Twi heard some ponies shout, “Watch out!” She made a bubble shield and a scooter with a young teen pegasus ran into her shield. The scooter pushed against it but gently sprung back, the light brilliant gamboge pegasus took off her helmet revealing her messy moderate cerise mane and her grayish purple eyes looked at her with astonishment, “Oh my gosh… girls look!” Two other young teens poked their head from behind her. Twi tilted her head and behind the scooter was a wagon, she also noticed all three ponies had very similar cutie marks.
The light gray unicorn with grayish mulberry with light grayish rose streaks mane and tail, jumped off she was looking at Twi with her light grayish harlequin eyes, and the light grayish olive earth pony with brilliant amaranth mane and tail, jumped off on the other side her brilliant gamboge eyes were also staring at her, “My gosh Crusaders, we nearly ran over royalty!”
“Um… how do you know I’m royalty?”
“Your an alicorn right? Aren’t all alicorns royalty?”
“Plus you have that cool magical mane!”
“And your tall, like really tall!”
“Well those are all good observations. Yes I am royalty.”
“So awesome! I’m Scootaloo, this is Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle.” Sweetie Belle’s horn glowed a light grayish sap green as she pulled out a notepad, “Oh my gosh if we help royalty the cutie mark crusaders will be famous!”
“Yeah only one problem.” Twi felt her wing being moved and she turned her head to see Apple Bloom looking at her cutie mark Twi also noticed a red ribbon bow in her mane. “She already got a cutie mark.”
“That means nothing, tell us do you have issues with your talent?”
“Um…” Twi said trying not to get uncomfortable, “Well I have yet to connect with the stars…”
“Oh my gosh! That means you have a cutie mark problem and we can help you!”
“I’m sorry I don’t understand, how can you help me?”
“We are the cutie mark Crusaders and we are here to help with your cutie mark, if your lost or bare we are right there! Sometimes you try your best but your cutie mark won’t appear, or you already have it but your destiny isn’t clear, well don’t you worry because we are here! We are the cutie mark Crusaders and we are here to help with your cutie mark!”
“You three just burst into song…”
“It’s our theme song!”
“It’s very… short.”
“Well we think it’s fine the way it is, in any case we get to help royalty!” Twi heard the train whistle and noticed they had baggage with them, “Weren’t you girls going to catch the train?”
“Oh my gosh we almost forgot!” The two jumped back into the platform and Scootaloo went unto her scooter and her wings buzzed as they took off towards the train, as Twi watched them go she thought well they didn’t faint at the very least. She continued walking around the town and eventually she walked into an apple orchard.
She also saw a pear orchard not that far from where she was walking. A fence keeping the two apart, she saw a large barn and not wanting to get lost in this orchard she walked towards it, then heard a pony yell out. Thinking somepony was hurt she ran towards the yell but when she got there, the brilliant gamboge earth pony seemed fine. Her light grayish olive mane and tail were tied at the end, her cowboy hat was somehow staying on her head. Twi stepped towards her, “Excuse me I heard somepony yell. Is everything okay over here?”
The pony’s moderate sap green eyes widened when she saw Twi, “Whoa nelly, your royalty! Um oh gosh I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to bow…” She said, her hooves tangling in her panic and she fell forwards landing on her chest, her head laying on the ground. "Now I look like a hog tied donkey…” She face planted herself in embarrassment, Twi used her magic and helped the pony back on her hooves, “Oh my gosh are you okay? That was a nasty tumble.” Twi said brushing dirt off the pony’s chest. “What, your not insulted?” She asked.
“More worried then anything, please tell me your okay… um…”
“Applejack, the most dependable of ponies in Ponyville. Your not like most royalty I’ve heard about, that’s for sure.”
“Twilight sparkle. And is that a good or bad thing?”
“Oh good, now we got that foolishness aside you here to try some of Sweet Apple Acre apples?” Twi looked around at all the apple trees, “I guess I can stop to eat something haven’t had a meal since… last night actually was to nervous to eat this morning.”
“Now wait an apple picking moment are you telling me you haven’t eaten all day?!”
“Um… yes…” Twi said looking sheepish. “Then a few apples won’t do! Come on, we got to get you some grub!” Applejack said pushing Twi towards her house. “No really I’m fine… how are you this strong?” Twi looked down at her hooves which were leaving deep drag marks in the earth. “Years of apple bucking can move a boulder if I need to, now stop being as stubborn as a mule, you need a good home cooked meal.”
“Alright I yield, stop pushing.” Applejack stopped pushing her and Twi noticed she was pushed at least four feet.
Twi followed Applejack inside her house. She sat on a chair even though she wanted to help, “Your so strong I haven’t seen strength like that since Rockhoof.” Applejack laughed lightly as she was cutting apples, “You say that like you actually seen Rockhoof that’s impossible he died 1,000 years ago.” Twi chuckled nervously, how to explain she actually saw all the pillars as they lived their lives and passed on without Applejack freaking out? Best not try to explain her complex immortal life… “Right. What I meant was your as strong as what I read Rockhoof was.”
Applejack chuckled lightly, “I figured you meant that, your brain must be running slow from lack of food in your belly. Don’t you worry, once you get some of the apple families food in yeah, your mind will wake up like a rooster crowing in the morning.” After a while Applejack served a large meal that was apple themed. Twi picked up the utensils and noticed apples on the handles, her napkin had apple slices on it, the plates were apples blossom shaped, Twi almost had an anime sweat drop moment when she realized that Applejack’s family were crazy about apples.
