The carriage stopped at another secluded spot in the forest. The two mares disembarked and began moving deeper inside, while the pegasi remained behind, lazily pulling out a deck of cards to play.
Applejack felt her legs tremble a little as she walked behind Pinkie. She was already on the edge from her encounter with Twilight and now she saw the silhouette of a unicorn ready to shoot behind every tree, only to realise it was merely a trick of the light. “Please, Miss Pie,” she whispered, while chewing the inside of her mouth. “Tell me they ain’t gonna shoot at me.”
“What?” Pinkie stared at her for a second, utterly dumbfounded, then the realisation suddenly dawned on her and she burst into laughter. “Oh! No! Jackie, you and your fanciful imagination… What sort of ponies do you think Her Majesty’s court are?” Her chuckles slowly died down. “We’re civilised folk here! It’s a contest for unicorns about shooting at actual apples,” she explained as they continued to walk forwards. “Nopony’s getting hurt!”
“Oh.” Applejack’s face went completely red and she suddenly found the foliage around Pinkie very-very interesting. “I… uh… I knew that.” Pinkie merely snickered in response, before turning around and continuing to lead the way.
Time passed and eventually Applejack couldn’t hold her tongue anymore. “Miss Pie, please, just tell me one thing,” she said carefully.
“What is it this time?” Pinkie asked with a tired sigh. Applejack noticed how, every time she tried to start a conversation, Pinkie’s cheerful mask seemed to slip a little.
“I know I don’t know much else other than apples, but this in particular really doesn’t fit in my head.” She scratched her neck. “What’s the point of this all? I mean—”
Pinkie stopped in her tracks, but did not turn around, causing Applejack to fumble her words and fall silent. A cloud passed overhead, obscuring the rays of sunlight penetrating through the canopy, leaving the two mares in gloom. A wave of cold wind blew through the trail they followed, bringing an unnatural cold despite how balmy the air previously was. Sensing an aura of danger, the loud serenade of birds faded out as well, leaving a deathly quiet in its place.
“Applejack,” Pinkie said quietly behind her mane, without any hint of her usual bubbliness, “I’m warning you one last time, if you have second thoughts, lose them. I’m trying to be really-really-really nice here”—with each ‘really’ her voice rose in pitch till it nearly snapped, only to go back to normal immediately afterwards—“but if you keep on meddling in my plans, you’ll soon wish I didn’t pluck you from prison the first time you had the brilliant idea of going against Her Majesty’s law.”
Applejack gulped. “Stars above, that’s not at all what I meant!” she said quickly. “I just can’t reckon why you need to put Twilight on trial if ya already think she’s guilty. I didn’t get no trial either an’ that was fine with everypony.”
There was a beat of utter silence. “Agitprop,” Pinkie replied flatly.
The thought of how one props a git flashed through Applejack’s mind for just a moment, but something told her she should not ask about it. “I don’t understand,” she admitted.
“It stands for ‘Agitation propaganda’,” Pinkie turned around and explained. “Y’see Jackie, all those clever little tricks we pulled helped, but our ponies are still far too worried and jittery.”
“But ain’t ponies plenty agitated then already?” The cogs started to slowly turn in Applejack’s head, but she still felt like she missed some crucial detail. “What good could rilin’ them up more bring?”
“The issue is that instead of blaming it on that Sun-bleached traitor, they have the gall to claim Her Majesty’s police are too harsh.” Pinkie’s face flushed a shade of red as she spat the words with unmasked rage. She scoffed and turned away her head, the color quickly draining from it. As she turned back a second or two later, her cheeks had already become the usual pink.
Applejack pursed her lips, unsure if she should say her thoughts out loud. “It’s, uhm,” she stammered, “a bit hard to blame anypony for that, Miss Pie.”
Pinkie scoffed. “Who would guess that the criminal mare isn’t a fan of cops?” she asked with a tip of her head, causing Applejack to go red.
“B-but Miss Pie, you’ve given me an apple too,” she protested.
“Excuses, Jackie, excuses.” Pinkie’s words were cold and judging.
Applejack fiddled with her hat. A quick glimpse at Pinkie’s face told her not to press this particular topic further. “I’ll be honest, I still don’t see how Twilight comes into the picture,” she said instead.
“Simple, if our ponies see that not even those near Her Majesty are safe from scrutiny, they’ll be much more content with their lives. It’s not them, the poor folk, that the bats are out against, but rather those traitors that try to sow the seeds of the Sun Tyrant’s malice, from the dingiest towns right up into Canterlot itself.”
