Sunset and Pinkie walked out of the chocolate shop, both feeling particularly relaxed about the situation. Pinkie had come to understand that she’d made a huge mistake. She needed to trust her girlfriend and if she didn’t, it would be problematic to say the least. Sunset wasn’t like Atlas and there was no reason to treat her like that, even inadvertently.
She looked at the taller girl and the calm, serene face she had. Eyes like flawless turquoises set in a stunning face wreathed by hair that seemed as though it was a very inferno itself. And that was Sunset: a lively flame, both nurturing and caring and so very kissable (amongst other things).
The two of them stopped.
Sunset turned to Pinkie. “Are you okay? You’ve been pretty quiet,” she asked.
Pinkie wasn’t sure how to answer that. The truth was, of course, that she was thinking of their relationship and how she could take it farther. They were already a couple, but not yet ready for marriage. And given their horrific previous relationships, Pinkie did not want to push the sexual button just yet, especially after Twilight had already given her a lecture on taking it easy with Sunset.
“I was just thinking,” she replied simply. “I didn’t get to see much of Canterlot and I wanted to see where you’re from. I mean, you’re my girlfriend and Auntie Cup says that every couple should do the cheese tour at one point in their life.”
Sunset looked at her oddly. “Cheese tour?”
Pinkie nodded. “That’s when a couple get to show each other everything from their childhood. I mean, I know you spent most of it in the palace, but what about that orphanage? And given that I’ve lived most of my life with my aunt and uncle, you’ve already pretty much seen that.”
“Pinkie, I—”
Pinkie took Sunset’s hands in her own. “Please? I mean, it would mean a lot to me. Besides, we need some stories to tell our children, right?”
Sunset looked at Pinkie strangely. It had already started off with the mention of a cheese tour, which her adopted mother had already told her about, and now suddenly Pinkie was planning children with her?
We’re not even dating!
“Pinkie, I….” The look on Pinkie’s face became one of absolute pleading and Sunset somehow knew that she couldn’t disappoint her friend. “Okay. I have a few hours free tomorrow, and we can do it then, okay?”
Pinkie jumped up and down in victory. “Yay!” The moment meant the world to her. Even though it would probably be another decade or so before they tied the knot, Pinkie was happy to be able to learn as much about her future wife as she could. After all, if she was going to be the lifemate of someone as special as Sunset, it didn’t hurt to start preparing as soon as possible!
Before Sunset could say anything else, Pinkie got on her tiptoes, threw her arms around Sunset’s shoulders and reached up, kissing her. “I know, no PDA, but you’re my girl, Sunny!” she crowed. “I have to show you who loves ya, baby!”
Despite everything, Sunset blushed slightly. “Pinks, I already get that from you, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Oh, I worry, believe me. With that bitch Rose trying to muscle in—”
“Pinkie, I have no interest in Rose.” Despite her reluctance to try to break the situation about their supposed “relationship”, Sunset felt at least comfortable enough to comment on that. “Rose is just a friend and you should know that.”
Pinkie gave her girlfriend a blushing response. “Sorry…I can be a jealous Pinkie at times. I know, it’s an ugly side of me, but we’re a couple and you’re going to see this eventually. Forgive me?”
“Pinkie, there’s nothing to forgive, okay?” Especially since we’re not a couple!
“Really?” When Sunset nodded, Pinkie responded by leaning her head against Sunset’s shoulder. “How did I luck out and get the best girl in the world?”
Sunset would have answered that if it wasn’t for the guard that was galloping towards them. “Princess Sunset! Princess Sunset!” He skidded to a stop, nearly bumping into the two. “Oh, thank Celestia I found you! We have an emergency going on and we need your help!”
Sunset looked briefly at Pinkie, then at the guardspony. “What’s up?”
The stallion gasped for breath for a second, then explained the situation and what was being done about it. “And with Princess Twilight covering the area around Berryville, she asked me to come locate you and see if you would be willing to support us locally,” he finished.
Sunset looked at Pinkie. “Pinkie, I—”
“It’s okay, sweetie,” she replied. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” She turned to the guardspony. “Is there any way that I can help?”
“Yes. We have a squad of ponies headed towards Sweet Apple Acres and the outskirts, but we don’t have enough ponies to spare. If you can assist in any way, we’d be appreciative.”
Sunset changed into her alicorn form. “Trust me, Sergeant,” she told the pony, “if you’ve got Pinkie on your side, then you’ve got nothing to worry about.” Giving her friend a smile, Sunset launched herself into the air and within seconds was nothing more than a speck in the sky.
“Wow, with an endorsement like that, she must really have faith in you,” the sergeant told Pinkie.
“Yeah,” Pinkie said in a dreamy voice. “Gets me all creamy just thinking about it.” A second later she realized what she said and blushed furiously. “Um…you didn’t hear that,” she said in an awkward tone, then took on a more businesslike approach. “Okay, what’s next?”
Back when she was just a filly, Applejack’s father once told her a family proverb: Sometimes you feel like the swatter, sometimes you feel like the fly. It was one of those folk wisdom things that her friends typically were at a loss to understand what it meant, and in this case, truth be told, the farmmare was more than likely to agree with them. It wasn’t exactly the most accessible of maxims, and by the time she was old enough to ask him, her father was gone.
Now, as her teeth rattled in her skull as she was smashed violently against the ground once more, she understood the meaning of the old saying. She also wondered how long she was going to spend in the hospital because of this. She’d managed to draw the heat off her sister and the guards, which was good, but in the process had drawn the wrath of the creature, and it had decided she was the perfect target for its strikes. That meant it wasn’t going to leave her be until she was unconscious and bleeding out of several locations and probably in traction for weeks. That became a definite as the Goson then pinned her to the ground courtesy of one of the shattered trees that had been the family livelihood.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see the thing rushing towards her. It was clearly intending to deliver the finishing blow, and that was going to be painful on a level that Applejack had probably never felt before. Even being in the war against Tirek’s forces hadn’t been like this, and she’d escaped that one mainly unscathed. There was also the recent issue in Nightshade, and she’d went through that with flying colors. And yet, here she was, bruised and battered and looking like she’d come out the bad side of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.
Needless to say, it wasn’t a comfortable position to be in.
She saw sharp claws coming for her, straight at her eyes. That close and powerful, it could do some serious damage – the kind even the most potent of healing magic would have a problem dealing with.
