pace sped up. She continued walker deeper and deeper in the seemingly endless staircase, with the constant sounds of static and shrieking filling her ears, and with the flashlight flickering light in front of her.
Another shriek was heard. This time, it came from right behind her! She ran down the staircase. 'How could they have come from behind?!' She thought. 'Are they even behind me?' She didn't know.
Although she didn't look all the way back, she looked to her left, to see herself, running. She looked slightly back to see what other reflections the ice would show. Just as she thought, the monsters were behind her. Somehow, they had appeared from the top of the staircase without climbing the stairs. Applejack shouldn't have been surprised. And she wasn't.
She turned her head back in front of her and continued running, praying for a flare, or a piece of lumber to beat them with, anything that could possibly aid her. But nothing. Just endless stairs.
After running for an even longer period of time, she saw something lying on the staircase. It was a flare! Her prayer was indeed answered. Without breaking pace, she bent down and picked it up with her teeth, smoothly tossing it into her bag. She would use it later. In a situation that was even more dire than this one.
Speaking of dire, just as she put the flare in her bag, one of the monsters managed to catch up to her and tackled her, it's forearms wrapped around her body. She instantly felt her body temperature dropping as it did so.
The tackle of the monster carried so much momentum, it caused Applejack to fall. She slid down the stairs, each step digging into her as she slid, with the monster latched onto her the whole time.
What a way to die. Rolling and sliding down a staircase with a white pony-esque monster latched onto you, being bruised at the same time as having your body temperature lowered. Oh, and also with many more of the same monsters chasing after her.
Applejack refused to let herself end like this. Somehow in the middle of rolling down the staircase, she managed to catch her balance. She rocked herself hard, causing the monster latched onto her to come off. It floated cartoonishly in the air for a second, giving Applejack enough time to buck it, causing it to fly into the crowd of the monsters behind it, sending them sprawling, and even causing many of them to fall off the staircase.
"Ha!" cried Applejack in triumph. She allowed herself a split second, just a split second of glorious, glorioustriumph, before she continued running back down the staircase.
The staircase finally ended, leading to a small hallway with a door at the end of it. She ran across the hall and burst through to the other side of the door.
On the other side was another hallway, the middle of it connected to another hallway, making a four-way intersection.
'Where to go?' Applejack thought frantically as she sped towards the center of the intersection. 'Where to go?!' Her thoughts were interrupted by a bang from behind her. The monsters had just burst through the door, and who knows how close they were to her?
Applejack made a break for it and darted to the left, burst through another door, only to end up in another four-way insected hallway.
She ran down and turned a right and burst through another door. Yet another four-way hallway. She ran straight down the hall and burst through yet another door. And yet, ANOTHER four-way hall.
'Ok, I'm getting sick of this.' Applejack thought to herself as she continued bursting through more doors and ending up in more four-way hallways. 'There's gotta be a clue somewhere.'
Right before she burst through each door, she examined them carefully. Well, as carefully as she could before bursting through it, but she examined them to the best of her ability, looking for clues. And she did noticed something.
'There's ice on the top of some doors, and nothing on the top of others.' She noticed. She burst through into another hallway, and then ran to the center. She stopped in the center, and used what precious moments she had to see which door had ice on top of it. 'That one!' She ran to the door and burst through.
She did the same thing for several more hallways, each time, using precious moments to find the door with ice on it.
She burst through one final door, expecting another hallway, and she got one. Only this time, it was completely dark, save for a door on the other side that glowed blue.
She burst through this door into a small room, and immediately slammed the door behind her closed. There was a bookcase nearby. She quickly pushed it in front of the door.
She turned to examine the room she was in. It was small, cozy, and quaint. Or at least it would be cozy and quaint, if it wasn't frozen. There was a door on the other side that was frozen, as well.
In the center of the room was a small radio, soft static coming out of it, mingling with the static of Applejack's camera.
On a wall was a picture of some mysterious Dj Pony. It reminded Applejack of Vinyl Scratch, but it wasn't her. Beneath the picture was a channel to a radio station. Applejack assumed that she needed to tune the radio to the station in order to unlock her path.
Already, Applejack could hear the sizzling of the flare dying out. She hurried to the radio and changed stations as quickly as she could. One station. This wasn't it. The next. Not it either.
There was banging on the door. The bookcase barely budged, though. It was heavier than it seemed.
