//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: The Mare of the Dark Prison // Story: The Royal Apple // by Mister E-Nonymous //------------------------------// Chapter 15: The Mare of the Dark Prison The Dark Prison... 7:00 AM... (Earlier that Same Day) (Apple Shine's Point of View) I stayed in that mare's hug for a while. I eventually cried myself out. "Are ya feeling better?" the mare asked. She spoke in a southern accent, just like Mom and the rest of my family here. I nodded when I leaned my left cheek against her chest. "That's good." She then noticed both my horn and my wings. She gasped and asked, "Wait. You're an alicorn?" "Yeah," I told her. "I know what you're thinking. I know I'm a princess." "C'mon, little one," said the mare. She led me to the light in the center of the room. I then looked up at her, and I couldn't believe who I was seeing. I knew this mare. I remember seeing a picture with her in it during my first week of being in this world. Flashback... Sweet Apple Acres Family Room... July 11th, 12:30 PM... I was done with my lunch and I was walking out of the kitchen. I looked at all of the photos of the Apple Family that were all hanging on one wall. It was the Apple Family Tree. Then Applejack and Apple Bloom came up to me. "Ah see ya found our family wall," said Applejack. "Wow," I said. "Your family reunion must've been a handful." Applejack chuckled and said, "Don't Ah know it. We couldn't get all of the apples most of the time, but the last reunion, we invited them all." "Applejack got so worked up ta make the reunion so fun, it messed everythin' up, and we had ta rebuild the barn," said Apple Bloom. "Again." "Again?" I asked. "Ya don't know how many times we had ta rebuild it fer some reason," said Applejack. I then looked at one photo, and saw a picture of Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith and two other ponies. I then pointed at the two ponies in the photo and asked, "Who are these two?" Applejack saw who I was pointing at, then gave a sad look. Apple Bloom followed. Applejack then said, "They're... they're our Ma and Pa. The stallion is Bright Mac. And the mare is Buttercup. They're... currently not with us." "Oh," I said, understanding. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pull it up." "It's okay," said Applejack, pulling me into a hug. "Now, how about ya go cool off in the wadin' pool outside? It sure is a scorcher out there." I nodded and ran off. Back to the Dark Prison... I muttered, "You're... you're..." "Hm?" Buttercup hummed, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?" "You're... You're Buttercup?" I finally asked. "Ya know me?" she asked. "Ah don't remember ever meeting you." "Okay, okay," I said. "Let me start over. Before I tell you who I am, how did you end up here? And how long ago was that?" "Okay," said Buttercup. "Ah understand. It was... well... It was at least when my youngest daughter Apple Bloom was one year old. My husband, Bright Mac, and Ah were going on a special delivery ta Canterlot, bringing sweets made with the best apples in Equestria to a competition. My husband and Ah left ta bring the best homemade apple pies so our family will be known across Equestria. Princess Celestia and Princess Cadenza got called away for a proposition in Saddle Arabia, but there was that snarky prince of theirs. Blueblood. He took hold of the head judging. We were about to win the competition, but when he saw us coming to the winning stage, and found out we were from Ponyville, he claimed that this was supposed to be a competition for high class ponies. Not country bumpkins from a town that should never have existed. He disqualified us and that made Bright Mac angry, and he punched Blueblood in the muzzle. Blueblood then locked us up. He then said that punching a royal is punishable by death. Bright Mac said he would take death on one condition. Ah would be sent home. Blueblood lied. He did take the offer on only letting Bright Mac deal with death. He then made sure that Ah was locked up in a place where Ah would never be found. And here we are, today." "Blueblood... killed..." I asked, starting to get tears in my eyes. "He did," said Buttercup. "Ah wished that one day, Ah would finally get out of here, see my family again. Granny Smith, Lil' McIntosh, Apple Bloom, and the last member of mah family that Ah saw that day we left. Applejack." I then nodded. I then said, "You've been here this whole time, and Blueblood went back on his deal to let you go? He's... he's a villain." "Ah just hope that one day, Blueblood will get what he truly deserves," said Buttercup. She then looked down at me and said, "Now, Ah told ya how Ah ended up here. Now, what's yer life story?" "Well..." I said, starting to tell... both of my life stories. This was going to be shocking for her, not only that I was once a human being from another world, but also that I was her granddaughter now. Royal Archives of Canterlot Castle... 