//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Chaotic Courtship 
// by TheOldPonyFromScene24 
//------------------------------//

	Applejack clapped her hooves together, knocking the dust off of them. Only a few steps inside and they'd been accosted by what appeared to be a rock face, around the size of their heads, with four legs and a desire to bite. It was now only a small mound of dust and rubble.

The ponies took a moment to take in their surroundings, the building much bigger on the inside than the outside. Everything seemed to tower around them. Massive, uneven pillars rose to the ceiling all down the wide corridor. The constant deep red hue of the stone making it seem as if the entire temple had been carved out from a single rock. Torches lined the walls, offering them visibility almost as an afterthought, with no windows in the entire structure.

With determination overcoming trepidation, they both moved forward, the door sliding shut behind them. Fluttershy shook with fear and turned around to begin pushing against the door, shoving at it with everything her dainty muscles had. “Oh no! Oh no, oh no!” Her voice seemed to be soaked into the door, but echoing off of everything else.

Applejack grabbed her by the tail and tugged her away from the wall. “Come on, Fluttershy...Ah think Ah know how we're gonna get outta here, and it ain't by goin' back the way we came...” Away from the door, the echo was far more powerful, causing them both to flinch a little.

Fluttershy slowly stopped her attempts to open the door, then shakily turned toward the earth pony, nodding weakly. “L-let's go...” Despite the strength she'd tried to put into her words, she didn't move until she was sure Applejack was moving first.

Every hoof-fall echoed loudly, sounds flying off of the cavernous red rock, bounding outward from the impact, thundering off the walls, the ceiling, growing ever louder and throwing themselves back at the ponies who made them. In this constant, rhythmic din, neither of them heard the sound of rocks scraping together, until the source came into view.

Fluttershy saw the creature first, finding herself between it and Applejack. It was another rock, like the one they'd encountered when they first entered. Angry, almost certainly blind eyes were carved into it, and the only part of its face that seemed functional was its thrashing jaw. Four legs of stone quickly moved as she yelped. The appendages coiled then sprung, managing to effortlessly launch the rock face into the air.

Something warm and soft wrapped around Fluttershy's front hoof, yanking it out from under her. She fell under the arc of the stone's attack as Applejack threw her hoof into its path, cracking it deeply and throwing it back. It fell against the wall hard enough to finish the job AJ's hoof had started, and crumbled into a pile of dust.

Fluttershy stayed down, shaking, until that soft warmth returned, that golden tail working under her and gently guiding her back to her hooves. “Y'alright, sugarcube?” The words flew through the temple and collapsed around them. Fluttershy just offered a silent nod, still shaking a little. They resumed walking, trying desperately to hear past the echoes for any sound of an attacker.

The sound waves caused loose stone to fall, small pebbles falling and dropping down from the ceiling. Each time, they'd stop and turn toward the source, silent and still for a moment. Half a dozen times, this happened, but on the sixth, just as Fluttershy began her sigh of relief, Applejack grunted in pain, sharp, stone teeth digging into her tail.

She turned hard, whipping her tail, surprised to feel it thud against the pillar beside her with no crack of stone smashing against stone. Her eyes shifted as she heard Fluttershy scream. The creature had released her tail the moment she began to move, and was now targeting the easier prey. Applejack lunged and brought both her front hooves down on top of it, filling the air with red dust and covering the ground with a small mound of rubble. The panicked pegasus took frantic, shuddering breaths, her scream still resounding loudly through the massive hall. The sound drew attention.

Applejack stared, jaw slack and eyes shrunk to fearful pinpricks, as no less than thirty of the stone heads began sliding down off walls, filling the corridor in front of them. “Stay behind me!” She shouted forcefully, panic in her voice.

Fluttershy didn't need any more urging than that. She dashed behind Applejack, trembling. She wanted to do something to help, but if she fought, she'd surely just get in Applejack's way.