Applejack continued flipping through stations. She was getting frantic. Station after station after station, and yet it wasn't the right one. One more turn, and finally, she got the right radio station. It played a song. A song that Applejack didn't recognize. She didn't care, though. She solved the puzzle.
The ice on the door melted and evaporated away. The door glowed blue afterwards. Applejack burst through this door and emerged on the other side.
It was waiting for her. The masked white pony. It stood in the middle of a blank, featureless room. There was nothing. literally nothing in this room, except the white pony in the middle, waiting, waiting for her. And now it's wait was over.
"There you are, you little scoundrel." Applejack said. She took a step towards the masked white pony.
"You ran away after I found out who you were." She tooked another step towards it. It took a step back.
The white pony stepped back all the way until it's rear end touched the wall. Applejack walked closer still.
Applejack looked up at the white pony, smiling. "But now." She began.
"It ends here."
The door behind her banged open, with the monsters pouring in. One of them latched onto Applejack.
"No." Applejack said, and then the monster disintegrated. Every monster that dared to take a step in the room disintegrated into dust. It wasn't until there was only one monster left until finally it took the hint, and stayed behind in the room, not even thinking about taking another step.
"As I said." Applejack said calmed. "It ends here."
The white pony stiffened. It suddenly stood erect, straight as a statue. Ice formed slowly around it's hind hooves. The ice spread slowly up it's hind legs, then across it's body. It spread down it's frontlegs, and at the same time, around it's head. The pulsations of it's mask of darkness slowed down at first, then eventually stopped. The ice then spread over it's head.
The white pony shattered, the many pieces clinking on the floor. It was over. Applejack won.
A pillar of light formed where the white pony stood just seconds ago. The light was soft, warm, and inviting.
Applejack stepped slowly towards the light, then stopped. She turned back and looked at the last monster that stood.
"See ya." she said plainly, and then turned back to face the pillar of light.
"See ya never, that is." She stepped into the pillar of light, leaving behind Silent Ponyville for good.
Author's Note
I can safely say that I put more care and love into this recursive fanfic than any other piece of writing I have ever written. This story was heavily inspired by JakeHeritagu's Silent Ponyville series. I have him to thank for the inspiration for Iced Over. Thanks, JakeHeritagu. I look forward to your future stories, and I hope you enjoyed my recursive fanfic.
Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
Ending A: God Dammit, Nappa
Everything went black. Applejack waited. And waited. And waited. Her vision abruptly returned, and she opened her eyes, expecting to see the smiling faces of her loving friends.
Instead, she found herself tied up in a bunch of ropes, and she could see that her friend Rarity had also just opened her eyes, and she was also bound tightly.
"What the hay?!" exclaimed Applejack.
"Not going to lie, darling." said Rarity plainly. "I don't know what's going on either. One second, I'm in the middle of holding the spell for you, then next, I wake up in a bunch of ropes."
"Uh....girls?" Applejack and Rarity turned to see that Twilight was also bound in ropes. And next to her was Fluttershy, also bound. And next to Fluttershy was-
"VEGETA! LOOK! THE ORANGE AND WHITE ONES WOKE UP!" It was a strange looking creature with a bald head and a large, childish grin on it's face. It was a very peculiar looking creature, one that was bi-pedal. Applejack could have sworn she knew what it was. And then, it hit her.
"Humans?!" she asked out loud without meaning too.
"Uh, no. We're nothing like those weakling creatures." said another one of those creatures. This one had weird, spiky hair. "We're saiyans. And we're going to kill you, because you are all cute and cuddly, and I hate cuddly things."
"But, Vegeta, I want to keep 'em! They're such cute ponies!" said the bald one.
"Oh, god dammit, Nappa, there's no arguing with you! Fine. Keep the toughest-seeming one." the spiky haired saiyan said as he facepalmed himself.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!" Nappa grinned. "Eeny" Nappa pointed to Fluttershy. "Meeny." then to Twilight. "Miny." to Rarity. "You."
"Wait, what the ha-" Applejack's words were cut short as Nappa sat on her. "Pretty pony! Let's ride! Giddy-up!"
"Nappa, they're tied up." Vegeta said, frustrated at his partner's stupidity.
"Oh. Right. Well, we can always ride them once we reach Earth." Nappa giggled happily.
"What do you mean we?" asked Vegeta. "What do you mean them? I'm only letting you keep one."
"But, Vegetaaaa!!!!" Nappa pouted.
