• Published 29th Dec 2012
  • 12,586 Views, 1,189 Comments

Mother of Invention - zaponator



Awake and alone, Applejack will find a way to survive.

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All In My Head

Applejack shivered, her teeth chattering in protest of the freezing tempuratures as she hazily inched her eyelids open. She blinked slowly, taking in the vision before her. Endless blue sky extended in all directions, as far as the eye could see. The sun shone brightly overhead, doing nothing to banish the icy chill that had settled over Applejack. She perked her ears, listening carefully, but was greeted with nothing but utter silence.

After shakily pushing to her hooves, Applejack reached up and adjusted her hat. Her hoof brushed over the long, flowing strands of her mane, done up in her usual ponytail. For some reason, the sensation elicited a slight sigh of relief.

Still, something didn't feel right. The ground beneath her hooves was damp and pliable, and the cool air and chilling wind seemed out of place for such a bright day. Applejack looked around her, trying to get her bearings, only to have her eyes snap wide open in shock. She was standing on a cloud.

Open sky surrounded her little cloud on all sides, nothing more than a fluffy, white speck floating lonesomely through a sea of endless blue.

Applejack's heartbeat increased, and her breathing quickened to rapid, shallow gasps. Her own reaction confused her, as she sat down on her haunches to steady herself. She couldn't explain why, but the revelation of her location shook Applejack badly. All she knew was that she didn't want to be there. She wanted down, now.

Something in the distance caught her eye, momentarily distracting her. A gigantic spire of rock stood out from the featureless blue void around her, jutting into the sky like some sort of natural monolith. Details were hard to make out from such a distance, but Applejack noted the sun glinting off what could only be some sort of waterfall running down the side. The flat top of the spire was covered mostly in grass, but for another glint that looked like a river, and a long, flat line of gray concrete, painted with a broken white line down the middle. The concrete strip resembled a straight segment of the asphalt streets one would find in a city like Manehatten, only it didn’t seem to go anywhere in particular. Lastly, there seemed to be a few buildings hovering around it. The constructs of hardened cloud looked so much like normal clouds from her distance that Applejack honestly wasn't even sure they were buildings, but for a strange feeling of déjà vu that insisted it was so.

One thing was for certain, however, she was getting closer. The wind picked up, making Applejack's ponytail flap behind her like a golden banner. That, combined with the strange spire growing ever-so-slowly closer, was the only indication to Applejack that she was even moving in the featureless blue void. It was slow going, however, and her heart rate hadn't slowed. She still felt the pressing urge to get down, to touch her hooves to the hard earth and never leave it.

It was taking too long. Applejack was never going to reach the spire. She decided to risk a glance over the side of her little cloud, and inched over to the edge. Instantly, she regretted it. The ground was so far beneath her that Applejack couldn't see her shadow. Rolling plains and vast forests stretched out under her, appearing as nothing more than patchwork shades of green. Winding ribbons of sparkling blue accented the contours of the landscape. Even hills and mountains were barely bumps in the magnificent tapestry of the world that was laid out before her.

She reared back from the edge, clutching at her chest as her heart began pounding relentlessly. She fought to control her breathing, which had nearly devolved into hyperventilating. Only one thought consumed all her mind.

Too high. She was too high up. She needed to get down. She didn't want to be there anymore. She was too high up.

Applejack didn't notice as the sky began to darken. Only when the wind picked up, gusting hard enough to cause her to sway slightly, did Applejack pull herself from the confines of her panic spiralling mind.

The spire of rock was lost to her sight, replaced by a void of unending blackness. The temperature had dropped even more, causing Applejack's teeth to chatter. She had to hold her hat down with a forehoof as a blast of wind threatened to rip it from her head.

Thunder rumbled, sounding all too close for Applejack's liking. Moments later, a sharp *KRAK-BOOM* accompanied a brilliant flash of light that blinded Applejack. She yelped in surprise and alarm, screwing her eyes shut against the searing brightness.

She finally managed to coax her eyes open, blinking away the spots in her vision as the blindness faded. The windows rattled in their frames, rain pelting against the glass mercilessly. Thunder boomed again, shaking Applejack to her core. The floor pitched and tilted suddenly, nearly throwing her from her hooves.

