“Thanks for meeting me here, AJ,” Jade said as they sat down at a restaurant at the airport hotel the black girl was staying at. It was across the street from the main portion of Canterlot International Airport, and easily accessible.
“You know, you could’ve stayed with us,” Applejack said.
“It’s okay; the airline’s paying for it,” Jade explained. “As it is, I’m glad our flight got redirected here instead of San Francisco or another airport. I was supposed to be on a straight shot from Kona to Oklahoma City, and then catch a feeder to Belle Point. Still, if I’m going to see a friend, it’s worth it for the plane to have engine troubles.”
“So how was Hawaii?”
“Magical,” Jade said in an emotional voice. “I wish I decided to attend UH along with Brae, but their archeology program is on one of the other islands, so we couldn’t see each other much. As it is, he decided to give me a little reminder of why I’ll always be his girl,” she said, holding up a hand.
Applejack noticed the engagement ring instantly. “Well, don’t that beat all,” she said, grinning ear to ear. “When’s the wedding?”
“Probably not until we both graduate. As it is, it gives me a few years to come up with a way to tell his family that I’m not what they think I am.”
“Ah’ll be there if you need me.”
“Thanks, AJ.” As the waitress brought them menus, Jade leaned back in her chair. “These past few months have been interesting, to say the least. For one, Summer’s much happier attending Fort Coffee.”
“Really?”
“Yeah – wild girl got some discipline in her, and she’s adjusted real fast. Last weekend she was home on vacation she told me she’s actually considering a career in the Army now, which I absolutely cannot believe. Then again, I suspect Crystal has something to do with that – those two are thick as thieves now.”
“That right?”
“Apparently, students there call them the Prank Sisters, for all the jokes they pull.” Jade took a look at her menu and said, “I’m just glad she has someone now that she trusts to be there for her. I’ve never seen her happier, and I can rest easy knowing that I’m leaving for college and she’s safe.”
“How’s the stone business going?”
“Almost done. I feel sorry for poor Rascal; the pup’s practically wearing himself out running back and forth all the time, but otherwise, I’m glad he’s been of help. He found a whole bunch of really dangerous ones in a cave by the 526, and we were able to burn them out with this new spell I’ve been developing.” A sober look came over Jade as she added, “You don’t know how close we all came to biting the big one.”
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad, sugarcube,” Applejack said, disagreeing. “She turned into a hippie goddess, for Christ’s sake! Ah’m surprised she didn’t turn half the farms in town into patchouli fields!”
“I’m being serious. I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal to you since you live here in California, but did you know that Oklahoma is nearly as earthquake-prone as here? The entire eastern part of the state is just riddled with fault lines – and Heavener is right on top of the worst of it. To be honest, I didn’t even realize it until Fastrunner and Dear Heart came to have dinner with me and Brae just before we graduated, and he saw the map and explained. Apparently, he wants to be a geologist when he graduates from Michigan Tech.”
“So you’re saying that Summer—”
“Could’ve killed us all because she wanted to leave so bad she could’ve set off the kind of earthquake you’d expect here. I don’t even know how to explain it, but it was a pure Faust-sent miracle that her mind went hippiechick instead of destroyer of worlds.”
“That’s good; personally, Ah want to live to see old ag—” Then it hit her. “Wait – did you say Fastrunner?”
“Yeah, I did, why?”
“Wasn’t he the guy who gave you all that shit about being black?”
Jade chuckled. “Chalk it up to another bit of luck. Summer apparently did something to his mind that changed him completely. He started dating Dear Heart – she’s a sophomore at Heavener High, and has darker skin than I do. Left his group of morons and helped one of the guys in the group, Rusty Nail, when he came out as being gay. Fast even went so far as to get kicked out of the house by his dad because he refused to stop dating Heart; she told me that he admitted to being ashamed of his racist ways. He’s currently living with Rusty’s family, since he’s been disowned.” Jade shrugged. “I honestly debated changing him back or not; what Summer did to him was wrong, but you can’t say that he’s not a better person for it. I actually consider him a friend now, would you believe that?”
“Wasn’t that what you were planning originally?”
“Yeah, so mission accomplished, I guess. Too bad Chainlink and the rest of them are still the same old same old, but maybe they’ll change of their own accord. As it is, I had to wipe their memories of what I did to them, because they thought I was the one who changed him.” She shrugged. “And really, that’s all there is. Life’s returning back to normal in Heavener, and I guess that’s all anyone can ask for.”
Applejack reached for the backpack she’d brought with you. “Well, Ah’m glad Ah ran into you,” she said, opening it and pulling out a large book. “Ah got you something; thought you might appreciate the gift.”
Jade took it and looked at the cover, which read A HISTORY OF EQUESTRIA by an author named Time Passages. She was surprised; back in Equestria, codices – that is, non-scroll books – were a novelty. This one, strangely enough, looked industrially printed, though not at the quality she had with her collection of Earth-based books.
“Did you ask your unicorn friend to get me this?”
Applejack shook her head. “No, you asked me not to get you involved with Sunny, and Ah keep mah promises. Just that during the last letter Ah sent to Twi – that is, Princess Twilight – Ah asked her for a history book, because Ah was curious. Sunny was concerned that someone might not understand, but Ah told her that anyone who read it probably would think it’s just fiction. Anyway, the book arrived yesterday via dragonfire candle.”
