• Published 23rd Feb 2015
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Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 4: Alicorn - Jeweled Pen



Book four of the Avatar series, with Discord free and the story under his control, what danger awaits our heroes?

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Chapter 18: You are the Applejack of my eye

“Yah did WHAT?” Flowerbloom asked, her eyes wide and mouth open in horror. “It, it was an accident! Yah didn't have tah do that!””

“Ah know it was, but ah didn't have any choice. Yah saw the way the pony reacted. Others might react like that too. An' that was just because where yah were raised, if they thought yah had actually killed him, there's no tellin' what they might have done,” Applejack said with a shake of her head. The family had gathered in the front room of the house, by the fire. Big Mac was speechless, unable to say even the smallest word. Granny Smith was talking, but none of the words could be understood.

“But, but he's dead. What about his family, what about--”

“What about our family? You're a good kid!” Applejack said fiercely. “It was his own fault, if he hadn't gone an' started freakin' out jus' cause where yah were raised, he'd have been fine. Yah don't deserve tah be imprisoned for any of this. Especially not for where yah called home.” She sighed. “If it really comes down tah it, ah'll say ah did it. But yah are not tah get involved.”

“But ah am involved! Ah killed him! Ah left the box out! Ah--”

“He tripped! It was an accident! It ain't your fault!” Applejack snapped before glaring over the ponies. “So, let's get the story straight. He came, looked at the farm, then he left. He didn't say anythin' about goin' everywhere, jus' took a few records and was gone. Yah got it?”

The ponies grudgingly nodded, before finally Granny Smith managed tah speak. “Gone plum mad!”

“We lost Flowerbloom once. I refuse to let us lose her again. Do yah want tah see her gone?” she asked, glaring at her elder.

Granny Smith glared right back for a few seconds before sighing and lowering her eyes. “No. Ah don't. We... lost her for so long. You're right.”

Applejack nodded. “Good. Flowerbloom, we're going to have to change some things around. If... anypony asks, yah were part of the rebellion all along. Yah were found at an early age by an orphanage an' were took in. Then we found yah an' were reunited.”

“W-what?” Flowerbloom asked, her eyes widening. “Yah want me tah lie about where ah was from? But--”

“Just for now. Ah'm gonna try tah find a way to work this out. This is only temporary though. Once ah figure somethin' out we can do that. But for now, as far as anypony knows, yah were never a part of the Water Nation.”

Flowerbloom glared. “But what about the Cherrys? Ah can't deny knowin' them. They raised me! They're mah family an--”

“It's just for a little bit. Please,” Applejack begged. “Jus' until ah can figure somethin' out. Ah'm gonna try an' get a hold of Twilight an' figure out a way tah deal with this. Nopony in town really knows where yah were from, jus' that we found yah.”

“A lot of ponies did in the resistance,” Flowerbloom muttered.

“Yeah, but most those ponies ain't here. Jus' please, work with me.”

There were a few grumbles, but the mare nodded. “Ah... ah guess if you're sure. But it all seems so... wrong.”

“Sometimes wrong things have tah be done for good,” Applejack said before glancing out towards the window. “Everypony, it's late and we're going to have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so get tah bed.” She trotted out, leaving the ponies. She walked out to the porch and listened, soon hearing them trot up to their rooms. She stared out over the fields before looking down at where he had fallen. The tool box had already been cleaned and moved, while the ground looked the same, completely packed in as always and without a drop of blood. The advantages of being an earth bender. Even if his body was found there was no way to link it to them. Except the fact he left the farm.

But there were still plenty of bandits and other bad sorts around. That was the whole reason they even had the guards escorting the relief funds here. She was very, very careful to bury him off property, up in the hills just outside the lands. It would have been easy for anypony to do it.

It hadn't been anypony, though. It had been her. She felt the guilt start to gnaw at her before she shook her head. She hated having to lie, but her sister was more important. Flowerbloom had risked her life just like the rest of them. She deserved her peace. Applejack wasn't going to let anypony take it.