"Nappa, you already dragged me to this planet full of stupid technicolor ponies, what more could you possibly want?!"
"But! But!"
"SHUT UP, NAPPA! ONLY ONE, AND THAT'S FINAL!"
"VEGETA! COME ON, VEGETA!" Nappa started crying.
"You know what Nappa? Fine. You get ONE more pony. But only if you promise to shut up and not say anything as we fly to Earth."
"YAAAAYYY!!!"
Applejack and Fluttershy were foricbly dragged into the saiyan pods, and then they blasted off.
5 hours later....
"Are we there yet?" Nappa asked for the millionth time.
"No." said Vegeta, angry at Nappa for his nonstop asking.
"Are we there yet?"
"No!"
"Are we there yet?!"
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
As they continued their journey into deep space and towards the planet known as 'Earth', Applejack could clearly see.....
She was screwed.
END
Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
Ending C: Death of Honesty and Kindness
How to obtain: Get killed by the pony-esque monsters along with Fluttershy.
Fluttershy screamed as the monster grabbed her by the tail, allowing another monster to tackle her to the ground. Soon, she was dogpiled by many of them, with no hope of escape.
"Fluttershy!" Applejack cried out frantically, stopping in her tracks. She looked helplessly at her fallen friend, wanting to help her, yet she knew that nothing could save her now.
In the middle of this distraction, Applejack herself was tackled to the ground by a monster, and then she herself was dogpiled in a near mirror image of Fluttershy.
Fluttershy went out first, her blood frozen solid, her body still as stone.
As Applejack felt her consciousness leaving her body, she reached out a hoof towards her fallen friend.....and then let it drop. Her eyelids flittered between open and closed, before they snapped shut.
The monsters shrieked in delight.
"F-fluttershy?!" Twilight gasped as she felt Fluttershy's mind disconnect from Applejack's. Twilight opened her eyes to see her yellow pegasus friend had frost formed all over her body.
"Applejack, darling, I do think the spell is done." Twilight heard Rarity say happily. "What the hay?!" Rarity cried out in fear when she saw Applejack for the first time since she cast the spell.
Applejack was also covered in the coat of frost, just like Fluttershy.
Twilight hesitantly reached out a hoof to touch Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus crumbled into a pile of frost, the same frost that covered her once whole body.
Twilight choked back tears and looked at Applejack. She had crumbled as well, at Rarity's touch.
"Oh, no, no, no!" Rarity cried as she broke down in tears. "What have I done?! I never should have done that mind delve spell!"
Rarity broke down in tears, joined by Twilight. They embraced each other tightly and sobbed into each other's shoulders.
END
Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
How to obtain: Applejack and Fluttershy get drowned to death by the masked white pony.
Applejack fought against the masked white pony, as did Fluttershy. They fought as best they could, but the grip of the masked white pony was too strong.
They could feel their consciousness slipping away. Their lungs screamed for air, but alas, the last breath they took before they being drowned was the last breath they were ever going to take. Ever.
Applejack felt Death's embrace, and it was very cold. Colder than the water she was being drowned in.
"Applejack?!" Rarity cried out in fear when she felt the spell cancel out.
"Fluttershy?!" Twilight cried out in an equal amount of fear and surprise.
The two unicorns looked at their respective friends. Both Applejack and Fluttershy had collapsed onto the floor, and they both, strangely enough, looked to be soaked through. They were both dripping wet and shivering.
Soon enough, the shivering stopped, and then they were completely still. Not even breathing.
The unicorns stared in disbelief at their friends, at how swiftly they had died. And then they mourned.
END
Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
Applejack felt the world go dark. No feeling. No light. Just dark.
And then the dark subsided, everything went back to the way it was. Applejack opened her eyes to see the smiling face of her dear friend Rarity.
"Well, darling." began Rarity. "How did I do?"
Applejack smiled at her. "You did great, sugarcube. Thanks. Really." She turned to look at Fluttershy and Twilight. "You, too, girls. Thanks a lot for what you did."
"Wait, wha-" Rarity also turned to look at them. "When did you two get here?" Rarity asked in honest surprise.
They giggled. "We'll explain that later." said Fluttershy mid-giggled. "But first...." She went over to the open spell book and then took it and walked over back to Twilight, giving it to her. "We're going to lock up this book where nobody can find it."
"Wait." said Twilight. "We are?"
