Chapter 1
“Get back here you thieving varmint!” Applejack shouts continuing to chase t a blue eyed Changling through the dark Everfree forest as Luna’s moon lighted the path for her.
“hahaha! Why? So you can have this hat back? The love you have for this hat is almost overwhelming.” The Changling says nearly mimicking her voice as it adjusts the straw hat on its head.
The voice of the vile creatures almost sounded like her but it was more hollowed out. The way it spoke it sounded like it had no soul at all. The Changling was very fast and agile thanks to the help of it bug like wings helping it dodge trees and rocks. Applejack was impressed but managed to keep up with it. All those years of running through the tree fields and endless hours of apple bucking had given her incredible stamina.
It’s been a few months after the attack on Canterlot and the princesses had asked the mane 6 to go out and hunt any remnants that survived the blast that Shining Armor and Cadence created. Applejack managed to track one near her farm and for a few days followed its trail only to be jumped by it and it ended up taking her beloved hat. The Changling was right about her love for that hat. It was given to her by her father before he died from a tree falling on him. She wore the hat with pride every day in his memory.
“I swear if you don’t give me that hat, I’ll cleave you in two!” Applejack shouted still giving chase as she grabbed a strapped-on sheathed sword and pull it out by the handle.
“With that little butter knife?” Good luck!” The Changling said not felling threatened by her as it jumped up into the trees agilely hopping from branch to branch.
The sword Applejack wielded was actually a steel hunting sword made especially for hunting any remaining Changlings. The blade itself was razor shape and shaped with magic only to harm Changlings in case if one of them failed and lost the sword to their transforming foe. Celestia had lots of faith in them but only shaped each one as a failsafe should the worst befall them. Even 1 Changling would be a serious threat if they got a hold of lots of love.
Applejack had trained for it intensely for the past few months. She knows the foreign creatures had to be dealt with the hard way. Lots of them preyed on young couples who were at the peak with love. This Changling in particular had assumed the form of her brother’s new marefriend Cheerilee. Poor Big Mac felt destroyed when he woke up one morning and saw a black creature in place of his lover. Cheerilee wasn’t found after that day ever. No one knew where the Changlings did with the former lovers. Everyone thought they got put in the crystal caverns like Cadence but when a thorough search turned up empty, they assumed they were killed off and tossed to the timberwolves. Applejack could feel her anger boiling up as she continued to jump branch to branch clenching the red handle of her sword with her teeth.
“I’ll admit it was fun getting rid of that fuchsia pony that your brother had for a mate. I never felt so much love like that night. Almost the same amount you have for this hat of yours.” The Changling said as it jumped back to the ground and continued to run.
“I’ll make you pay for ruining my brother’s life!” Applejack snarled at the vile creature.
The Changling started to notice a clearing coming up and decided to end its chaser.
“You want to fight me?” Alright you earth pony I’ll show you how so much love that it will end up killing you!” The Changling howled as it burst into the large clearing putting on the brakes, and turning to face Applejack.
Applejack ran into the clearing as will and a face off began. Both of them stared at each with the intent to kill. The moon shone on the both of them and silence filled the cold crisp air of the forest. Without a word the Changling smiled baring both of its front fangs to gleam in the moonlight and its black curved horn lit up in a green aura. Applejack got her guard up and she went lower to the ground making it easier to dodge a surprise attack.
“You think you can hurt me with that sword? I’ll cut you down before that blade ever touches me!” The Changling said as a black cloud as dark as the void engulfed it.
“Wha-what the!?” Applejack said puzzled by the creature’s odd attack.
Before she realized it a pair of red eyes appeared from the void and a small Changling like creature lunged for her. Still trying to figure out what it was, the creature latched onto her face and sank its teeth into her cheek. Applejack screamed and dropped her sword and tried to pull off the love sucking leech.
After a small struggle she pried its teeth out of her cheek and threw it to the soft grass and crushed it under her hoof. The small creature screamed as its head got caved in as green blood ran out of its skull. A soulless laughter echoed from the dark void as Applejack turned her attention back to it.
“Is that the best you got? That was only a fraction of the love I have!” The voice bellowed from the void.
As soon as it finished talking, 2 pairs of eyes opened up and lunged from the blackness.
“Damnation!” Applejack cursed as she grabbed the sword with her mouth and thrust it upward into one of the Changlings chest.
It let out a scream and died as its small body slide down the sword to the hilt. Meanwhile the other changling had latched onto Applejack’s leg and started to tear at her flesh. Applejack screamed but twisted her head and sent the sword into the small Changlings rub area. It let go of her leg and howled in pain. In a fit of rage Applejack pushed the sword down and cut open the gut of the small bug. Green blood poured from its gut as it wobbled for a second and then fall over. Applejack felt no mercy for the soulless love eaters as she turned back to the void. She could feel blood coursing down her leg and cheek but showed no sign of weakness.
Suddenly a familiar hat started to rise from the top of the void. Applejack snarled as the blue eyed Changling rose up almost baring her exact hairstyle but still remained black as the night.
“Do you think you can beat me? I’ve fed on so much love that I may be just as strong as my former queen!” The Changling cackled as 2 pairs of red eyes appeared from the void.
Applejack took a battle stance this time ready for the attack. The bugs lunged for her and she elegantly slashed downward slicing the first one in half and back up and decapitated the second one. Suddenly all the corpses around her turned into shadows and disintegrated into the ground leaving it’s bright green blood behind as if marking its grave.
“Grrrr…try this on for size!” The Changling said showing signs of frustration.
Suddenly 5 pairs of smaller green eyes appeared launched at her. Their smaller size made it harder to hit them. She had managed to slice 2 of them in one motion but she could feel the other 3 latch onto her left leg. They didn’t have the same strength behind their bites as the red ones had but it still hurt her. She managed to cut them down but not before one succeeded in tearing a piece of her orange fur off her leg. She cried in pain and nearly fell down but held her ground.