------

Applejack pulled the cart into town a few days later, looking around nervously. It had been almost a week since Frost had disappeared and there had still been no questions. Even on the day after, the most she had gotten was a few ponies asking how it had gone. She stuck to the script and just said he came, took a lot of notes and then left. He was in a bit of a rush. She kept it as vague as possible, but fortunately nopony asked very much. Yet.

However, today was already looking to be pretty bad. As she trotted towards where she usually set up her stand, there were a number of guards hanging around, looking around. One approached her the moment she started to set the stand up.

“Miss Applejack?” the pony asked.

“Err, yeah?” she answered nervously, keeping her back to the pony. She was a horrible, horrible liar. Fortunately, she'd had a full week to practice and nopony seemed to have noticed the signs. That or they didn't care enough to examine her closely. She doubted the guard would be the same.

“I'm sorry to bother you, but are you familiar with a stallion by the name of Frost? He was supposed to have come here to catalog information about the ponies in this town.”

She nodded. “Yeah, ah recall. He came down to the farm an' asked a buncha questions 'fore checkin' out the lay of the land. Good pony, bit odd though.”

“Bit odd? How?”

She paused. “Well, errr. Yah see...” Her mind struggled to think of an answer. Finally it came up with one. It was a bit abusive to use, but it was all she could think of. “Well, when he found out ah was one of the ponies who traveled with the Avatar, he completely flipped. All ah did was teach her earth bendin', but yah'd think ah invented it or something the way he was goin' off.” She buried her head behind the cart as she started stocking things up. She knew it was wrong to name drop Twilight like that, but she knew it was the best way to avoid getting questioned. Being questioned was not good right now.

“W-what? You're the mare who trained the Avatar? I'd heard, I mean, oh. I errr, of course. I, err... I don't supposed you'd mind if we came down to the farm later, had a look around?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. Tell yah what, ah should have all mah pies an' such sold quick enough. If yah wanna wait, ah'll take yah down an' show yah everywhere the stallion went mahself.” She gave a quick nod.

“I... I don't know. We should probably--”

“Nonsense. Yah soldiers work awfully hard an' ah'd be remiss if ah didn't do everythin' ah could tah help yah out.” She glanced over at him and smiled. “Tell yah what. Ah'll even give yah all a free pie or strudel, no charge. Ain't nopony ever said an Apple wasn't generous tah visitors of the farm.”

The guard blushed and squirmed for a few moments. “W-well, we aren't really guests so much as--”

“Everypony who comes to the farm is a guest,” she said firmly. “Now go an' sit down, ah'll have these nice an' warmed in a few seconds. Ah won't take no for an answer.”

The pony looked ready to object, but soon the smell of the warming pies and strudels flowed out from the cart. He quickly relented. Within a few moments there was a long, steady line and the guards were quite happy to be eating their desserts. A few even came to buy more. Her cart was empty in record time. “Don't worry everypony. Ah'll be back tomorrow.” She closed up and strapped the cart on her back before smiling to the guards. “Now, how about ah show yah around?”

They nodded and she led them back to the farm. Her heart jumped a little when she saw Flowerbloom working on the fence. “Applebloom!” she called out.

The mare looked up, annoyance on her face. “Ah told--” The words caught in her mouth when she saw the guards. “Yes?”

“Yah mind takin' the cart back to the farm? Ah gotta show these guards around the farm. Nothin' tah worry about, jus' routine.”

“O-okay,” the mare said softly, giving them a worried look before taking the cart.

“That's mah little sister,” she said to the guard quickly before he could ask. She forced a fake smile on her face. “So, how about ah show yah around now? He saw a whole buncha things though so it could take a while. Yah all wanna stay for lunch?”