“This looks delicious, can’t wait to try it.” Twi said feeling awkward again. She put a fork with a piece of apple fritter flapjacks in her mouth and her eyes widened so large that you could see her pupils had a heart with an apple in it, Twi drooled lightly as she just sat there, Applejack shook her, “Twi… Twi. Twilight!” Twi shook her head after pulling the fork from her mouth, “Sorry it’s just, that tasted so good, after a lifetime of eating royal meals I almost forgotten what real food tasted like.” Twi wanted to drop her utensils and simply dig in.
But she was a princess not some homeless pony, so she had to remember her manners. She ate every dish though, she burped lightly when she was done. “Whoa doggy I can tell you haven’t had good food, you act like you haven’t eaten good food for a thousand years.” Twi blushed as she wiped her mouth, “Yeah well royal chefs are experts but they forget the basics. They turn everything fancy, this is the best meal I’ve had in my life.” Applejack started to cry and Twi got up and immediately went to her, “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
Applejack just hugged her, “You didn’t, you just made my day!” Twi smiled softly as she hugged her back, her wings wrapping around too, “You really did make the best food I’ve ever tasted and that’s the honest truth.” Applejack wiped her tears as they broke the hug, “I always strive to be honest but hearing your sincere honesty made my day.”
“Applejack your glowing!”
“Now I know that moments like this create a glowing moment but don’t you think…”
“Look at your hoof.” Applejack lifted her hoof to look at it and it was glowing she looked at her body and it too was glowing, she was glowing orange.
“What in tarnation is going on here! Why am I glowing?!” Twi looked down at her pendant and noticed one shard was glowing weakly. She touched Applejack and both glowed so bright that both of them had to close their eyes. When it was over the crystal shard was orange instead of gray and Applejack was wearing golden hoof shoes on her back hooves with an apple shaped orange gem on each, “What are these?” Applejack asked looking at her back hooves and Twi gasped, “Those are one of the elements of harmony!”
“The elements of what now?” Applejack said trying to take them off but they wouldn’t come off. “The elements of harmony dad told me I need to remake them from the old elements, and so the element of strength has become honesty!” Applejack looked at Twi, “Why won’t these come off?”
“Well you’re the owner of the element of honesty so in order to protect them they can’t come off your like a guardian now… a guardian of harmony!” Applejack stopped trying to pull them off and looked at them again, moving her hoof so that the gem would sparkle.
“Well they are a bit much but I can respect the apple gems… wait did you say strength? As in the old pillar Rockhoof of strength?!” Twilight was going to answer but noticed two ponies outside, both earth ponies. One was a pale gamboge female with a brilliant gamboge mane and tail with brilliant turquoise eyes and the other was a light grayish olive male with brilliant red mane and tail, with moderate harlequin eyes, “Applejack do you know those ponies?” Applejack looked and started crying she ran outside and Twi followed.
Applejack looked at the two ponies, “Ma? Pa? How is this possible? You… the timberwolves… so much blood… I buried…”
“Oh Applejack look at how you’ve grown.”
“Answer me, how are your here? You died!” Dark Eternity landed behind them, “I brought them here.” Twilight came forward, “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”
“Oh Twilie you know me.”
“Timey… Chronos is that you?”
“Actually it’s Dark Eternity now and I’m here because I felt an element awaken and using my time powers I figured out how to tempt your new element holder.”
He spread his wings over AJ’s parents one parent under each wing, “Applejack I’ll make you a trade those golden hoof shoes for your parents.” AJ looked at the hoof shoes, “But I can’t take them off.”
“You can transfer them to an Alicorn. Give them to me and you can have your parents.”
“How do I even know they are real?”
“Ask them something only they would know.”
“Ma, pa you told me something when Apple Bloom was born. What was it?”
“She is going to grow up with the best big sister in the world.”
“It is you… oh I missed you so…”
“Tick tock AJ, make your choice.” AJ looked at Twilight then at Eternity and finally she looked at her parents, “Ma, pa… I said I would give anything to have you here with me again…” Eternity smiled slowly AJ looked at the gems, she looked back at her parents she was crying softly, “I’m sorry but I can’t give these to you, I’m a guardian of honesty!” Eternity yelled his wings covering her parents and when he lifted them they were gone, “You foolish pony I’ll just kill you for them!” Eternity flew towards her out of instinct to defend herself she turned around and bucked him as hard as she could.
Eternity was bucked right into a mountain very far away AJ stared with disbelief, “Did I do that?” Twi stepped up next to her, “Well your element helped, but yes you did do that… why didn’t you take his offer?”
“I wanted to but my granny always told me to never trust a snake if you let it get close it will bite you, he remained me of a snake, I knew I couldn’t trust him to keep his end of the deal, he’s as honest as Flim and Flam, two salesponies who nearly took over my farm, but the town kicked them out quicker then a hurricane can destroy a building.”
Twi hugged her, “I’m sorry he taunted you with the two ponies you can never get back.”
“It’s alright I was strong then and I’m strong now.”
“Yes but it’s also okay to cry.”
“I’m not crying…” AJ said sobbing into Twi’s chest, Twi gently stroked AJ with her wings, she looked up at the sun glaring at it, she blamed Daybreaker for this, such a mean, heartless, and cruel creature she was to turn Chronos like that, and for him to do that to AJ… he wasn’t the same pony she played with that was for sure, he was dark Eternity now.