August 26, 1618
Applejack was walking across the market to her apple stand. The bustling street was only starting up for the day, but was soon going to be filled with ponies of all kinds, all eager to buy goods for themselves and their families, as well as many market stall ponies, all eager to sell said goods. But today, Applejack was not looking to sell apples. Sure, she was going to sell several dozen, but her main goal was something much more important than a few bits.
A certain smiling pony with a pink colored mane bounced in towards Applejack’s stand, willing to buy some fruit, “Hey, Applejack. Got some apples today?”
Applejack grinned, “Sure do, sugarcube. But first, how ‘bout some fresh apple fritters? Just made em this mornin’, and they are perfect for breakfast. What do ya think?”
Applejack handed over some fritters to Pinkie Pie, who gladly ate them in one bite.
“Mm mmm! These are delicious, Applejack! What are they for?”
“Nothin’ much, just practicin’ some baking. How ‘bout you? Handlin’ yer job as apprentice baker well?”
“Yepperoni! I love making all sorts of treats, like bread, and cake, and muffins, and cupcakes-”
“Well Pinkie, I think ah feel the hankerin’ fer some cupcakes later.”
Pinkie started jumping up and down, “Oooh! That sounds good! Maybe I could get Rainbow Dash to help!”
“Sounds fine, maybe ya should get Twilight ta help too.”
“Yeah, the more the merrier!”
“Maybe ya should also bring Apple Bloom’s friend, Twist with ya.”
“Okay, But why?”
Applejack shrugged nonchalantly, “Ah dunno, she just seems like the type fer makin’ treats. Ah think she might be good at it.”
“Oh. Well, I’m gonna go plan this out! Bye!”
“Goodbye, Pinkie!”
--0o0--
September 1, 1618
Dear diary,
Phase 2 starts tomorrow. Also, I need to help set up a cutecenara for the most spoiled filly outside of Canterlot. Just ignore every time she nearly makes Apple Bloom cry, and I won’t erase my existence by beating her to a pulp.
I think I’m in trouble.
-Captain AJH
--0o0--
September 2, 1618
Shortly after Diamond Tiara’s Cutecenara, Applejack was helping clean up. With a broom and pan, she sweeped up all confetti from the earlier party. After quietly observing Apple Bloom with the unknowing help of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, Applejack considered the day a success. On this day, Apple Bloom met her lifelong friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
Applejack continued sweeping, subconsciously humming a tune. Her pan full, she went to empty it in a nearby trashcan. As she did, the door to the bakery opened, as a bell chimed, signaling a pony entering Sugarcube Corner.
A purple earth pony mare with a saddlebag approached with a neutral expression on her face, “Applejack, I need to have a word with you.”
“Sure can, sugarcube, just give me a minute”, Applejack placed the pan and broom down on a table and grabbed two nearby chairs, “want a seat?”
“No, I’m afraid this is a serious matter. I believe you saw Apple Bloom and her new friends, right?”
“Yeah... and?”
“I’m afraid that Apple Bloom has been recently bullied by a pair of students, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and as her legal guardian, I needed to inform you.”
“Eeyup, ah’m aware of the bullying.”
“And you’ve taken care of it? I haven’t told Filthy Rich yet, but I will tomorrow.”
“No need, ah’ll take care of it”
“Are you sure? Well, what about punishment? I haven’t decided yet, but there must be consequences for the filly-”
“Stop right there.”
“Wait, what?”
“Now, don’t just go punishin’ fillies fer small little things. Ah am certain that Apple Bloom and her friends can handle it”, Applejack began to pick up the broom.
"No, actually I think the two need to be punished, or at least warned of the consequences."
"Ya don't need ta, they're just havin' fun with them, it'll be alright."
"... Wait a minute, are you trying to persuade me not to tell Filthy Rich?"
"... "
"You are! Why? Why are you letting some schoolyard bullies pick on Apple Bloom?"
"Cheerilee, as your commanding officer, I order you to not inform Mr. Rich about her daughter's malicious behavior. Is that understood?"
"... No. It is not. Why are you not stopping this? This is so simple, compared to what we do in our time. Why. Won't. You. Do anything?!"
"Ah can't tell ya. Fer captain’s eyes only. Don't question me, ah don't know that much, but the things ah know, ah've showed ya already."
“Actually, that was also something I needed to talk about”, Cheerilee pulled out three folders labeled ‘Sweetie Belle’, ‘Scootaloo’, and ‘Diamond Tiara’, “Care to explain?”
“You know ah got security files on all the ponies in Ponyville. Ah was just makin’ sure Apple Bloom’s safe with her new friends.”
