//------------------------------//
// Applejack: Scene 1 
// Story: BlazBlue: Equestria Shift. 
// by Alkem 
//------------------------------//


BlazBlue: Equestria Shift

Applejack




A constant hum buzzing in her head pulled Applejack out of her deep slumber. Her eyelids parted slowly to reveal an unnaturally gray sky and thought it strange when she attempted to move her hooves only to feel them held down. "What the hay?" Struggling to move, she quickly became aware of the cold slab of steel she was strapped down on top of and looked around to discover she was inside a small room. Turning her eyes towards her feet, she noticed two bizarre lumps sticking out of her chest that blocked her view. She gazed at them with a raised brow and a bewildered face.

"Ah, finally awake I see," a voice spoke out to her.

Applejack quickly took her eyes off her chest and tilted her head up to see the massive red ogre like frame of Iron Tager standing next to her. How'd I not notice somethin' so darn huge. Surprised by the giant, she resumed fighting against her shackles.

"Now please, just hold on. I'll release you." Tager reached over to a set of buttons positioned on the wall and with his massive metallic finger, delicately pressed down on one. With a loud clink, the metal harnesses on Applejack's arms and legs vanished. Tager then walked to her side and stuck his hand out to her. "There, now if you'll—Waaaaah!" Tager was instantly knocked away.

Feeling the cold steel against his back, he looked up to see the young lady in a hospital gown now standing over him. She appeared confused, unable to take her eyes off her body while she ran her hands all over herself. When she bent over to feel her legs, she remembered who she was standing over and glared at him with a vicious scowl.

"Where've ya taken me?!" Tager mouth hardly opened before Applejack's foot slammed down on his chest. "And what've ya done to me?!" The pressure on his chest intensified with each passing second. Seeing he had to get out of his pinned position to get a word in, Tager channeled his energy into his arms and managed to bring himself upright while forcing Applejack off of him.

"Just listen. If you'd let me explain."

Forced into the wall by the giant's sudden vault, Applejack pushed herself forward and rushed at him with the force of a train. "What in tarnation do ya want with me?"

Raising his arms to block the set of knuckles headed his way, Tager found himself unable to answer her interrogation as each question was quickly followed up by a volley of fists that pushed the iron bulk further and further back. With his back now against the wall, he turned his head left towards a camera on the ceiling that had been capturing the two of them.

"Kokonoe, I could use a hand here."

A voice suddenly rang out from the speakers in the ceiling. "Aww, what's the matter Tager, too weak to handle one little girl?"

"She's a lot stronger than she appears," Tager replied as cracks started to form on the wall behind him.

The voice from the speakers rang out again louder this time. "Hey you, dumb ass. Will you cut that out already before you end up wrecking my lab? If you'd just take a second to think, you'd see that my weak little assistant there isn't even trying to fight you."

No longer feeling the intense pounding, Tager looked down at the white garbed girl before him, whose fist had stopped just short of hitting him again, and watched as her green shaded eyes darted left and right. She then looked up towards the ceiling. "So then why'd ya'll brung me here and tied me down."

"We brought you here as a safety precaution. As for the tying down, it's just a standard procedure when performing a scan."

"'Safety precaution'? Safety from what?"

"Uuuuugh! I don't want to have this conversation over the intercom. Look if you promise me you won't go and wreck my lab, I'll speak with you in person and I'll explain everything that I can. Do we have a deal?"

Stepping away from the giant, who was about a quarter way embedded into the wall, Applejack put her arms down. "Okay. If ya'll promise me you'll tell me everythin', I promise ya'll I won't go wreckin' stuff."

"Alright then, Tager please escort our guest to my lab."

Yanking himself out of the wall, Tager dusted off the remaining rubble off his shoulders and faced the camera. "Kokonoe, are you sure that's a good idea? What if she tries to do anything funny? Remember where she came from after all."

"Don't worry about it. She looks like a girl who'll keep her word. Besides it's not like we have anything to gain from lying to her."

"Roger."



It was a wobbly start, but after some practice Applejack soon got the hang of walking on her two new feet. Now headed down a long narrow corridor, she couldn't help but peer into windows on the sides, spotting more strange looking two legged creatures dressed in long white lab coats moving about. Stopping at one of the dark tinted walls, she looked at one of the creatures that was staring back at her.

She had long straw colored straight hair that ran down past her oddly shaped face with a matching set of three freckles on each side of her cheeks, and a strange looking set of ears that were aligned with her short snout. Applejack then looked into the strange girls eyes and noticed that she was doing that same. Staring at the pair of green pupils, she saw that everywhere she looked the girl on the other side did the same. Applejack's eyes widened as she stepped back, finally realizing what she had been looking at this entire time. She placed her palm against her face, rubbing her cheek while she stared at her reflection. Her eyes then moved the reflection of her hands, holding the new appendages in front of her, and started manipulating her digits.

"Is something the matter miss?" Tager asked, patiently standing behind her.

Applejack shook her head, coming back to the strange reality she now found herself in. "Yeah… I'm just not used to lookin' like this."

"Hmm. Do you mean to say you have another appearance? I think it's best we hold off from this discussion until we meet up with Kokonoe. I'm sure she'll be interested in hearing about this as well." Applejack simply nodded and started walking again.

Still moving down the hall, with Tager's massive body barely squeezing through behind her, Applejack turned a corner and reached a thick steel slab that suddenly it slid open and caused her to jump back in surprise.

"There you are, come in already. I've got a bunch of questions I need to ask you," called out a voice from beyond the door.

Recognizing the voice from the intercom, Applejack made her way in and spotted a pink straight haired girl standing across from a table on the other side of the room. She wore a variant of the lab coats similar to the others Applejack had seen earlier.