She closed her eyes, shivering and knowing that she was powerless, and wasn’t going to be able to stop that at all.
The blow never came.
The moment she arrived on the grounds of Sweet Apple Acres, a wounded guard had come up, calling for help. Both she and Big Macintosh asked him what was up. Once he’d given an answer, it only took a brief look between the teen and the stallion before Applejack vaulted towards the action as fast as she could. People – ponies, whatever – were in trouble and she was the kind of girl that wasn’t going to let that fly.
She arrived to see chaos: apple trees uprooted and shattered, the ground pitted and scarred as if explosions had gone off, and in the center of it, was a creature that Applejack could best describe as a cross between Disco Bear from Happy Tree Friends and the stereotypical look of a karateka. She probably would have laughed if it weren’t for the fact that the thing seemed wild and was tearing up everything in sight. Worse, it seemed to have moves and motions as though it had some martial arts training as bizarre as that would seem.
Then again, for this world, it’s probably par for the course, Applejack thought.
And then that’s when she saw the object of the creature’s fury: her own counterpart. She didn’t hate the other Applejack, though for some reason the reverse was true. Since then, she’d given the earth mare a wide berth, even though she’d taken the effort to spend some time with the other Apples, who treated her like a family of sorts. And now that such had happened, the teen could see why: in a sense, she was one of them. The Granny of this world was little different than her own, while the Apple Bloom and Macintosh of this world. but they had similar dreams and desires. And though her parents’ counterparts were gone from this world, from what Granny Smith had stated, they were very similar.
In any case, none of that mattered. The Applejack of this world couldn’t afford to be injured, because she was a part of Princess Twilight’s court and a Bearer of the Elements of Harmony in her own right. She was, essentially, a knight and a lesser noble, though she didn’t act like it. But no matter what, she had to be protected.
Applejack herself didn’t know what her own future would be now that Sunset was a princess and a goddess. Would she, too, become a member of a court, a noble and a knight? She thought that laughable; she was just a typical California girl with a slightly odder accent and a love of tae kwon do. She didn’t imagine herself as an armor-clad, sword-wielding amazon roaming the countryside (and in any case, Pinkie was the one who usually imagined that sort of thing, based on several of her non-stop diatribes). She was just…Applejack. AJ. The girl that wanted a boyfriend, wanted to be a TKD instructor when she grew up and was good, but probably not Olympic-level good, sad to say.
Still, she had three things that were paramount to her: her family’s values in honesty and integrity, which she took to heart. Her martial arts skills and drive (which while others would say that she wasn’t going to earn a gold medal in anything anytime soon, was fine), and most important…
…no one else could say that they pounded two goddess-level entities into the ground. She flexed her fist and felt the familiar crackle of her magic come to life within. As a normal girl, she was a better-than-average TKD practitioner. Magically embued, however, she was an unstoppable stone-cold bitch that shrugged off a direct hit from a two-ton truck.
With a confident swagger, she walked up to the creature and cocked her fist back—
“HEY ASSHOLE, PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN WEIGHT!”
—and swung.
As the Goson temporarily skidded away courtesy of Applejack’s “lovetap”, the blonde went over and started deadlifting the fallen tree that lay on her counterpart. Seeing Macintosh running towards them, she called out, “Okay, Ah’m gonna lift this thing outta the way and when Ah do, you grab her and run like hell, got that?”
“Ya c’n lift that?” Macintosh said with a bit of surprise.
“Ah’ve dealt with worse, sugar,” she said with a grin. “Ah think Ah can handle a simple tree.”
Meanwhile, the farmmare looked at her as though she were insane. “Whut th’…?” she asked.
“Don’t speak,” Applejack told the pony. “You’re injured. Focus on recovering, instead.” With that, she pulled at the large trunk, her muscles bulging and straining against the weight.
Macintosh, meanwhile, looked a growing figure on the horizon. “Better hurry – looks like whutever it is, ‘s gonna be back fer seconds,” he told her.
“Don’t worry, Ah got us covered,” Applejack said as she continued to lift. Little by little the trunk began to move while the figure loomed closer and closer.
“Okay, pull her out,” Applejack told him. “Now, Ah gotta deal with our new friend here.”
“An’ how’re ya gonna do that?” Macintosh asked.
The human merely gave him a simple smile. That grin, however, was enough to send a chill down his spine.
As the Goson reached a close enough distance, it vaulted at them, moving into a diving kick that would have easily taken down a lesser. Applejack, however, just blocked it and jabbed forward, which the creature easily avoided. She knew it would and it knew she knew it would. Thus, the two stood facing one another, the Goson thrilled that it now faced something truly worthy of its attention, and Applejack faced an unknown creature that she knew she had to beat.
It bellowed a roar of challenge.
Applejack briefly bowed to her opponent and assumed a fighting stance.
The two rushed at each other, fist and claws respectively cocked before reaching the midpoint and the flurry of punches and kicks began.
Exhausted, Adagio plunked down on a rock, wiping the sweat from her brow. Since the first sighting, the trio had gone impromptu hydra hunting. And like the myths on Earth, it was just as painful as described: while they didn’t grow back any heads after one was taken out, the screams brought a ton of reinforcements to help the wounded one. And so twelve heads became 144 became over 1700 and it went on from there.
So now, they were resting after having decimated what was probably a pack? Swarm? Whatever they called a group of hydras…. Something had caused a whole stampede of them to depart the Froggy Bottom Bog and with Ponyville and a few other towns in the way, there was not going to be an easy way of getting rid of them. So, the SIRENs had served as an impromptu extermination force, with their air support occasionally going back to the palace to get them ammo resupplies.
“Fuck this.” Aria downed the contents of her canteen, then rested in the shade of a mangrove tree. Sweat-stained like the rest of them, her pigtails had come undone and she’d just settled for tying them back in a braid for the moment. “I thought this was supposed to be our day off.”
“Yeah, me too.” Sonata just lay on the ground, completely spent. Her hair was a soaking wet mop that trailed behind her and given that she’d been the one wearing the most fashionable (and least utilitarian) clothing of the three, had already torn her skirt in three places to let her move a little more freely. “Sunny’s going to owe us big time for this.”
“Yeah,” Aria agreed. “I’m thinking this is worth a shopping trip on her dime.”
