//------------------------------//
// Applejack and Rockhoof: Hailed 
// Story: Where We May Lead 
// by Shadowmane PX-41 
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Applejack and Rockhoof sat on thrones in a titanic room, lit only by the flickers of torches placed selectively on the pillars, situated underneath large, iron shields with bright colours and patterns on them. Rows upon rows of wooden tables with tankards, plates, food, and the odd candelabra sat, with the clothed ponies sitting around them, sharing tales, chugging the fluids within the tankards, and singing their praises to Rockhoof.

All of a sudden, the clamour came to an end as a pony clashed a tankard with a spoon. The pony who gathered everyone's attention was dressed in furry clothing like the rest of the fanatics. She had purple skin with face paint underneath both of her eyebrows, and her brown, scruffy mane hung up at the back like a scorpion's tail. Her cutie mark was concealed by her garments.

"Today, we are truly blessed," she said, announcing the crowd with a rugged, deep accent. "We've long since told the tales of Rockhoof and his many exports, but never did we think we'd ever lay eyes on the legend himself!" She threw her hoof towards Rockhoof. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, mares and stallions. Let us revel in the glory of our prophet, Rockhoof the Strong!"

"Rockhoof the Strong!" The other viking-esque ponies chanted, slamming their tankards into the wooden table over and over again with smiles on their faces. Both Applejack and Rockhoof noticed that each of the mugs were weighted; to the point where only the strongest ponies could have lifted them; not counting themselves. Even the unicorns who were present in the banquet hall were solely using their hooves to lift the drinks, barely even fazed by the weight.

"Now, I know how much of a shock it must be, to see your home turned into a site like this, Rockhoof the Strong, but I want to reassure you that we've all taken your principles to heart and are doing our best to keep the memory of your home very much alive and well," announced the same pony once the other followers had finished their chants. "This is a place that thrives on strength, and the harmony of other ponies. Much like how you went off to join those other five companions of yours, we've taken it upon ourselves to train tirelessly; to make ourselves stronger than ever before, and to give other ponies the strength that they need to face any hardship. Be it something as an erupting volcano, or the problems that live up here, in the mind." She tapped the side of her head as an example.

"Now, hold on a gosh-darn minute here!" Applejack was the first one to speak up. "Strength ain't everything, ya know. And ya don't just have to focus on Rockhoof himself to keep the memory of his home alive, ya'll. There's plenty of other ways to go about it."

"Like what?" The viking earth pony next to Applejack asked, cocking a brow as he examined her from top to bottom. His steely stare left an uneasy taste in her mouth. "Come to think of it, I'm not even sure I know you. How can you say for sure what you're saying is the truth, and not just some outsider gibberish?"

"She's no outsider. That's Applejack; my guide around the realm," Rockhoof finally broke the silence. "Ever since I made my return to Equestria, she's been escorting me around; to tell me just how much changed since I left."

"Applejack, eh? Just how strong are ye?" A viking girl pony across the table leaned over and stared her in the eye. "Just wanna see whether or not you can stack up with Rockhoof the Strong himself."

"Stack up? Why-wh—" She couldn't even get a word in before the other boy pony from interrupted.

"Yes. There's a reason why we're all followers of the great Rockhoof the Strong. Like him, we've all had to work hard to get to where we are today," he remarked, laying his hoof down on the table. "In fact, hoof-wrestling's a common thing around here. To help build muscle and to make us even stronger. Ya wanna show your strength to us?"

Applejack couldn't believe this for a moment. No way did Rockhoof actually have ponies that were this crazy for him. It had to be some kind of trick; an illusion even. But even as she debated that fact, she found her hoof wrapped around his and all her thoughts were tossed to the wayside as she felt his strength immediately begin to push hard against her hoof. It was a miracle she even reacted in time, as her hoof was mere inches from touching the table straight away. She tried to push his back, but his hoof was stronger than any pony she had ever tried to do this before. Granted, those many games with Rainbow Dash had helped her out a tad, but this was different. She was being overpowered and it was a battle of attrition to even keep her hoof from touching the table. At last, she couldn't hold back anymore and her hoof came crashing down. The other ponies around the table hollered and cheered for the boy pony as he took his hoof back.

"See? Told ya. That's what devotion to Rockhoof the Strong is gonna get you," he said, as he cockily blew a breath of air across his hoof and laid it down casually. He then saw the confused look on Applejack's face and leaned in close. "Aww, don't get discouraged, little girl. There's still plenty of time to get stronger. Then, you could easily be able to wipe the floor with me.

"I... Uh..." Applejack couldn't find the right words for any of it. "Okay. I think I need a lot of questions answered here." She looked towards Rockhoof and said, "What in tarnation is going on here? Who even are these ponies? And why are they so keen on talking about strength and muscle? Ah mean, I get that they're loyal to you, but this seems a little bit over-the-top to me."

"It is a little bit strange, I'll admit. I mean, strength is powerful, but there's more to it than just being able to overpower other ponies and creatures..." Rockhoof looked back into Applejack's eyes, then turned to the leader of the clan of viking ponies. "I have a question to ask."

