Chapter VI: Apples to Apples
Chapter VI: Apples to Apples
The mare who looked like Applejack continued to stare; eyes darting back and forth between Twilight and Rarity like she had never seen such a sight before.
The two unicorns turned and gave each other confused looks. Rarity gave a shrug while Twilight turned back to question the pony only to find her standing inches away from her face. Twilight jumped back with a, “GAH,” as the blond pony lifted a hoof like she wanted to touch Twilight’s horn. She swatted the hoof down and asked rather coolly, “Can I help you with something?”
The mare blinked a few times then gasped like she had just snapped out of a trance and blushed. “Oh my, I am ever so terribly sorry. I just ain’t never seen a unicorn before.” Twilight raised an eyebrow, not just at her bizarre comment but at how she talked as well. The girl sounded like she was a southern belle from straight out of one of Rarity’s romance novels she would occasionally recite to her friends. Rarity apparently noticed this too because she was trying her hardest not to laugh. Her eyes continuously darted from Applejack to the doppelganger before them, tearing up from the laughter she was suppressing.
Clearing her throat, Twilight tried to get back to the matter at hoof. “What do you mean you’ve never seen a unicorn before?”
“Well, just as it sounds. I thought unicorns were pretty much extinct; ‘cept for the two that work for Empress Nightmare Moon.”
“WHAT!?” Six voices shouted in unison.
The mare cocked her head to one side. “Uhh, Empress Nightmare Moon; our great sovereign, Her Imperial Majesty?”
They all stared at her, still reeling in shock.
She scratched the side of her face saying, “Y’all ain’t from around here are you?”
Pinkie Pie jumped to the front of the group and said, “Nope. We’re your other dimension neighbors and we-“
She was cut off by Rainbow Dash who tackled her to the floor and covered the pink pony’s mouth with her hooves. “What she means is we’re from uhh, very, very far away,” Rainbow lied trying to give her most convincing smile.
But the stranger wasn’t so fooled. “Y’all came outta that big tear in the sky?”
They all shook their heads and lied, “No.”
The mare narrowed her eyes and scowled. “Ya know, it ain’t polite to lie to someone ya just met.”
There was a tense moment between the two parties; both of them standing firm on their convictions. The southern pony stood with an unyielding stare that would have made Fluttershy proud if she hadn’t been hiding behind Rarity.
The standoff continued for a full minute before Twilight let out a defeated sigh. If this mare really was this world’s version of Applejack, that would make her the Element of Honesty; hopefully. They would have to tell her the truth sooner or later if they wanted her help. Twilight opted to tell the truth now rather than keep up with the palpable lie she and her friends were trying to push.
“Alright, the truth is, yes, we came from the tear in the sky. We’re from another version of Equestria that exists on the other side of that rift,” she said diplomatically.
“I knew it!” the mare said a little too smugly for Twilight’s taste. “Y’all don’t look like the rest of the village ponies; your coats are much nicer lookin’.” She gave an excited smile as she looked over the foreign ponies. “I can’t believe it, ponies from another world in my orchard.” Her smile faltered before turning into a concerned frown. “Oh wait, the guards said to turn in anypony who comes from that there rift thingy. I guess y’all are tresspasin’. “
Rainbow leapt off of Pinkie and flew into the mare’s face. “What! We’re trespassing? Your guards are the ones invading our world and killing ponies!” She put her hooves on her hips and said in a mock southern accent, “Ya know, it ain’t polite ta arrest someone ya just met.”
She ignored the pegasus’ poor impersonation and gave a guilty shrug. “Well I’m awfully sorry, I really am, but that’s what the guards said and I would hate to get in trouble for bein’ dishonest.”
Rainbow puckered her face and let out a snort of frustration. Before she could yell some more she felt a tug on her tail and turned around to see Applejack who had been relatively silent since her look alike showed up.
“Let me handle this, RD.” She sounded confident but she had a nervous look in her eye. Rainbow hesitated for a moment before backing down and allowing Applejack to stand face-to-face with her other.
There was a heavy silence as the two mares locked eyes with one another. Applejack kept a steady, powerful gaze, like she was trying to tell the blond pony something that couldn’t be put into proper words.
Her reflection’s eyes widened in revelation and she took a large step back. Her mouth moved but no sound came out. Finally she stammered, “Y-you. You’re me? I-I can’t believe it.”
Applejack nodded and stuck her hoof out. “Ah’m Applejack. Mah family owns the Sweet Apple Acres of our world.”
The other mare stared at the outstretched hoof. “A-Applejack… that wouldn’t happen to be a nickname for Jackelyn would it?”
Applejack blushed and stared at the dirt. “Uhh, yeah, that’s mah actual name. But I prefer Applejack.”