Think, Applejack! Think! They ain't too sturdy an' they can't see, but they're quick, they're clever, and they're comin' this way...Alright, they know to let go when Ah'm about ta slam 'em into somethin' with my tail...Well, how about if I don't let 'em let go?  She stuck her head into her saddlebag, emerging with eyes full of confidence and mouth full of rope. She pulled her neck back, then jerked it forward, building up momentum and throwing forth the lasso, catching one of the stone faces. She jerked back, then down, lifting it and slamming it into the ground, shattering it. If this kept up, she could take out the bulk of them before they were close enough to be a threat. 

The lasso tightened around a second rock creature, but this time, when she tried to pull it into the air, only tattered rope came back. “Dagnabbit...” She said under her breath. Her mind began reeling, looking for any kind of plan. Alright, so they can cooperate. And bite through rope. And we didn't bring an awful lot of it... Ah wonder if the temple'll fall if'n Ah knock one of the pillars on them... best not to risk it... She stared at them, and lowered her head, dragging her hoof against the floor. Ah guess that just leaves one option... She charged forward, slamming her hoof into the first one to come into reach, knocking it into the one behind it, leaving the first crumbled, and the second, cracked. She turned as quickly as she could, and bucked hard, sending two of them flying back through the rows of enemies. A hoof full of them were broken, beaten, and gone.

Fluttershy hated conflict. She detested confrontation, she abhorred violence. And yet, even though she felt terrified by the violence, upset by the destruction, she couldn't help but feel entranced by Applejack's strength and skill. She started to feel safer. She started to feel confident. Until she noticed the blood.

Applejack struggled to keep fighting, coughing and squinting. Every time she smashed one of these things, more dust filled the air, choking her, obscuring her vision. She was slowing down, and they were taking advantage of her weakness. Jagged stone teeth left shallow punctures in her skin. Powerful tackles from stone beings bruised her. They battered her. But they would not beat her.

She took every hit they managed to land, every bite that met its mark, and kept swinging. Her lungs heaved with powerful coughs, her eyes watered, full of debris, and her hooves were beginning to chip and crack from the fighting. Can't give up...WON'T give up! Ah can't slow down! She fought. She fought as hard as her body would allow, and then defied her body and pushed herself even harder. Come on, AJ, get through this....Y'know what they call an Apple that gives up on a job half way through? She punched, the lashed with her tail to pull her weight back and regain balance, and she punched again. With one last kick, she stood alone, Fluttershy the only other being standing, moving, in the hallway. She felt weak, tired, and sore, but mostly, she felt triumphant. They don't call 'em nothin', cuz there ain't no such thing.

Fluttershy rushed over to her. She looked horrified at what had become of her lover. Her coat and hair were stained red from the dust matted onto her coat with sweat, and worse, with blood. She coughed hard and deep, lungs clogged, and she could barely open her eyes. “H-here! Please, drink some...just a little...they were hitting you so hard!” She offered up the bottle of healing tonic. Applejack's hoof reached out, missing the first time, but catching it the second. She took a swig, grimacing at the horrible, bitter taste, gagging on it. But after a moment, there were no more wounds, no bruises would form, and she could swear that rib she didn't even know was cracked had mended.

The dust vanished from her eyes, and from her lungs. She smiled, relaxing, until she realized how little of the miraculous fluid was left. She frowned as she returned the bottle to Fluttershy, her coat still filled with damp dust and streaks of blood.

“How...How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked quietly, concern heavy on her face and in her voice.

“...Guilty that we only got enough left for one more emergency...but, Ah feel healthy. Even cleared my eyes and throat...” She replied, keeping her voice just above a whisper in an attempt to keep from waking any more of the creatures. They moved forward slowly, with a sense of caution that bordered on paranoia, but it seemed to be for naught. No more of the creatures revealed themselves. They finally reached the end of their corridor, to find two doors, one inscribed with apples, the other with butterflies. Panicked whispers flooded forth from Fluttershy.

“Oh no...Oh no! Do we have to split up!? I don't think I can make it through here without you...” Applejack didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't too sure of how well Fluttershy would do without her, either.