“Ladies, we’re on the clock, remember?” Adagio chided them. “We don’t get to make demands like that.”
“Sunny won’t mind. In fact, she’d probably insist on it.”
“Be that as it may, Ari, I don’t want to get into the fact of mixing business and pleasure. We did agree to treat her from a distance when we’re on the clock, right?”
“Extenuating circumstances, sis,” Sonata reminded her.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll give you that,” Adagio sighed tiredly.
“Alpha Six, this is Air Support.” The voice of Sgt. Upstairs came in loud and clear over the impromptu setup. She’d relieved Trp. Furlong an hour ago and genuinely felt bad about doing so – while the ponies were able to get breaks and be relieved, there was no such luck for the human forces present. “Okay, we have the all clear. Good job, you three – you managed to turn away that large hydra bundle.”
“Bundle? Is that what a group of hydras is called?”
“Yup. I take it you don’t have hydras on Earth?”
“We do, but they’re more like insects. Same name, different thing. And we don’t have a term of venery for them,” Sonata chimed in.
“Lucky you. Anyway, we got the all clear from Cpt. Right, so if you’ll head due west for about thirty minutes, you should reach a guard outpost. The unicorn on duty there should be able to teleport you back to Broken Glass Tree Central.”
“Broken Glass Tree Central?”
“Um…don’t tell anypony I said this, ma’am, but that’s what we guardsponies in the air wing of the Friendship Guard call Princess Twilight’s castle. To be honest…it’s a little ugly and we don’t know why she lives in it.”
Adagio laughed at that. “Your secret is safe with me, Sergeant.”
“I’ll keep watch up here until you get to the outpost. Air Support, out.”
“Works for me.” Dragging herself to her feet, Adagio smiled. “Okay, you heard the news. Sooner we get going, the sooner we can get back and take a shower and relax.”
“You mean the sooner I’m going to get my ass chewed,” Sonata said mournfully.
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” she said, gesturing to her ruined skirt. “This is one of Rarity’s, and she let me borrow it because I looked good in it. You know how much she’s going to tear my head off when she finds out.”
“Not as much as pony Fluttershy will probably flip her shit when she realizes we just killed about a dozen hydras,” Aria added.
“Yeah,” Adagio said tiredly. “C’mon. Maybe we can get Sunny to protect us as that favor she owes us.”
“From Rares?” Sonata asked.
“Point.”
Raspberry Beryl, paired up with Rainbow Dash at the moment, were in the village of Broadmoor, southwest of Ponyville. Given Princess Twilight’s edict that she wanted to make sure the population centers in the province were forewarned of what was going on, the unicorn and the pegasus headed there immediately.
“This is boring!” Rainbow groaned. “I could be covering air support for the SIRENs or raining down my combat magic on that Goes On thingy or stuff like that – instead I get sent here to just talk to the mayor?”
“Rainbow, it’s our job as members of Twi’s court to assure those under our protection that we’re to, you know, actually protect them?” the mulberry unicorn reminded her. “Besides, as the Element of Loyalty, you should know that it means to be here for somepony else, through thick and thin.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get your point,” the pegasus sighed. “But still—”
“No buts, Rainbow. We have a meeting with Mayor Whistletail in five minutes, so try and be professional, okay?”
“Hey, ‘Professional’ is my middle name!” Rainbow boasted, sweeping a foreleg in front of her. “Just call me Rainbow Professional Dash, okay?”
“Last week it was Rainbow Danger Dash, as I recall.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Hey, things change, okay?”
Applejack delivered a jaw-jarring blow to the Goson’s muzzle, then dashed back as the creature recovered quickly, raking its claws against her leg, drawing blood. She ignored the pain; she wouldn’t scream and give the creature the satisfaction of any perceived advantage. Instead, she dropped to the ground and swung out with a sweep kick, which it easily avoided; it in turn tried to deliver a diving punch but she in turn blocked that and returned the blow with a thrust to its gut.
So far the two had been at it for ten minutes, trading blow after blow and not getting the upper hand (or paw, in her opponent’s case) against one another. The battle was taking longer than she’d expected; given that she was in an actual fight against a beast that (inexplicably) had similar skills, it wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped. The last time she’d been in a combat of this nature had been against her cousin who had been turned into some magically overdosed freak of nature, and back then it had been a mindless brawl of pure power. Now, technique and speed were counting more, and that was something that Applejack wasn’t completely in tune with. After all, who the hell could she spar with? Sunset being the notable exception, anyone else was going to get seriously crippled if she used her full magical strength.
The Goson launched a flurry of punches at her, and Applejack brought up her arms to block it just in time. Scores of cuts appeared on her arms, many of them fortunately vanishing in quick bursts of golden light – her magic, in addition to giving her immense strength, also apparently seemed to give her limited invulnerability as well.
Which is good, because I really need it right now! she thought, watching her blood flick away from her arms. A thought immediately popped into her head: even if she was instahealing from these minor wounds, that didn’t stop blood loss, and right now she was on the defensive from this creature’s lightning strikes. If she was going to end this, she needed to do it soon.
Apparently overconfident in its victory, it cocked back its paw in order to deliver the finishing blow, and that was all that Applejack needed. She immediately dropped to a crouch, and as the intended blow sailed over her head, she lashed out, doing a flip and striking with her leg. She’d seen the move not done in real life, but instead in a videogame and she’d wondered if it could be replicated in real life. Perhaps it couldn’t be done with the best of TKD practitioners under normal circumstances, but magic tended to play by its own rules.
That was quickly proven true as the knife edge of Applejack’s foot hammered into the Goson’s face, and an explosion of energy burned across its features, causing it to roar in pain. However, that roar lessened as physics took over, sending the creature flying. It sailed through the air a dozen yards, caroming off the boundary fence at one point and shattering it before coming to a painful crash within the nearby reaches of the Everfree Forest.
Retracting her leg, the teen didn’t have time to gloat in the fact that she’d pulled off the Silent Slash. She wondered if she should let the creature go or continue after it. It didn’t seem like the type that was going to give up easily, and when she left for Canterlot tomorrow that would mean that anyone here would still have to deal with it. However, if she beat it to the point that it conceded defeat, maybe it had enough of a sense of honor that it would leave the town and its populace alone.