Jackelyn slowly lifted a hoof and tentatively bumped it against Applejacks; like she was testing to make sure it wasn’t some type of illusion. “Well, Applejack,” she said slowly, “I guess it’s nice to meet… me.” She let out a nervous giggle that Applejack echoed. “Well, I reckon I can’t turn myself into the authorities now can I?”
Applejack smiled. “Thanks… Jackelyn.”
“Of course… Applejack.”
Before things could get awkward, Twilight stepped around Applejack and addressed Jackelyn. “Umm, App… Jackelyn, you mentioned something about Nightmare Moon earlier. Err, what exactly did you mean when you called her ‘Empress,’” Twilight asked nervously, fearing the probable answer.
“I meant exactly what I said darling. Her Imperial Majesty rules over everything in Eternal Night.”
Twilight thought she sounded almost too cheerful about it but pushed that to the back of her mind. The front of her mind was trying to digest this new information. While it was definitely shocking, it did explain certain things; namely the guard’s visors and why they acted like they did when the helmets came off. If it was truly everlasting night in this world then they wouldn’t be able to handle unfiltered sunlight. Still, this opened up a whole new jar of questions that Twilight needed answers to.
As if reading Twilight’s mind, Jackelyn asked, “How about y’all come with me back to the manor and I’ll answer any questions y’all have. Then you can tell me about your world. Sound fair?”
Twilight nodded. “It’s a deal.”
Jackelyn turned and started making her way down the orchard path. “Then follow me. My house ain’t but a hill over.”
The ponies began to follow their new friend, Pinkie bounced after asking, “Ooh, ooh, will there be snack?”
Jackelyn laughed, “Sure, I bet Ma and Pa can cook something up. They just love entertainin’ guests.”
Applejack’s blood suddenly turned cold as her heart seemed to constrict to the point where she could barely breathe. Her ears were ringing with Jackelyn’s last sentence. Her Ma and Pa were here?
They were alive?
She slowed down considerably, falling to the back of the pack. Her whole entire body suddenly felt heavy, bogged down by the weight of memories and grief.
Fluttershy noticed and quickly fell back, putting a hoof on AJ’s shoulder causing her head to snap up in surprise. She looked at Fluttershy who wore a concerned expression. “Applejack, are you going to be alright?”
Applejack turned her gaze forward, unable to look the pegasus in the eye. She swallowed a large lump in her throat and lied, “Y-yeah, Fluttershy, I’ll be fine. Just fine.”
******
The sun was casting a brilliant orange glow across the world when Celestia found Discord napping on a cloud over the Everfree Forest. He lay on his back, mismatched arms tucked behind his head and his favorite pair of sunglasses resting over his eyes. He continued to snore loudly as the princess drew close to him. With every breath he released, a different animal noise came out.
Celestia hovered in front of him and called out, “Discord!”
The draconequus gave a particularly loud snore and exhaled the cry of an elephant.
Celestia could already feel her patience waning. “DISCORD!” she yelled.
He gave a couple of snorts before fully waking up. “Ugh! Can’t a draconequus get some sleep around here?” He stretched out his long snakelike body by twisting himself into a corkscrew and spinning like a propeller. Finished, he looked over his glasses and frowned, “Oh, it’s you Celestia.” He fluffed up his cloud before curling up again and dropping his head onto his hands. “Whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”
“I know you didn’t do it, that’s why I need your help.”
Discord perked his head up. “Oh, so this isn’t about Las Pegasus?”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Discord snapped his eagle talons and the cloud reshaped into a sofa for him to lounge upon. “So, Celestia my dear, you come to me asking for my help? What’s the matter, your Twilight Sparkle stuck up a tree?”
Celestia rolled her eyes. She knew dealing with the Spirit of Chaos would prove to be a challenge. Discord rarely took anything seriously. She could only hope with the situation she was about to present him with would be enough for him to drop his nonchalant attitude for at least a short moment. “This is serious Discord. Equestria is under attack.”
Discord let a loud obnoxious yawn as he stretched out his hand and pulled a bottle of hot sauce from thin air. He used his elongated fang to snap it open and said, “Sorry, Tia, but that sounds like a you problem. You know I abhor violence.” He began to take a long draught from his hot sauce bottle.
“The intruders come from another world Discord,” she continued, trying to ignore his shenanigans. “They crossed through the Interdimensional Rift.”
Discord spit out a stream of raspberry ice tea that splattered across the alicorn’s face. Discord grinned sheepishly as Celestia glared daggers at him, ice tea dripping off her face. With a snap of his fingers, Celestia instantly dried off much to her relief. “I’m sorry; did you say they came through the rift?”
Celestia took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes; there is a tunnel linking our two worlds together. I’ve sent the Bearers of Harmony on a mission to close the portal, but we need time Discord and that’s something I don’t think we have an abundance of.”
