//------------------------------// // Episode 4 [Part 1] - Stubborn Apple // Story: Heart of the Cards // by AspirantWriter //------------------------------// “Here is your deck Twilight.” “Thank you Dusk.” It been a few days since the incident regarding the Gala tickets, where their friends pestered them with unwanted favours. At least everything went back to normal and everypony was happy. During those few days, Twilight decided to take up Dusk’s offer in having her own deck. Despite looking into the rulebook back at Canterlot, the stallion was quick to remind her actual practice will beat studies any day. As for today, they were currently in the library and Spike watched as Twilight looked into her new deck using her magic and was surprised at some of the cards. “These Spell cards… These are books!” Twilight said happily. “I never knew you went this far to personalized my deck like this. “Decks are usually meant customized to match the user’s personality and likes.” Dusk replied to the unicorn. “You after all work hard on your studies and love to read books during your free time.” It was then Dusk begun to explain the playstyle of Twilight’s deck. “The deck you have is known as the Prophecy series, which revolves around Spellcaster-type monsters and effects of “Spellbook” cards to give you certain advantages. I also added some book-related cards that may prove useful for you. Much to Dusk’s surprise, Twilight hugged him in joy. “Thank you!” The stallion laughed a little before he gently pushed the unicorn away. “Easy Twilight. I am just doing what I do best.” “Do you think I could have one as well?” Spike asked, wishing to have a deck of his own. Dusk turned his attention to the baby dragon with a smile. “I don’t see why not.” As Spike begun to cheer on the thought of having his deck, Twilight went towards a chest and opened. “What are you getting?” Dusk asked. “Since you surprised me with how you customized my deck, I think its my turn to do the same.” Twilight then levitated something out of the chest and it greatly surprised Dusk. “Is that my duel disk…?” After his duel with Number 40, he asked Twilight to use her magic to put the remains of his old duel disk in a bag as a memento. It was a few days ago when Dusk let the unicorn take a look at the pieces so she could get a glance at one of the many technologies from Earth. The last thing he would expect was the entire duel disk being completely restored. “How did you…?” Dusk said. “Magic of course.” Twilight replied as she gave the duel disk to Dusk. “I have a spell that could restore broken objects, but it took several attempts due to how complex the duel disk was. I have to admit, your kind put a lot of work into its construction.” After putting it on, Dusk saw it was back in working condition as its lighting begun to glow; its holographic systems functional. “I don’t know what to say, but thank…” Dusk was then interrupted by a rumble beneath his feet, which was also felt by Dusk and Twilight. Apparently, it was getting stronger as some of the books slip off the shelves and fall on the floor. “What is happening?” Twilight said in worry. “I am not sure?” Dusk questioned as he quickly put the restored duel disk back in the chest. “An earthquake?” Worried of the possibility, the three left the library and soon notice Rainbow Dash hovering above the town as the rest of the ponies look on in worry. The pegasus then shouted out loud for everypony below to hear. “STAMPEDE!” As soon as they heard of the word, the everypony in Ponyville begun entered a state of utmost panic. Some took shelter back in their homes while the rest ran amok on the streets. “Stampede?!” Dusk cried in surprise just as he noticed a cloud of dust at the outskirts of town. He soon saw it was indeed a stampede as a herd of cows were charging to their direction. “Dash is right!” As soon he and Twilight were about to run off, they saw Pinkie being surprisingly calm of the situation. “Hey...! This makes my voice sound silly!” Pinkie laughed as she let the rumbling from the stampede vibrate her voice. “Pinkie, what are you doing?!” Dusk yelled to the pony. “You have to run!” Twilight followed up. Dusk and Twilight were once again about to rush to safety, but they then heard the Mayor call out to the panicked ponies. “Everypony calm down. There is no need to panic.” “But Mayor, whatever shall we do?” Rarity walked up and said dramatically, befitting for a sophisticated pony like her. “Look there!” Dash shouted to everypony as she pointed to the herd of cows. Dusk then noticed a pony and a dog running alongside the cows. Much to his surprise, he knew who the pony was due to her cowboy hat. “Wait… That’s Applejack!” “YEEHAW!” Applejack cried out as she worked to divert the cows away from Ponyville. At the same time, the ponies in town were cheering for her. “This is the best rodeo show I've ever seen!” Pinkie said as she ate some popcorn that were in her hoof. Dusk wondered where she got that, but he nevertheless kept his eye on Applejack as she manages to successfully stop the stampede before they reach town. Applejack then had chat with the cows and with everything resolved, the herd then made their way back home. Everypony gazes upon Applejack as she then came over the hill and quickly cheered for her again. “Yeehaw!” She merely cried out once more as she ran off from view as her dog followed