“I-it’s going to take a lot more than that to knock me off!” Applejack said tossing the sword into the air and grabbing it with her tail.
It was a small trick she learned while training with the sword. She was able to trap her sword between the red bow in her tail and swing the sword around freely.
“As if that will actually work.” The Changling said thinking it was a bluff.
5 more pairs of green eyes appeared and in a swift motion Applejack cut them down as she manipulated her tail with ease shouting “YEE-HAW!”
Seems I underestimated you. Looks like I’ll have to pick up my game.” The Changling said starting to look tired.
Applejack was starting to get confident as she noticed her prey slowing down. More waves of red and green eyed Changlings lunged for her one after another in an almost rhythmic fashion. One by one they all fell to her blade.
“heh heh. Try knocking this one off in one blow!” The Changling howled lighting up its horn.
Another pair of green eyes appeared from the void and a familiar laughter echoed out.
“It can’t be…” Applejack said shocked to see a Changling almost the same size and shape as queen Chrysalis walked out of the void.
“KILL HER!” The Changling shouted and the black Changling lunged for her.
Applejack put her sword in front of her face as the blackened horn of the Changling looked to stab her head. Applejack was stunned. The blade should have cut right through its horn but she actually found herself being pushed by the Chrysalis doppleganger. As it continued to push, Applejack felt her bitten leg giving out and she went down to one knee barely holding the Changling back.
“Ahahaha! You can’t win you stupid earth pony. Maybe if you had magic or wings you could actually stand a chance!!” The blue eyed Changling boasted from atop her blackened void.
Hearing that made Applejack snap. She hated being compared to the other races. Earth ponies were always looked down on as the inferior race and it always enraged her. She always worked hard to prove that her kin weren’t the weakest link. Applejack quickly clenched the hilt with her teeth and rose up.
“I ain’t got no wings, and I don’t got any fancy magics…but I don’t need them to beat you!!” She snarled as she pushed forward pushing her opponent back.
The imitation of Chrysalis pulled away and attempted to lunge at her, and in return Applejack sent her blade right through its left eye killing it on the spot. The body quickly disintegrated into shadows before fading away into nothing.
“Damn you pony! Let’s see you take everything I got!!” It shouted and disappeared into the void.
Applejack stood sore and bloody but ready for its final rush. Suddenly 20 pairs of eyes appeared ranging from all the colors from before including that pair of blue eyes right in the middle. As they all lunged they all let out a blood curdling scream. Applejack blocked out the sound and started to let her body flow. The first 5 red one fell to a long sweeping slash and the next 3 green one got split in half and she finished her sweep and twisted her body into the air. As she aimed back for the ground 1 unlucky red one took the blade right through the top of its skull. The remaining ones took a step back. But quickly formed into 3 Chrysalis like entities and stood confident they would win.
“Give it up!” The blue eyed one said grinning with its fangs protruding from its mouth.
Applejack just smirked as the 3 lunged at her. She managed to dodge the first one barely slicing its neck but not killing it, and took a horn through her left shoulder. She cried in pain as the 3rd Changling kicked her body off the horn and into a tree. The impact from the hit caused her sword to fall out of her mouth and tumbled to her side. Applejack could see the 3 green eyed one slowly approaching as the leader watched from the back. To her horror she could see more eyes forming from the void.
“Taint my lucky day.” Applejack moaned grabbing her sword with her tail as she tried to stand back up.
“AH BUCK!” She cried and her body couldn’t take the strain any more thanks to her new hole in her shoulder and feel back down.
Applejack needed to think of a plan. Killing them off wasn’t working for her she needed to stop them somehow. As she stared on losing hope the 3 bigger ones started to loom over her, her eyes only watched the blue eyed one in the middle…
“You can’t win. You’re nothing but a lonely mud pony that isn’t worth copying.” It said as it raised its head and laughed.
“That’s it!” Applejack said as she got a rush of adrenaline and grabbed the sword with her teeth and sent it into the 1st ones neck slicing it open caking her in more bloodshed. Before the other 2 could react Applejack pulled herself up and ran to the leader. Before it realized what was happening, it felt the cold steel tear through its neck and no words could be said. The drones around her screamed and faded away as their leader gasped for its final breathes of air. Its blue buggy eyes stared at her hunter as if it was begging for mercy. Green blood covered the orange mares rage fueled face as she held the blade in place. Her straw hat fell off the Changlings head and to the grass below.
“This one is for Big Mac and Cheerilee!” Applejack said as she turned the blade upward in its throat and ripped upward through its skull killing the vile creature for good.
At the peak of her motion her shoulder screamed in pain and she fell to her side letting the blade fall out of her reach.
“heh heh…tough little varmint weren’t ya. Good riddance…heheh OW!” Applejack said trying to laugh the pain away. As she grabbed her shoulder and held it.
“Come on gal…you can take more than this! If you can clear a field of apple trees in one day but can’t walk off a little hole in your shoulder then you’re not even worth being called a mud…trotter!” Applejack said fueling herself with rage to get up.
She managed to get up but had almost no feeling in her left front leg. She carefully limped to her hat resting beside the rotting corpse of the bug that gave her a lot of trouble.
“Shame you boasted and tried to belittle me…if you just had battled and not talked, you may have won. Heheh, kinda reminds me of that one time…” Applejack said quietly to the still body as she put her father’s hat on her head where it belonged.
She felt her body stumble a bit but she was resilient enough to stay up.
“Now for the real challenge of making it home in one piece…” Applejack moaned as she grabbed her sword and sheathed it and started to long and grueling journey of walking home.