“... Right, well if that’s true, then why is today listed in the files? In bold, red words stating: ‘September 2, 1618: Cutie Mark Crusader Founding at Cutecenara’. Now, what makes this weird is that it was written three weeks ago. So, an explanation for that?” Cheerilee’s eyes were sharp and beginning to squint, a frown began to appear over her face.
Applejack looked away, staring at some balloons in the corner. Cheerilee stepped closer, her face continuing to harden. The teacher reached inside her bag and pulled out three more folders labeled “Rainbow Dash”, “Trixie Lulamoon”, and “Cheerilee”.
“When you recruited me three years ago, you knew who I was, who my grandparents were, and yet you never said anything. You know who Trixie is, you know everypony in Ponyville, all our feelings, all our hobbies, all our secrets, and you keep it to yourself. You’ve been manipulating everypony in preparation for some mysterious agenda.”
Applejack sighed, dropped the broom, and looked directly at Cheerilee. Her eyes looked tired, but not like the artificial tiredness caused by radiation poisoning. It was true fatigue, the kind that took decades to obtain. For just a moment, she looked years older, her true age shown through her eyelids, penetrating Cheerilee’s gaze.
“... It’s all in the grand scheme of things, ya know. Ya think yer life is free, that yer choices matter, but really, someone else is pullin’ yer strings. Ah know what it feels like, but it’s the only way ah can change things.
“Ah try ta let everyone be free, that their lives are only changed a little bit. Just a little, like a new friend, or a different house. Ah never changed their love life, or their families, ah only changed things ta make the world a better place.
“Sweetie Belle? Ah had her parents stay in Ponyville despite a job openin’. Scootaloo? Ah saved her parents’ life from a rampagin’ Cyberpony. If ah hadn’t interfered, she woulda been an orphan living in the Ponyville Children’s Home. Now, she lives at the edge of Ponyville in a little cottage with her mother and father.”
Cheerilee’s eyes were widened, her pupils shrunken, and her mouth closed. After Applejack’s confession, she was confused, dazed, and in utter disbelief. The elder mare quietly picked up the broom and pan and continued cleaning. Cheerilee opened her mouth before closing it again. She picked up the folders on the floor, put them away, and turned to leave.
She started to walk out, but paused just before she exited the door. She sighed and asked, “So, see you tomorrow for poker?”
Applejack smiled and replied, “Sure thing, sugarcube.”
--0o0--
September 2, 1618
Dear diary,
Everything went off without a hitch. Phase 2 is now complete, and I think I can now introduce Cheerilee to the Plan. Also, I broke my record of justifying my actions, shaving off 30 seconds off my best time. I think I’m just going to make a pamphlet or something next time.
-Captain AJH
--0o0--
September 30, 1618
“Applejack?”
“Yeah, Cheerilee?”
“How come there hasn’t been any rift activity or random alien invasions in the past three months?”
“Are ya complainin’?
“No… I’m just bored. Ever since Nightmare Moon returned, all we had were hungry insects, a baby ursa, and a Germaneian terrorist. Other than that, I’ve been grading quizzes and planning lessons. I just thought when I signed up to be part of a secret organization that deals with extraterrestrials, the last thing to happen was me getting bored."
“It’ll pick up eventually.”
“I’m supposed to be glad, but I just can’t shake this feeling that something is supposed to be happening. This boredom doesn’t feel right. It’s discomforting.”
--0o0--
October 21, 1618
Dear diary,
The rift is active again, but no monsters have left Tartarus or appeared in the Everfree. It could be a phantasm or an extra-dimensional entity. This close to Nightmare Night couldn’t be a coincidence.
On a lighter note, I have an idea for a good prank, although it’s best not to write it here. Cheerilee’s going to kill me for this.
-Captain AJH
--0o0--
October 25, 1618
It was the day of the annual Running of the Leaves race in Ponyville. It was an otherwise peaceful day, except for...
“I won!” Rainbow Dash yelled.
“No, ah won!” Applejack shouted.
“I won!”
“No, ah won!”
“I won!”
“Ah won!”
“You tied!” Spike shouted.
“Tied?!” the two yelled.
“For first?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“For last!” Pinkie said.
“LAST?” Rainbow Dash screamed.
“Then who won?” Applejack questioned.
A purple unicorn jogged up towards them. She smiled at them, wearing a shiny medal.
“YOU?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash yelled at the same time
“Oh no, but I did get fifth place, which is rather good considering I've never run a race before,” Twilight explained.
“What? How's that even possible?”
“You ran so slow, and looked at the scenery.”
“Exactly. I paced myself, just like my book said. Then at the end, when all the other ponies were worn out, I sprinted to the finish.”
Rainbow Dash was still shocked, “I don't believe it. Twilight beat us.”
“Well, with all your horsing around, it was quite easy,” Twilight replied.