her. “Yee haw! Ride 'em, cowpony!” Pinkie said in excitement as she jumped away from her friends and bounced around the area. “Applejack was just... just...” The Mayor tried to find the right word, but Pinkie beat her to it. “Appletastic!” She said upside down above the group, which Dusk found disturbing since she was in the air and had no wings. Luckily, reality kicked in and Pinkie fell to the ground on her back. “Exactly. We must do something to thank Applejack for single-hoofedly saving the town.” The Mayor stated. “I know!” Pinkie exclaimed. Dusk merely giggled for he knows what Pinkie was planning. It was her talent after all. A week have passed since Applejack stopped the stampede and everypony was doing the finishing touches to the party, but it was more of a ceremony to award Applejack for what she done for Ponyville. Dusk was walking alongside Twilight with Spike on her back in looking at the decorations while they walk to town hall. They both were involve in preparing the ceremony, where Dusk helped carry the decorations while Twilight was preparing the opening speech. He had doubts that some of the ponies would have the patience to listen since he saw how long Twilight’s speech was. Dusk didn’t want to upset or disappoint the unicorn though, so he kept it to himself. Helping with the ceremony however wasn’t the only thing they’ve done this week. “What do you think of dueling?” Dusk asked Twilight. “I found it difficult at first, but I have to admit it was fun in the end.” She answered. “You were right that reading the rulebook isn’t enough.” The stallion smiled at the unicorn. “Despite only having a week’s practice, I can see you can now handle yourself.” During the week, Dusk allocated time to teach Twilight how to play Duel Monsters. During the first few days, the stallion went easy on Twilight by using decks made from random cards. While Twilight could use Dusk’s previous duel disk, the two ponies realize the attention they would get if everypony heard the noises from inside the library. So to keep things quiet, they made use of the game mats instead. In those few days, Twilight understood how to use her cards and now could diverse her tactics by analysing the field and the current cards in her hoof. Seeing her growth, Dusk raised the difficulty in their duels by switching his personal decks and later use Number cards. The unicorn manages to hold her own at this stage, but the stallion was the victor in the end. “When it comes to new subjects, Twilight is a quick learner.” Spike said. “Thank you Spike, but I can’t still beat Dusk though when he is serious.” Twilight sighed, which Dusk lightly laughed in response. “I’ve been playing Duel Monsters since I was young, so you have a long way to go in defeating me.” As they continue their way, Dusk then brought up a question. “When are you going to show your deck to your friends? You had all week to do so.” “Oh, I wanted to surprise them. I want to set up a time when we all get together and then you and I would duel in front of them.” Twilight replied, which caught the stallion’s attention. “Using the game mats?” Dusk questioned. “Not quite. I wish to use the duel disk.” Twilight said. “Well, that would indeed be quite a surprise for them. I could only wonder if they would want their own decks after that.” “We would have to see when that time comes.” The two ponies soon made it to town hall, which was fully decorated with balloons, ribbons and flags. They then approached Rarity, who was currently tying a ribbon to a tree. “We all ready?” Twilight asked her fellow unicorn. “Just one last thing.” Rarity then levitated a yellow banner with apples and attached each side to the top balcony of the town hall. “Now we're ready.” “Is Applejack ready?” Dusk asked. “Actually, I haven't seen her all week.” Dash answered as she flew to her friends. “Not since the stampede.” Pinkie followed up as she approached them. “But she'll be here for sure. Applejack is never late.” Dash said to everypony in a confident tone. While Dusk knew that she was right, he had this strange feeling that something was off. In a matter of time, all of the ponies gathered in front of the stage outside of town hall. Twilight then walked onto the stage and approached the podium. Using her magic, she brought out a large stack of notes. Dusk made a quiet chuckle as he watched the unicorn organize her notes. ‘I hope everypony can handle an half hour speech.’ “Welcome, everypony! Today we are here to honor a pony we can always count on to help in matters great and small. A pony whose contributions to…” Twilight begun her speech, but Dash quickly interrupted her when she flew towards the podium and knocked down her notes. “Did you see Applejack's slick moves out there? What an athlete. This week she's gonna help me with my new flying trick, and I know it's gonna be so awesome.” Dash spoke out in excitement, but Twilight quickly pushed her to the side. “Exactly. And…” She tried to continue her speech, but was interrupted by Pinkie who popped up in front of her and forced her to drop her notes again. ‘How did she do that?’ Dusk thought in confusion due to manner how Pinkie appeared on stage. Then again, he always had the feeling that there was more to the pony than meets the eye. “This week, I get to run Sugarcube Corner for the first time.” Pinkie said. “What does that have to do with Applejack?” Twilight questioned. “Oh, Applejack, one of the best bakers ever, is gonna help me. Applejack makes everything great, so free samples for everypony!” With that, everypony in the crowd cheered except for Dusk, who smiled instead. “Oh-kay, that's great.” Twilight then pushed Pinkie from the podium and levitated her notes again. “Now if I could just make a point without being inter…” However, the same thing happened again when Fluttershy came to the podium. “Twilight?” She politely asked the unicorn. “…rupted.” Twilight however was getting annoyed of being interrupted before she could finish the first part of her speech. Nevertheless, she dropped her notes and move to the side so Fluttershy could stand at the podium. “Twilight, I'm so sorry, but I just wanted to mention that Applejack is also helping me this week with the official bunny census, where we count up all the new baby bunnies that were born this season. She's gonna help gather them using her wonderful herding skills.” Fluttershy stopped when she looked Twilight’s annoyed expression and slowly got off the stage. “Anyone else? Anyone?” Twilight questioned the crowd like she was daring somepony to interrupt her again. “No?” Levitating her notes, she continues her speech once more. “Well then, as I was trying to say...” Twilight stopped talking however when she saw the Mayor standing beside her with a smile. “Urgh! Never mind!” Giving in, Twilight threw her notes in the air and got off the stage. Despite noting to himself that her speech was too long, Dusk can’t help but feel sorry for her when she came to his side with a pout. “Ah-ahem.” The Mayor cleared her throat before speaking. “And so, with no further ado, it is my privilege to give the prize, Pony of Ponyville Award…” She pointed to a golden trophy which was as large as a pony. “…to our beloved guest of honor, a pony of the utmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity. Ponyville's most capable and dependable friend: Applejack!” The Mayor then pointed to the curtains which would reveal the pony in question. The crowd cheered when the curtains opened, but stopped when they saw that there was no pony behind it. “Something isn’t right.” Dusk said to himself. His friends heard him, but they agreed with him as the rest of the ponies were silent. “I'm here. I'm here.” He and the others then heard Applejack’s voice as she was making her way through the crowd and onto the stage. They were rather surprised to see her carrying a few baskets filled with apples. “Miss Mayor.” Applejack then pushed her away. “Thank you kindly for this here... award thingy.” She yawned out as she took a closer look at the trophy. “It's so bright and shiny and…” She then laughed at her own reflection on the trophy. “I sure do look funny.” As she continues look at her reflection, Pinkie thought it was fun and ended up joining her. “Okay.” Twilight said awkwardly. “Well, thank you Applejack for saving us from that scary stampede, and always being there for everypony.” “Yeah. I like helping the ponyfolks and…” She yawned again as she begun to doze off. “…and stuff.” Dusk was concerned as he watched Applejack falling asleep on stage. Approaching the sleeping pony, he lightly tapped his hoof on Applejack forehead to wake her up. “Oh, uh?” “Are you okay Applejack?” “Uh, yeah.” She then shook her head to keep herself awake and begun to pull the trophy with her teeth, which made Dusk flinch. As everypony watch Applejack leave the scene, Twilight was the first to voice her concern. “Was it just me, or did Applejack seem a little…” “Tired?” “Dizzy?” Dash and Fluttershy gave their respective answers. “Messy?” All her friends then gave Rarity weird looks. “Well, did you see her mane?” “She seemed fine to me.” Pinkie cheerfully said. “Woo! Woo!” “I don’t about any of you, but I am going to check on Applejack.” Dusk said to everypony and was about to walk away when Twilight joined him. “I am coming with you.” Dusk nodded to her with a smile as the two made their way to Sweet Apple Acres. When they arrived, Dusk and Twilight were surprised to see what Applejack was doing. She at first kicked an apple tree, which the apples fell into the baskets below. The pony suddenly dozed off and upon waking up, she tried to kick the same tree again but missed. “What on Earth is that pony doing?” Twilight questioned as Applejack dozed off again and unexpectedly kicked down a basket of apples. “I don’t know, but I can tell that she is very tired.” Dusk said as they watch Applejack fall asleep and begun to snore. “Hey Applejack!” Twilight called to Applejack, but she remains fast asleep. The unicorn kept on trying, but she still didn’t respond. Dusk sighed as he walked towards Applejack and Twilight followed him. The stallion then tapped the sleeping pony’s forehead like before. “Oh!” Applejack woke up as she shook her head. She then saw Dusk and Twilight in front of her. “Howdy Dusk, Twilight.” She greeted the two. “What is all this?” The unicorn asked as she pointed to all the apple trees. “It's Applebuck season.” Applejack answered as walked towards to another apple tree and kicked it. “Applejack season? So it’s basically just harvesting time.” Dusk stated as he caught on what she was doing all week. “Right, but the Apple family prefer to call it Applebuck season.” Applejack answered. “But why are you doing it all alone?” Twilight said in worry, seeing