Crossing her arms that stuck out from openings on the sides of her sleeves, Kokonoe faced Applejack and adjusted the small glasses in front of her amber tinted eyes. "So mind explaining just what the hell you and your friends were doing deep inside the NOL? There's got to be something very special about you and the others if those clowns brought you down there."

The sudden question threw Applejack off. "Beg yer pardon? I don't have a clue what yer talkin' bout missy. Sorry but yer the ones who took me, makin' me all funny lookin', and tyin' me down."

Tager stepped inside and joined the conversation. "Kokonoe, it looks as though she honestly doesn't know anything about the NOL. After all, she and the other were unconscious when I found them."

Applejack turned and faced him. "What are ya'll talking bout? What's this NOL ya keep flappin' yer gums bout? And wait a second, what do ya mean 'the others'?"

Kokonoe pounded her palm against the table, getting Applejack's attention. "I'll give you the short version. The NOL is a group that wants to regulate sources of power. At least that's what they tell the public. In secret they wish to possess and control all manner of power in order to maintain their rule over everyone. As for those others..." she trailed off tilting her head over to Tager.

Tager paused for a second, looking down at the girl who turned around to face him. "When I infiltrated the NOL research facility, I found you lying on a table along with five other girls. I assume they were friends of yours. I'm sorry but when I was recovering you and your friends I was caught in an explosion that launched me along with the rest of them into the air. When I recovered, all I could do was watch as they fell towards the city."

"Hold up a second pardner, if we were caught up in a blast like ya said. How come I ended up here then?"

Kokonoe leaned forward on the table, reached up towards the stick being held between her lips, and pulled out the lollipop in her mouth. "That would be thanks to me. Well actually it was Lambda who picked you and brought you back here, but it was under my instruction. Now what I want to know is what makes you and your friends so damn special that it got the Library's attention." She made her way around a long console behind her and tapped her fingers against the computer's keyboard. "Now let's get a good look at your scan results and see what makes you special."

Both A.J. and Tager waited silently while Kokonoe observed the monitor with its lights shining against her face that emphasized the deep bags under her eyes. Watching on, Applejack spotted a wagging pink twin cat-like tail that stuck out behind Kokonoe's red capri pants. She then turned her head to get a look at her own backside.

"Saw something?" Tager asked, noticing Applejack looking over her shoulder.

Feeling nothing as she rubbed her rear, she tilted her head down. "Naw, it's nothin'," she discouragingly replied.

Back on the other side of the room, the pair of cat ears at the top of Kokonoe's head flickered furiously through her hair. "Well no wonder this girl gave you such a hard time Tager. According to the scans, she's actually part equine."

Tager gazed over to Applejack briefly before looking back to her. "You mean she's a horse beastkin?"

"Well actually a pony beastkin to be exact," said Kokonoe, taking her eyes of the screen. "Hey you, blondie, what's your name anyway?"

"Applejack."

Kokonoe rested her chin against her palm while her elbow was on the panel and smiled at her. "Well Applejack how'd you like to work for me? Smaller, stronger, and easier on the eyes then Tager over there, you'd be perfect."

"That isn't funny Kokonoe," Tager returned.

"Who's joking?"

"N-no thanks," Applejack awkwardly answered, watching the back and forth between the two of them.

Going back to the screen, Kokonoe's tails suddenly stood up straight. "What the hell is this? How is that even possible?!"

"Kokonoe, what is it? What did you see?" asked Tager, making his way over to her.

"It's the scanner, according to the readings Applejack's overflowing with magical energy. It's beyond anything I've ever seen before." Taking her eyes off the screen, she narrowed her eyes at the girl across from her. "Okay, I want to hear the truth. Just who the hell are you? I've never heard of a pony beastkin before, and you're literally radiating energy. Whoever you are, you aren't a normal girl, so spill!"

Applejack stepped back; the cold stares she was receiving filled her with fright. "I-I-I don't know. All I can remember is that I was having a picnic with my friends… and then some strange blue light appeared outta nowhere. Next thing I remember, I'm lyin' on a table in this weird new body with Tager over there looking down at me."

The white tips of Kokonoe's ears perked up. "Hold on. What this about a new body? Are you telling me this isn't your original physical structure?"

Applejack shook her head. "No ma'am. I'm actually—"

"A pony," Kokonoe intercepted. "Right… Judging from your scan I figured as much. Still this doesn't explain why you have such an unbelievable amount of energy stored in you. But now I at least understand why the NOL was interested in you and your friends. That's why we'd better go and round them up. They must be up to something big if they're planning on you the six of you. Tager."

"Yes Kokonoe?"

"I want you to head into the city with Applejack. Find the rest of the girls and bring them back here."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Bringing her with me that is."

Kokonoe's foot tapped against the steel floor as she glared at him. "Sorry but I don't do well with guest. Plus I don't think I can stand her southern accent much longer. Besides even if she did stay here, she'd probably just wind up wandering off to find them on her own. So instead she's going with you to watch your back. After all, she showed she's able to handle herself pretty well."

"Well I suppose two sets of eyes are better than one, especially considering we don't have a clue where to start looking," he said, scratching his chin.

"I'll be sending Llamba to join you after I finish her tune up that is. Just remember, find them before the Library does. And A.J., don't let yourself get captured. Now move your asses and bring me those girls. "

Tager made his way over to Applejack but before the two of them headed out, he raised his hand up like a school kid. "Umm, Kokonoe?"

"What now?" she snarled.

"Before we go, shouldn't we get Ms. Applejack something to wear? I don't think strolling around in only a hospital gown will make our search easier." he asked, gesturing towards the girl beside him.

Shifting her eyes to the left, Kokonoe stared at Applejack, who just now noticed what she had on. "Oh alright, take her to the lockers and get some spare lab clothes. Just hurry up already, we don't have time to waste."