And then Fluttershy gave her The Stare, but playfully, not seriously like she would with her animals. "Yes. We are. And I'm going to help you find a better hiding spot, and that's final."
"Uh..." stammed Twilight awkwardly. "Ok."
"And in the meantime." Fluttershy turned to Applejack. "I believe you've got some unfinished business you need to take care of."
"You really do know a lot about that spell, don'tcha, sugarcube?" Applejack chuckled softly. "In fact, I do got unfinished business to take care of. And no, none of you can come. It's personal."
"Understandable." concluded Fluttershy. "Well, we won't be keeping you any longer. Go on." Fluttershy stepped out of the way and allowed a passage for Applejack.
"Thanks, sugarcube." And then Applejack went on her way.
"Mama?" Applejack said softly as she stepped through the forest, in the search of her frozen mother. "Mama?"
And then she found her. Just like the day she sacrificed herself to save Applejack, she was still frozen solid in the eternal ice.
The ice seemed to give off a faint blue hue in the shading of the forest. Inside the ice, Applejack's mother looked the same as she did when she first cast the spell.
Her mother and the business-suited pony were locked, arm in arm, hoof and hoof, wrestling each other. A face of intense fury of the business-suited pony's face, and a look of sadness in her mother's.
Applejack leaned her forehead against the ice, feeling the freezing coldness of it. She wept softly, tears rolling down her cheeks and softly impacting the soil.
"Mother." she said softly. "Thank you for saving me."
Applejack sniffled and went to the spot where she knew her father had died. On the day that her parents died, she had run home to her brother Big Mac where they mourned together, and yet, they never called the police. There was no need to. The killer was trapped forever.
They had cried in each other's shoulders and comforted each other for a long time before they had decided that to move in with their Granny Smith.
Applejack looked at the skeleton that used to be her father. She wept harder now, her tears staining the old bones.
And then her tears abruptly stopped. "No." She said firmly. "This is no time for tears."
She sucked in a deep breath of air, and then exhaled. "Thank you, mama. Thank you, papa."
She turned to face the business suited pony. "I might even have to thank you, for making me a stronger mare in the end."
And then she turned around and walked away, on her way back to Ponyville. She never looked back.
END
View Online
Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
Ending F: THIS ISN'T EVEN MY FINAL ENDING! Oh wait, it is.
How to obtain: Be so god awful at this game (if this even was a game in the first place), you fuck up everything you do and thus earn the strangest, and yet most enticing ending.
Applejack ran from the creatures. Why? I don't have a fucking clue.
She ran and ran and ran and....agh, whatever.
She suddenly ran into the author!
"Gasp! Who are you supposed to beh?!" Applejack pointed a hoof at Quadraginta, and then her hoof rose into the sky and evaporated into the frozen sun.
"I am Quadraginta!" I said, pointing a crooked thumb at my puffed-up chest.
"I AM REAL WRITING GENIUS!"
"Gasp!" said Applejack. "Your writing style sucks! Out of all the characters you could have chosen to butcher into a story, why meh?!"
"Yeah, Quad." said my annoying friend Zeph as he randomly came out of fuck-knows-where and suddenly started doing Garry's Mod arms. "y u do dis?!"
"Dammit, Zeph!" I say as I facepalm myself. "Speak with correct grammar spelling!"
"U MEEN LYK DIS?!" Zeph said as his entire body succumbed to Garry's Mod physics.
"Oh, come on, guys!" I said. "Er. Guy and a mare." I quickly corrected myself.
"I AM TRUE SUPER PONE!" Applejack suddenly yelled as she tackled me and began playfully wrestling with me.
I gasped and fought against her. But alas, a writer like me with complete control and power over the characters he uses for his fanfictions is completely powerless against Applejack, for who knows why.
Applejack then suddenly stopped wrestling me and looks me dead in the eye.
"You're cute." she says as she tries to kiss me.
"NO!" I scream as I kick her off me. "I WILL NOT ALLOW ICED OVER TO TURN INTO A CLOPFIC." And then I go Super Saiyan and fly off into outer space and use one ki blast to blow up Equestria.
"Uh.....whoops." I stammer quietly.
......Well, then, Quadraginta, you just fucked up your own story. What do you have to say for yourself?
"Can we do it again?" I grin.
"Dammit, Quad."
END (?)
Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
Chapter 2
Applejack could hear the shrieks of the monsters. They sounded close. She had to act fast.