how tired the pony was. “Because Big McIntosh hurt himself.” Applejack merely replied as she walked away. Twilight however used her magic to teleport in front of her while Dusk merely followed from behind. “What about all those relatives I've met when I first came to Ponyville? Can't they help?” “They were just here for the Apple family reunion. They actually live all over Equestria and are busy harvestin' their own orchards. So, uh, I'm on my own.” Applejack walked passed Twilight and kept on moving, but the unicorn once more teleported in front of her. “Which means, I should really get back to work.” The pony asked, but Twilight didn’t budge. “Ahem... hint hint? Get back to work?” “Fine.” The unicorn sighed as she moved to the side. Despite that, Applejack soon was the one that didn’t move as her head begun to sway. “Could you step aside, Twilight?” “Uh Applejack? Twilight already move aside.” Dusk reminded her as he walked to Twilight’s side. “Did you ever have a good night sleep this week?” After looking at the two ponies, Applejack shook her head to keep herself awake. “Eh, don't any of you six worry none, I'm just fine and dandy.” Dusk and Twilight looked at each in worry, seeing that Applejack wasn’t fine and dandy at all. Just as Applejack missed her kick on an apple tree and almost fell, Twilight teleported herself and Dusk in front of her. “Do you want some help?” Twilight asked her tired friend. “Help? No way, no how.” Applejack however refused the offer. “But there is no way you could do all this yourself. You are already tired as it is.” Dusk tried to reason with her, but Applejack refuses to relent on her job. “Is that a challenge?” “No. I am just…” “Well, I'm gonna prove to you that I can do it! Now if you two will excuse me, I've got apples to buck.” With that, Dusk and Twilight were making their way out of Sweet Apple Acres. “She is sure stubborn.” Dusk noted on Applejack’s behavior. “I know. I hope she would see reason in time.” Twilight agreed with the stallion. “I’m not sure Twilight. Sleep deprivation does more than just cause fatigue, it also impairs judgement and reasoning thinking.” “And where is you learned such a thing?” Twilight was rather surprised what Dusk said, seeing that was something that a doctor would say. “When I get bored back on Earth, I tend to look up stuff on the Internet.” “What is this Internet? Is like a library Dusk?” Dusk sighed as he just remembered that he didn’t tell Twilight what the Internet was. “I’m guessing you want another lesson about Earth don’t you Twilight?” Seeing her excited expression, Dusk took as a yes and the two made their way back to the library. “You are kidding me!” “I am not kidding. That is what the Internet can do.” Back at the library, Dusk and Twilight were sitting at the balcony when the former was explaining about the Internet on Earth. While it was difficult for him to explain the mechanics of Internet, it was worth it after seeing Twilight’s expression. The stallion was in awe upon learning that the Internet allowed the humans to not only communicate with each other across Earth, but also allowed to get almost any sort of information. It was like the ultimate library to her eyes; its shelves stretched without end and its books were impossible to count. “I can’t believe you humans have such a repository of knowledge! Imagine what I could learn from this Internet!” Twilight said in excitement, which Dusk merely made a light laugh. “The Internet was originally made so researchers around Earth could share their findings, but it evolved to which information of all kinds is stored for future reference.” “What else you can tell me about your people? Like how do they travel?” “Well…” Dusk stretched his limbs as he begun to explain. “We humans make use of cars and airplanes.” “What are these cars and airplanes?” Twilight questioned. Dusk had a thoughtful look on his face, trying to think of a way Twilight could understand easily. “Think of them like the carts and sky chariots used in Equestria, but they can move on their own yet require guidance to be used properly.” “Move on their own? Incredible…” Twilight knew that Earth was very different from Equestria, but never expected Dusk’s world to be so advanced. “To think humans could do all this without magic.” “Humans are known for their ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness. Whenever we face a problem, we work hard to find a solution to which it would considered groundbreaking.” Just as Dusk was about continue on about the accomplishments that his kind done, he and Twilight heard a nearby yell. In a few moments, something crashed into the balcony’s railings. They turn to see it was Rainbow Dash, who was disoriented from the impact. “Can we help you?” Twilight asked in worry as Dusk rushed towards Dash and carefully got her off the railing and onto the floor. “I think somepony else needs your help.” Dash said in strained tone, which Twilight caught on who she meant. “Applejack?” “Yep.” A moment later, the pegasus fainted. “Twilight, I will tend to Rainbow. You try to get through to Applejack before she causes anymore trouble.” Dusk said to Twilight, which she quickly agreed. As the unicorn left the library and made her way to Sweet Apple Acres again, the stallion went inside to grab a pillow and blanket for Dash seeing she would need some time to recover from her experience.