“Well, maybe we ain't gotta?” She put her hoof on her door, which began glowing. “Touch yours.” Fluttershy nodded, and the moment she touched it, they both opened, revealing an inky, unnatural darkness. Applejack moved toward her, and both slammed shut. “...There goes that idea...Look, we don't know that there's anything that'll hurt us past here...And we don't got food, and we don't got another way out. If you're attacked, Ah want you to run, but if it's nothin' tryin' to hurt us, Ah know you can make it through. Alright? We just...We gotta hope Discord wouldn't split us up just to give us somethin' we can't handle...”

Fluttershy swallowed audibly, her fear making her shake, but this was the only way they'd make it out of here. She put a trembling hoof to her door, and nodded at Applejack. Once they both opened, they each stepped through the threshold, trying to prepare themselves for anything. The darkness surrounded each of them, but quickly faded, yielding to light borne of an indeterminable source.

CHALLENGE: APPLEJACK----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack looked around, confused by the empty chamber. “Hello?” She called. The echo wasn't horribly beating back against her like the hallway. “Why'd he want us splittin' up, if there's nothin' here but another door?” She looked around, confused. She slowly walked forward, past the center of the room. “Ah hope Fluttershy's havin' as easy a time past her door...”

“Course she is! She's the smart one.” Applejack whipped around at the voice behind her, staring into her own face. After an instinct-fueled moment wherein her hoof passed right through the other Applejack's face, she stepped back, examining the false pony.

“What kinda game is this?” She gave the fake a skeptical eye.

“The only game is the one YOU'RE playin'. Y'still think y'can call yerself the Element of Honesty?” The doppleganger circled her, looking down on her like a predator as the true pony lowered herself in a defensive stance.

“The hay you talkin' about?”

“Ah'm TALKIN' bout you pretendin' to be what yer not.” Applejack blinked at this.

“Alright, this conversation's endin'.” She stood up straight and began toward the exit of the room, finding it locked.

“When's the last time y'said 'y'all'?” Applejack froze, about to buck the door.

“Beggin' yer pardon?”

“Y'didn't even know y'were doin' it? That's just sad...Ya hide yer accent ever since you two started datin'. Because deep down, yer scared. And why shouldn't you be? What beautiful, smart pony could ever love an ignorant, backwards farmer?” Another hoof passed right through her phony pony face. “See? Ignorant. First y'try ignorin' yer problem, like y'all can just leave 'em behind. But the door's locked, sugarcube. Now yer tryin' ta use violence t'get the problem t'go away. No wonder she's pretendin' she loves you. She's 'fraid of you turnin' yer hooves on her.”

“SHUT UP!” She tried to punch her again. And again, and again, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes.

“She don't love you. If she loves ANYTHING, it's the pony you've been pretendin' t'be.”

“I AIN'T PRETENDIN'!”

“Then yer fergettin' Granny, an' Apple Bloom, an' Big Mac, and everythin' you come from...” She shook her head, disappointed. “Leavin' behind yer roots, fergettin' EVERYTHING that made y'all who you are.” Applejack stared at the fake, gears turning in her head.

“...No...” She squeezed the tears from her eyes, a smile on her face. “No, Ah ain't forgot nothin'...much as a pony comes from her family, she comes from her friends, too. An' if Ah'm not the pony Ah was before we were a couple, it's cuz I'm still growin', an' Ah'm comin' from her just as much as Ah'm comin' from family. And Ah know any changes she puts in me are gonna be for the best, because there ain't no way, no how, she could be a bad influence...An' even if I don't deserve her now, someday, with her help, Ah'll be a pony worth her time.”

“That's yer answer?” The fake asked. Applejack nodded. “...Acceptable.” It spoke in Discord's voice as the exit opened. She began fading away, vanishing into thin air. Applejack reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes, but paused as she realized her hooves were still covered in dust, deciding to leave the tears where they were as she walked through the door.