Discord tossed the bottle into the air where it turned into a flock of butterflies and flew off. He sat up straight and gave Celestia his full attention. Crossing through the rift was stupid and dangerous. It was something that not even he, himself would try, provided he could even produce the magic required for such a trip. Whoever had torn a hole through the fabric of reality was both incredibly powerful, and incredibly moronic.
“Alright, Celestia, I’ll bite. What exactly do you want me to do?” he asked although he already had a sinking suspicion of what it might be.
Celestia eyed the draconequus and said, “You know of the creatures in there better than most, Discord and thus, have the best chance at keeping them at bay. I need you to guard the portal until Twilight and her friends are able to close it.”
Discord brought his tail up to his chin and began to stroke his beard in thought. “Celestia, need I remind you that the void is practically infinite. You probably have a higher chance of getting struck by lightning five times in a row and getting mauled by polar bear than a monster finding its way out of there.” He popped a calculator into his hands and ran his talons across it before showing Celestia a smiley face on the answer screen. “See? Numbers don’t lie.”
She brushed his hand away and glared at him, her patience drawing thin. “The power radiating from that portal could act as a potential magnet for those monsters. It could draw them right to us!”
Discord’s face dropped into a frown. “Didn’t think about that.” He sighed and got up from his cloud sofa, wiping it out of existence with a flick of his tail. “Fine, Celestia, I’ll play watchdog for you.”
Celestia let out a breath of relief and was about to thank Discord when he suddenly put his paw over her muzzle. “No, no, no. Don’t say it. I’m not doing this for you; I’m doing this for me. You ponies are my toys to play with and I don’t feel like sharing with anyone or anything. So you better do your part too and not lose Celestia.” He lowered his hand and snapped his fingers so that he was now wearing a police uniform complete with a baton. He gave her a mock salute and said, “Cheerio,” before vanishing in a burst of light.
Celestia felt a smile tug at her lips. She would have to thank Fluttershy again for her work on reforming the mischievous spirit. He cared, even if he didn’t want to admit it; in some way he cared.
The white alicorn turned back in the direction of Ponyville and took off towards the fight, ready to do her part as well. She had not even flown a mile when she heard somepony cry her name. She stopped and whirled about to see a messenger pegasus flying towards her. By the speed at which she was flying, Celestia could tell it was urgent.
The pegasus stopped in front of Celestia and gave a quick bow. Panting heavily, she held up a scroll and breathed out, “A… message Your Highness… from your sister… Her Royal Highness… Princess Luna.” The poor mare looked like she was about to collapse on the spot. Celestia conjured up a cloud and asked her to take a rest which the mare did so gratefully.
Curious to know why Luna would send her a letter, Celestia took the parchment addressed to her and read it through once, twice, three times before the message fully sunk in. A sea of emotions rolled through her ranging between understanding, fear, concern and anger. She was having a hard time deciding on which one to focus on.
She settled on anger.
Nightmare Moon, the bane of her existence, had found a new way to attack everything she held dear. The black-hearted phantom had invaded her home and attacked her ponies so that she could rule over two worlds trapped in eternal night. Just thinking about it made Celestia’s blood boil. She thought she had been done with this, but instead, Nightmare Moon had found a new way to haunt Equestria.
And Luna! Her proud, stubborn, brash sister had, according to the letter she sent, decided to chase after her with the ridiculous idea that Nightmare Moon was her enemy to face alone.
Celestia grit her teeth in frustration. Luna, why couldn’t you just listen to me and stay put? She wanted to separate us! She wanted you to you to go after her! Celestia had left Canterlot thinking that she was the one walking into a potential trap when in reality; she had left Luna to walk into one instead.
She was angry. Angry at Luna, angry at Nightmare Moon, angry at herself…
Her anger quickly died out as fear and concern took over. Luna had chased after Nightmare Moon. Would Luna be alright, could she handle herself? That monster wouldn’t have shown her face if she didn’t think she could handle Luna. Celestia wanted nothing more than to chase after her sister to make sure she was alright; but that would mean leaving her kingdom without a leader. And for all she knew, going after Luna might be part of Nightmare Moon’s plan.
The Princess of the Sun wanted to scream in frustration. She had sworn that she would never be caught off-guard again after the events of the royal wedding; yet here she was being made a fool of once more and having to send in other ponies to help fix her folly. A steely resolve filled her eyes as a warm aura surrounded her body. No! she decided. I will not stand idly by nor will I be struck down! I will defend my kingdom till my dying breath! If Nightmare Moon wants me, she will have to come here and fight on MY terms!
The warm aura turned into a golden light which coalesced into a thin layer of bright polished armor that snapped onto her body. She turned back towards Ponyville and sped off to aid her ponies in battle.