"Rockhoof the Strong has a question! Everypony shut your mouths!" The leader viking pony remarked, causing the entire hall to fall silent and stare upon Rockhoof. "Well, go on then. What's the question, your mightiness?"

"I have a few questions, actually. So I hope you don't mind," he said, standing up from his place in the banquet hall. "First of all, who are you?"

"We are the Stone Ponies. An underground society of ponies who had heritage in this part of Equestria to Rockhoof's village," the leader remarked. "We were heavily inspired to make ourselves in honour of you, Rockhoof the Strong. We would have set everything up on the surface, but time hasn't exactly been kind to us. So, we decided that the only thing to do with an uninhabitable island, was to make it habitable underground."

"The Stone Ponies? And how long have you been like that?" Rockhoof asked.

"Fairly recently, in fact. Soon as the island became a barren wasteland, we decided that something had to be done to keep the memories alive," said the viking leader pony, pacing back and forth. "The town thrived on strong ponies. The Mighty Helm was a good example. Until it got disbanded. So, we decided to make our own Mighty Helm; the Stone Ponies. Make it feel like you never left. Sorry about it being underground." She blushed at each cheek. "Restoration was never really our strong suit. Good at building, but the land itself wasn't as good. Too rocky and not enough greenery."

"Alright then. Next question," Rockhoof replied, walking forward towards the leader of the viking ponies. "What kind of things do you do around here, and why do you keep going on about how strength is the most important thing in the world?"

"Because, Rockhoof, Equestria's full of nasty monsters and evildoing creatures. It might seem safe one moment, but then the next you get jumped by quarry eels the size of trains, or a horde of rabid timberwolves," she said. "In the heat of the moment, ponies tend to panic. And that's where it all goes wrong. But here in the Stone Ponies, there's no panic at all. Just togetherness and strength. So that when the big baddies come knocking, they'll took one look at us, turn tail, and run away."

"Uh-huh?" Applejack put on her trademark bemused face. "And what exactly happens when there's some monster that strength can't fight? Like a power-hungry centaur who steals your power? Or a bug queen that tries to gunk you up with sticky bug fluid?"

"That's why there's unicorns and pegasi here, isn't there?" The viking leader pointed out the unicorns and pegasi around the banquet hall. "Strength in your hooves, strength in your magic, strength in flying, every kind of strength is welcome here. What, did you think we were all gonna be earth ponies? Nah. That leaves us vulnerable. If we're vulnerable, then all that strength's for nothing."

"All this talk about strength and power honestly just gives me a headache. I might be a strong pony, but I think that honesty's a far better thing to think about than just strength, strength, and strength alone." Applejack rubbed her hoof with her other hoof. "Strength's just a benefit. A gift because of all the hard work I've been doing on the farm. Ah don't go around parading around Ponyville talking about how strength means everything to us."

"Applejack might not be as devoted as the rest of you, but I know for a fact that she's a very powerful young pony. And she's lucky to have those friends of hers by her side," Rockhoof spoke to the rest of the Stone Ponies, who all gave him their full attention. "Applejack's proud and honoured to be strong in her own way. She doesn't need to live up to some idol because she's been inspired by his or her works. She has her own ways of life, and I think that the best thing that we can do is to respect her decisions and opinions."

"Truer words were never spoken," she said. "Ya hear that, everyone? Don't go forcing your opinions on Applejack as fact. Rockhoof the Strong himself has declared it! It is declared!"

"It is declared!" The other viking ponies announced in unison.

"Applejack, was it?" The viking leader walked over to Applejack's side and stared her up and down. "Nice to meet you. The name's Longboat." She held a hoof out to Applejack's, who took it and started to shake it.

"Longboat?" Applejack looked around to try and find Longboat's cutie mark. Sure enough, she could finally make it out. And it was the shape of a viking longboat, adorned with medals and rowing oars along the side. "Nice to meet you properly, Longboat."

"Same here," she said. "Don't mind the whole overly dramatic vibe going on here. We're all just really, really big supporters of Rockhoof. All this stuff about strength is just a way of making sure that we can follow in his footsteps, but you're his guide. There's a lot of places in this new Equestria that he's not gonna have any clue on, so if anything, you should feel the most honoured out of all of us. You're showing Rockhoof the Strong all around Equestria. That's just... amazing!" She threw her arms out jubilantly. "I would literally trade everything to get the chance to guide him around Equestria. He must see something especially special inside of you, Applejack."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say it's that big of a deal, really," Applejack replied. "Just proud to do my duty and make sure that Rockhoof gets used to the Equestria of now, so he doesn't go and get it confused with the Equestria of his time."

"Oh, don't be so modest, Applejack. You're guiding a literal god around Equestria. That's gotta be worth some kind of praise or commendation. I mean, how often, if any, do common ponies get to guide a god like Rockhoof around Equestria like this? That's the kind of stuff that little fillies and colts dream of; not something that they actually get to do." Longboat remarked with a big smile on her face.