There was a pause as the guards looked between each other. The nearest sighed and shook his head. “As much as we would appreciate the generosity, we will be required to leave once we finish our investigation. Now, if you'll show us everything you showed him?”

She nodded and headed towards the house first. She managed to barely keep any panic from hitting her. She had everything under control, everything was going fine. They didn't suspect anything and--

Her eyes caught sight of something just under the porch. A pen. His pen was under the porch, barely hidden by the wood and shadows. She quickly galloped ahead and turned around, a grin on her face as her hoof hid it from view. “Now, we all started here. If yah'd like tah look around a bit?”

“Please,” one of the guards said as they started trotting around.

Applejack kept the grin on her face, though internally she was screaming. How had she missed it? She was certain she'd got everything. His pen should have been buried with him. How could she be so stupid? How did she forget it? To her relief, the guards weren't really looking that close. They were tapping the ground with their earth bending, shuffling the dirt around. She was thankful she didn't decide to just hide the body under the house.

“Hey, what's that?” one of the guards asked before walking straight towards her.

Applejack gulped nervously, her smile etched across her face. “Y-yes?” she asked softly. “What's what?”

“Behind you?”

She looked back. “It's the house an' the porch. Ain't nothin' special about it.”

“No, please move.”

“What? Why? What's wrong?” Applejack felt the panic rise in her like a raging beast, she struggled not to run off screaming. They were going to find the pen and take away her sister!

“That,” he said, pointing behind her, right at the pen. She gulped and looked back.

“W-what?” She wondered if she could take them all on. With surprise, maybe.

“There's a pen, right there.”

“I don't... oh! So there is. Heh, didn't even see it in the shadows there. Somepony must have dropped it,” she said with a nervous shrug.

She slowly stepped aside as the pony walked over and grabbed it. He examined it for a few moments. “I believe this is one of Fillydelphia's pens. This might have been Frost's. Do you know how it could have gotten there?”

Applejack resisted the urge to gulp nervously as the pony watched her. She shrugged. “He probably dropped it. He probably had a bunch of them, after all. Yah know how a pony can get when they gotta keep track of so many.”

The guards looked at each other before nodding. “Probably right. They are given quite a few. Can't do the job without them. Always one of the hidden costs of paper pushers. Can you show us some of the places he went? I think we're done here.”

“Of course,” she said before trotting off. Once her back was to them she let out a soft sigh of relief. She would have sworn she was busted. How could she be so stupid? She promised to be extra, extra careful from now on. She showed them through the fields, taking them to all the places she'd shown Frost. Fortunately, she hadn't taken him anywhere too close to where his body was now buried. The guards kept looking and, luckily for her, even managed to find another pen. But no sign of him.

“We can't help but notice there are a lot of hoof prints throughout the farm. Are you sure you didn't take him anywhere else?” one of the guards asked once they returned to the farm house.

“Of course not. Wasn't much point showin' him every single knick an' crack in the bark, ah only showed him the worst of it. We have so many trees here he'd have been here for a month goin' over every single one of them.”

The guard stared at her for a long while, before finally nodding. “True enough. So he left after finishing his forms?”

“As far as ah know. It was pretty late by then, though.” She looked the guard over and put on her best worried face. It wasn't hard, since she was pretty terrified that they were going to take her little sister away. “Yah... don't think somethin' actually happened tah him, do yah? Ah mean, he seemed like an alright stallion.”

The guard sighed. “To be completely honest, he's probably fine. This is just a precautionary measure. Best as I can figure he probably got a little lost. He might already be back by now. We'll be doing a few more patrols and trying to find out if we can find any sign of him before heading back. Thank you for your assistance.”

“Anytime. Yah all feel free tah come by next time you're in town, we'll set yah up with some real grub that'll put your cooks tah shame.”

There was a light chuckling as the ponies walked off town the path. She smiled and watched them, her hooves digging into the ground and bending, checking for any sign of them rounding about. But they just kept walking and were soon out of range even of her bending. She turned around and trotted back into the house, letting out a sigh.