She couldn’t risk that, though. She wasn’t a knight or a warrior or anything like that, but she knew that she had to protect the innocent. It was what her parents and her sah-bu-nim had taught her, and it wasn’t something she could easily back down from.
Without a moment of further hesitation, she rushed into the dark, primeval forest, ready to end the fight.
Seated at his desk at the palace, Divine looked over the map of where his forces, the SIRENs and the two princesses were operating. It chafed him to just sit by and do nothing – he was a prince and it was his job to look after his ponies, not to mention his princess – but Twilight had told him that he was the best tactician they had, and there was nopony better to handle that. And, unfortunately, she was right. So he sat at his desk and ordered troop movements and watched over the situation as best he could.
And hated every moment of it.
I should be out there, protecting her! his mind seethed. He knew she could take care of herself – she was an alicorn, for Celestia’s sake! – but that paled compared to the maelstrom that was his feelings. He had to protect her. Not just because they were foalhood friends, or that she was his princess or that Shining had personally tasked him with doing so, but because…
Because…
He slumped against the map, then forced himself to calm down. He was a prince in his own right. He was a captain and a leader and a guardspony and unlike that playcolt cousin of his, he took his duties and position seriously. Despite his name and his old colthood jokes about things being “his Divine Right”, they were. It was his Divine Right to look out for those in need. It was his Divine Right to protect the innocent and the weak from those who would hurt them. It was his pleasure and his privilege, and he would never shirk that. His aunt depended on him to follow through with honor.
But more importantly, he couldn’t be the kind of stallion that could look a particular mare in the eyes if he was anything less than the best he could be.
“Captain?”
He looked up at that voice…then looked up further. Standing before him was one of the few here who could rival his talent in tactics: Princess Twilight’s own counterpart, the human Twilight Sparkle. Magic aside, she was just as smart as the alicorn, and given human science and technology, possibly even smarter.
“Hello, Lady Twilight. What can I do for you?” he asked.
“Actually…I think it’s more about what I can do for you.” Twilight dropped into the seat across from him. “It’s clear you don’t want to be here.”
“It’s my duty, Lady Twilight,” he told her. “I am the CO of the Friendship Guard and so it’s necessary for me to be here. Sometimes leaders don’t get the luxury of being with those that need them the most.” Worried about how she might take it, he quickly amended with, “My troops, I mean. I trust my junior officers and non-commissioneds, but….”
“That’s okay, Captain, I understand what you mean,” Twilight told him. “But I’m not sure you understand what I mean.” When he looked at her oddly, she smiled and held up her iPad. “You know about this, right?”
“Yes, that science-based magic mirror of yours. A…tablet…you called it?”
“Well, it has more than just the functions of looking up information. After all, to a person like me, data and information is my stock-in-trade, and that includes maps.”
Gears clicked in the stallion’s mind. “Does that mean you would be able to commission one for me, Lady Twilight?”
“I don’t know about that, as I would have to ask my sister or Twi first. But they might be able to make a magical equivalent, which, now that I think about it, which might be better in the long run.”
“Well, if you can do that for me, Lady Twilight, I would be very appreciative. Your suggestion could revolutionize the military as we know it.”
Twilight’s lips pursed. “That…wasn’t the answer I was hoping for.”
Wounded and ashamed of its dishonor, the Bete Goson stumbled away from the impact location, hearing the roar of the creature as it approached. It felt a deep shame – losing to such a beast was normally an honor, but during this time of year, it couldn’t afford a loss of this nature. Not if it wanted….
It stumbled against a tree, breathing heavily. It would need to recover in order to challenge that being again, and that was time it might not have.
It was then that it heard footsteps – no, pawsteps – approaching it. The Goson looked up…
…and a grateful clarity entered its eyes.
Determined to end the battle, Applejack charged headlong into the Everfree. She had to put an end to this before anyone else got hurt, and the sooner the better.
Without warning, a blast of dark purple tore the air just above her head. Applejack hit the deck, rolling, then immediately moved back to her feet. She had just enough time to do that, when a growl, far different from the earlier one, sounded out.
The teen said to herself, “That does not bode well.”
A figure stepped out from behind a tree, another creature like the one she’d faced earlier. But this one was thinner and lither, as if it was the female of the species – it probably was, with Applejack’s luck. And unfortunately, it looked as though she had just beat up the creature’s mate, which meant payback was in apparent order.
Unafraid, the teen let her aura begin to build, the familiar golden cloud of energy enshrouding her, and she felt the familiar magic course through her. Confident, she steeled herself for battle. “Sorry, but Ah can’t let you or your beau head back to town.”
As if understanding, the creature dropped into a battle-ready stance of its own.
Nothing more to be said, Applejack charged the beast as it propelled another one of those magical blasts at her. However, she was prepared. As she approached, she rammed her outstretched palms towards her foe, screaming a battle kihap.
Arriving at the farm, Pinkie surveyed the destruction, worry etched on her face. The amount of damage was immense, and while she figured that was due to Applejack going overboard, the fact that she had to do that meant something powerful.
A thread of thought burrowed its way into her mind: was this how their lives were going to be from now on? Constant fighting and constant battle, due to threats both normal and otherwise? The triplets were used to that sort of thing. And, truth be told, Pinkie felt it was her responsibility as well, even if no one had given her such a demand. But Applejack and the others were normal, or as normal as could be given their circle.
Following the path of the damage, Pinkie moved on. Like it or not, her life was no longer the same trajectory that it had been. And given that she had a girlfriend to protect in addition to her friends, there was no way she was going to back down from a fight.
The two collided in the center, erupting in a blast wave of light and force that shook everything nearby and sent smaller animals within the forest running for safety. Both combatants were propelled backwards, each slamming into nearby trees like ragdolls thrown around by a petulant child. Applejack, frequently used to taking blows from her sparring, simply shook it off and, being the first to recover, charged back into the fray.
Upon reaching her opponent, who had just begun to stand, she launched into a spinning snap kick that rebounded the creature back into the tree, and coming off the bounce, Applejack charged her fist with magic and threw an uppercut, the golden-glowing hand crunching hard against the creature’s chin. She then leapt back, readying to rush forward with an elbow strike, only to have the creature rake its claws across her forehead, splitting it open and drawing blood.
