Applejack appeared with a flash, this time landing on her hooves atop of a metal panel with buttons and switches on it. She looked around to see that she was currently in a large, round room which was surrounded by a wide window. She could see nothing but stars against what appeared to be a black night sky.
Slightly confused, Applejack went to take a step forward, but paused when she felt something turn and click underneath her left forehoof. She lifted her leg and saw a round button with the word “gravity” printed on it. In the center of the button, “0.0” was flashing.
Applejack tried to make sense of it, only to suddenly find herself slowly floating upwards off of the control panel.
“Wha-wha-whoa!” she cried out as she kicked her legs panickily. However, this only caused her to tumble in mid-air as she continued to float. The time machine floated away from her, but she didn’t notice because her hat had already floated off her head and was moving away from her as well.
“No, no, no, get back here!” Applejack shouted as she attempted to grab her hat with her hooves. However, this only pushed her hat further away from her, and caused Applejack to tumble even more.
“This. . . ain’t. . . fun. . .” Applejack moaned as flipped around in mid-air. However, while upside-down, she spotted the button that her hoof had touched earlier.
Applejack used a swimming motion to move herself downwards. “Okay. . . Ah just gotta . . . undo what Ah did,” Applejack said between strokes. Then she reached out with her right forehoof and placed it onto a button. She then made a twisting motion with her hoof, turning the button to what she hoped was the right way.
In an instant, Applejack fell back down onto the control panel rather unceremoniously. Her hat fluttered down to the near the center of the circular room, right next to where the time machine had landed.
Applejack smiled with relief and quickly hopped off the panel to go claim her hat. However, as she did so, her back right hoof bumped the button, causing it to spin and increase value of the number on it.
Applejack took only two steps before she found herself forced down flat with an incredible force. Unable to speak, Applejack lay there feeling like her entire family was stacked on top of her.
Applejack spread her forelegs wide, and tried to push upwards with her forehooves. It was all in vain, as the force holding her down prevented her from even peeling her chin off of the smooth floor. With teeth clenched, Applejack pushed herself forward with her hind legs, her belly and face dragging against the floor, slowing crawling her way towards the hat and machine.
Eventually, both objects were in reach, and Applejack, with great effort to overcome the downward force, reached out to her hat with her right forehoof. However, she paused midway as common sense suddenly rose up in her mind. In spite of her crushing situation, Applejack’s eyes were bright and aware as she sorted out her priorities.
So, Applejack yielded to the force and let her right foreleg fall down hard onto the ground, her hoof making a loud clack as it hit the floor. She winced in pain, and then reached towards the time machine with her left forehoof. She let out a loud grunt as she landed her hoof right onto the machine’s red button.
Applejack let out a sigh of relief as she hoped the ordeal would be over soon. However, her hoof suddenly slid off of the machine, and started to roll. Applejack’s leg landed flat and outstretched on the floor, right in the path of the machine. It then rolled right over her leg, causing Applejack to let out a cry of pain. The Earth Pony farmer’s body was strong, so no real damage was done, but it most certainly hurt.
Applejack’s heart quickened when she saw the round machine roll in a wide circular path, which then straightened out, resulting in the machine rolling right towards her.
“No. No,” was all Applejack could say from her flattened position, and she tried to shift her body to crawl away. But even as she did this, she knew that she’d never be able to get out of the way in time. She had only managed to complete a quarter turn, and the rolling machine was less than a yard away. She tried looking away from it, but she could still see it approaching out of the corner of her eye.
During all this, the devices antennas were building up power. Just when it was an inch away from right side of Applejack’s body, it zapped both her and the nearby hat, and the room was completely empty once again.