CHALLENGE: FLUTTERSHY--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh goodness, oh goodness...” Fluttershy's eyes darted around the room as she chanted her fearful mantra, looking for hiding spot that might be occupied by danger. Confident, or as confident as she could be, that there was nothing hiding here, she decided that the floor must be covered in booby traps. She reached out with a nervous, tentative hoof, and began prodding the floor's surface. The room, like the rest of the temple, seemed to still be made from one hollowed out rock, the floor a single sheet with no cracks in it. Well, if there weren't pressure sensitive tiles, surely there were trip wires, and she'd just have to keep her eyes open and on the floor, her hoofsteps very short and careful. After nearly a full minute of shuffling forward, she passed the middle of the room, and was startled to hear hoofsteps, and see another of herself coming around from the periphery of her vision.

“W-who are you?” She asked timidly, backing up.

“I'm you, Fluttershy...And I have some questions...” Fluttershy stood up a little straighter, and gave her doppleganger a soft smile.

“A-alright, then. What would you like to know?” Her smile faded as the fake stared at her with disdain.

“Why are you with Applejack?” She asked.

“B-because we love each other...” She answered honestly, with a blush on her face.

“And do you deserve it?” The shadow of her fears turned away, looking back over her shoulder at her. “Could weak, little Fluttershy EVER deserve to be happy, especially at the expense of another mare's happiness?!” Fluttershy stared speechlessly as her counterpart spun back around. “All you've done since you got here is slow her down, and waste her supplies!”

“I...I helped build a house...” She offered, hiding behind her mane.

“And how often will you be doing that when you get home? How many times, in Ponyville, will you actually help, and how many will you be slowing her down? How much of her happiness will she sacrifice because you found out that she was in love with the one pony who doesn't deserve it?”

“I...You...She d-doesn't...” Fluttershy stammered helplessly under the assault of the doubts she'd long kept silent.

“You're still everything those stallions said you were. But now, you're dragging her down even more. She could've found a mare who makes her happy. A mare she could love who WOULDN'T be baggage. Who isn't helpless, weak, and broken!” Something snapped in Fluttershy. A dam burst, and confidence came flooding out.

“I'm...Not broken. Applejack said so!” She asserted, standing up straighter and peering out of her mane.

“Hm. So you've grown a spine. But do you really think that anything you can do for her is going to be of value?” The clone tried to force her to back down with an intimidating glare, but the words came easily to Fluttershy, and no imitation could ever muster the power of the look in her eyes.

“I have had enough of your neigh-saying!” She said with a quiet, powerful fury, and a piercing gaze that was quickly building in force. “She loves me. And if being with the pony she loves makes her feel anywhere near as happy as it makes me...anywhere near as secure, and peaceful...Then I'm PROUD of what I can give her!” The clone bore the full brunt of the stare, backing down nervously. “I'm not going to let anyone tell me I'm not good enough to be happy...Not even myself...Because I know that SHE wouldn't let me say that...she wouldn't let ANYONE tell me that. EVER.

The clone looked away, stammering, muttering, and slowly fading away. “...Th-that's...Acceptable...” Spoke the voice of a nervous Discord, as the door slid open. Fluttershy dashed forward boldly, but tapered her gallop off to a nervous trot by the time she reached the door.

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Applejack exhaled with relief when she saw her lover walk through the door. She rushed over and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Ah'm guessin' there was somethin' in there you've been hidin' from, an' ya had to talk it out?” Fluttershy nodded. “I guess we both got some stuff still worryin' us, an' we didn't even know it...”

“Oh, I've always got things worrying me...” Fluttershy admitted. “...I never realized that was part of it...” Applejack patted her on the back.

“We can talk it out when we're at home, if you want. For now, Ah think we might be about done here...” She looked around, seeing only one large door, with both their cutie marks on it. “Probably needs us both to open it...” She put her hoof against the door, the apples on it glowing. Fluttershy joined her, and the butterflies responded. The door rumbled as it slid into the ground, and both ponies entered to find a massive room with a vaulted ceiling, completely round, with a door at the other end...and in the middle, a massive stone head, mounted on a pedestal, with arms made of dozens of rocks each, and powerful, massive hands. It let out a deafening roar as two eyes, two real, yellow, bloodshot eyes, stared them down. Fluttershy began to shrink back, but Applejack's gentle eyes stopped her.

