//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Everlasting Twilight // Story: Empire Apple // by CalmBreezes //------------------------------// A stabbing pain jolted Applejack back into consciousness. Her back ached. Shards of rock and dirt had dug into her flank. The suffocating stench of brimstone and ash made her gag. The terrible silence around her was only broken by her coughing and the whistling of the wind. A couple of fragmented rocks around her head glowed bright red and crackled as their heat dissipated. Small fires flickered around her as mountain bushes and small trees smoldered blurry through her crusty eyelids. She dragged herself up, one leg after another. Every single part of her body hurt. Applejack could not remember where she was, how she had got there, or why she had woken up lying on the bare ground. The wind blew through her sooty mane. She was high up, high enough to see the sun setting beyond the mountains. Over the nearby cliff, she could see Forest canopies stretch into the horizon. It was a plateau, or a mountain summit, flat and wide, above everything else around them. The world was painted crimson red by the glow of the twilight. The pain and shock were starting to wear off with every breath Applejack took. She could finally think clearly. Turning away from the hidden sunset, she tried comprehending what had happened. In the middle of the high mountain summit she was stranded on was the source of the horrible brimstone stench. A giant smoldering crater had been violently carved into the very stone of the mountaintop. large enough to bury a barn in. The edges of the pit were black and burned or melted into glass. Debris was scattered all around the opening. She could only guess, but it seemed like she had been close to an extraordinarily powerful explosion. The realization of her predicament started slowly dawning on her. Applejack was alone. She couldn't be, there must have been somepony else with her. It didn't make sense. She took a step forward, but her left front leg gave away. She fell with a thud back on the rocky ground, hitting her head. The pain caused flashes of memories to race through her mind. *** It had been a regular day at the farm, full of chores and hard labor. Applebucking season was just around the corner. Applejack had already started cooking supper when a message arrived from the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. She had sent for Applejack and all the rest of the guardians of harmony. The troupe had gathered at the Princesses' castle in Ponyville. The meeting had taken place in the map room, where they had all sat down to listen to Twilight. The Royal Guard of Canterlot had sent her a report. An unknown group of non-ponies had been sighted traveling through Equestria, avoiding cities, roads, and all habitation. The first sightings had been near the western coast of Equestria, but the mysterious travelers had made their way to the center of Equestria, mostly without being seen. Their target was supposedly Flat-top Peak, a small mountain about an hour's gallop away from Ponyville. Applejack remembered Twilight being worried. Her magical instruments had started picking up increasing magical activity from the direction of the mountain not long after receiving the report. Applejack knew as much about magic as a blue tit knows about playing a banjo, but Twilight Sparkle on the other hand took to magic like a fish to water. She knew well enough to listen when her friend talked about magic. It had been her educated opinion that whatever they were picking up was strange enough to investigate. Magic of this specific frequency could only come from casting an elaborate and long magical ritual. Naturally, the entire party immediately raced off to solve this mystery. Unknown magic was rarely a good thing, especially not this close to their homes and Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. The ponies had raced through the west forest lit by the early evening sun. The bright rainbow mane of Rainbow Dash flickered between the branches as she gracefully dodged back and forth between them. Pinkie Pie hopped along, singing a bright cheery song, Fluttershy galloping next to her, occasionally joining in with her soft voice. Rarity took the lead, wanting to avoid being covered in kicked-up dust, and also because the western mountains were familiar territory to her. Her gem-hunting trips often took her there and beyond. Twilight flew in the air, pondering deeply about the kind of magic they might have to deal with once they arrived. Magically levitating scrolls and books flew behind her like ducklings following their mother. Spike had to keep constant watch so that his distracted steed didn't crash into either the trees or Rainbow Dash. Applejack brought up the rear. She always liked watching her six friends run together when they were heading towards yet another fantastical adventure. There was nothing they couldn't beat together. Rarity had guided them along a narrow dirt road right up to the foot of the mountain. A steep mountain path jutted out of the side of the mountain, wide enough for a single pony to traverse. It would take them straight to the summit. They couldn't make out what was happening at the top from down there, but hearing the occasional strange ululation and a growing sense of magic made them nervous. Twilight was sure something sinister was happening at the top. Applejack dug the earth anxiously with her hoof. Magical shenanigans were her least favorite type of adventure since she knew as much about it as a blind herding dog knows about