The Odd Two Out
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The Odd Two Out
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Applejack stood in her hospital room, gazing out the window at the city of Canterlot in front of her. The streets were filled with hustling ponies, all going on with their days, unaware of the end they all almost faced the night before.
It made her sick to her stomach.
“How often has the world almost ended, and we’ve been unaware of it?” She muttered to herself, with no sign of her accent, her eyes being drawn to a mare with her child walking together down the road, both laughing about something. “Then again, how much would they worry if they knew how easy it was?”
Sighing, she pulled the drapes across the window, darkening the room significantly.
“Oh, you’re awake?” A familiar soft voice asked from the doorway.
“Oh, hey Fluttershy.” Applejack said, turning to her friend and smiling weakly, “How are you feeling?”
She blinked a couple of times, as she brushed her pink hair to the side.
“Uh… what happened to your accent?” She asked, tilting her head and suppressing a smile.
“Ask Twilight and her dream....” She nodded, letting out a small laugh, “It felt like ah’ was trapped in Rarity’s dress shop for months. Talkin’ like her so much seemed to make it harder for me to keep up the accent.”
“So, you don’t really have one?” Fluttershy asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Ah’… Well, I do and don’t.” She said, scratching the back of her head as she tired to piece some her thoughts together, “I didn’t always talk that way.”
“You sound good without it.” Her friend said earnestly, entering the dim room and gesturing to AJ to part the curtains a little bit, to illuminate the room once again.
“I was surprised nopony asked me about it after we escaped from the changeling council, and their messed-up world.” Applejack said expertly, with no sign of her accent in sight, “I spoke this way quite a bit.”
“But… why would you fake it?” She asked, as she sat back on her hind legs and blew her pink hair out of her face, “You had everypony convinced for- well- as long as I’ve known you!”
“Long story. It’s just quite trying for me right now.” She said, mildly worried that she would be compared to Rarity for her choice of vocabulary, “Everything is all over the place right now.”
“I know the feeling.” Her friend agreed.
“My dad, Bright Mac, Granny Smith’s son, had the accent, and he hated it.” Applejack explained, sighing softly at the thought, “He was always trying to match my mom, who spoke a lot more like I am right now. But if he got fired up, he’d slip right back into it! Which always made him more upset, of course.”
The two smiled as AJ continued.
“Big Mac and I grew up without it, and learned to speak just fine.” She said, her eyes suddenly darkening as she looked toward the floor, “But, after they passed away, I just… picked it up. It made me feel like my dad had given me something.”
“What about Big Mac?” Fluttershy asked, “And Apple Bloom?”
“I’m sure he did it for my sake...” She nodded, looking up again, “But I guess he could have been doing the same thing as me. As for Apple Bloom, she couldn’t talk when they passed. She grew up with nothing but the accent from the two of us and granny.”
“I think that’s really sweet,” She said, “The accent fits you both so well. I’m just surprised you never slip it up.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t usually give it much thought, and it just keeps going.” Applejack said, sighing once again as she ran a hoof through her mane, feeling her lack of ponytail, “But the last day has really thrown me. Usually I can fake it through the worst.”
“We all have those days,” Fluttershy said comfortingly, “The only way I can make myself smile anymore is by thinking about what I’m going to do when this is all over.”
“I like to think about Apple Bloom,” AJ admitted, smiling once again as she thought to her little sister, “She has so much left to go through. Her Cutie Mark, her first boyfriend, puberty… she’s going to be so awkward!”
Fluttershy smiled as she watched her friend go on about her little sister.
“You know, since we lost our parents… I always tried to take care of her the same way that my mom took care of me,” Applejack said, blinking a couple of times as her bright smile softened, “In a lot of ways, I’ve had to be her mother, and Mac her dad.”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow and put her hoof over her lips once again, “I always thought you were a lovely couple.”
“T-that’s not supposed to sound weird!” She said, bursting out in to laughter, “Ah’m not that much of a country girl!”
The two giggled for a few moments, before continuing their discussion.
“To be honest, when I see you looking after Applebloom the way you do, I get a little jealous.” The pegasus admitted, shifting lightly as she looked at her somewhat confused friend.
“You want a little sister?” Applejack asked, “You can borrow mine if you every want a partner for the Sister Hooves— “
“No no, not like that,” Fluttershy shook her head, as she finally stood up and walked over to the window that had just been occupied by her friend, “These last few years have had me… thinking about what’s next in my life.”