She noticed a red cylinder on the floor. Upon picking it up, she noticed that it was an emergency flare. 'Maybe I can use this to signal for help later on.' she thought to herself as she placed it in her bag '....if help even exists here....' she concluded glumly. Somewhere in her gut, she knew that Silent Ponyville would probably not be kind enough to offer much help.
She checked her map to see if anything had changed, and something had. The X that was over the library had somehow shifted to Town Hall. "Town Hall?" Applejack wondered out loud. "That's a bit of a walk away....and with those things roaming around Ponyville..." Applejack shuddered. She prayed to Celestia that she wouldn't run into those things as she stepped out of the library.
Just as Applejack had suspected, all of Ponyville was frozen. The floor was covered in a sheet of ice, and all of the buildings were frozen. Applejack steeled her nerves and began her trek to Town Hall.
At first, the walk seemed as if it would go by in peace, but then, Applejack's camera started emitting static, and her flashlight started flickering. 'Static?' thought Applejack. 'At first, it was a whining noise, and now static? The flashlight's flickering again too, now.'
Applejack took several steps forward and turned a corner, and then she saw them. The monsters. There were three of the pony-esque monsters, walking as if in a drunken stupor. As soon as Applejack shined the flashlight in their general direction, they all turned around, let out high pitched shrieks and began converging on Applejack.
Applejack immediately turned around and galloped away as fast as she could. She turned a corner and ran as fast as she could, not even thinking to look back. The shrieking sounds of the monsters and the sound of their galloping hooves could be heard as they relentlessly pursued Applejack.
'Get away from me!' She thought as she turned and ran down a dark alleyway and knocked over a garbage pail in vain hopes that it would slow them down. She didn't dare risking a look back at the monsters, though.
She ran and ran, pushing herself to her very limits, her leg muscles screaming, her mind telling her to go faster. She wanted nothing more but to get away from them.
And then she saw it. Town Hall. Out of all the buildings in Ponyville, this was the only building that wasn't covered in ice. In fact, the doors gave off an inviting blue glow. Applejack just assumed at that point that a soft, blue glow meant that it was accessible.
'Yes!' she thought in triumph. She would go in as fast as she could, and then close the doors on the monsters, so that they wouldn't be able to get in. And knowing this frozen version of Ponyville, Applejack knew that there was something important inside that she had to do. She just hoped it wasn't another stupid, childish puzzle.
Just as she was about to reach Town Hall, one of the monsters managed to grab her. "No!" Applejack screamed out loud, bucking off the monster. It flew off of her in a somewhat comical fashion, however, where Applejack managed to buck one off, several more leaped on top of her in a doggy pile. "NO!!!!" Applejack screamed again, louder this time.
'So close!' She thought desperately as her body temperature dropped. 'So....close...' Applejack could feel her very blood freezing. She was going to die from hypothermia. Just as her consciousness started slipping away, an old memory popped into her mind. A memory of when she was just a filly.......
"Put this on. It'll keep you warm." Big Mac said as he knelt down and wrapped a large, warm blanket over Applejack's freezing, dripping wet body. "Warm enough, yet?"
"N-n-no...." Applejack muttered tearfully.
"Maybe this will help." Big Mac said as he reached into a small bag. "Out of matches?" he mumbled as he dug through the bag. "I'll just have to use this, then." He pulled out a small red cylinder. It was a flare. He lit it and threw it in the fire pit, which burst into flames, smoke curling up into the sky as if it were a coiled, black snake.
"Better now?" asked Big Mac. Applejack sniffled. "Yes." She replied as she nuzzled closer to her older brother and cried softly....
Applejack was glad to be nuzzling next to Big Mac's warm body, because that night, she had come very close to feeling Death's Embrace. And Death's Embrace was very, very cold....
'The flare!' thought Applejack as her will to live sparked anew. She wrestled one of her arms away from the monsters and reached desperately into her bag. 'Gotta...reach...the flare...!' Her hoof grabbed the flare. 'Yes!' She thought triumphantly.
She smacked the flare against the floor, lighting it. The monsters all jumped off of Applejack as soon as it lit, crawling away and cowering in fear at the heat of the flare.
Applejack tried to get up, however, the monsters lowered her body temperature to a point where she could barely feel her limbs, and she limped heavily because of it. She limped as quickly as she could to the Town Hall and dropped her flare just as she reached the inside.