Ignoring that, she instead threw a series of rapid punches against the female Bete’s barrel, punching harder and faster than she’d ever done before. Blow after blow rained, and Applejack hoped that her magic would queue something.
It did.
A miniature sonic boom exploded, dropping both to the ground. This time it was the female Bete which recovered first. Roaring in anger, it picked the teen up by her hair and charged a fist with burning purple energy before thrusting forward. The impact set off an explosion of power that ripped into Applejack, turning her into a projectile that went into – and through – a large tree.
Undeterred, the female Bete followed, rage in its eyes. It had found a mate and this strange creature had dared issue a challenge. This wasn’t just about honor as a Bete Goson…this was about the future.
Some distance away and deeper in the forest, Applejack stood up, the water of the pond she’d been thrown into sloughing off her while trying to ignore the stars that were busy trying to set up orbit around her head, the ringing in her ears and the general feeling that she’d just been punched by a building. Wiping the blood off her face and glad that her magic had healed that minor injury, she looked around, readying herself for an attack.
This second beast was far stronger than the first. Clearly the mate and clearly the female, in better times Applejack would have probably cracked a joke or two about that. But now, with her shirt shredded – soon, she was going to have to discard it and hoped that her bra would hold up – soaked and with no idea where she was, her problems were piling up fast.
In any case, the first step is to get out of this pond. I’m at a disadvantage here, she said, and walked up the embankment. As she did, though, her side exploded in pain as a fist nailed her there. She spat up a glob of blood and felt something in her snap. Falling backwards, she could see the eyes of the Bete before her, now with murderous intent etched in them.
Forget problems piling up – the problems had just decided to take a massive shit on her right then and there.
Not yet satisfied, the Bete picked up the limp body by its head. Bringing it up so that eyes bored into eyes, the female challenger snarled, signaling its intent: this would be the death blow.
Applejack’s green eyes blazed with fury. “Sorry, Ah’m gonna have to take a raincheck on your plans!” She reached out and tapped the creature on the nose.
The blast of energy Applejack planted erupted right in the creature’s face, stunning it and sending it backwards. The blonde used that time to scramble out of the way and move to a more advantageous position.
Note to self: ask Sunny how to fling fireballs later. Videogames aside, I think I’m going to have to stop thinking like a student of TKD and more like a character in Street Fighter! But for now she couldn’t worry about that. Instead, she had a job to do and to put this thing down before it did the same to her.
Rushing to its side, she dashed in and threw the hardest punch she could at what would have been the solar plexus on a human. If she was lucky, it would knock the wind out of her opponent and put her back on top. Ignoring the pain she currently felt, she threw that blow, delivering as much magic into it as she could.
The eruption of power sent the creature flying once more, but this time, Applejack was right on it. The moment it landed she delivered a series of brutal punches and kicks, intended to put the thing down. The ground began to crater from the power of her blows. She’d used this amount of force once before, when her cousin had overdosed on magic and had become something that Applejack had to put down. Now, she had to use more, given this creature’s tolerance for pain.
Pouring everything into her fist, she couldn’t help but scream, “OKAY, FEEL THIS! SPECIAL ATTACK – APPLE CORER!” She struck the creature with the force that no normal human could have ever done, raining the full power of her blast. After a few milliseconds, the blast corona was so powerful that it caused a whiteout just before a wave of destruction flattened everything in the immediate vicinity. Oceans of dust motes crashed against sparks of magic, turning the area into an orange-hued maelstrom.
One second passed, and the noise died down and the dust settled.
Two seconds.
Three.
Applejack stood up, letting out a sigh of relief and nursing her aching side while she felt bile and blood trying to course up her throat. That was pure luck on my part, she mused. I could’ve been a goner if I hadn’t poured so much power into that blow. Guess I’m going to need magic training for sure, now.
Stepping away from her opponent, she looked at the setting sun. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it had been earlier in the day when this had all started, so the fact that they were approaching sundown was not exactly a good thing. Hopefully Sunset would send out help soon.
There was a sudden crack behind her. Applejack began to turn around…
…and the world exploded beneath her in a borealis of power. Violet flames burned her, shearing her skin and lacerating it. Magnitudes of force buffeted her as though she were nothing more than a matchstick in a hurricane. The force felt so overwhelming she screamed but she couldn’t hear her own voice over the roar of whatever it was that hit her.
She felt multiple things snap within her and she crashed to the ground, unable to stand or even move, a blasted husk with no strength left. It felt like a herculean task to just breathe and every bit of her power seemed to dissipate from her body.
She felt herself picked up once more, not by the hair this time. She screamed in agony as she was lifted up by her chest, her nerves burning from the pain. She looked into the eyes of the Bete, who seemed to be drawing on some final power that Applejack didn’t understand.
With her flagging strength, she looked at the creature and found that it had been covered in the blue glowing leaves of a strange plant. What the hell is that? she wondered, but she couldn’t even find the strength to speak. And was it just her, or did her opponent suddenly seem to grow in size?
She suddenly felt her head become enveloped by something leathery, and she panicked: the beast had somehow become large enough that its paw could now envelope her head and it was clearly going to squash it like a grape. Terrified, Applejack tried to force herself to move, but she couldn’t find a reservoir of strength left within her. She was completely spent and it meant she was going to die.
The creature made a noise that almost sounded as though it was laughing. It was clearly enjoying its win.
Sunny, if you’re a goddess, I could use a little divine intervention right now! Applejack pled.
It was then that she felt a blur of wind pass her. Looking, she saw a blur of red, blue and magenta slam into the Bete like a divine wind, delivering ringing punch after ringing punch. The creature went airborne via an uppercut, followed by being knocked away by an aerial spin kick.
Applejack felt herself arc away from the beast and in her condition, the landing was going to be painful as hell. However, that agony didn’t come, as she felt strong arms encircle her and gently set her on the ground.
“Rest. You earned this one, AJ.”
Applejack looked up and at that moment saw something she swore would burn into her memory for the rest of her life. There, standing above her with a sweet smile, was Pinkie. However, the corona of Pinkie’s magic burned around her like a star, as if Applejack had been placed directly next to the Sun.
I’m strong, she realized. But Pinkie…
Reaching in her pocket for her phone, she gave it to Applejack. “Call for help when you can. I’ll try to make this quick so we can bounce soon, though.” A cocky smile came on to the girl’s face as she hooked a thumb back at where the creature had landed and added, “So let me go talk to the DJ, or we’re outta here!”