“How'd it go? Do they know? A-am ah gonna have tah go away?” Flowerbloom asked weakly, starring.

“No!” Applejack said quickly with a shake of her head. “They don't suspect a thing an' they ain't gonna. Don't yah worry one little bit.” She walked over and patted the mare on the head. “Your big sister got it all handled, no problem. How about yah go an' get some sleep, okay?”

“Are yah sure? It's... ah mean, there were a lot of guards. They had to--”

“They don't suspect a thing,” the mare said with a grin. “They think he just got lost. By the time they realize he's gone... well, they got a lot of ground tah cover. There's no way they can link it back tah us.”

“Fine,” Flowerbloom said before turning and trotting up the stairs.

She looked up and frowned. Granny Smith and Big Mac were just watching her, slightly glaring.

“What? Ah'm jus' doin' what has tah be done tah protect our family. Tah protect Flowerbloom.” She sighed. “Ah know it's no good. Ah know it's wrong. But we don't have any choice. Yah all don't want tah lose her again, do yah?”

Flowerbloom stopped at the top of the stairs. “Ah could go home.”

“Yah are home.”

“Ah mean to... the Cherries. If ah'm not welcome here no more, then--”

“You are an Apple!” Applejack said firmly before stomping a hoof down. “Yah are as welcome here as any of us. Ah won't let anypony try tah drive yah away. Yah get me?”

Flowerbloom nodded before galloping back down and giving her a hug. “I-I love you, Applejack.”

The mare smiled and hugged her back. “An' ah love you too, lil sis. No matter what, you'll always be an Apple an' ah won't let anypony take yah away.”

She nodded before gently pulling away. “Have... you heard anything from Twilight yet?”

Applejack shook her head. “No. Ah sent her a letter, but there hasn't been a response yet. Ah'm sure she's jus' busy. She'll come as soon as she can.”

Flowerbloom gave a little nod. “That's good. I... thanks.” She then turned and trotted back up the stairs. Applejack watched her go, before turning to the rest of her family. Alas, the other two had already walked off.

“Ah'm doin' what ah have tah do,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “For the family. For all of us. For mah little sis.”

------

The days turned to weeks and finally into two months. There had still been no response from Twilight or sign from the Earth Kingdom that they suspected anything. There hadn't been any more ponies sent to make lists, either. Applejack was beginning to think she could finally put all this behind her. Sadly, she doubted it would be that easy.

As she walked the farm lands she looked over the trees, guilt eating away at her heart. She'd done it all for the right reasons, to keep her family safe. Together. But the last two months had made her miserable. Every day she woke up with the fear that somepony would find out what she did, that they'd come and take Flowerbloom away. She wanted to run out and tell the truth, to throw herself on the mercy of the Earth Kingdom and take her punishment.

But that wasn't an option. It wasn't just her that would get hurt, it was her little sister. She couldn't bear the thought of losing the mare again. It just wasn't fair. They'd had to work so hard to be together, their lives had been torn apart. But now that they'd found each other, to be separated again so soon was almost too much to bear. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't do it.

Even if it meant she had to live with these lies on her head for the rest of her life. Even if it made her some kind of lying pony. Her parents had raised her never to lie, but this wasn't the time to think of that. She was doing it for the right reasons. That had to make it right. No matter how hard it was. Her parents would have understood. They gave their lives to try and protect Flowerbloom, the least she could do was tell a few lies. Besides, everytime it became just a tiny bit easier. She barely even had the dreams anymore, too.

She frowned as she heard hooves galloping. She looked up to the main path and made out a pony running down it. Fear began to rise in her heart when she realized they were running towards the house, where else could they possibly be going? She relaxed when she realized she recognized them. One of the ponies from the village. “HEY! What's got a bee in your bonnet?” she called out.