"Why do you keep on going on about this whole Rockhoof being a god deal, and calling him Rockhoof the Strong anyways?" Applejack tilted her head. "Ah might have read his stories, but I don't think he was ever at any point called Rockhoof the Strong; not even by the Mighty Helm."

"Well, Rockhoof's cheated death, hasn't he?" Longboat pointed towards the tapestry at the end of the hall, which showed Rockhoof with the Iron Helm. "Normal ponies would have just lied down and expired after they get older. But Rockhoof's the exception here; just like the rest of his other friends and allies. How did you manage to survive all those years anyway?" Longboat turned to Rockhoof. "Some kind of crazy super-advanced magical spell? Fountain of Youth? There's gotta be some way that you've cheated death like that."

"I hope you like long stories." Rockhoof sighed as he took his place where Longboat once stood to address the crowd. "Soon after I joined the Mighty Helm because of my raw strength, I was invited by the wizard, Starswirl the Bearded, to join him and his compatriots. Together, with my strength, his magic, and the ideals of his other allies, we were known as the Pillars of Equestria; leading the way in strength, bravery, beauty, hope, healing, and sorcery," he said. Even after all was said and done, he still didn't feel any harm in letting the rest of the world know his story. "But all of that was nearly ripped asunder when a pony named Stygian; Starswirl's other friend, thought that we were excluding him from our business, so he tried to become a Pillar himself by duplicating our artifacts." That was when he hung his head in shame. "That was our mistake."

That got the viking ponies to start clamouring worriedly. What had Rockhoof the Strong done that he called a mistake? Surely, they all had thought his track record was untouched.

"We decided to shut Stygian out and throw him away, leading to him getting possessed by a force of pure darkness and evil. He became the Pony of Shadows and tried to destroy us for leaving him alone in the cold," Rockhoof went on, plucking up the courage to face his crowd again. "Our rashness created a villain out of our friend, and we paid the price for it. Exhausting all of our options, we decided to seal ourselves in limbo; a timeless state where we and the Pony of Shadows would stay trapped as long as time stood."

"So how did you escape limbo, then?" Longboat asked, tugging at Rockhoof's shoulders.

"We didn't escape. Applejack and her friends decided to break us out. They took it upon themselves to find our artifacts; and bring them to the base of Foal Mountain, where we had once sealed the Pony of Shadows away. We were wrested from that timeless prison, but so was he. Normally, this would have caused pandemonium among the ponies of the modern era, but Applejack and her friends stood their ground and thought of a plan to stop the Pony of Shadows once and for all," said Rockhoof. "Bravely, they put their lives on the line and pulled Stygian from the darkness, reasoning with in ways we never could have thought of. It took all of our willpower, and each of our ideals together with theirs to push back the darkness and send the shadow that controlled Stygian into the aether, where nopony could ever get swallowed up by its' evil ever again." Rockhoof looked down to Applejack's side and tousled her mane. "Thank you for everything again, Applejack. If it weren't for you and all of your friends, I would have never made it back to Equestria. I would have been forever doomed in limbo."

"Well, I think we've heard enough," Longboat announced. "And, I think I can confidently say that we have more than one figure to worship now." She watched as Rockhoof stepped aside and let her take his place. "Stone Ponies! Let that tale sink in. The story of how Rockhoof the Strong made his way back to our time, forever to grace us with his presence. But now, the time's come to share your praises with another." She threw her hoof out towards Applejack and shouted. "Glory be to Applejack! Applejack the Reclaimer!"

"Wh-what?!" Applejack's eyes shot wide open at the announcement of her new title.

"Applejack the Redclaimer!" Applejack the Reclaimer!" The Stone Ponies all began to chant again, this time focusing on Applejack.

"H-hang on now! I ain't no god! Or some kinda reclaimer or whatever ya'll wanna call me!" Applejack tried to tell the crowd, but they were still chanting too loudly for her to hear any of it.

"Whether you wanted to be a god or not, you're definitely a god now," Longboat came to Applejack's side and wrapped her hoof around her shoulder. "You were the one that managed to get Rockhoof back from limbo. That's something that can't be ignored. You saved a legend from some magical plane. That's gotta account for something, hasn't it?"

"But I'm not a god. Heck, I don't even believe in gods! Just good, honest farm work and friendship..." Applejack groaned as she looked into Longboat's eyes.

"Well, you might not believe that you're a god, but to everypony else in this room, you are a god. The way I see it, you should live in the moment. Enjoy yourself. Not like everyone gets the chance to have the kind of honours that you and Rockhoof get," Longboat said, and then took her place back at the stand. "Now, to celebrate the return of our legend and the pony who saved her, I think it's only fitting that we feast. A toast to Rockhoof the Strong and Applejack the Reclaimer!"

"Hear hear!" The ponies all remarked and clanked their tankards together. And as they did, the doors around the banquet hall burst open, as more viking ponies came in carting wooden trolleys full of food. The veritable feast was being laid out before everyone's eyes.

Applejack could only gulp as she looked out at it all. The fanatical praise for Rockhoof had now been transmitted over to her as well. What had she gotten herself into this time?