//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Apple In The Sky // by XionFate //------------------------------// Apple in the Sky By: Nathan Charles Cornett Chapter 1 It was a peaceful day in Equestria and everypony was attending to their chores diligently. Rainbow Dash was clearing the clouds for some much needed sun, Pinkie Pie was baking cupcakes for her next big party, and Rarity was frantically stressing to finish her new line of dresses by the deadline. Why, looking at Ponyville right then and there you would have seen the regular goings on of a bright spring day. On this day however, an event would set in motion the destiny of two very close friends. “Big Macintosh! I need ta know what our next order is if ya want me ta get the apples in time!” Applejack exclaimed from deep within the apple orchard. “Sis, I thought I done gone and told ya we ain’t got any orders today!” Big Macintosh bellowed through the trees. “Well don’t that just beat all.” Applejack said bucking the nearest apple tree she could find. Applejack was a bit off that day, and for good reason. She had no work, and way too much free time on her hands. To most other ponies that wouldn’t have been a problem, but to Applejack it was like her world was coming to an end. She believed that hard work and diligence kept a mare strong and healthy. In her eyes not working was on equal grounds as lies and sin. Applejack, knowing she had nothing else to do that day, begrudgingly lay down on the soft, cool grass and began to watch the sky. As she watched the sun beam proudly down upon her, she could make out a figure kicking away the remaining clouds in the sky. It was Rainbow Dash as always, doing her job on her own time and not caring who had a complaint with it. “Why gosh darn it Rainbow, why did you have ta choose today ta be on time with your work?” Applejack said as she kicked at the ground with her hoof, “I was hopin’ ta catch a nap in the shade.” Applejack muttered a few other complaints to herself then realized it was a wasted effort and gave up. After a few minutes of sky watching Applejack lay her head down on the grass and drifted off into a peaceful nap. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the other end of the spectrum however, Rainbow Dash was not so keen to napping. She flew through the sky at blazing speeds, performing various spins and flips as she went. She flew into the blades of the windmill at the center of town, circled once or twice, then burst out of the windmill like a rocket straight up into the sky. Her speeds were reaching highs that they never had before and she felt that today was the day. Today she would perform a sonic rainboom for only the third time in her life. “Oh yeah, this is gonna be so awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed as she reached the peak of her climb and began to plummet towards the town below her. Ever since Rainbow Dash could fly she had been the fastest and most daring in her class. She lived off of speed; the thrill, the adrenaline, the pure enjoyment of being in the air. The feeling came natural to her, and she made it her goal to be the greatest she could be. She practiced long hours each day, working to make herself faster and more agile in the air than she ever could imagine. She was by far the greatest flyer in Ponyville, and possibly in all of Equestria. Not to mention one of the two best athletes in all of Equestria, tied only with Applejack. Her thoughts drifted to Applejack for a moment, not sure where her thoughts were taking her. Applejack was by far the strongest earth pony there was. Her years of apple bucking had made her hind legs more powerful than anything natural in Equestria, and in turn made her faster than the locomotive that ran through Ponyville everyday. She was smart, honest, and kind-hearted, and she always put her friends above herself. She was the prized pony of Ponyville, and Rainbow Dash secretly envied her for it. Rainbow Dash forced herself back into reality, focusing more importantly on the goal at hand. Rainbow Dash snapped back into reality too late however, and in turn caused the sound barrier to snap back against her violently. She lost control of her wings and body and was sent spiraling into the distance. She fought to regain control but it was no use, her body refused to function properly and she was left screaming for help as she flew into whatever unknown situation was coming next. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back at Sweet Apple Acres Applejack was just waking up from her nap. She stretched out her legs as she stood up and shook her head to bring the world around her back into focus. After a few quick seconds of stretching Applejack was wide awake and ready to do something. “Ah, now that’s what ah call a nice nap.” Applejack said as she threw her hooves against the nearest tree. The apples fell quickly around the base and she smiled at them. In the distance Applejack could make out screaming, not the playful, fun type but the fearful, hopeless type. “Somepony, anypony, help me!” The voice screamed as it grew closer to Applejack. “Now what in tarnation is...” Applejack didn’t even get to finish her sentence as a blue Pegasus pony tore through the leaves of the apple tree in front of her and slammed into her. The two ponies collided with a powerful shock and were sent tumbling through the large expanse of the apple orchard. End over end the ponies rolled, each kicking in every direction in an attempt to stop the frantic rotation. Their efforts were in vain however, as they continued to roll on and on, deeper into the orchard. Applejack was the first to stop, mostly due to the massive oak she slammed into as she separated herself from Rainbow Dash. She landed in an upright sitting position against the tree, her body snapping and popping at the sudden stop of motion. Applejack tried to make sense of her surroundings through her foggy vision, but was unable to make out exactly where in the orchard she was. As she attempted to regain her senses a large apple fell from the tree and hit Applejack right on the top of the head. The force of the Apple hitting her in the head was just enough, and Applejack’s vision faded to pure nothing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash had been more fortunate than Applejack and had come to a skidding halt in a small clearing a few hundred yards away from Applejack. “Ow, that was definitely NOT awesome. ” Rainbow Dash groaned to herself as she stood up and shook the leaves off of her coat. She made an attempt to stretch her wings out but was met only by a sharp, intense pain. Her wings were locked up and sore and there would be no way she could fly until they loosened up. “Wow, I forgot how powerful the sound barrier actually was.” Rainbow Dash said as she surveyed the damage left behind her. Apples