The pony stopped before peering into the fields, his eyes finally landing on her. “Applejack, it's horrible! They found a body outside the town!”

Her heart tried to leap out of her mouth as her eyes widened. She galloped over to stand by him. “W-what? Where? How?”

“Some of the kids were playing, testing out their earth bending. It... it was horrible. They raised up a rock and there was this corpse. The town guards are on their way and there's already a message on the way to Fillydelphia. It was that pony who was here a few months ago, the one taking all those records. Somepony killed him and left his body out there!”

Applejack gulped and gave a nod. “Ah... ah see. Ah have tah let the others know. This ain't... oh... this is horrible.”

“I know! I had to let you know, there's just, we're trying to let everypony know. It's horrible. Please, let the rest of your family know, I've still got more ponies to tell. Bye!” The stallion ran off.

Applejack watched him leave. How could this happen? They were going to find out, they were going to take away Flowerbloom, they were going to--

“No!” she finally told herself before turning back towards the farm. “They have no idea. It was jus' an accident. It's been over two months. There ain't no way they can identify what happened tah him. Even if they could, no way they could know it happened at our farm. Was jus' an accident.” None the less, she trotted faster towards the farm, running to the porch and ringing the bell. Soon, they were all gathered and she gave a nervous smile to her family. “Ah got some bad news. They... found Frost. Outside of town. A couple'a kids found him an'--”

“Wait, kids?” Flowerbloom asked, her eyes going wide with horror. “A-are they okay? T-they weren't supposed to, t-that's horrible! Did they seem him? What happened? Are they okay?”

“Ah... errr, honestly don't know. Ah didn't ask about it. Ah jus', err, wanted tah warn everypony. Remember, stick to the story. We never saw him after he left. He jus' left an' never came back. Didn't trip, didn't hurt himself, probably attacked bah bandits or somethin'. Not our problem, okay?”

The ponies grudgingly nodded.

“Good. Now, ah'm headin' inta town tah--”

“Ah wanna come with yah!” Flowerbloom said quickly.

“No, yah ain't. Ah'm goin' in alone tah see what's goin' on. If there's--”

“But... but you're going to--”

“Ah'm gonna do what needs tah be done. Leave it tah me, okay? Don't do anything. That's an order.”

There were a few moments of silence before the ponies nodded.

“Good. Now, yah all got work tah get back tah. Ah'll be back as soon as ah can,” Applejack said before turning to trot down the street. Her mind reeled as she tried to think of what she'd have to do. Maybe she could send Flowerbloom away, back to the Cherries. Even if she was found out, they couldn't do anything to her then.

But then she'd lose the farm. It had been a part of the families for years. Losing it would be... one of the worst things that could happen. It was almost as much a part of the family as they were. She gulped and started walking a little faster.

She soon arrived in the town and gulped nervously at the sight. Finding the body was easy, at least half the town had to be surrounding it outside the city. Everypony struggling to get close while others struggled to keep their children from getting too close and seeing the death. She took a slow, deep breath and walked towards them. “So, what all happened? Yah all sure it's him?”

Some of the ponies looked up before shrugging. “Seems to be him. But, well, it's kind of hard to tell. A lot of him... well...”

Applejack moved through the group, soon finding the body. She let out a soft gasp. The months hadn't been kind. His mane had all fallen out and the few rain storms they'd had made his corpse bloated and wet. She shook her head and turned away. “Ah... ah don't know who he could be. Don't look like him tah me...” She wished she had buried him deeper. A few dozen feet underground. But she hadn't been thinking clearly, she'd wanted to do it so fast. She glanced again before shivering. They'd put the body in a cart and hauled it all the way to the edge of the city, putting it on as some sort of grim, macabre display.

