"Mum, I'm scared..."
The voice of a young filly quivered in the storm. She had her hooves firmly gripped to her mother.
"Do not worry my little apple, I'm always here to protect you," her mother's voice soothed her nerves greatly.
Together, they sat in front of the fireplace while the storm raged on...
"MOM CAN YOU HEAR ME?" An orange pony jumped out of bed in the middle of the night. Beads of perspiration trickled down her forehead as she gripped onto the bedsheets. Looking out of the window, she saw the beautifully arranged stars and noticed the full moon It was always the same. This ALWAYS happened every fifth full moon. Dismissing the thought, she fell back in her bed, as if the events that just took place in her mind had vanished...
"APPLEJACK WAKE UP!" A rainbow maned pegasus shook Applejack with trembling hooves.
"Five more minutes..." she grumbled, while pulling the blanket to keep her warm. The rays of the sun poured into her bedroom, and she brought the blanket over her to shield herself from the light. Sheesh, couldn't she get a break?
"CELESTIA WANTS TO SEE YOU!" The cyan coloured pegasus slapped a hoof across the earth pony.
Snapped into reality, Applejack instantly got out of bed.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY EARLIER?!?!?!?" She yelled while shaking Rainbow Dash violently. Without another word, she ran out of the farmhouse...
"Your highness, why have you called me?" Applejack ran into the throne room of the Canterlot castle, and galloped frantically accross to the princess.
Celestia looked up, her hair waving regally, sparkling under the sun she had just raised. Noticing the orange mare, a smiel was brough to her face. "Applejack, please follow me," she said, walking with her usual grandeur.
They arrived in a the garden. Green trees surrounded them. Flowers of all kinds were planted, making the garden look like a magnicent and magical forest. Celestia brought the young orange mare to a large brown door. She carefully slid her horn into the keyhole, and unlocked the door to a secret area. In the middle was a small pond. Its water shimmered under the sunlight, and it was a fusion of colours. It looked like a magical world of its own.
"What is this?"
"Applejack, as you have known, Tirek has returned, and he is intending to attack Equestria, and if we do not solve this problem soon, out beloved home will be destroyed," she paused, laying a hoof on Apple Jack's shoulder. "However, we have found a way to solve this," inhaling a breath, she said, "an old riddle I may say myself, but we have found a spell that we can use to counteract him." "Yet, what we need is "the apple of my eye," Celestia turned her focus to the pond, a magical aura forming around it.
"This is what we call, 'The Memory Pond', it is known for bringing a pony back in time," Celestia gazed at Applejack, watching her green eyes staring intently at her, and sighed. "Applejack, you are a strong, resilient mare, thus, I feel that I can entrust you with this mission," Applejack stared at Celestia in disbelief.
"But bu-" her lips quivered, eyes wide as saucers, tears forming in her eyes. She was overwhelmed with fear and disbelief.
"No, Applejack, you are the only hope for Equestria's survival," waving her hoof, she redirected Apple Jack's attention to the pond. "I had a vision, that you were the only mare able to complete this mission, and I KNOW you can."
Celestia raised the orange mare's chin. "Do you understand?"
Why should I risk my life? This isn't my business! Why not Twilight? Rainbow? What about Fluttershy? NO! APPLEJACK! Calm yourself, you can do this...
In a sea of confusion and anxiety, Applejack nodded her head, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Thank you Applejack," Celestia nodded.
She handed Apple Jack's element: a crystal apple, likened to her cutie mark. With the wave of her horn, a yellow aura formed around Apple Jack and the pond. A feeling of fear, darkness, happiness, anxiety, anger suddenly gripped her heart. She could feel herself vanishing from the very fabric of the world of time and space. A sudden replay of all her memories flashed before her eyes. "Mom?" she whispered, her voice sounding like the croak of witch. Her hooves, fur, mane all dissolved in the water of the pond.
"May the odds ever be in your favour, Applejack."
Then a flash of bright light. She felt herself tumbling through a bottomless pit. Cannonballing through the very fabric of time and space, she shielded her eyes from what beheld her.
Darkness.