The forgotten messenger mare who had sat on the cloud the entire time watching her princess’ expressions constantly change in the last five minutes stood up in confusion and called out, “Wait, princess where are you going?”
Without looking back, she said in a strong voice that was carried on the winds across Equestria, “To war.”
******
Seven figures moved through the extensive orchard that was filled to the brim with ripening fruit. Hanging overhead was the bright ball light imitating the sun. Unable to resist her curiosity, Twilight increased her pace to catch up to Jackelyn who was leading the group. She had worried expression that instantly disappeared when she saw Twilight out of the corner of her eye.
“Apple- uhh, Jackelyn,” Twilight corrected herself, “I have to ask, what is that thing exactly?”
Jackelyn followed her gaze upwards and smiled. “Right, y’all ain’t never seen a sol before.” She stopped and turned to face the rest of the group. “That thing up there is what we call a sol. It does what the sun did a long time ago and helps us grow crops. It knows what group of trees needs light the most and shines it on them for a couple of hours before moving to another spot on the farm. Only farmers are allowed to have them.”
Twilight nodded her head, deeply fascinated by this kind of magic. “Amazing, how do they work, I mean, what keeps its magic going and how does it know when to move?”
Jackelyn’s smile left her face. “Uhh, gee I rightly don’t know. It just sorta happens.”
It was Twilight’s turn to frown. “You mean you’ve never tried to research them?”
She shook her head, “Nope. They’re gifts from Her Majesty, and you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when it’s from the empress.” She turned around and began leading them further through the sea of trees and up a large hill.
Twilight sighed and followed along. If they weren’t on a mission with lives at stake, she would have stopped right there to study the sols. Shaking her head of her desires for science, Twilight asked the next question on her mind, although she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear the answer. “So, what did you mean when you said Unicorns were… extinct?”
Jackelyn continued walking, trying not to make eye contact with the unicorn. “Well ya see… about a hundred years ago, the Lunar Empire had a rebellion. My granny tells the story better than I do, but, the unicorns did something that made Empress Nightmare Moon angry somethin’ fierce. So… she had them all killed. Every last one. Again, my granny tells the story better, y’all can ask her about it.”
Six mouths hung open in abject horror. Jackelyn kept on walking while the rest of them stared on after her. An entire race had been killed off, just like that? Twilight ran up to Jackelyn and in a panicked voice asked, “B-but they can’t all be dead right? You even said two of them worked for Nightmare Moon didn’t you?”
The orange mare halted and sighed, “Well, yes, but General Sombra has been working for Her Majesty for as long as anypony can remember and I’ve never actually seen-“
“Did you say General Sombra?” Twilight squeaked.
Jackelyn nodded. “Yeah, why?”
Twilight suddenly flashed her a very forced smile and said, “Oh, nothing! Everything is absolutely fine. Please, lead the way.” Jackelyn shrugged and continued to lead on while Twilight fell back to the rest of her friends. “I’m getting a really, really bad feeling about all this,” she whispered.
“Join the club,” Applejack said moodily.
They crested the tall hill and Jackelyn gestured to the valley below them. “Here we are,” she said cheerfully. The others gasped loudly at what was laid out below them.
Back in their world, Applejack had a modest farmhouse with a barn and a grain silo. Here however, a large, white, two-story mansion stood in place of the farm house. It had a wrap-around porch and an awning held up by marble white pillars. The front yard was a beautifully manicured field of grass with a stone walkway cutting through it leading up to the house. On both sides were large water fountains in the shape of griffons standing on their hind legs with water flowing from their beaks. To the mansion’s left side was a large red barn surrounded by a cluster of apple trees.
Jackelyn laughed at their stunned faces. “Yep, it sure is pretty ain’t it? Welcome to Sweet Apple Manor.” She smiled proudly at her estate while Applejack looked off into the distance and scrunched her face in disgust.
Jackelyn tapped her chin in thought and looked over the group of foreign ponies. “Hmm, now how am I gonna explain y’all to my folks? I’d really hate to lie to them, but I’m not sure how they’d take visitors from another world.”
“Well, just say that we’re travelers from really far away,” Rainbow offered. “You’re technically not lying.”
Jackelyn mulled it over, “I guess you’re right,” she said before pointing to Rarity and Twilight. “But how will I explain them?”
Rainbow sat in the air, stumped by their new predicament. How did you explain two creatures that were supposed to be extinct?
“Oooh, oooh,” Pinkie Pie bounced. “I’ve got an idea!” She ran over to Jackelyn and snatched her bonnet from her head fully exposing her long, curly, golden locks and placed that hat on Rarity’s head before doing the same thing to Applejack and putting the old Stetson on Twilight. “Ta da! Hats can make anything better!”