She could hardly believe that all this was her fault. Everything that happened. If she had been more careful. Had noticed the tool box. Caught him. Stopped him from backing up. It had all happened so fast, though. She didn't know he'd trip like that. If she'd been outside, she would have been able to bend the dirt to catch him. Maybe if they didn't have those lifted, hardwood floors. Why did they have to have them, the barn had dirt floors, so could they. Sure, in the winter it would be awful, but she could have saved him.

“It's okay, he was just a visitor. You don't have to take it so hard,” a pony said from her right.

Applejack looked up and put on a fake smile. “S-sorry. It's jus' hard, yah know? Tah think this pony was a visitor not long ago. Now he's... what happened? Bandits?”

“No idea,” another pony said with a shrug. “Probably won't know until the soldiers get here.”

“Ah hope they can--” She paused as somepony tapped on her back. She turned around, but nopony seemed to be focused on her, too busy looking at the corpse. She slowly pulled herself out from the group.

“Enough! Everypony, out of the way!” a mare suddenly yelled as she trotted forward. The mayor. “This is going to be official Fillydelphia business soon enough and if we tamper with it any more than we already have, there'll be Tartarus to pay. Just haul the body into the jail, we'll lock it up until they can have a look at it.”

“The jail? But then I'll have to smell it all day! Can't we store it anywhere else?” the sheriff complained.

“The cells have plenty of circulation, so no. It's the best place for now. So move it!”

Applejack moved back with the crowd, watching as the corpse was hauled into the town. She swore somepony kept tapping on her back, but everytime she turned around they were gone. It was probably just ponies nudging into her. Once the body was hauled away she shook her head and trotted back down the path towards the farm. This was not going to be easy.

She was halfway down to the farm when she felt a tap and swore she heard somepony mumble something. She turned around quickly, but there was nopony there. She couldn't even feel anything with her earth bending. “Hello? Is anypony there?” she asked with a nervous gulp. “Ah... ah know ah felt yah. Don't try tah play games with meh. Ah'm a master earth bender!” But alas, there was nopony there. She finally shook her head and started trotting back to the farm. “You're getting' paranoid, Applejack. Ain't right. Nopony is there tryin' tah sneak up on yah. If they were, yah'd know. Yah could feel it.” She frowned. “An' now you've gone an' started talkin' tah yourself. Well, ah guess it ain't so bad. It's only a problem if somethin' starts talkin' back.”

She went silent and listened, but there were no small voices or anything. She was all alone. She let out a soft sigh of relief. “Yah ain't mad. You're jus' a liar. It's for the good, though. That's all. All yah gotta worry about.” She did look back again though. She couldn't shake it, she had the oddest feeling she was being watched. Was this what being a liar did to a pony? Drove them crazy? She sure hoped not.

------

A hard pounding on the door made Applejack's eyes pop open. She glanced at the window, but it was still dark. It couldn't be after midnight. “Who in tarnation?” She climbed out of the bed and trotted through the house down to the door, slowly pulling it open. “Who is it? Can ah help yah?”

“Yes you can,” the pony on the opposite end said. Applejack was taken aback by the mare. She was a tall unicorn with a black mane and white coat. She looked just like every other unicorn though, but... something about her was just different. She somehow looked more real. Even thought it was crazy to think so, the mare somehow seemed as if she was somehow glowing with how real she was. Applejack couldn't understand how her mind came to that weird conclusion. The mare also seemed to be moving weird. Or rather, not moving weird. It was as if she was standing there, but at the same time she gave Applejack the impression that she was moving, fidgeting, moving around like any pony would. Except she obviously wasn't. It was as if there was two ponies there and she could only be slightly aware of one of them. It gave her a headache trying to focus on it. It also didn't help that the mare both seemed to be talking and not saying a word at the same time.

“How?” Applejack finally asked.

The mare sighed. “I'm here to ask you some questions about the body found outside the town.”

Applejack's eyes widened. “What about it? Ah saw it when they brought it in, but that couldn't have been more than a few hours ago. Yah the investigator? How'd yah get from Fillydelphia so fast?”