An ominous creaking sound pierced through the air over the noise of the ever-worsening storm as the floorboards beneath Applejack's hooves groaned and bent. The sound of the gale force wind was nearly deafening, causing Applejack's ears to fold back against her head. Another clap of thunder sounded, and the entire floor pitched to one side. Applejack was sent flying from her hooves, bouncing and rolling painfully across the floor.

She tried to grip the soft, damp surface of the cloud with her hooves, but was unable to find purchase. Her tumbling descent lasted only a few moments more, before the cloud beneath Applejack was suddenly gone. Like that, she was falling, plummeting gracelessly through the bright blue sky.

Before the sensation of falling even had a chance to take hold, it was replaced by a feeling of weightlessness. It took a few breathless moments for Applejack to realize the truth of the situation: she was underwater.

Applejack thrashed and kicked, struggling to push towards the surface. Her sense of direction had been completely turned around, however, and Applejack had no idea which direction held her salvation. Her lungs began to burn, crying out for sweet air, and still Applejack was no closer to breaking free of the water.

Birdsong floated by on a pleasant breeze.

She flailed hopelessly as the edges of her vision faded to blackness. Her struggling became weaker and weaker, devolving to nothing more than listless swishing back and forth with her forelegs.

The gravel path crunched beneath her hooves, her saddlebag bouncing along on her back.

Something appeared in the center of Applejack's ever-darkening vision. Her eyesight had faded to a pinprick, but it was suddenly consumed with a point of bright light dead ahead. Applejack attempted to renew her struggles, but it was no use. With the very last gasp of her fading strength, she reached out with a single foreleg, and…

Pushed open the intricately decorated wooden door before her. A small bell tinkled overhead as she stepped into the immaculate shop. Warm summer sunlight spilled through the windows, giving the place a cheery glow as the door shut behind Applejack with another ringing of the bell.

"Coming!" a refined voice sing-songed from the back room. It was almost immediately followed by an equally refined mare floating several bits of fabric behind her in a light blue aura. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magni—" Rarity cut off suddenly as she noticed just who was standing in her entryway. "Oh, Applejack, it's you."

As Rarity went and laid out the fabric she'd brought, setting up the very beginnings of a dress, Applejack shifted from hoof to hoof uncomfortably. "Yeah, uh, it's me."

Rarity levitated a pair of red-rimmed glasses and set them into place on the bridge of her muzzle before leaning forward and carefully weaving a thread through a small needle. After a few moments of silence, she asked without looking up from her work, "What brings you around here today, Applejack? Dare I even entertain the hope that you've finally come to commission a proper dress?" Rarity finished with a light chuckle that went unreciprocated from the oddly silent mare at her door.

"No…" Applejack muttered, her gaze locked on her front hooves. "N-No dress, or… or anythin' like that. Just, uh… just wanted to talk, y'know?"

"Hmm," Rarity hummed in agreement. "Well, as you can see, I'm a tad busy finishing up one last order before I pack my bags," Applejack winced at that, but Rarity didn't appear to notice, "but I can certainly spare some attention for a friend. What's on your mind, darling?"

Applejack sat on her haunches with a sigh, her eyes flicking about the room rapidly. "Well I… I just…" She trailed off, scuffing a forehoof across the floor.

Rarity sighed, pausing in her dressmaking momentarily. "You didn't just come here to talk about any old thing, did you?"

"What'dya mean?" Applejack asked defensively.

Rarity simply nodded pointedly towards the packed saddlebags on Applejack's back. Applejack chuckled mirthlessly. "Oh, yeah…"

When it became apparent that Applejack didn't plan on continuing, Rarity went back to sewing and said, "To be quite honest, I knew what you were here about before I even noticed the saddlebags. It is, after all, well… today." She smiled a bit as she went on, "Personally, I'm fairly excited. You don't seem to share the sentiment though."

Applejack winced at the truth in Rarity's words. "That's just it… I don't even know why I packed these… these darn bags this mornin'."

Rarity paused in her work once more, giving Applejack a critical look. "Yes, well, I can certainly see why it would be hard for you after… that is to say, with your…" She trailed off under Applejack's sudden intense glare.

"Please," Applejack muttered, her voice dangerously even. "Go on."