3:45 PM... (Third Person Point of View) The Mane 6, the Princesses and four royal guards teleported to where Blueblood teleported to. They ended up in the Royal Archives. "The Royal Archives?!" asked Twilight. "Why would Blueblood be here?" "Ah don't know," said Applejack. "But Ah know one thin'. He's gonna regret tryin' ta take mah daughter away from me and mah family." "I'll make sure that he'll get a proper punishment," said Princess Celestia. "You better come out here and face judgement, Blueblood! Now!" "Why are you even taking their side?!" asked Blueblood. "Those pathetic farmers don't deserve to take care of a princess! She's better off here in Canterlot so she'll get some real princess training!" "She needs to be with her family!" said Princess Celestia. "Once we've caught you, you're going to be stripped of your royal status!" "No!" said Prince Blueblood. "You are so weak! In fact, I don't think you should be leading this country, anymore!" "Oh, he is so selfish!" said Rarity. "Cares for nopony but himself!" "I'm selfish?!" asked Blueblood. "Your dress was trying to be an attention hog, you selfish fashion designer! All you care about is your attention and bits!" "Hey, I represent the Element of Generosity!" Rarity said. "Now, come out and fight like a pony!" Then there was the sound of books falling off some shelves. They looked towards the sound and saw some books on the floor. "He's in the Star Swirl wing!" said Twilight. They ran into the room, searching for Blueblood. They split up, and started looking for Blueblood. "If anypony finds him, tackle him to the ground." They searched high and low for Blueblood. Applejack then saw something go past a row she was about to pass on the other side. She then ran down the row, and turned to follow what she thought she saw. She saw Blueblood. "HEY!" she shouted before chasing after him. "Ah found him, everypony!" "Quickly!" Twilight called out. "Everypony head towards Applejack!" Applejack chased Blueblood through the archives. He was about to go through an exit, but then Applejack got out her lasso and lassoed Blueblood's tail. He then fell down, and then Applejack jumped on him. "Gotcha!" said Applejack. But that victory was short lived when he lit up his horn. "Oh no!" Blueblood teleported away, not knowing that he took Applejack with him. The others saw the two of them disappear. "Where did they go?!" Pinkie asked. "I don't know," said Rainbow Dash, "but it doesn't matter. Blueblood is gonna be known as a criminal by sunset." "Indeed," said Princess Luna. "For now, let's find him and Applejack before it's too late." The rest of them nodded and then went back out to find Blueblood and Applejack. The Dark Prison... 3:50 PM... I just finished telling Grandma Buttercup about my life. Technically lives leading up to this. "And that's basically how I ended up here," I told her. "Ah can't believe it," Grandma Buttercup told me. "The tale of the Mare in the Moon was real, ya were once a human of the opposite gender, the spirit of Nightmare Moon fired a magical blast and made mah daughter pregnant to a foal without a soul, yer soul is now host to that body, and ya have been livin' in Sweet Apple Acres, not just as a young princess, but as the family's newest Apple?" "Yeah," I told her. "I guess you can think of me as a royal apple." "Ah can't believe it," said Grandma Buttercup. "Ah'm a grandmare." She then pulled me into another hug and said, "Ah never thought I would see the day." Then she let go of the hug. We then looked up towards the light and said, "We have ta find a way out of here." She then looked down at me and asked, "Can ya try ta fly up and see where we are?" I then tried unfolding my wings, but they wouldn't move. I then said, "My wings won't unfold! My magic, my strength, and my flight?! What are we going to do?" Grandma Buttercup then looked over at the mirror and then said, "We're gonna have ta wait until Blueblood opens that portal. Once he opens it, we're gonna have ta jump in after he passes through." "Are you sure that's gonna work?" I asked, "We won't know until we try," said Grandma Buttercup. Just then, a light green flash went over the light from the center of the dark prison. "What was that?" I shrugged my shoulders. Blueblood's Bedroom... 3:52 PM... Blueblood teleported to his room, but found out too little too late that Applejack was teleported there with him. She had him pinned to the floor. "What?!" Blueblood asked. "How did you get teleported with me?!" "Ya be surprised when ya're messin' with an angry mother!" Applejack said. She then started punching him. Blueblood teleported out from under Applejack, but he was too exhausted to cast another spell. "No, no! Not now!" Blueblood said. "This one's for Apple Shine!" Applejack said, when she got into Apple Bucking position. She bucked Blueblood towards one wall that had a shelf full of snow globes. And one of them was surrounded in black carbon paper with a hole on the top of the paper. But what Applejack didn't know was that that one snow globe... was actually where Blueblood was keeping Apple Shine and Buttercup. When Blueblood made contact with the wall, the shelf started shaking, and inside that one snow globe, it felt like an earthquake to Apple Shine and Buttercup. Blueblood looked up at that one snow globe and he smirked. He levitated that one mirror, and held it in front of both him and Applejack. He then said, "Don't move, or I'll break this snow globe." Applejack