“You're right, Twilight. Our behavior was a mite immature, don’tcha agree, Rainbow?”
“Yeah, we weren't very good sports,” Rainbow Dash concluded.
“Sounds to me that an important lesson was learned”, the voice said, as the princess of the day landed in front of the three ponies.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, “Princess Celestia?! W... What are you doing here?”
“Autumn is one of my favorite seasons, and I decided to go to Ponyville to celebrate the Running of the Leaves," Princess Celestia stated coolly.
“I’m sorry you had to see us be such jerks, Princess,” Rainbow Dash said gloomily.
“That's all right, Rainbow Dash. Anypony can get swept up in the excitement of competition,” Celestia replied.
“It's important to remember that the friendship is always more important than the competition,” Twilight added.
“Exactly, Twilight. Now, unfortunately, because the two of you were busy tricking each other instead of shaking down leaves, many of the lovely trees of Equestria are still covered.”
“Princess, ah ain’t a weather pony, but ah’m pretty sure it takes more than a couple ‘a ponies ta shake down tha leaves,” Applejack said.
“Well, I am sure two athletic ponies like you can achieve that,” Celestia said.
“Actually,” a purple earth pony stepped up, “the amount of force these two ponies made can’t be any higher than 2000 Neightons in force, so it is unlikely that their lack of involvement caused the trees to stop falling.”
“Yeah!” a purple pegasus shouted as she stepped forward, “And besides, wouldn’t it also be better for us pegasi to fly? You know, flap our wings around, blow wind at the trees so the leaves fall down… I mean, Princess, why is required to run again?”
“Actually, that is a very good reason,” Celestia answered, “one that dates back to the end of the Neighpoleonic era-”
“Wait, so the pony who rode on the back of a dragon and conquered Europe decided on how to do this? He lost his final battle because of rain. Should we be trusting the guy?” commented a purple not-Twilight unicorn.
“It wasn’t Neighpoleon, it was one of his advisors,” Celestia replied calmly.
“So, one of Neighpoleon Bonbonaparte’s lackeys decided all this?!” a blue earth pony shouted, “Aw come on, I missed a party because of this!”
“Missed a party!?” PinkiePie yelled, zipping up close to the distressed pony, “We should throw you one! Oooh, let’s have a ‘secret message’ party! Because somepony missed the message!”
When Pinkie uttered that last phrase, several heads turned. Within seconds, a large group of ponies opened their mouths wide, sucked in air, and bellowed a phrase that caused Celestia’s hair to stand.
“Do you understand the message yet, Soldier Ourania? Do you?!” shouted the entire procession of ponies that had just bowed down to her. The ponies weren’t noticing anything wrong, and just smiled at their princess.
Princess Celestia, on the other hand, had gone pale, she would’ve been shaking if it wasn’t for years of posture training to create an aura of grace in front of her subjects. It showed her subjects bravery and strength in times of danger. Now, her little ponies needed her to be strong more than ever, Celestia realized. Even if they didn’t know it.
She gracefully answered the question with a simple nod, then bowed out.
“My little ponies, I must take leave, for I just remembered an important meeting I have to attend,” Princess Celestia said.
“Princess?” Twilight queried, not fully grasping the situation.
“Farewell, my faithful student, I expect a friendship report soon,” the diarch replied.
Celestia hurriedly took flight away from the congregation and towards her pegasi chariot. As she shrank in size as she disappeared into the blues of the sky, the quartet of ponies that began the whole situation just stood awkwardly.
“So… ” Rainbow Dash started, “want to grab a bite?”
“Sure, ah’m starvin’,” Applejack replied.
The two rivals trotted away, leaving an excited Pinkie and a confused Twilight.
Applejack was barely able to contain her snickers. She glanced at Rainbow Dash, completely oblivious to what happened. Totally worth it, she thought.
--0o0--
2 Minutes Later
Celestia touched down, her eyes darting around a shiver crawled across her spine, “Lieutenant Spear?” she inquired.
“Your highness? I something wrong?” the young guardspony asked.
“Yes, something is terribly wrong,” the princess replied, “send a message immediately to all alpha level officers telling them to convene as soon as possible. We have a code 8 on our hooves. Also raise all alerts to Defcon 4.”
“Defcon 4? Code 8? This is all so sudden Princess, what could possibly have happened that could justify all this trouble?” he asked, skepticism and a hint of anxiety beginning to creep into his tone.
“Just tell the officers that Black Ness has returned,” Princess Celestia answered.
The lieutenant gulped and immediately broke a sweat, but set out to follow his instructions. Many thoughts passed through his mind. The most infamous terrorist group in Equestrian history has returned? What does that mean? Are we all in danger?