Applejack blinked. She finally managed to bring a word to her lips: “What?”
Without a care in the world, she bounced over to the creature. “Excuse me, could you play something with a beat?”
The Bete didn’t waste time, immediately charging towards Pinkie.
The smile remained on Pinkie’s face, as she added, “You know—”
Applejack, terrified for her friend, finally found her voice, “PINKIE! GET AWAY! THAT THING IS A KILLER!”
The Bete was within feet of the cotton-candy-haired teen, and it didn’t look like it was even going to give any modicum of quarter that it had given Applejack.
“—something I can dance to?”
As if on cue, music began to play from Pinkie’s phone, a heavy bassline and thunderous guitar.
Pinkie’s smile turned wolfish.
Before anyone swore that she moved, she practically turned into a blur, immediately beginning her assault. She threw a series of lightning-fast punches, driving the creature back. The Bete countered with a neck grab, using its right leg, of all things. However, Pinkie countered that by dropping to the ground and performing an upward sweep of her own, pirouetting behind the creature, which immediately allowed her to quickly turn and deliver a brutal knee attack to the back of the Bete’s head.
As the blow staggered it, Pinkie didn’t waste time. She threw another round of lightning punches, pushing it away.
“Oh, have I got a present for you!” she sang out. “Been practicing a little – PARTY CANNON!” A blast of magic that seemed to be made up of nothing but neon-colored sparkles collided into the Bete, staggering it back, but not giving the hadōken-level blow that Pinkie had expected.
She sighed. “Guess I gotta work on it a bit,” she mourned. “Oh, well – guess I have to do this the hard way!” Her aura burned around her once more and with that, she launched herself at her opponent once more.
However, the Bete had been expecting that and replied with a palm punch of its own, sending her flying back. But Pinkie was a different kind of fighter and rebounded, striking back with a flying kick. The Bete punched forward, ready to take her out of the air, but Pinkie adjusted, landing on the creature’s arm, and immediately threw a striking blow to its head.
Roaring in pain, the creature attempted to swat her away, but she danced out of its range, moving back to where Applejack was. Seeing her friend in bad shape made the smile briefly fall from Pinkie’s face. “AJ, you holding up?” she asked, never taking her eyes off her target.
“Yeah, but Ah think…Ah busted a coupla ribs,” she said painfully. “Not to mention Ah’m in a bit of a delicate way right now.”
“Yeah, I saw that. Wish I’d remembered to pack a spare t-shirt for spare t-shirt emergencies,” Pinkie responded.
“What?”
“Nevermind. I’m surprised you went down from this.”
“Yeah….” Applejack coughed up a blob of blood. “Well, this is the second one Ah fought. Ah hope we haven’t run into a bunch of them or we’re gonna have some serious issues.”
“Well, like I said, you rest up,” Pinkie assured her. “I’ll have this finished soon. I guess I have to get serious.”
Applejack blinked. “Serious?”
“Yeah! I mean, I know what I am, AJ. And….” She sighed, shook her head and then turned to look directly at her friend. “Let’s just say that my life’s going to be very different than I ever expected it to be. I mean, I’m going to be married to a goddess someday. So I gotta keep up my fair share!”
But unbeknownst to Pinkie, the Bete had recovered and was running towards Pinkie. It was now clearly drawing all the power it could, recognizing that it now was in a do-or-die situation of its own.
Applejack’s eyes widened. “Pinkie – behind you!”
The cheerleader smiled sweetly. “I know.” She then turned…
…and in that motion, Applejack knew exactly what Pinkie meant. The girl that Pinkie had been was forever going to be gone now, and the wounded teen didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
You owe her, Sunny, Applejack thought soberly.
The smile fell from Pinkie’s face and her eyes tightened from a smile to that of an aggressive stance.
“I came to start the party,
‘Cause I’m the party starter,
So if this beat ain’t knocking,
LET’S GET IT KNOCKIN’ HARDER!”
In a move that Applejack could only watch with wide-eyed wonder, Pinkie did a flying uppercut and while still in the air, delivered eight more lightning punches to the creature before somehow flipping towards the nadir of her ascent and lashing out with a kick that sent the Bete crashing back down to the ground.
Before the creature could even bounce from the impact, Pinkie, her blue corona burning around her like a star, was already there and delivered a second axe kick, embedding the creature even further into the ground.
However, in a strange move the creature pushed itself out of the ground by spreading its arms, cutting through the battered earth as if it were soft loam. Its moves, however, were slightly slower, a sign it was running out of steam.
“I haven’t even hit my stride,” Pinkie warned the Bete, “and you’re already flagging. You can walk away now, or things get nasty.”
The Bete, in response, flexed its fist – the only answer it was going to give.
The two stared at one another.
“So be it.” Pinkie raised an open hand, then closed it. There was a miniature sound of thunder as a blast of power erupted from that move.
The Bete rushed towards Pinkie, possibly for the final confrontation. Pinkie bolted forwards to meet her foe. As the two collided, they immediately traded blows at full strength, the Bete’s magical and physical power unable to get an advantage over Pinkie’s pure speed and well-placed parries. The two went at it for several more seconds, unable to one up the other.
Knowing that it had to do something, it threw a powerful uppercut that managed to get through Pinkie’s defenses, staggering her. It immediately started doing what it had done to Applejack earlier, raining clawed blow after clawed blow on its new opponent, intending to wear her down just as she had done to the earlier one.
Unfortunately, it had picked the wrong target to do that with. A power blast of energy rocketed forward, hitting the thing like a freight train and knocking it aside.
“You had your chance.” A human voice, filled with cold fury, spoke. An azure magic aura glowed strong enough to look as though the sky itself had enshrouded its user. “And now I’m going to end this in the name of my liege and my love.” With that, Pinkie pounced like a demon, executing her battle strategy as if it had always meant to be this way. She grabbed the Bete and started slamming its head against the forest floor, then added the brutality of a strong axe kick. Coming out of that move, she then parried hastily thrown energy blast that the Bete had thrown as a distraction. Pinkie retaliated by throwing a fierce snap kick that sent the Bete into a large boulder, shattering it on impact.