As soon as Applejack stepped in Town Hall, the ice that was inside immediately started to receded away. It didn't melt. It didn't shattered. It simply receded away into a corner of Town Hall, where it vanished from sight. The sound of the monsters shrieking disappeared as well, along with the sparkling, hissing sound of the flare. The freezing cold that permeated throughout her body also disappeared, leaving her refreshed and warm.
Applejack stood there for a moment, allowing everything to sink in all at once. She had let Rarity try to help her, and then she seemingly blacked out, and when she returned, all of Ponyville seemingly got deserted and was now in a purgatory-like state. If purgatory was covered in an endless blizzard, and occasionally got invaded by an icy world of creatures that previously only existed in Applejack's nightmares, that is.
Thinking about Rarity made Applejack upset. She missed her. She missed all of her dear friends. Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle.
'Twilight!' Applejack thought in frustration. 'Oh, if only I had waited for her to help me instead of letting Rarity!' Twilight would surely know what to do at a time like this. Wouldn't she?
None of that mattered right now, though. Applejack wanted answers. No. NEEDED answers. And if she was ever going to get them, she would just have to play along with this...this.....Silent Ponyville.
"Applejack wanted to see me?" Twilight asked Spike as soon as she had returned home from her trip. She was followed by Fluttershy.
"Yeah." replied Spike. "Something about nightmares. Applejack looked really exhausted from it. Rarity stopped by, too, and I told them both about the spell you used to cure them. I also gave them the book that had the spell."
"You did what?!" asked Fluttershy in a loud voice, which surprised both Spike and Twilight, as she was not known for raising her voice.
"I-I-I only did what Rarity asked me to!" Spike said.
"Calm down, Fluttershy" Twilight said, trying to defend Spike.
Fluttershy took Twilight by the hooves and pulled her out of the library and to Carousel Boutique as quickly as she could.
"Wait, what's so bad anout Rarity having the spell?" Twilight asked the yellow pegasus as she frantically pulled her along.
"You don't understand!" Fluttershy replied. "Remember when we told you not to use that spell ever again?!"
"Uh, yeah, but you never told me why!" Twilight replied as Fluttershy rounded a corner. "But Rarity can only use her magic for sewing and making dresses. Why would she want to borrow the spell book itself? She'd never be able to do the spell."
"Well" said Fluttershy as they quickly approached Carousel Boutique. "There's only one way to find out. She pushed open the door to the Boutique and went in.
"Oh no." Fluttershy said, barely above a whisper. In front of her was Applejack, her eyes and face were completely devoid of any expression or emotion, and Rarity's horn was glowing and it was gently placed upon Applejack's forehead. Which could only mean one thing.
"The spell. She's using the spell." said Fluttershy. Fluttershy stepped closer to Rarity and saw that she had her eyes closed. Rarity was either ignoring them completely, or didn't, or couldn't notice them.
"....connect our minds." spoke Fluttershy after several moments of thought.
"Can you at least explain to me first how-" began Twilight, before she was interrupted by Fluttershy.
"Just do it. Please." Fluttershy looked at Twilight, eyes pleading.
".....Alright" Twilight said. "But since the spell has already been cast, I might have a bit of trouble trying to connect you. But I'll figure something out."
Fluttershy nodded and turned her gaze back to Applejack.
Applejack looked around the inside of Town Hall, and surprise surprise, it was almost completely empty, save for another cellar door that looked almost exactly the same as the one in the library.
"This town and it's cellar doors..." commented Applejack as she studied the door. Embedded into the floor next to it was a numpad. Next to it was a note with the word "Hello" written on it.
"Must be a clue to the code." Applejack concluded. "But what kind of a clue is Hello?" She wondered. And then it came to her. "01134" she said as she inputted the code. The numpad beeped three times, and then the ice melted off of the cellar door and evaporated.
"This town and it's games." grunted Applejack irritably as she stepped down the cellar. The cellar was pretty much an exact carbon copy of the one in the library. Same texture, same coloured walls, same lamp, everything was the same. Except this time, there wasn't a note in the center of the floor. There was a door on the other side of the cellar. When Applejack had taken several steps towards the door, the camera started emitting a high-pitched whining sound, and her flashlight started flickering. 'So, a whining noise means a picture, and static means monsters.' she concluded.