“We only got one exit.” She told her.

“But...But it's so...so big...” Fluttershy whimpered.

“...So we don't fight it head on...we think somethin' else out...” She began looking around, and Fluttershy tried to join her.

“...Oh!” Fluttershy's eyes lit up. She shared her revelation with Applejack, who stepped forward to test it. A massive stone arm swung down at her, coming up short.

They skirted the edge of the room, walking outside of his reach, Fluttershy whimpering quietly with every scream of impotent rage that the stone head loosed at them. When they reached the half way point, they noticed another flaw in its design. Mounted in the center of its room, this creature could neither move to pursue them, nor turn to face them. Unfortunately, while the monster wasn't properly made to fit the chamber, the exit door wasn't budging.

“Ah guess we do need to fight it...” She looked over at the back of the stone head. “Almost feel sorry for it.” The farmer quietly moved in behind it, and bucked it with all her might, causing a deep crack to spread over its surface, one of the arms breaking off. It roared in pain, and its remaining arm flailed frantically as her hooves struck it once more. The stone broke open, and rising from the rubble, staring at her, were the large, yellow, bloodshot eyes. Spidery legs carried them toward her, each with a razor sharp point. They moved with outrageous speed and ferocity, intent on destroying the ponies, starting with the one who freed them.

Applejack dodged a few swings, but this day had worn on her, and she couldn't risk bringing Fluttershy into the fray. She needed to find some way to slow down the giant, lidless eyes. Luckily, she'd suffered her answer first-hand.

Applejack allowed herself the pain of a few glancing blows as she began stomping furiously on the broken remains of the head, slowing down her attempts to evade these freakish enemies. Dust stirred itself into the air as the stones were broken apart. The eyes panicked, and in an attempt to clear themselves of debris, they sealed their fate, scrabbling at their soft, fleshy surfaces with their only appendages, sharp and deadly.

Fluttershy had been hiding her eyes since the creatures made themselves known, but turned and opened them when she heard the door opening. Applejack rushed to her side to ensure she didn't look back and see the gruesome, panicking monsters destroying themselves. As soon as both were through the door, it shut behind them, and streamers, balloons, and confetti rained from the ceiling. Discord appeared before them.

“CONGRATULATIONS! You two have completed your first temple!” He said, smiling as Applejack tried to withhold her fury. “And in real world time, you've only been here...oh my, 27 seconds! Are you in some kind of hurry? You really should take your time with things, you know. Make sure you're properly equipped.”

“We...We do need more healing tonic...” Fluttershy said, frowning.

“What, really? It's a common drop! Clearly, you two are not fighting enough monsters. But, I suppose there's no wrong way to approach this world. Once more, congratulations on completing the Temple of the Self.”

“An' just how many more temples are there?” Applejack asked, grinding her teeth.

“Now, now, AJ, that would be telling.”

“One, only my family can call me AJ. Two, if you DID tell us, would it change anything? Ah mean, would it REALLY make things that much different?” Discord stared at her for a bit.

“...Fine, you've got two more temples.” He snapped his fingers, and another table with a model of the island appeared, along with a treasure chest. “See you at the end of the next one!” He blinked out of existence.

“....Applejack?” Fluttershy asked, frowning. “C...Can I call you AJ?” Applejack smiled at her and nodded.

“'Course you can, sugarcube...Now, let's figure out where we're headed next...” She walked over to the chest. “Lock's got a snowflake on it.”

“A-and this looks like some kind of cave...made out of ice...” Fluttershy reached toward the model, touching the one thing that wasn't presently on the island, and watched as the model faded away. The ground rumbled, the lock popped open, and the top of a slide appeared in the middle of the room with a sign that said “To the foot of the mountain.”

Applejack flipped open the lid of the chest, and gathered up the cold weather gear. “Guess this means we're a third of the way done.” She said with a smile, before she realized that convincing Fluttershy that a slide that went down an entire mountain wouldn't be too scary might well be the biggest challenge of the day.