Rarity admired the hat and said, “Well, it is lovely, even if it does mess up my mane a tad.” She grimaced at Twilight. “However, I feel that’s a rather poor fashion choice for you dear.”
Jackelyn stood by the white unicorn and nodded. “I agree, that hat just doesn’t match your coat at all.”
Applejack stomped her hoof on the ground and snapped, “None of y’all should be caring about fashion right now in the first place! Can we please just focus and get this over with!?”
Jackelyn looked taken aback for a moment but shrugged it off and led them down the hill towards the manor. Twilight fell behind to match Applejack’s pace and asked, “Are you o-“
“Ah’m fine Twilight,” she said roughly. The unicorn knew that she wasn’t but decided not to press on it at the moment.
The seven mares walked across the grass lawn and up to the wooden porch. Jackelyn knocked once before opening the door and calling out, “Hey y’all, I’m back and I brought some new friends.” She led them into a large entrance hall that was floored with a ruby red carpet. In the center was a large Red Delicious Apple with the letters S, A, A inscribed around it. Two staircases curved out in front of them and led up to the second floor with a long hallway to the back of the manor dividing them.
From down the steps came a small school-aged filly with a red mane tied back with a pink bow. She ran up and hugged Jackelyn’s front leg. “Hiya sis, I thought you said you were goin’ for a walk? You weren’t gone very long.”
“I know, but I made some new friends and thought I’d invite them to supper. Why don’t you introduce yourself?” She stepped out of the way so the six other ponies could see her.
“Hi, I’m Bloom, nice to meet y’all!”
They all gave a weak smile and waved back at the exact replica of Apple Bloom. She looked each of them up and down before stopping on Applejack and saying, “Wow, you look a lot like my sister.” Like Jackelyn, Bloom had a more sophisticated southern accent to her.
Applejack stumbled on her words. Like her doppelganger, she hated lying and she was never very good at it. “Uhh, r-really? Ah hadn’t noticed.”
“Oh, and your cutie mark is the same as hers too! Wow, you girls could almost be twins!”
Laughing nervously, Jackelyn scooted her little sister away from a now sweating Applejack. “Why don’t you go find Macintosh and meet us in the dining room for supper, alright?”
“Okay, sis!” Bloom chirped before running off.
Just as the young filly left, a new voice called from down the hallway, “Jackelyn, did I hear you say something about guests?”
Applejack’s heart nearly stopped as a new pony made her way into the room. She was a tall, slender, orange beauty with an emerald green mane tied back into a neat bun. Like Applejack, she had three freckles on both of her cheeks. Her cutie mark was an orange blossom flower. She looked at them with a kind and welcoming expression. “Goodness me, that’s a few more mouths to feed. Oh well, it’s always nice to have company come over.” She gave a little curtsy in the apron she was wearing. “My name is Blossom; it’s lovely to meet you all! Well, I better go get supper ready.” She smiled and returned to the kitchen humming, what was to Applejack, a familiar lullaby.
She watched as her mother walked away. She was just as Applejack remembered. Yes, the accent was a little different, but everything else was so hauntingly familiar it hurt. She felt a hoof on her shoulder and turned to see Fluttershy giving her an encouraging smile. Applejack tried to return it but it didn’t reach her eyes.
Not noticing Applejack’s discomfort, Jackelyn ushered them out of the entrance hall and into the dining room that was across from the kitchen. It was a spacious room with a view some of the orchard behind the house. The table was a long rectangle and already set with fine linen with a massive chandelier above it fully lit. The foreign ponies all found a seat on one side of the table while their host sat across from them making herself comfortable for dinner.
There was an awkward silence amongst them as time slowly whittled away. None of the guests were quite sure of what to do at the present moment and found themselves fidgeting uncomfortably; Applejack especially. She continuously leaned over to stare at the dining room door, biting her lip in anticipation of who would no doubt walk through it.
Jackelyn broke the silence with a polite cough and asked to nopony specifically, “So, tell me what it’s like in your world. How different is it from ours?”
“Well for starters, unicorns aren’t extinct,” Rarity said with a trace of indignation lining her voice.
Jackelyn coughed nervously again and allowed her gaze to wander around the room in an attempt to look anywhere but at the unicorn. “Ahem, well, is there anything else?”
Twilight spoke next, “Well we have an equal portion of day and night instead of just night.”
“Fascinating! Doesn’t the sun burn your eyes though?”
“Well, since we’re used to seeing it every day, not really.”
