Applejack Through the Ages

by Paradise Oasis

Goodbye Equestria, Hello Ponyland

The morning sun was shining down upon them, as several of the now-liberated mares trotted out of the cave, and gazed upon the warm light coming from above. They saw the world through new eyes- twinkle eyes, one of the mares had called them- which had been formed from the shattered shards of the crystal that had showered all over the mine.

Most of the goblins who has served as the equines' slavers had breathed their last in those mines, and even now two of the earth mares were kicking the boulders overhead, and sealing up the entrance. The horrible mine that their captors had forced them to work in, would now serve as those same captor's final resting place.

"So, Edgar... where will you go now?" Green asked the gnome mage, as they were sitting on a nearby rock face, overlooking the others. "I don't think there's any place in Equestria for you at the moment, with this whole war still going on and all. Besides, I think there might be some ponies out there who would love to get some revenge on the nephew of a known pony slaver."

"Well, I heard some of the mares have decided to head to Dream Valley, though I might try my luck by going with them." The gnome replied with a chuckle. "And thee are ways I can avoid being recognized; maybe I could grow a beard, or start simply going by my family name- Moochick- instead of my first name!"

"Mister Moochick? Really?" The mare replied with a chuckle, raising an eyebrow. "Now I see why you just stuck with Edgar!"

"What about you, Green?" The gnome asked her, stroking his chin as he thought about the beard he might one day grow. "Where will you go, now that you are free?"

"Edgar... all that's left for me at this point, is revenge." The mare rose to her hooves, snorting angrily. "I'm going to hunt down that ornery critter who betrayed me, and give him a one way trip to the glue factory!"

"Well, while I can't condone your mission of revenge, I can at least respect you for it." The young gnome told her, giving the mare a hug. "Goodbye, my dear equine friend! Who knows, perhaps one day, we shall be lucky enough to cross paths again!"

Wow, I didn't realize that Edgar was Mister Moochick! That so was cool you were able to team up with him, and rescue those ponies!

Yep Apple Blossom, I sure did make a good friend in those mines, even though I would not see him again for centuries. Now my next step was to try to get myself re-acquainted with the outside world after being gone for so long. But hooo boy was I in for a shock, after discovering how much the world had changed in such a short span of time...

A wasteland.

That was the only way Green could think to describe it, traversing a countryside totally barren of life or activity- a wasteland. As she wandered the pathways of the outside world once more, the earth mare simply couldn't believe how empty and quiet the landscape had become. She passed dozens of abandoned cities, filled with roofless buildings with young saplings growing up through the houses. Nature was reclaiming what the ponies had built, and in a few years these places would be claimed by the rapidly expanding everfree forest.

She met very few ponies along the way- most of them on their way to places called Hoofkaido, or Misty Mountain- new names, Green Apple would learn later, for places she already knew. Most of them looked weary and shell shocked, and the angry and vengeful mare felt a pang of pity for these poor souls who had endured so much. Few of them were willing to talk much, almost afraid this lone mare traveling by herself in such a dangerous place was a Changeling spy or some other fiend. But Green Apple did find a few who were willing to talk here and there.

"Chocolate? Yeah, I've heard of him... he was one of the Shady ponies running a black market operation outside of Fort Rainbow Dash. The carousel guard corps broke that up pretty quickly though... Ponyland's new rulers don't put up with that kind of crud like Princess Luna did in the old days!"

"Fort... Rainbow Dash? I know a pony who's ego would explode from knowing there was a city called that! But anyway, ya'll know where he'd be heading now?"

But the other mare only shook her head sadly. Green continued her wandering for several days, passing the caravans of refugees streaming in every direction. There was once a time that the apple pony would have stopped, and done everything she could to help these poor equines in need. But now, only thoughts of vengeance burned in the elder mare's heart, and she was blind to the misery and suffering of the ponies with starving bellies, bandaged limbs, and deep scars she passed by.

The truth was, that green had become just as hard and brittle as the countryside she now passed through, her mind fixated on getting even with the stallion who had broken her heart and betrayed her. It was this single mindedness that finally brought her within reach of her goal, however, when she finally met somepony who had come across her quarry.

"Chocolate? Yeah, he was a bit of a shady character." A stallion told her, when Green was trotting near the ruins of Manehatten. "He was on one of the Burial details sent out from the royal paradise about a month ago, heading out into the countryside to help with the initial cleanup."

"Burial detail?" Green asked in confusion, not understanding. "What in the hay is that for?"

"Missy, I don't know if you haven't noticed, but there are thousand upon thousands of... deceased ponies littered across the countryside." The stallion replied grimly, trying to keep his disgust at the thought of it in check. "We've been trotting around the landscape, shoveling the heaps of bodies into mass graves... it's the best we can do to give them a decent burial."

"But do you know where Chocolate might be headed?" Green insisted. "Do you know where I might be able to find him right now?"

The stallion stared at her for a minute, horrified by her lack of concern, before sighing. "Well, I suppose you could find him in the ruins of Ponyville, helping with the clean up there...."

Green Apple's eyes went wide for a moment, before she thanked the stallion and galloped off. So, this whole thing would end where it began, she thought to herself, as her old hometown would be the sight of her revenge.

At long last, a large chapter of her life would finally be coming to an end...

Comments

[La Vallett1]

So the countryside turned into a little like the No Man's Land during the Great War?

[PiMan]

5943593
I'm think more like 'scorched earth'. No man's land was desolate, but not expansive.

[keam]

Good, good

[Zubric]

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

that was in my head reading this arch

[Leave a Whisper]

What a nightmare!