"Now, dearest Applejack." Rarity coughed into her hoof nervously. "I'm not calling into question your courage or your integrity. Why, I wouldn't dare. You're one of the bravest and most dependable ponies I know, bar none."

Applejack attempted a smile at the praise, but found the gesture beyond her at the moment. When she next spoke, the edge had vanished entirely from her voice, revealing the soft quaver that she'd been hiding behind it. "I-I just…" She sighed heavily. "I just d-don't know what to do…"

"I know you'll do what's right. I know that your friends can always depend on you. As I was trying to say earlier, I certainly know that it won't be… easy for you," She smiled sheepishly at Applejack's half-hearted glare, "but sometimes you just have to 'buck up', as it were."

The wind picked up, and was soon howling like the fury of the Windigos had been unleashed.

"Oh, really?" Applejack rolled her eyes. "And here I thought life was all cider and roses. Silly me!"

"Really, Applejack. Sarcasm is hardly—"

"I work on a farm, Rarity," Applejack cut her off. "I think I understand the concept of a little hard work."

Thunder rumbled ominously, closer than the last time. Every one was closer than the last time.

Rarity smiled softly, stepping away from her unfinished dress. "Ah, but that's just it. You've always worked on a farm. Yes, farm work is physically tiring—I'd be the last to deny that—but it's rarely hard for you to do it. You're in your element on the farm. The problem arises when you're thrown out of your element, especially when you're forced to confront things you are afrai—" She cut off with a strangled cough, blushing slightly as Applejack raised an eyebrow.

The rain was merciless. Pitter pattering quickly escalated to deafening downpour. Applejack held her forehooves over her ears, but couldn't drown out the incessant noises of the horrific storm.

"That is to say, when you are forced to deal with things that may be… hard for you. Nopony likes to leave their comfort zone, Applejack, I dare say it's just too comfortable." She chuckled airily, meeting only silence from Applejack, before continuing, "I, for one, would never think to find myself working in an apple orchard—no offense—or facing down a rude dragon," Her smile softened, "but sometimes we do these things because a true friend is worth any perceived hardship."

Applejack didn't know what to say. She glanced out the window, spotting a lonely, grassy hill on the outskirts of town, dappled in the rays of the afternoon sun. Eventually, she settled for, "I… I need to go think."

Rarity nodded. "Take your time. We'll send Fluttershy to fetch you."

An immense boom split the air as white-hot light forced Applejack's eyes closed. The raindrops against the glass in the windows created a cacophony of noise as Applejack's eyes reopened. The floor creaked and groaned as it shifted and tilted beneath her. Rarity sat across from Applejack, attempting to keep her balance on the constantly moving floorboards.

The motions stopped for a few moments, but the storm continued in its rage outside. Howling winds blared, punctuated by intermittent flashes and none too distant rumblings of thunder. Rarity shifted where she sat, more out of nervousness than actual discomfort.

*KRAK-BOOM*

A blast that sounded like it came from right next to her head made Applejack jump, as her coat stood on end. Rarity did the same, albeit with the addition of a rather unladylike yelp. She blushed as she resituated herself, tugging gem spangled saddlebags back into a comfortable position.

"I say," Rarity mumbled, tossing her mane with a forehoof for the umpteenth time. "It certainly is bracing, is it not?" She chuckled nervously, forcing a smile onto her face that was even more unconvincing than her laughter.

Applejack didn't respond. She sat perfectly still with her back straight as a rod. She sat on her haunches with both forelegs firmly planted for support, attempting to get her breathing under control. She could feel her mane fraying with static, and the tips of her hooves suddenly began to tingle.

Rarity looked over Applejack in silence for several moments before releasing a sigh. "Look, dear, I know it's not exactly… pleasant." She cringed as a nearby boom punctuated her statement. "Rest assured, everything will be just—"

*BOOM*

Applejack forced her eyes shut from the blinding light. Her ears popped and all sense of hearing was lost to a high-pitched ringing. Wooden splinters and fragments of glass stung as they pelted against her skin, riding on the force of a shockwave that knocked the air out of Applejack's lungs.

While her head had become a muddled and hazy mess, Applejack did eventually regain her hearing. The sounds of the storm were overpowered by six voices joined in panicked screaming.

Author's Note:

Edited by Pilate, who is super swell and stuff.