“Yeah,” Pinkie added, “it only hurts if you stare right at it! I did that once! Me and Gummy- he’s my pet alligator- had a contest to see who could stare at it the longest. I won, but then Mrs. Cake had to take me to the eye doctor ‘cause I was seeing really funny black spots everywhere and I accidently used salt instead of sugar when I was baking cupcakes, boy, did those taste funny and not the ‘ha-ha’ funny, it was more like the ‘blegh’ funny ‘cause they didn’t taste too good. Anyway, I got some eye drops and a lollipop from the doctor and promised to never look directly into the sun ever again. Except I did a week later when I told Derpy- she’s our mailmare- about what happened and she told me that she could stare at the sun longer and she was right, she beat me by a good three minutes!”
Jackelyn blinked at the rambling pony. “Err, right…” She turned towards Applejack and asked, “So what’s it like usin’ the sun to farm?”
Applejack snapped out of the daze she had been in and responded, “Well, uh, Ah don’t think it’s too different from the way ya do it here. Ya see we-“
Just then the door swung open and a male voice drawled, “Whooweee, nuthin’ like a night of hard work to fix up an appetite.”
Applejack’s entire mouth felt like sandpaper as the stallion came into view. This was the moment she had both been dreading and waiting for. She wanted to get up and run at him, to throw herself into his arms and cry how much she missed him, how much he meant to her. Instead she sat glued to her chair unable to do anything but look from afar, savoring the image of the stallion in front of her.
He was tall and muscular with hardly an ounce of flab on him. His coat was a deep auburn color that was complimented by his orange mane and tail. His rugged sideburns ran the length of his face and on top of his head was a familiar looking Stetson.
“Evenin’ Pa,” Jackelyn bubbled as he swooped down and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“Evenin’ mah little Appleseed.”
Appleseed. That was what Applejack’s father had called her too. Seeing them together filled her with the worst sense of longing she had ever felt. It was as if her heart was trying to beat out of her chest. She ran a hoof across her eyes trying to get rid of some tears and played it off like she was scratching her face.
The masculine stallion looked over at the ponies sitting on the opposite side of the table and smiled, “Blossom told me we were havin’ company fer dinner.” He walked over and began shaking each of their hooves. “Mah name’s Cortland Apple, pleasure makin’ y’all’s acquaintance.” He paused at Applejack and gave her a curious look. “Say, you look a lot like Jackelyn, are you an Apple ah don’t know about?” he asked playfully.
Sweating and shaking, Applejack managed to stammer out,” Uhh, Ah might be. Umm, distant though, really distant, like, sixth cousin distant.” She gave him her lying smile.
Cortland gave a hearty laugh and said, “Well, family is still family.” He took her hoof and shook it vigorously. “Nice to meet ya…?”
“Applejack,” she whispered in a hoarse voice as she held onto his hoof not wanting to let go.
“Applejack huh? That woulda been a good nickname fer you Jackelyn,” he said as released AJ’s grip and moved on to Fluttershy.
Jackelyn laughed nervously and gave Applejack an odd look which she did not return.
Cortland finished greeting everyone and took his seat next to his daughter. “So, where are y’all from?”
“Away,” Twilight answered almost too quickly. “Very far away. We were just passing through when we saw your nice orchard and met Jackelyn.”
He gave a proud nod. “Yep, ponies come from all around to see mah orchard, and sometimes they come just to see my daughter. Prettiest thing in Maria Village.”
“Daddy, stop it, you’re embarrassin’ me,” Jackelyn blushed.
Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash and mouthed, “Maria Village?” The pegasus could only shrug in response.
“Umm, Mr. Apple,” Rarity spoke up.
“Please, Mr. Apple is my father. Just call me Cortland.”
Rarity nodded and continued, “Right then, Cortland, umm, not that farming isn’t a lucrative business, but how did you afford such a tasteful home?”
Cortland threw back his head and let out another hearty laugh. “Sweetie, ain’t you ever heard of Sweet Apple Acres? I don’t just own this here farm; I own almost every orchard and plantation from here to the Crystal Province. All branches of the mighty tree that is Sweet Apple Acres!”
They all stared at him with open mouths and Applejack squeaked out, “Really?”
“Eeyup. Thanks to a wise move by mah grandpappy, The Apple Family is the major provider of all fruit for the Lunar Empire.”
The room door swung open again and in walked Blossom, Big Macintosh, Bloom, and Granny Smith, each with a dish of food on their back.
“Oh, hush now Cortland,” Blossom smiled at her husband as she set the food on the table. “These young’uns don’t want to hear you go on about your business.”
What, can’t a stallion be proud of his work and family?” He leaned over and planted a kiss on Blossom’s cheek which caused her to burst into a fit of giggles.
Applejack could take no more.
She quickly got up from her seat and kept her head down. “’Scuse me, Ah- Ah think Ah left somethin’ outside.” With that she quickly galloped from the room before anyone could see her break into tears.