“Are you talking about—?” She asked slowly.
“Do you think I’d make a good mom?” The yellow mare asked suddenly, cutting her friend off, “The way I see Twilight and Alpha getting along, and the baby that they’re having… I want that.”
“Ah’ guess that makes sense…” Applejack said, her accent slipping into her speech somewhat, “And with the way you are with animals, I could see you raising one heck of a kid.”
“I’d just love to have something like that in my life.” She said, sighing happily as she turned to look out the window, seeing a new mother that was walking away from the hospital with a bundled baby hugged to her chest, “I don’t know… it’s just the big goal I have for myself… well, once we save Equestria. It’s where I wanna be in a couple years.”
“I find it hard to look so far into the future,” AJ admitted, drawing her friends’ attention away from the window, “Ah’ guess life’ll jus’ keep truckin’ on in the orchard.”
“And that’s it?” Fluttershy asked, approaching her friend as she placed a hoof on her back, “You’ve got to have more in mind than just working until you’re old… right?”
She didn’t respond right away, as she obviously mulled over the question.
“Well, not really…” AJ said, scratching behind her ear and sighing, “Life is good right now, you know? Why mess with that?”
“But you work harder than anypony I know!” Her friend responded, concern spread across her face, “We have to schedule you two weeks in advance just so you can work out a free day!”
“Ah’ know ah’ know.” She sighed, slipping back and forth between her accent, “I guess I’ve always been afraid of growing the orchard, or hiring too many ponies… Figured we might end up with poorer quality product… or… something worse.”
“What could be worse?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well, my parents passed away on a business trip. They were going to speak to some big company that wanted to buy our product wholesale.” Applejack said, her eyes glazing over once again as she recalled the details of the fated deal her parents went to discuss, “They were going to give us enough bits to expand the orchard almost ten times. Then, pay the workers to do the harvestin’ in exchange for a discount on the price of the apples we sold ‘em.”
“Was it a good deal for them?” Fluttershy asked.
“They were bound to retire from it,” She continued, nodding as she looked back up to Fluttershy, “It was all set up by my mom’s parents, the Pear family. Ah’ guess they were lookin’ to give my parents a break, despite the rivalry between Granny Smith and Grand Pear.”
“Rivalry?” Fluttershy asked.
“That’s a story for another day,” AJ chuckled, “Either way, when they… died, the deal sorta’ went up in the air, before Granny Smith finally put it to rest. Ah’ guess she figured that workin’ on the farm would help us move on. Which it did.”
“Maybe it’s time to reconsider making that kind of move.” She said, looking toward the door as the sound of footsteps began to close in on the room they both stood in.
“Maybe it is,” She nodded, as Celestia came around the corner, and entered the room.
“Princess, are you okay?!” Applejack asked, shocked to see the regal mare moving around so soon after her injury, “Shouldn’t you be restin’?”
“I’m quite alright,” Celestia lied, expertly hiding the immense pain she was experiencing, “I’ve come to speak to you about Twilight.”
“Is she okay?” Fluttershy asked, before gasping and stepping forward, “Is something wrong with… the baby?”
“No.” She shook her head confidently, as the two mares in front of her sighed with relief, “It’s concerning the Element of Magic.”
“Ah’ almost forgot! She mastered it, right?” Applejack asked, her accent once again front and center, as if it had never gone, “What kinda super spells can that mare mix up now?”
Celestia sighed, “The Element of Magic was pulled from Twilight, and now rests within Trixie. It was the only move she could make to stop Twilight’s dark side.”
“Oh my gosh…” Fluttershy said softly, “So… Trixie is the new Element of Magic? Does she understand what she needs to do?”
“Trixie is completely willing to do whatever she needs. And because of that, I’ll be keeping her in Canterlot, so I can train her personally.” Celestia said, closing her eyes and sighing, “But that’s not why I came to find you two. Twilight hasn’t taken the news well. She’s been distraught since she discovered the truth.”
“Ah’ can understand that, alright.” Applejack said, grabbing her hat from the table next to her bed, “You want the two of us to go cheer her up?”
“Where is she?!” Fluttershy asked, “And might I be allowed to bring some of my animal friends into the hospital to visit her?”
“She’s not here,” Celestia shook her head, “She’s gone home to spend time with her mother and father. She’s going to tell them about the baby, and spend some time resting with them. Alpha will be meeting them as well when he’s back on his feet.”