“Yes! I'm the investigator.” Relief and... not relief seemed to spread over the mare's face at the same time. Applejack closed her eyes and shook her head, feeling the headache bubble up.

“Well, come on in,” she said, motioning inside.

“Who is it?” a voice asked from atop the stairs. Flowerbloom was staring down, her eyes wide and fearful.

“Nopony, Applebloom. Go back tah bed.”

“But--”

“Go tah bed,” she said firmly before motioning the other mare into the kitchen. After a few moments she heard the door upstairs close. “Sorry about that. Lil sister an' all, she jus' gets curious.”

“She's a wonderful little sister, she'd risk her life for you.”

“Huh?” Applejack asked, cocking an eye as she looked at the mare. She then nodded. “Well, ah suppose. But that's what family does. Yah look out for each other.”

“Oh! Yes, of course. Now, about that body.” The mare took a deep breath. “What do you know about it?”

Applejack blinked. “Well, ah saw them haul it inta town. Ah heard a coupla kids found it. A shame, honestly. He seemed like a good sort. Did bandits get him? Ah heard we've been having problems on the road cause of them.”

The mare frowned for a moment as she looked her up and down. It seemed as if she was talking again. But as before, no words seemed to be coming out and her mouth wasn't actually moving. Finally, she sighed. “Problems on the road? Not that I'm aware of. Why, what have you heard?”

“Err, well, the bits from the relief funds have guards all the time. Ah heard it was to protect them from bandits and stuff.” Applejack struggled not to start sweating. What did this mare want? What was she up to?

“I see. I was not aware of that, but I don't believe it was bandits. Do you know where the body was found?”

Applejack shook her head.

“I think you do, miss Applejack. Perhaps one of the villagers told you?”

The earth pony struggled to think. Had she been told? One of them had mentioned the kids were playing and practicing their bending. Perhaps he'd said where? He must have. “Well, huh. Ah guess it kinda slipped mah mind. Ah only know it was jus' out of town. Not far from here, actually. Buried under the ground, right?” She gulped a little, her hooves sliding off the table and into her lap as she struggled to contain her panic.

“Indeed. An earth bender hid it then. I don't suppose you know anypony who would have done it? After all there are plenty of earth benders here. Lots of them, in fact.”

Applejack shook her head, this time she couldn't hold it in. She had never been good at lying and this interrogation was awful. It went against every core of her being to lie like this. Sweat was forming on her brow. “Ah have no idea. Ah never heard or saw anythin' about it. Ah wouldn't know why anypony would want him dead. Even if somepony here killed him, ah doubt it was on purpose.” She regretted it the instant she said it.

“Oh? Why do you say that? An accident?”

She gulped and shrugged. “Cause he seemed like a nice enough fella. Jus' tryin' tah help ponies. Ah can't imagine anypony here would have wanted tah hurt him.”

“Then why would they bury him?”

“Ah... ah don't know? Fear? Maybe afraid they'd get in trouble?” She could feel her lies starting to crumble. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. All the lies building up inside her. She didn't want any of this, she'd never wanted any of this. She just wanted to keep her sister safe.

“If it was an accident... well, there would be trouble. But that pony had friends. Family. Loved ones and is now dead. Don't they deserve to know how it happened? Wouldn't you say?”

Applejack nodded. She was doing this for family too. She had to protect them.

“Are you sure you don't know anything? Please, Applejack. Tell me the truth. It's always been your best policy.”

It definitely had. But she had to lie. She had to. “Ah... ah don't know. He jus' got hurt an'... an' that's that. Poor stall--”

“Are you trying to protect somepony?”

That sent off alarms in her head. “No! Ah ain't! Why would ah be tryin' tah protect somepony? Ain't nopony tah protect! We're all good, law abidin' citizens here! All of us!” She tried to keep it in, but each lie made it harder and harder.