“Oh my,” Fluttershy got up from her place at the table and said “Umm, I better go help make sure she finds… it,” before she dashed from the room. Pinkie Pie motioned to get up as well, but Rarity laid a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a slight shake of her head. The earth pony sat back down and gave a worried look towards the door her friends had just run out of.
******
Fluttershy found Applejack back outside on the porch crying softly against one of the marble pillars. She approached the earth pony and laid a hoof on her back. Applejack jumped, startled by the pegasus’ presence. She had really hoped no one would follow her.
“Fl- Fluttershy, go back inside, please. Ah’m fine,” she lied.
Fluttershy shook her head. “Applejack I know you aren’t so there’s no use trying to lie. I can see it on your face; you’re hurt and I know why.”
Applejack stood still for a moment facing away from her friend, not making a sound. Fluttershy begged, “Please Applejack, you don’t have to keep it bottled up; you can talk to me.”
Applejack wanted to tell Fluttershy to leave, to let her stand out here alone with her thoughts and feelings. But despite her stubborn pride, she knew her heart needed an outlet or the grief and anger would choke her to death. She spun around and threw herself onto Fluttershy and sobbed on her shoulder. “It’s not fair! It’s just not fair ‘Shy! Why does she get to keep them and Ah don’t? This world is horrible! Eternal night ruled by Nightmare Moon, unicorns are dead, but she gets to have her parents!? Why, Fluttershy, why? Did Ah do something wrong, does the Maker hate mah family? She gets to live in luxury and my family has to work year after year to keep our house over our head! Why?”
Fluttershy held the crying mare and stroked her mane. “I don’t know, Applejack, I don’t know.” She had tears coming out of her own eyes now. She hated seeing her friends in pain.
“You don’t know what it’s like having to sit in there and look at them,” Applejack grieved. “They act just like them, Fluttershy. Ah want to hug them, tell them ah love them and miss them. Ah want to have mah family together again but Ah know Ah can’t do any of that. It’s like Ah can see them but they can’t see me. They’re not mine… they’ll never be mine again. It’s like the universe is making fun of me, laughing at mah pain.”
The pegasus squeezed her tighter and began to rock her. “Applejack, that’s not true, you know that’s not true. You’ll see your parents again someday, I promise.”
Applejack shook her head at her friend’s words. Even if they were true, that day was a long way off.
“It’s going to be okay, AJ, you’ll see. And besides, you have something she doesn’t have.”
The earth pony looked up at Fluttershy through blurry red eyes. “What’s that?”
Fluttershy gave her the most serene smile. “You have five friends that love you unconditionally and who would do anything for you.”
Applejack smiled. That was true; they were all honorary members of The Apple Family. And although they could never replace her parents, they filled a hole in her heart. She buried her head into Fluttershy’s soft coat and whispered, “Please, promise me you girls will never leave me.”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Fluttershy solemnly promised.
Applejack felt reassured by her friend’s promise but continued to hold on to her. She wasn’t ready to go back inside yet. She wasn’t ready to look at them again; to look at her again.
Fluttershy understood. She stood there and held Applejack in her arms, gently rocking her back and forth as she hummed a sweet lullaby.
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Why can't I upvote this twice?
Fantastic chapter. Looks like they still don't know about Alternate Twilight. Nice use of Discord there, and Celestia is just awesome. Applejack steals the show this time around though. That was so sad and sweet.
Oh I really, REALLY HOPE there is a happy ending for both sides and Nightmare Moon to be vanquished, I suppose.
But this was a sad but sweet chapter for Applejack. Also, LUNA!!!
That was sad. It was actually really sad having Applejack see her counterpart's life... And you can tell why she's so sad. This variation of her didn't have the same hardships, and for Applejack to see that, if she was raised in a different world, she could have kept her parents. That really is sad.
Still going good; I do like how you worked Discord in, and how Celestia reacted when she learned she left her sister to fall into Nightmare Moon's hooves. Yeah, she's not going to be as forgiving when you threaten her family. Overall, nice update, and I wonder how this is all going to be resolved.
Hi, sorry it took me so long to review this chapter, University has been keeping from fanfiction. But hooray for accents everywhere!
Great intro, it flows from the end of the last chapter and into the new one seamlessly and the southern bell thing works very well, Rarity trying not to laugh was amusing. NMM AJs accent seems to switch a little between southern bell and more M!verse AJ southern, but I could be misreading it. Very in character for Pinkie to simply go dropping their secret out like that, I liked NMM AJ not being fooled…. Jackelyn? Wow didn’t see that coming, though now I’m saved from having to do that NMM AJ thing thank you! In some way’s I worry it was a bit too easy for them to get Jackelyn to not report them considering NMMs soldiers are invading, though it’s understandable she’d feel off about having herself arrested. (The ponies began to follow their new friend, Pinkie bounced after asking, “Ooh, ooh, will there be snack?”) I think there should be an S at the end there, sorry :D The perspective changes were a bit sudden/confusing, but I liked AJs 7 Shy’s reaction to the mention of AJs parents.