hammering nails. Still, they marched on, with Rarity guiding the way up. You could find the most precious pink quartz crystals on this very mountain. *** Pain in Applejack's left ear flared up and the smell of molten rock once again stung her snout. She snapped back to reality. Her friends had been with her. They had come here to investigate something, something that had caused the explosion. Applejack pushed herself up and looked frantically around. That's where she had woken up, behind a large rock, half of it melted. Black soot and cracks around the stone made it clear that the only reason she was alive was thanks to the rocky shield protecting her. It was a miracle she could even walk. The force of the mysterious explosion had annihilated half the summit. The shock of almost having perished made her heart pound. Her friends, what had happened to her friends?! Applejack closed her dry eyes and gritted her teeth trying to remember what had happened. *** Rarity had stopped talking about the crystals by the time they had reached the summit. The sun had almost set, and everything was illuminated solely by the hazy light of the evening twilight. They found themselves in an open area on top of the mountain, a flat summit large enough to herd sheep on. There they were met with a horrifying sight. A raised platform hewn straight into the rock stood alone in the middle of the patch of flatness. Behind it, the cliff terminated into a sheer drop down into the valley. It couldn't have been a natural formation. The steps were hoofmade, but not ponymade. Something more ancient and despicable had carved this stage. On the rock platform were a dozen hooded figures arranged in a circle, all of them twice as tall as ponies, chanting in a coarse and throaty language. The largest one of them, with visible horns sticking out from under its hood, stood in the middle, facing the setting sun, its back turned to Applejack and her friends. The cloak of the largest one had moved to reveal two arms and a torso under the horned head. The ritualists had either not noticed the ponies, or they simply did not care enough to try stopping their meddling. 'Centaurs!' Twilight exclaimed under her breath. 'Centaurs? In Equestria?' Rainbow Dash whispered. 'Oh my, what are they doing here?' whispered Rarity. 'A creepy ritual in the middle of a full moon night? Nothing pleasant I reckon' Applejack answered. Fluttershy let out a timid squeak and hid behind Applejack. The ponies spread out and kept their eyes on the hooded creatures. Twilight was visibly confused as she tried to comprehend what exactly she was looking at. Fluttershy stayed behind and made the mistake of peeking over the edge. She let out a concerned muffle as she glimpsed the hundred-foot fall behind them. Twilight was baffled. 'How. Or more importantly, why. Why here? Centaurlands are far away across the sea, why come all this way here to cast a spell?' Pinkie shrugged. 'Maaay-be they're having a magical midnight picnic party?' 'Quite an uncouth time for a piquenique Pinkie' Rarity whispered. 'If old Tirek didn't fall far from the family tree then they're up to no good. And we're here to put a stop to it.' Rainbow Dash said, slamming her hooves together. 'What's the game plan, Twilight?' Applejack had stayed silent as Twilight started explaining what they'd do. Her friends were a varied bunch, but they had one thing in common. Their shared friendship would help them pull through no matter what. *** Applejack opened her eyes and took another limping step toward the edge of the smoking crater. Remembering was like trying to catch greased-up pigs. Had they confronted the strange centaurs? Did Twilight attempt to talk with them? Maybe? That's what Twilight would have done. Then a fight. Definitely a fight. Something terrible had happened. Applejack could swear Princess Celestia, Luna and even Cadence had appeared at some point. But that was crazy. How could they be there? Or maybe she had hit her head worse than she thought. There had been shouting, casting magic powerful enough to shake the mountain. Or had they fought, then talked? Nothing lined up in her mind. Her memories were jumbled up and disconnected. She continued stumbling through the carnage. The few small trees hardy enough to live this high had been torn out of the ground like weeds. Everything that hadn't blown away had been blowtorched. Her bucking legs were sore. She did remember giving one of those hooded creatures a nice firm kick. The creature had roared in agony, but it had not backed down. Not fearing for its safety. As if their only job had been to stall them. Another stab of pain in her head. A bright light. A horrifying whirlpool of light. She remembered it. Her friends screaming. The force of the light had almost pulled her in, but Twilight had saved her. She had pulled her into her embrace and told Applejack something, something important. Then she was gone. All of them were. Applejack was tired. She was breathing hard. The world started spinning. The pain in her heart was pounding. Her muscles ached. She felt like throwing up. Applejack fell onto her knees as the world kept spinning. Tears stained her face, weaving ugly wet streaks into her grime-covered coat. She refused to believe it. Applejack rose laboriously back up. Her eyes darted around desperately, trying to find anything, anything that would make things okay again. It couldn't be real. She managed to drag herself all around the crater before finally finding something. Something purple was stuck in a crevasse in the stone. A feather. Beautiful and purple, big as