//------------------------------//
// Meanwhile... 
// Story: The War on Sombra 
// by MaskedFlame073 
//------------------------------//

	Meanwhile, miles away from the front lines, but still feeling its effects, an overworked farm-pony turned factory worker takes a well-earned break from her duties. As she wanders the nearly deserted streets, something just behind a bush catches her eye.

"What in tarnation...?" Applejack muttered to herself as she walked toward the bush. Pushing it aside, she saw a table made from pure crystal, with an equally crystalline model of Equestria on top of it. She slowly walked toward it, then walked around it, then looked below the table, carefully examining every inch. "How in the hay did this get here?" She questioned herself. She slowly reached out to touch it. As her hoof made contact with the crystal, a sudden kaleidoscope of images flashed in her mind. Some things she recognized, like herself, her family, her old farm. But much of it was unfamiliar. Who was that pink pony? The rainbow-maned one? What was that giant crystal castle? The hallucination ended as suddenly as it started, and she reeled back from the table. Applejack shuddered, and quickly backed out of the bushes. "Ah 'aint never touching that thing again!"

Yet the temptation, the curiosity, the questions never stopped. Eventually, it all proved too much, and she returned to the strange clearing behind the bushes. She very slowly reached out to touch the table again, and this time the images came slower.  Scenes began to form instead of flashes, and Applejack could nearly make out some words. Yet looking at the scenes around her, she noticed the words didn't line up with the movements of these strange ponies' mouths. "Pink...pie?" She muttered. "The hay is that?" The images slowly faded and the real world came back into focus. Applejack looked up at the sky and realized many hours had passed, and she would be expected back at the factory soon. She quickly left the mysterious crystal table, and returned to the factory.

Two days later, she returned for the third time. The table glowed slightly at her presence, and Applejack recoiled slightly. "What the hay...?" The table hummed slightly, then a blinding flash of light knocked Applejack to the edge of the clearing, against the bushes. She got up and looked around to see a completely unfamiliar scene. "Where am I?" She whispered. And she suddenly remembered, In Twilight's castle. Wait, who's Twilight? Mah friend, duh! Unfamiliar memories raged through her head, and she soon passed out. She woke up, back in the bleak yet familiar Ponyville. "That thing is weird..." She said as she headed back to the factory.