Nice scene change to… Discord… anyway the different animals noises were a clever addition along with the classic I didn’t do it line, his constant use of magic was very in character. I did very much like his reflection on tearing a rift not being something even he could so. Celestia’s perspective was quite well done throughout this section. (Celestia conjured up a cloud and asked her to take a rest which the mare did so gratefully.) I think this scene would have worked better had it been described in full with dialogue, it feels a bit disconnecting otherwise. Celestia’s response was fairly well done, a few parts felt a tad wooded but it was very well described. (I am left wondering if the word “handle” would exist in Equestria?
)
(Without looking back, she said in a strong voice that was carried on the winds across Equestria, “To war.”) This line was fantastic, just utterly awesome! as well as Celestia’s thoughts on the wedding ETC.
The Sols are an excellent idea; I really love the design and function of them! I liked the way Jackelyn described the unicorn matter, it’s an incredibly dark subject but one she grew up with and I liked the casual use of general Sombra. Great description of the manor. Pinkie is as Pinkie does, you right her actions very well heh (Hats make everything better. love it) Heh, Bloom certainly is observant, I’m glad that got brought up. The description of Blossom was great, the lullaby AJs reaction, heartbreaking, great work! Pinkie Pie’s story with Gummy and Ditsy was very well done, heh that would explain a lot. AJs reaction to her father was excellently described! AJs dad is pretty cool, very boisterous, I like what you’ve done with them. Interesting idea having the Apple family is incredibly wealthy; I also loved the mention of the Crystal Province. Good ending to the scene I liked Rarity’s subtle intervention.
The perspective was a bit confusing in the opening scene of the final scene. AJs rant was fantastically done, discussing how horrid the world is but somehow “she” is still better off there even though it’s wrong. Her know they aren’t her and never will, be was fantastically done. Nice little but with Fluttershy, she’s grown a lot as a character and that shines through in that scene, love the little promise at the end, great scene with some sad but well execute vulnerability. Fantastic ending line, and a great lead out!
Overall this was a very good chapter, the worst I can say is a few of the descriptions in some areas were a bit wooden, but not really enough to break a reader out of it and some of the perspective changes were a little confusing, but I could still tell what was going on. Beyond that, this was a great chapter, lots of very creative and original world building, great character moments, everyone behaves very naturally and reasonably given the circumstances and excellent description of scenes and background information/actions, I hope my review has been of some help and was not rude in anyway, I am really looking forward to the next one!
2227399 Honestly, I look forward to your reviews!
You've given me something to think about with the perception changes, I'll look into that.
"Handle," yeah I can't think of a pony equivalent to that. "Hoofdle" just sounds ridiculous.
2227478
I'm glad you like them, thanks i'm glad to be of some use! Totally agree, Hoofdle would be ridiculous!
2237540 Oh stop, you're making me blush.
And the Lovecraft references aren't even intentional, though now I'm compelled to read his books.
2243479 I don't know whether to laugh or cry at all the mistakes I've made so far.
I'm not very good with google docs, but I can definitely try. Oh, and thanks for looking at it.
2247842 Yeah, we should really do this in google docs instead of here... where everyone can see my many, many mistakes. I have a folder set up, just PM me instructions so I can link you to it.
okay, contemplating reading this, but is this a Fringe but with Equestria sorta deal? Because it kinda sounds like it
2252969 I'm going to have to say no because I have no idea what Fringe is.
2253050
its a show on sci-fy in which the one weird steampunkish alternate universe decides to wage war on our universe because some scientist stole the son of his alternate universe self, who is now a dictatorish leader with a grudge against the scientist. You should totally watch it- although I stopped a while ago because it just got waaaay too confusing
2253063 hmmm, interesting, I'll add it to the list of t.v shows I need to watch.
2253122
and in an excellent example of reciprocity, I shall add your fic to my to read list.
...I probably would have done so anyway, but that's irrelevant....
So, have you submitted this AWESOME fanfic to Equestria Daily yet?
2274366 Yes, and it was rejected due to mechanical errors. But now I have a team of pre-readers and proofreaders to help me go through it, so I'm not out of the game yet
How are you able to edit your story?
2274487 google docs
In terms of percentages, (ex:10%) how close is the next chapter to this fanfic to being completed?
2462302 It;s about halfway done. I think. Depends on how much I want to add in. But, I'm re-editing the past chapters to make it grammatically correct and everything, and that is painstaking work.
2463417
You clearly seem to want to make this fanfic as good as possible. Keep up the good work!/Good job!