The Bete in turn went back on the offensive, seeming to deflate Pinkie’s rebound. Drawing power, it threw a gout of energy, but the teen merely sidestepped it, unimpressed. The Bete then launched at its foe, attempting a scissors kick, but that was just as easily countered by a block and a counterpunch by Pinkie, that snapped the creature’s head back. She then charged up her fist with magic and threw her full force into the punch, both drawing blood and an audible snap as she cracked the Bete’s snout.
The creature fell to the ground, roaring in pain as it tried for one last time to rally. It’d had been bruised and battered several times and while it had clearly expended itself on the other fighter, this new one was leagues more dangerous. Still, it looked at its opponent as though it was willing to go on.
“If that’s the way you want it.” Pinkie cracked the knuckles in her fist, her hands glowing like stars. “I was perfectly willing to let you go, but if you want to end it this way, I’ll be more than happy to.” Not wasting any further words, she launched into her next volley of strikes. She landed a downward blow, then followed it up with an immediate short kick. She moved in closer, throwing left and right jabs before turning it into a non-stop series of rolling punches.
The speed of her blows became faster, the interval when one fist was pulled back and the next connected was shrinking by the nanosecond. This had not become about just protecting Applejack, but about something else as well. Somehow, Pinkie was passing a line and she didn’t even realize it. She only knew that she had to protect, because that was her duty.
She had to kill, if that was what it meant from stopping this thing from rampaging in Ponyville.
“PINKIE!”
The teen felt a hand on hers and stopped. She turned to see placid cyan eyes looking at her, filled with love and a request to stop. Seeing that, Pinkie forced herself to stand down and looked as Sunset silently pointed at Pinkie’s target.
The Bete was bloodied, battered and had its arms up in a defensive posture. The look of defiance in its eyes was gone, replaced by terror. In the distance, the male Goson stood, watching everything, ready to move in for the mate it had just discovered and yet at the same time terrified to take on the magenta-haired juggernaut that had nearly obliterated everything.
Pinkie, worried, turned to look at Applejack. Princess Twilight was already there, administering healing spells and having conjured up another set of clothing for the downed teen, but the two girls looked at one another. In Applejack’s green eyes was relief, but also…something else. Something that made Pinkie wince.
Sunset looked at the Bete and cast a healing spell, then with a wave of her hand, pushed it over into the outspread paws of its mate. Looking at both, she said, “Go. Don’t ever come back.” The Goson, its unconscious mate secure in its arms seemed to nod in understanding and wandered off into the deeper, undamaged part of the Everfree.
Princess Twilight looked at the massive clearing that had once been a thick, dense part of the forest. “This…I haven’t seen this level of destruction since I went hoof to hoof with Tirek,” she admitted.
That was enough for Pinkie. Something came over her and she broke down crying. Sunset immediately tapped Pinkie on the forehead and put her to sleep.
“Let’s get goin’,” Applejack said, now able to stand up with some assistance from Princess Twilight. “Ah bet the others are worried about us.”
“You guys have been gone for about five hours,” Princess Twilight noted. “So yes, I would imagine so.” She gestured to the sky, which was already darkening as the moon began to shine. “This is going to be an unusual day, even by Ponyville standards.”
“Yeah,” Applejack said warily.
Sunset looked at her friend. “AJ….”
Applejack shook her head. “Sunny…she was going to cross the line. Even you didn’t cross that when you fought that demon. Hell, you died rather than let that happen.”
“And yet the triplets do it all the time.”
“Maybe, but they’re trained to deal with that. We’re not,” the blonde pointed out. “Worse, she was going to do it for you.” Sunset’s eyes narrowed but Applejack didn’t back down. “You know what Ah mean, sugar.”
“Yeah. Look, let’s get back to Twilight’s, get the rest of your wounds looked at, eat some dinner and figure out what to do next. Flutters and Tavi have their concert tonight, so maybe we should go to that and just unwind.”
“Yeah,” Applejack said, her tone indicating that she just wanted to be away from here. “Let’s do that.”
Applejack opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. She’d been here more than enough times, while visiting Rainbow due to her injuries at one point or another. She’d also been here during the Winter of Aftermath, assisting the medical staff when needed and helping Braeburn to get used to his own injury after the war with Tirek.
But looking at the ceiling from this angle was a new one.
“Ah, good, you’re awake!” Dr. Horse came in, a smile on his face. “Yes, definitely awake. Well, I have good news for you: the healing treatments from Princess Twilight and Princess Sunset took, and you should be discharged tomorrow.”
The farmmare sat up, looking at the doctor. That was good news, right? She nodded. “Thank ya, Doc. Ah ‘preciate it.”
“Well, you have a visitor. Normally it’s after visiting hours but given the situation….” He shrugged. “I’m hardly one to say no.”
Before he could say anything, Princess Twilight walked into the room. Her face was impassive, unreadable, and it wasn’t a look that Applejack liked seeing on her friend.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” he told the alicorn. “Please let me know if there’s anything else you need, Your Highness.”
She nodded, not giving him a verbal response as he walked out.
It was the earth mare that spoke first. “Yer mad, aintcha?”
Princess Twilight sighed. “No. I’m disappointed, however. Both in myself and you. You for the obvious reasons. Me because I let it go on this long.”
“Yeah. Ah thought that she wuz just an imposter, an’ yet….” Applejack paused for thought. “Ah wouldn’t be alive if’n it wuzn’t fer her.”
“Yeah, AJ’s a top-level martial artist even before her magic kicks in,” Princess Twilight explained. “I wouldn’t say that’s what she lives for, but she definitely knows how to protect those that need it.”
“An’ that’s why she ain’t no farmer,” Applejack concluded.
“Well, it’s more complex than that, but the details would take too long to explain. Suffice to say that her being human means that her world is substantially different from ours and so she has a different drive. But it’s just as strong for what she wants as for what you want as a farmmare.”
Applejack nodded sadly. “Is she okay?”
“I’m not going to tell you.”
“What?”
“You’ll have to find out for yourself tomorrow. As for now, you’re going to stay here overnight, and then tomorrow after you’re discharged, we’ll have you flown out to Canterlot to join us for the coronation rehearsal. The rest of us have to leave earlier than your discharge time, and we can’t wait.” The look on Princess Twilight’s face was not the one of her friend that Applejack knew so well, but instead that of a princess, and so Twilight’s requests weren’t that – they were edicts. “I expect you to be there.”