“We’ll head over there right now,” Applejack said confidently, “If ah’ can’t get her feelin’ like herself again, ah’ll eat my hat.”
“Don’t be overconfident,” Celestia warned, her tone not swaying by Applejack’s silly remark, “She’s broken right now… between the baby she’s having, and the loss of her element, she’s not doing well at all. She thinks that without the Element, she won’t share a bond with all of you any more. You need to show her that she’s wrong about that.”
The two nodded, both realizing just how hurt their friend must have been.
“I’d like just the two of you to visit with her for now.” The princess continued, “I don’t want to overwhelm her at all.”
Celestia nodded slowly to them, as they took the gesture as their cue to head out.
“We’ll take care of her,” Fluttershy said as she walked past the princess out into the hallway.
“I’ll do whatever I need to.” Applejack agreed, following behind her friend.
“Also, be careful about mentioning Trixie.” Celestia said, as the two looked back “She’s blaming her for it right now. Deep down I think she knows that it was necessary, but just hasn’t reached that point yet.”
“Okay.” They said together.
“Good luck, little ponies.” Celestia said, as the two of them quickly headed away to help their friend.
Waiting until she was confident that the two were out of earshot, the Princess called out, “I… I need a doctor.”
Not a moment was wasted as the hospital staff rushed into the room to help her.
“Princess,” A white coated doctor said to her as he entered the room, “Did you speak to your student about repairing your missing wing?”
“No…” Celestia said, shaking her head as she walked carefully over to the bed, “I’m afraid that option is no longer available.”
“We’ve run out of time, princess.” He said, shaking his head with a serious expression, “I can’t in good consciousness let that wound on your side remain open any longer. The risk of infection is far too great.”
“I’m aware.” Celestia nodded.
“And you’re aware that you’ll never be able to fly again?” He asked.
She nodded slowly.
“I’m sorry,” He said, looking up to her from the chart, before looking to the stallion beside him, “Nurse, inform surgical that we’ll be closing a large open wound. Tell them that reattachment is impossible, and that priority one needs to be taken in potion use.”
“Yes doctor.” The nurse said, running out of the room.
Celestia closed her eyes and sighed.
“Maybe it’s time to fund that metal wing replacement I’ve been hearing about.”
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Well damn, you sure do know how to make it heavy at the end.
Okay. We checked-in on Trixie, Twilight, Dash & Alex, Spike & Rarity, Fluttershy & Applejack. Where's Pinkie Pie? How is she doing? What's going on with Alpha? Will he need 24-hour protection when Shining finds out his little sister is pregnant?
The future for all of them is somewhat questionable. But at the same time, there are steps being made to make it better.
These last chapters have and are taking us all on the feel train.
Wow. So Celestia really will be unable to fly again?
Funny how the loss of one's limb can change some priorities, huh? At least Celestia has the option to fund the prosthetics industry, even if only just a little bit.
Then again, I bet that if she says the true reason, pretty much the whole public will approve of it. And in the long run it's a good idea too as it can help countless others.
When did Twilight manage to go home? I guess it was sometime between the last chapter and this, must have happened off-scene. I even went back a few chapters to check
But yeah, she'll need all her friends around her for support. Poor girl feels worthless, even if that's far from the truth.
It feels so surreal that this story is ending will their at leased be sequels after you take a good long rest I think a next-gen story for this universe would be grate especially with all the talk of having children and that their would be different kids than most next-gen stories
8311333
There is still the finale after the final chapter, but beyond that, who knows? I'll probably do at least a bit more
This was one of the first stories I've ever read of this Fandom. And it has been the number one on my list since then, and probably forever more. I'm sad to hear that it's soon to be over, but life goes on I suppose. You have moved my very soul with this story
This was the first story I read on this site, I would love to see more.
...And I am all caught up.
I really should have commented the whole way through, but it is too late for that.
Well, maybe when I reread this, I could. That will be some time from now, but if I had one thing to say about this story that is not a complement, it is this.
REWRITE THE PROLOGUE!!!!
Seriously, that prologue is what is most likely driving new readers away. What's more it is an insult to the greatness of this story.
I mean between how you made it super easy for him to walk, the constant, not so subtle, and annoying reminders that “Alex is not a Gary Stu”, and how he goes
“Hey brahs, I'm a weird alien thingy and came from this whole world where everyone looks like a monkey. Also, I am not batshit insane, so please don't be coming to take me away (haha), coming to take me away (hehe) to the funny farm!”