“Via what?”
“A dragonfire candle. Apparently, it’s the magical equivalent of a fax machine.”
“Amazing. There was no such magic when I left Equestria.”
“Ah know,” Applejack said. “Promise me you’ll read this once we get to your hotel room.”
“We?”
“Ah’m staying with you tonight.” The expression on Applejack’s face changed then, and it made Jade worry. It was just the sort of face one had when they were about to deliver very tragic news. “You’re gonna need a friend.”
Hours later, Jade held onto Applejack like a lifeline. “I have nothing left,” she sobbed, her eyes red from crying. On the opposite side of the room was that damnable history book, the one that she wished was nothing but lies, but one she knew was the truth:
The looking-glass spell hadn’t just moved her, Rascal and the Wonderstones to the human world.
It had moved her through time as well.
“You have us, sugarcube,” Applejack said, holding the other girl tight. “You’re an Apple now – maybe not officially yet, but that don’t mean shit. You’re family. You have us.”
“How long, AJ?”
“Ah don’t—”
“You’re Honesty, so you’re a lousy liar. How long?”
Applejack sighed. “Ah don’t rightly know, given Ah don’t know much about Equestria, but Ah did some number crunching, and….”
“AJ, please.” The look in Jade’s eyes was as though she was about to break in two.
The blonde silently nodded. “The equivalent date here on Earth would be around the time of the Sumerians.” She could feel her own heart breaking as she was about to tell her cousin-to-be something that would shatter her:
“About 3300 BC.”
The two were silent for a long time, save for Jade’s sobs; it had been enough to make Applejack cry as well. Finally, the older girl spoke. “Everypony and everything I ever knew. Gone. Dead.”
“Yeah.”
To Applejack’s surprise, Jade went over and picked up the book again. “I have to know, AJ. I have to know. Was any of my life worth it? I’m a living ghost – was all I did in vain?”
“You have a man who loves you more than anything. You have a family here who loves you, too. Nothing you’ve done is in vain,” Applejack told her.
“Thanks,” Jade told her, coming over and sitting next to her. “Excuse me for a second, but I need to do something.”
“What?”
“My last duty as the apprentice of Lord Starswirl,” Jade said, changing to her native form, the first time in years she had done so. The unicorn moved over, closer to Applejack. “I need to read this to make a final report.” She said the next words with disbelief. “To my new sovereign: Queen Celestia.”
The hours went on, with the unicorn reading voraciously and Applejack being there for her. She remembered what Sunset had shown her and how she’d looked like, so the change really didn’t bother the teen as much as it did. Then again, given that she occasionally transformed when using the magic within her that she still really didn’t understand, she had no cause to complain.
The sun had finally begun to rise when Jade finished the book. “It was all a lie,” she said aloud.
Applejack who had been dozing on and off, turned to look at the unicorn. “What?”
“Lady Frostburn. Lord Starswirl had told me she was The Witch, Tartarusbent on slaying him and deposing Queen Faust. And the book here says that she spent the rest of her days involved in charity and helping the poor; that even now, millennia later, the Frostburn Society is the biggest charity organization in Equestria. But if she was evil as Lord Starswirl said, would she do that?”
“Ah don’t know,” Applejack said. “But you know humans can be that deceptive. Could ponies?”
“No. Whether you say we’re kinder or more naïve than humanity, nopony would do that,” Jade told her, getting off the bed and changing back to her human form. “It means that my master was played for a fool – and he was no fool. Somepony was using Frostburn’s name to commit unspeakable acts against Lord Starswirl and Queen Faust both. Which means the danger is still out there, AJ, and it could be a threat to the Crown and Quee…er, Princess Celestia and her fellow princesses.” She shook her head in bemusement. “Still can’t believe I lived in a time when there was only two alicorns, and now there are four.”
“Times change, Jade.”
“I know. Will you do me a favor? I’m going to write down a letter. Have your friend send it to Princess Celestia and tell her that the letter must only be opened when Equestria is in true peril. I don’t want to ever go back to Equestria, but I am still a Mage of the Crown and I still owe my fealty to Queen Faust. And that means her daughters, too.”
“May I make a suggestion?”
“Sure.”
“Ah’ll give the letter to Sunset. She says she was the student of Princess Celestia, but mah friend Pinkie suspects she’s something more – Pinkie thinks Sunset’s really the daughter of the Princess.”
Jade closed her eyes and felt out with her magic. “There’s a power I’ve never felt in my life not far from here. It feels just as strong – maybe even stronger – than my master. Your friend may be right: only an alicorn could wield such power.”
“Ah know Sunny’s not an alicorn.”
“My master told me that her Divine Majesty once theorized that not all alicorns would come from birth. That if somepony could truly understand all that Equestria was about – to understand on such an intricate and fundamental level – that they would ascend to Godhood. My master said he believed that the Queen was wrong about that.” She shrugged. “But it’s possible he could have been mistaken.”
“Sure, Ah’ll be happy to pass the letter on to Sunny, then.”
“Thanks; I’ll write it just before I get on my flight; it’s not until the afternoon. In the meanwhile, is there a place around here where we can get some food?”
Applejack smiled. “Sure. Ah know this great little café near my high school. Best food around.”
“Lead the way, dear cousin, lead the way,” Jade said with a smile.