“Ya don’ have t’ tell me twice. Ah done screwed this up hard.”
“Yes, you did. But that’s what friendship is all about – learning from your mistakes when you have to.” A smile flitted on the face of the otherwise stern alicorn. “Fix this, Applejack. Not for my sake, or our friends, or your family…but for yours. Because if you don’t, there won’t be anything but shame and regret.”
“Ah know.”
“Good. Now, let me get going and let you get some sleep. You still need some rest after everything – especially after your own heroics.” When Applejack blinked at that, Princess Twilight giggled. “According to Cpl. Boomer, you saved him from getting torn up. He, ah, admitted to looking for a reason to ask you out, but could never find one. Now apparently you’ve given him one.” Seeing the blush on Applejack’s face was enough to make the alicorn laugh all the louder. “Anyway, I need to get going.”
Applejack wasn’t sure why, but she decided to ask, anyway. Given the pigheaded mule she’d been during the week, it was something she needed to know. “We’re still friends, right, Twi?”
The princess nodded, and in that Applejack could see ruler replaced by friend. “That’s never going to change, AJ. I promise.”
“Sis, you’re making a mistake,” Twilight told Sunset.
“Twily, then it’s my mistake to make,” the alicorn-as-human reminded her sister. “Look, give Tavi and Flutters my apologies for why I can’t go.”
The plum-haired scholar folded her arms, not accepting that answer. “No. I don’t like this. The rest of us don’t, either, for that matter.”
“Yes, but she’s my responsibility – both of them are,” Sunset explained. “This is my fault.”
“Don’t you dare,” Twilight growled. “You may be an alicorn and a goddess, but don’t you dare take the world on your shoulders! I want my sister to be as human as possible, not some abstract that I can only understand as much as I do my own faith!”
“That’s not fair, Twily. This is Equestria – and I am an alicorn. This is what alicorns do.”
“No, this is what ruling princesses do – and while you’re not even a princess yet, for the record, you won’t rule here. This is not your problem.”
“Yes, but if you want to point that out,” Sunset noted, “I am the Alicorn of Earth. That makes humans my responsibility!” The two sisters looked at each other in silence before Sunset relented. Chastened, she gave her sister a soft smile. “I’m not going to turn into some faraway deity – you know me better than that.”
Twilight’s eyes softened. “I’m just worried about you, Sunny.”
“I know, and I love you for that, Twily, but here and now, I’m the only one that can fix this. I’ll be okay, I promise.”
“You’d better.”
“I will,” Sunset vowed. “Besides, someone has to make dinner for AJ, since she’s resting up; and Pinkie, once my sleep spell wears off. I think it’s best that it’s me. You go have fun at the concert tonight and we can talk when you get back, okay?”
Accepting that as an answer, Twilight nodded and departed the kitchen, where Sunset was hard at work making French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese sandwiches and tomato bisque.
Tonight, Pinkie knew she wasn’t at the room she’d been using at the Sugarcube Corner. She was in one of the VIP suites here at the Friendship Palace, and based on the size, she suspected that she knew whose room it was. Normally, she’d have been thrilled by that. But now, it made her afraid. Her love had seen the ugliest side of her ever. A side that even Pinkie didn’t want to admit existed, but due to the battle, had eagerly and easily revealed itself.
She looked at her hands. These hands that had been shaped by her parents, by her aunt and uncle, by her friends and the girl she loved…was nearly on the verge of taking a life. The girl that she was…wasn’t there anymore.
She had changed today, permanently. And it scared her.
“‘Tis something that scares ev’ryone the first occurrence.”
Pinkie turned to see a stranger in the room. Blonde, blue eyed and wearing ornate, beautiful armor. She knew who it was, and yet couldn’t say a thing.
The woman looked at her with understanding eyes. “‘Twas f’r me. I hadst just been train’d in the ways of combat by mine own mast’r, Lord Brambleton, and that gent was a martinet o’ a stallion was there e’er one! We waged war ‘gainst the griffins and I did slay one yond hadst nearly done me in. ‘Twas…vexing to adjust to.” The woman sat down on a nearby seat. “Clearly, so ‘tis f’r thee, as well.”
Pinkie looked ashamed. “I failed Sunny. I know what I’m supposed to be, but how—”
The stranger smiled. “Nay, thou shouldst be fustian of thy hesitancy! Yond means thou art gentle and kind and ‘tis what we art ken to be! Not soulless soldi’rs or cavalier butch’rs, but swords of our mast’rs! To safekeep and perform val’rous deeds in their names, nev’r to slaughter!”
“But I….”
“Mine own queen wouldst sacrifice h’rself af’re letting me fall to a dark fate such as that o’ the Damn’d One. So wouldst thine. Allthemore, given what thou art to bet to her.” The stranger chuckled. “In my day, such wast unheard of, but these art mod’rn times, mine tongue aside.”
“Then I didn’t fail?”
“Were the lady here, mine own queen wouldst bid thee this: thou art her grandfilly’s sword and heart. One is of import, but the oth’r is ev’rything.” She gave a confident grin to Pinkie. “Thou art nearly there, dawn-hair. At which hour come yond t’ pass, thou shalt perform thy service because ‘twas the right thing, not ere thou were a foul beast in lack of thy faculties.”
The woman stepped back and sang, her voice clear and beautiful:
“You are lost in a shadow there,
Cinder and smoke hanging in the air
But oh, I know you’ll be
Bolder than me”
The door opened to the room and Sunset came in, carrying trays in her magic field. “Oh, good, you’re up. Feeling better?”
“Sure, I was just…” She turned to address the stranger, but she was gone.
“Just…?”
“Nothing, Sunny. Is that my favorite I smell?”
“You earned it, Pinkie. You saved AJ and knew what to do when the moment came.”
“I did?” Pinkie asked as she gratefully took one of the trays from Sunset.
“Yeah.” The two ate in silence for a few minutes before Sunset spoke again. “Honestly, you scared me. I was afraid I was going to lose you.”
“That thing couldn’t beat me at all,” Pinkie explained. “But I know what you mean. I came close, maybe too close. But in the end, I couldn’t.”
“Because you’d lose yourself?”
“No. Because I’d lose you,” Pinkie answered honestly, and Sunset blushed.