had been knocked from tree limbs, branches were strewn all over the place, and in certain cases whole trees had been felled. She thought for a moment how much work she was going to have to do to clean the mess up, but then shifted her thoughts back to Applejack and began to walk towards the spot where Applejack had come to a stop. “Alright Applejack, now that we’re both wide awake how are you today?” Rainbow teased as she trotted up to Applejack. Applejack did not answer, nor did she move a muscle. Rainbow Dash’s patience quickly died out and she turned to speak to her friend again. “Okay Applejack, you got me. Now lets get going before the Pegasi move the clouds back in.” Rainbow chuckled nervously as she kicked at the ground. Applejack once more lay motionless and silent in front of Rainbow Dash, her hat tipped down as if greeting a close friend. Rainbow Dash was frantic now and tried once more to get Applejack to stop. “Come on Applejack, this isn’t funny anymore! You’re really starting to worry me.” Rainbow Dash said as she stomped at the ground furiously. At the sudden vibrations pulsing through the ground Applejack’s weight shifted and she fell over on the ground, her hat rolling to a stop a few feet away from her. When Rainbow Dash realized why Applejack had not moved, her nervousness changed to horror, and she was struck with a fear like nothing she had ever experienced before. Her world began to spin and she felt sick in the pit of her stomach. She acted on instinct and threw Applejack onto her back. She might not be able to fly right now, but she sure could run. Rainbow Dash tore through Sweet Apple Acres at breakneck speed, the wind violently lashing against her face as she ran. She had grown used to flying into the wind, it was natural for her. When it came to running against the wind however, that was a different story that Rainbow Dash was just now learning. She did not stop as she left Sweet Apple Acres, not even to tell the Apple family what had happened. They would find out soon enough, the only thing that mattered now was Applejack. Inside Rainbow Dash blamed herself. Had she not been trying to perform a sonic rainboom then this never would have happened in the first place. But Rainbow Dash was stubborn; she just could not stand the thought of this being all her fault, so she tried to blame it on something else. “Honestly, had Applejack not been napping in the orchard she wouldn’t have been hurt anyway.” Rainbow Dash thought to herself, “who takes a nap in the woods anyway? That’s just crazy!” As much as she tried, Rainbow Dash could not make herself believe the words she was thinking. She knew that it was her fault, there was no doubt in her mind. Of all of Rainbow Dash’s friends Applejack was her best friend, and she had just, well, she did not know what she had done to Applejack but she knew it was bad. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Huh? Where in the hay am I?” Applejack asked aloud. The world around Applejack was bright and colorful, filled with wonderful blues and dazzling greens. To her it was the same world she had always lived in. It was a colorful spring day on the farm and the flowers were in full bloom. There were apples starting to bud on the trees and the symphony of birds made the whole thing that much more surreal. “Hey Big Macintosh, where y'all at?” Applejack called out as she began to trot towards the house. There was an eerie silence and Applejack felt a shiver run down her spine. As she approached the door something inside her told her not to go in, but she ignored it and went inside anyway. Once inside Applejack was shocked at what she found. The living room looked nothing like a room, but more like a scattered mess of objects and furniture. There were broken pictures on the floor, the couch had been torn apart, and there was shattered glass everywhere. The kitchen was the second verse of an already harrowing composition, just with more glass and destroyed furniture. Applejack was starting to get worried about her family, and wondered where they were. Applejack loved her family and she hoped against hope that they had not been in the house during this rampage. Then, like a knife to the heart, she heard shuffling from Apple Blooms room above her. Applejack moved off of pure instinct and adrenaline, tearing through the house in a blind fury. She galloped up the stairs at tremendous speeds and burst through the door to Apple Blooms room. Her eyes searched rapidly for some sign of the shuffling she had heard. There in front of her was a small mouse, searching for even the tiniest crumb for its next meal. “Oh thank Celestia...” before applejack could finish her sentence a searing pain exploded across the back of her head. The last thing she saw before everything went black was the little mouse scurrying into the corner. When Applejack awoke she found herself tied to Apple Blooms bed. Her head was pounding and she wasn’t quite sure what had happened. As she looked around the room her eyes fell upon a dark figure frantically searching through chests and drawers. “Hey! That ain’t your stuff, get out of it!” Applejack yelled at the mysterious figure. The dark figure jumped and turned slowly revealing a young, dark blue colt. “Did you just say something to me?” The dark blue colt hissed towards Applejack. Applejack was stunned, unsure of what to say next. The venom and malice of the colts words showed that he was not afraid of her, but in her position very few ponies would be afraid of her. Clearly he was not to be taken lightly. Applejack started to think, stumbling through possibilities of what she could say next. “So um, what brings ya ta my quiet farm sir?” Applejack asked nervously. “Well I was looking for something I could make a few bits off of, but nothing here seems useful.” He spat out in frustration “Well, ah won’t report ya if ya just let me go and leave. It’ll be like nothin’ ever happened here.” Applejack said as a sheepish smile crept onto her face. “Hmmmm.... is that so?” The dark blue colt said devilishly, “You know, you are an awfully cute mare. You seem young too, probably about 16 or 17.” Applejack was starting to grow fearful, and with good reason. This dark blue colt, this masked robber, was deranged, and he had his eyes set on her. She was starting to run out of options, and she knew it wouldn’t be long before he grew tired of toying with her. “Why thank ya kindly sir, that's awfully nice of ya ta say.” Applejack said, trying to force a smile to her face. Suddenly the dark blue colt jumped on top of Applejack and placed his hoof against her throat. “Look, I don’t want to kill you, you’re too pretty for that.” He said as he pushed against her throat, “but if you don’t shut up I won’t be afraid to kill you.” His eyes were filled with mania, and Applejack knew her luck was about to run out.