a swan's. She half trotted, half stumbled to it, diving the last few feet to grab it between her hooves, afraid that the wind would steal it from her. There was no doubt. The feather, magically preened to perfection, was Twilights. Her head felt like it was exploding. The pain made her shriek. Applejack finally remembered the last words spoken by Twilight Sparkle. *** The four Princesses, her friends, and everypony else had been drawn into the vortex. The pull of the magic had been too strong for all of them, even for Princess Celestia. Everyone else had already fallen in, except Applejack and Twilight. Stones and dust flew past them into the bright light bursting out of it. Hungry tendrils of vicious white twisted around, seeking anything to pull in. Applejack was strong, but even she could not hold on for long. Her hoof had slipped, and she fell towards the maelstrom. A sudden yanking feeling and the sound of heavy chains jangling broke her fall. Applejack could barely see in the magical storm but through it all she could make out Twilight. Her conjured golden chains had grabbed her around the waist mid-fall. With great effort, Twilight managed to pull Applejack towards her and into her embrace. The howling of the magic gale was ear-splitting. Twilight had anchored herself to the ground with magical chains as well, the golden fabrications embedded deeply into the ground. The maelstrom raged around them, ripping and tearing at her magic shield. Bit by bit her shield and the magical constructs started giving out, chips shorn off by the threads of harsh light. Not even she could fight against whatever was drawing them in. Once she was sure Applejack wouldn't fall, Twilight's attention turned toward the vortex. She stared fiercely at the vortex, her extraordinary mind racing to find a solution. Finally, as if coming to an unwanted conclusion, she turned her gaze back towards Applejack, hugging her tightly. Twilight looked deep into her green eyes. She spoke with a voice amplified with magic. It hurt Applejack. "Applejack!" Twilight shouted. She had tears in her eyes. All Applejack could do was hang onto her for dear life. "Princess Celestia! Luna! Cadence! Our friends! I have to go after them!" Applejack couldn't respond. The pull of the vortex was paralyzing. All she could do was silently shout at Twilight in her mind. What? She thought. No! What are you doing!? "I don't know where it will take me, but I have to go in. I know I can find them. I can bring them back." Twilight! "It'll close any second." Twilight buried her face in Applejack's neck and hugged her tightly for one last time. Please. "I trust you, Applejack." I can't do this alone. "Protect Equestria while I'm gone." And with a burst of alicorn power and magical force, Twilight launched Applejack away from the vortex. Then she pulled her wings close to her body, let the chains break, and dove head-first into the vortex. The world exploded, and everything went dark. *** It was hers. The purple feather. There was no doubt about it. It was all real. They were all gone. Lost inside some cursed magic portal. Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, the Princesses. Even Spike. Applejack flopped down on her side, the gravel, and sharp rocks once again digging into her side. She curled up. All she could do was hold the feather tightly against her chest and cry. Cry until the fatigue, the pain, and the tears drifted her back into unconsciousness. A thud and a jump shook Applejack. Through a deep fog, she could hear someone shouting or giving orders. Her head swayed as she felt herself being lifted on somepony's back like a bag of potatoes. A white-gray flank of a stallion, and a peek of deep blue mane. She was reminded of how Big Mac used to carry her on his back when she was a filly. It was nice being carried. The ride down the mountain path felt endless. The pony carrying her was careful enough not to drop her, but clearly, they were in a hurry to get down. Finally, the mountain path ended. Although she could only see blurry outlines, Applejack knew they were on the wide field next to the road up the mountain. A large and noisy blob stood in the middle of the field. An airship, or an airboat depending on who you asked, was parked right on the grass. The conical balloon and propeller were unmistakable even to her concussed mind. She had always wanted to take a ride on one of the smaller airships, which were big enough to carry half a dozen ponies. Applejack was laid down comfortably on a gurney and then hoisted into the covered cabin in the gondola. Her rescuers strapped her gently down and covered her in a warm blanket. They even placed her hat caringly on her chest. In the glow of the oil lamp, she could finally see the face of her savior. It was Shining Armor, looking distraught. Behind him, she saw a figure, her sight too blurry to make out the details. All she saw was dark blue. Applejack raised a hoof to point at the figure, but she couldn't move her aching legs. She gaped her mouth to tell Shining Armor about what had happened to his sister, but only whispers would come out. Her dry mouth tasted like ash. Outside she could hear the propellers spin into action. Her stomach dropped as the gondola rose rapidly, and then accelerated forward into the air. Maybe she was worse for wear than she thought. It didn't matter much. She was about to pass out again. But she had to tell someone what had happened on the mountain. If only she could talk. Shining Armor... He needed to know what happened to Twilight. What had happened to them all? Maybe once she woke up...