And everyone else is like
“'kay, we believe you fully and will not lock you inside an insane asylum. So, want to go to this “defeat of Nightmare Moon” party we're having”
And not judge him at all, but when something very similar to a pony (Zecora), not making completely insane claims that they are from another world, the whole town goes crazy.
Riiiiiiiiiiight... Like I said, the prologue has plotholes galore as far as that goes, and... Well you tell me.
If someone showed up in your town or city or whatever. And claimed to be... I don't know... A one eyed one horned flying purple people eater, would everyone in your town, including you, your towns mayor, and the president, or king, or tzar, or dictator, or whoever the heck rules your nation. ALL believe this person?
I don't care if you have to finish the rest of the story first. REWRITE THE PROLOGUE!!!
P.S. (you stopped doing it in later chapters, but you haven't fixed it with earlier ones) if you could take the time to use find and replace “Night Mare Moon” with “Nightmare Moon”, please, do it. Nightmare is a compound word, and it flows terribly splitting it up. You don't say “Base Ball Bat” nor do you say “Prince Ess Luna” or “Pink Ie Pie”. Seriously, every time I read “Nightmare” split up, my brain cells started committing suicide.
P.P.S. Whatever happened to that Sylpheed/Eli guy?
8437874
Believe me dude, I cringe at the beginning of this story harder than everyone else at the five thousand plot holes I've left in, or BS plot lines I've invented.
I'm sure when things are over with I'll get back to fixing it. I think. I'm pretty busy/lazy these days.
As for missing readers, I'm sure you saw lots come and go in this 5 year old story.
Oh well! I hope you enjoyed what wasn't poorly written!
8438507
Okay, and to be honest, it is mainly the prologue, and the broken up “Nightmare” that are my main problems with this. Beyond that. This story is amazing. The “best night ever” chapters were probably some of the best comedy I have ever seen, you write the romances to perfection, not too fast, where they have sex the first time they meet, not to slow, where they rarely get past dating, but just right. The whole story is a perfect blend of action, comedy, suspense, thriller, and even a tad bit horror in the Darkness Zone, putting you on par with the movie “Stranger than fiction”. Which is arguably my favorite movie. (Seriously, you should check it out if you haven't seen it before. It has Will Ferrell in it.) And you have done something that is very very rare. You have created a “good” OP character. (If you don't think Alex is OP, reread about him blowing up Haven Station, then tell me that again). Truly it is not an overpowered character that makes something bad, to those who say otherwise, then I guess nobody likes resident evil, with all of Project Alice's powers, and LOTR must be absolutely despised, with how Gaundalf is able to defeat that huge demon thing in Moria.
The thing is, you and I both know that both movie series have tons of fans. Neigh, it is not an overpowered character that makes something bad, it is the events around said character.
If the character has everything going for him, never meeting his match, and everyone taking his word as the complete and utter truth, well... That is exactly what happened in the prologue, and that is exactly why you have gotten so many hateful comments. In any case, I am getting off track.
My point is that when you write a character, especially an overpowered one, the temptation is there to make him or her the “perfect badass” so to speak.
Also, I have an idea for the story, and I don't want to spoil it to any reader in the case that you go through with it so, I will PM you.
But yeah, words cannot suffice to explain how awesome this story is.
8438610
Feel free to PM me anything. I'm still building the final side story, so anything that works with it could potentially be added in.
8438640
It is more fitting for after the big finale, if you ever do a sequel perhaps, otherwise it would probably hinder your plans. Just read my PM (if you didn't get it, please tell me, yes I already sent it so try refreshing the page) you'll see.
8438640
Did you get the PM?
Do you plan on updating anytime soon? I've been waiting on this story for quite awhile now. Can't wait to see how it all ends.
And I really think a sequel would be cool too, maybe Next Gen or their life after the final battle with a new adventure. Because there are still a lot of enemies in the woodwork like Tirek and the Storm King, not to mention others. And I think that Twilight should still end up becoming an alicorn even if she's no longer the Element of Magic. She still has all the friendship lessons she's done and the knowledge to get her there. Even without the Element, it would make sense for her to be pretty powerful. Look at Cadence, for example.
8472482
I'm still writing every day pretty much, between the last chapter of this story, and the final side story.
The final chapter is going to settle 10000-12000 words, and the final side story will probably be about 15x that, which is kinda a sequel, but kinda not?
But yeah, it's coming, and'll be updated hopefully soon.
too bad Alex (who abuses healing magic far too much) can't do anything.