Realization seemed to dawn on the mare's face, though her face never moved. “I... see.” She took a deep breath and held out a hoof. “Applejack. Listen to me. It's not easy holding in a lie. Letting it build and build until it overtakes you. It'll come out eventually, it's best that you say it now, before it's gotten out of hand. Please. If not for me, then for those ponies you know and care about. The ones you're an example to.”

Applejack crumbled, her walls falling apart. She could feel something within her trying to build them up, but the push was just too much. She rested her hooves on the table. “It... it was an accident.”

“Yes?”

“Nopony was supposed tah get hurt!” she sobbed, tears forming in her eyes. “He was walkin' backwards an' fell off the porch. His head hit the tool box an' he... he didn't make it. Ah tried tah help him, b-but he was already dead. There was nothin' ah could do.” She felt the relief as the lies melted away from her. It felt... so much better. She didn't have to lie now. Even if new problems would happen now. “Ah hid his body. It was mah fault. Applebloom wasn't responsible. She left the tool box out but there was no way we could know he'd be so freaked out an' run out like that. That he'd trip. But... a-ah couldn't risk it.”

“Why? Why couldn't you tell anypony?”

Applejack bit her lip, but it was too late now. “Applebloom ain't from here. She was a member of the Water Nation, they foalnapped her as a child. She fought with me against them. Ah didn't want them tah take her away. Please. If there's gonna be an arrest, arrest me. It's mah fault, it was mah decision. Applebloom... she's innocent.” She took a deep breath. That was all the lies gone, all the truth out. Well, except one. She put a hoof down. “An' ah'll go peacefully. But... ah swear. If yah try tah take mah little sister away, ah'll fight the entire Fillydelphia army off if ah have tah. She's a good pony an' ah won't let--” She let out a startled yelp as the mare hugged her. “What? What in tarnation are yah--”

The pony seemed to be... it was two ponies! But, they were in one place. She could make out the second one. It was Twilight! And the other one was... a pure white earth pony. With a necklace for a cutie mark, her element. Both ponies smiled up at her until the white one disappeared and her element formed around her neck. “W-what in tarnation is goin' on? Twilight? What are yah doin' here?”

“It's a long story! You have no idea how hard it has been to get you to hear me, I had to get your element to help me!” the alicorn said happily. “I've been trying for... well, I don't know how long. The others are-- oh. We... aren't out yet.” She looked around. “Applejack, listen to me. None of this is real. Discord has you trapped in your own little world. This world. Flowerbloom and her friends are in the real world trying to buy me time. Trying to help you escape.”

“What's goin' on?” a voice asked from outside the door.

Applejack looked back to see her little sister and her big brother in the door, glaring at the alicorn.

Applejack waved them away. “Nothin', go tah bed. Ah got this--”

“Why is she here? She doesn't belong here!” Flowerbloom said as she pointed at Twilight. “I bet she's here to try to take me away!”

Applejack blinked a few times. “What?”

“Don't listen to her,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. “Its grip on you is weakening, it's going to start getting desperate. Just remember, it's not real. It's not really your little sister or your brother.”

“Of course ah'm real! She's just tryin' tah trick you so she can take me away!” Flowerbloom said with a shake of her head. “Don't believe her. Do ah look fake? Do ah feel fake?” She stepped forward, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Don't... don't yah know your lil sister?”

Applejack pushed Twilight away before looking between the two. “Well... ah... ah do believe all this.” She gently stroked her element. “Ah believe all this is real. But...” She turned towards Twilight. “Ah also believe in mah friend. Ah know yah wouldn't lie tah me. Ah know yah wouldn't try tah drive mah family away an'... an' most of all...” She closed her eyes as her element began to glow. “Ah know that ah never should have lied. It don't solve any problems. It jus' delays them an' makes them that harder tah face later on.”

“NOOOO!” Flowerbloom yelled before charging at the earth pony. The element erupted into light, enveloping all around as the world began to fall apart.

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