Applejack took several more steps forward before a blinding flash of light filled her vision. 'And no matter what, my flashlight will always flicker.' She waited for the flash to dim and fade away, before she checked her camera, right as it made the quick buzzing sound effect. She took out the camera and looked at it. On the small screen was a picture of-
Applejack gasped. She recognized the pony in the picture, she recognized him, his big physical build, his green mane, his bright orange fur. It was her father. Her father, whom nopony knew about, except Applejack. At least, she THOUGHT she knew about him. Didn't she?
She racked her mind to remember memories of herself and her father, but nothing. She couldn't remember anything about her father. Or her mother, for that matter. Just what fate befell Applejack's parents? And why couldn't Applejack remember anything about them? She would just have to figure it out herself, and the only way to do so was to keep playing this town's sick games.
She placed the camera back into her bag and withdrew her map. The X was still pointed above Town Hall. 'Well, I guess I should go through that door.' She thought to herself as she opened the door and stepped through. Extending through the doorway was a very long tunnel, with a dim light glowing faintly on the other end.
"Go towards the light." Applejack chuckled to herself as she began traveling down the tunnel. The sound of her hoofsteps could be heard echoing throughout the tunnel.
When Applejack reached the end of the tunnel, she saw that the light did not seem to be coming from any light source. The light itself seemed to be solid. Applejack raised one hoof and reached over to touch the light. The light seemed to ripple as her hoof sunk into it. She allowed the rest of her body to go into the light. Applejack emerged on the other side of the light, and she ended up in-
Applejack let out a small gasp. It had stopped snowing, and in front of her was a farm, full of life, full of trees, with animals frolicing around everywhere. There was a large house built in the center of the farm, and she could saw...herself. Her younger self, running around happily with her older brother Bic Mac, She saw her parents, too, her earth pony father, and her unicorn mother, and her parents were talking to-
Applejack let out another small gasp. Her parents were talking to the pony in the business suit. The same exact pony that was in the picture in her camera, except here, his face was friendly. He smiled, although it didn't look natural. It seemed forced. As if he was planning to do something else, and he just wanted to get it over with, but had to force himself to be patient and go along with the plans.
Applejack blinked, and everything she saw instantly vanished. Her parents, the pony in the business suit, herself and Big Mac, and all the frolicing animals were gone. Even the farm itself was gone. Disappeared without a trace.
Applejack had somehow transfered to the front door of Town Hall, without any previous knowledge of walking back there. She was dumbstruck at everything that had just happened.
'...A vision.' She concluded. 'This town led me here to show me a vision of when I still lived with my parents on their farm. But why?' No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with any solid answers.
She took the map out of her bag and saw that the X had moved again. This time, to a river by the Everfree Forest. 'The Everfree Forest?' She thought to herself. This would be the most dangerous place she would have to travel through by far, however, if the Everfree Forest was anything like the rest of Ponyville, than it would most likely be barren. She would just have to go and find out.
She put her map away and began walking towards the Everfree Forest.
"Applejack." came a voice from behind Applejack, effectively startling her. She turned around to see who called her name. It was Fluttershy.
Silent Ponyville: Iced Over
Ending B: Death of Honesty
Ending B: Death of Honesty
How to obtain: Die before Twilight connects Fluttershy to Applejack's mind.
"No!" Applejack thought as the white pony-esque monster tackled her to the ground. It wrapped it's forelegs around Applejack as tightly as it could, with no hope of it ever letting go.
"No!" Applejack thought again, more desperately this time. She whipped her body around, and tried as hard as she could to buck the monster off, but it was no use.
So cold. So unbearably cold. So dark. Everything is getting so dark. Nothing but darkness, the cold, and the shrieks of the white pony-esque monsters.
Applejack abruptly quit fighting. She fell to the floor, her blood beginning to freeze. Slipped from the embrace of the monsters, and now the embrace of death itself....
"Ah!" Rarity cried happily, as she felt the spell ending. "Applejack, darling. I do believe the spell is over now." Rarity opened her eyes to look at Applejack....only to discover that frost had formed and now covered every part of her orange friend's body.
"Applejack!" Rarity cried in surprise more than fear. "Applejack?" Rarity cried again, this time with fear. "Applejack! Applejack! APPLEJACK!!!!"
Rarity reached one hoof out in an attempt to brush the frost off....only for Applejack's entire body to crumbled into a pile of frost; the same frost that covered her once-complete body.
"What in Celestia's name have I done?!" Rarity yelled as she broke down in tears.
END