scoffed and asked, "Is that supposed ta be a threat?" "Oh, this is more than just a snow globe," said Blueblood. He then used his magic to remove the carbon paper, and reveal what was inside it. Applejack got surprised when he saw not just her daughter, but her own mother as well. "Apple Shine?! Ma?!" Applejack asked. From inside, Apple Shine and Buttercup got temporarily blinded when the carbon paper was removed. When they recovered, they saw where they were. They were inside a snow globe in Blueblood's room. When they saw Applejack, they ran towards the side and knocked on the glass. Applejack then got angry and said, "Release them! Now!" "Oh, and if I don't?" Blueblood asked. "Ah guess Ah'll just have ta break that snow globe and set them free!" Applejack said. "Oh, but if you do that, the shards of glass will kill them," said Blueblood. "Let's make a deal. You let me go, and you'll have your worthless mother back." "And Apple Shine?" asked Applejack. "She'll stay with me, go by Star Shine, and will never see you ever again," said Blueblood. Applejack's right eye twitched in anger, then she got ready to pounce and shouted, "NEVER!!" She then pushed Blueblood back towards the wall, and the snow globe went flying up in the air. Blueblood went unconscious, then Applejack noticed the snow globe in the air. To her, everything went in slow motion, even when Buttercup and Apple Shine were holding each other while they were off the ground in there. Applejack quickly grabbed a pillow and threw it towards the ground where the snow globe was about to hit the ground. But the snow globe landed on the pillow. Applejack exhaled in relief, knowing that her mother and daughter were safe. Just then, the door to Blueblood's room broke in and confetti came in. Applejack looked towards the door and saw her friends and the princesses and some guards came in. Pinkie Pie had her party cannon and said, "A battering ram is good, but nothing's better than my party cannon." The group of ponies surrounded the unconscious Blueblood. "Great," said Twilight. "Now we won't know where he put Apple Shine." "Actually, Twi," Applejack said. "Look inside this snow globe." She picked up the snow globe and Twilight looked inside. She was surprised to see Apple Shine with another mare in there with her. "Apple Shine's in that snow globe?" Twilight asked. "Wait. Who's that mare that's with her?" Rarity looked inside that snow globe, went wide eyed, put a hoof to her mouth and said, "Wait. That's Applejack's mother! I haven't seen her since Applejack and I were fillies!" "But how are we going to get them out?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight was thinking of it, then Rarity noticed that Apple Shine and Buttercup were trying to get their attention. And when she saw that they were motioning towards the mirror in the room, she looked towards it. Then got confused and looked back at the snow globe. Apple Shine ran towards the mirror inside the snow globe, and then pointed at both mirrors, back and forth. "The mirror!" Rarity said. "The what?!" asked the rest of the Mane 6 and the Princesses. "Twilight, remember that mirror that took you and Spike to that other world?" Rarity asked. "I think that that mirror and the mirror in this snow globe are connected. A portal." "Of course!" said Twilight. Twilight then walked over to the mirror, and used her magic on it. Then the mirror started glowing. Inside the snow globe, Apple Shine and Buttercup ran towards the mirror, jumped through, and came out of the mirror in Blueblood's bedroom. "Mom!" Apple Shine said as she ran towards Applejack with Buttercup soon following. Apple Shine jumped into Applejack's chest, and then Buttercup came up and hugged the both of them. "Applejack," Buttercup said. She looked her all over and said, "Yer so big." "Ah take after the best, Ma," Applejack said, then pulled her mother in for a hug. "Oh, Applejack," Rarity said. "Family truly is a fantastic thing to have." "I agree," said Twilight. "Let's get out of here." "But what are we going to do about Blueblood?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I mean, he foalnapped Apple Shine." "That's not all that he did," Buttercup said. "What did he do?" asked Princess Celestia. "We were entering that pie baking contest that ya got us into, Princess," Buttercup said. "But since you and Princess Cadenza were both called away on business, Blueblood took charge. He disqualified us just for being country ponies." "I told him not to do that," said Princess Celestia. "Mah husband got mad, punched him, and then he tried sentencing us to death," said Buttercup. That made the others gasp, except for Apple Shine. "Bright Mac wanted to take the punishment alone and he wanted me ta be sent back home. But he lied, killed Bright Mac anyway, and I've been trapped in there since then." "He killed Pa!!" Applejack shouted. "That no good! If only he had been taught better when he was a foal!" Princess Luna then got a sneering look and said, "Actually... I believe I know of a proper way to punish Blueblood, and you just gave me the perfect idea on how to do it." "What are you gonna do?" asked Apple Shine. All she got in response was another sneer from Luna.