Applejack slowly nodded. “I’spose that makes sense, but still… Why Twilight in particular?”
Pinkie rolled her eyes in annoyance. “I dunno, bad luck. She messed up, you messed up, it’s a good opportunity for a show. It’s none of my business what the Crown decides is treason.” Her voice turned a bit warmer and she stared into Applejack’s eyes. “Believe me Jackie, I don’t have anything against her personally. As far as my files show, she’s been an exemplary agent to our cause for many years.” Her voice became cold once more. “But I do have Her Majesty’s enduring rule in mind, and if it has been decided that Sparkle is a traitor then I won’t stop until everypony knows it for a fact.”
With that, she turned around and began trotting ahead. Applejack slowly walked after her, her head dizzier than before. A great and terrible board game, she thought.
They continued in silence. The clouds above began to break apart and allow light in once more.
A little while later their quiet stroll was interrupted by the telltale noises of magic bolts whizzing by in the distance.
“Those poor apples,” Applejack muttered, sighing. “What a waste.”
“I know ya feel a real kinship towards them, but you’re being far too sentimental again, Jackie,” Pinkie, who had in the meantime regained the spring in her step, admonished her with a giggle. Before she could continue, however, a bolt darted out from the foliage and singed a curly lock on the top of her head. Another flashed past them, followed by one more, which set a nearly branch on fire with blue flames that magically extinguished themselves a few seconds later.
The two mares threw themselves on the ground, seeking cover in the tall grass. “Miss Pie, I understood what you said, but still, it seems to me we should tell them we’re not actual apples after all!” Applejack yelled. She glanced around but couldn’t see their assailant. “Should we throw something back at them?”
“Are you crazy?” Pinkie screamed back, her pink coat turning completely white while her eyes jumped all over the place. “How can you even ask such a thing? What if we hit somepony important? Have you considered for just a second what they would do to us then?”
Applejack hadn’t and she wasn’t about to start. “Well, I’m just thinkin’ we should really give them some kinda sign, so they stop shootin’ at us,” she explained calmly. “But you’re in the know-how here.”
The shots meanwhile continued relentlessly.
“I just hope Mac and Bloom will be alright, if I end up out of commission,” Applejack muttered.
Pinkie heard none of it. She alternated between covering her eyes or her ears, while her tail flicked like crazy, stirring up dust.
“Thank the Stars, they haven’t hit us yet,” Applejack continued her meandering train of thought. “I’m pretty surprised though. Her Majesty and Co. are such good shots otherwise.”
Pinkie still didn’t react. She pulled herself into a foetal pose and began to mutter. “Sweet Celestia, please save me from this mess… Oh, Sun Princess, I regret everything… I’ve done a lot of bad things, but I’ll be a good little pony, just don’t let them get me…” Her words slowly tapered off into incoherence.
Suddenly the barrage stopped and the Night Princess appeared. She was surrounded by her entourage whom aimed their horns at the duo, tips burning with spells ready to fire. Nightmare Moon measured up the two ponies cowering in the dust in front of her. The deep frown on her face spoke of how she expected a slightly nobler harvest. With a roll of her eye she held up a hoof and her followers stepped back, then dispersed. The moment the three of them were left alone the Princess sighed with tiredness that was unbecoming of her.
“Pie,” she addressed Pinkie with unmasked frustration, before glancing towards Applejack. “And her troublesome little serf. What do We owe the pleasure to this time?” Her tail whipped the ground behind, while her nostrils flared. “We ought to have you both thrown in the dungeons. Canst We not enjoy Our free time in peace?” she asked exasperated while raising her voice.
Pinkie jumped to attention, her coat immediately recovering its colour as she smiled widely. A small cloud of dust formed around her while her foreleg snapped into a salute. Only a twitching muscle on her face betrayed her panic from before.
Applejack stared at Pinkie in disbelief. Seeing her forced grin and the tenseness in her body sent something akin to a stab into Applejack’s very being. Her eyes went wide with the realisation, as she came to understand even Pinkie wasn’t above being a piece. A great and terrible board game, came Twilight’s words echoing in her mind once more.
“Your Majesty, I report Miss Applejack has agreed to act as star witness, without coercion, entirely on her own voluntary choice,” Pinkie rattled off, the same unnaturally wide smile still plastered on her face. “We can proceed with the trial.”
“Colonel, I warn thee, We have had quite enough of thy games,” the Princess boomed, kicking the dirt with an armored horseshoe.
They continued their little back and forth theatrics, but Applejack wasn’t listening. She didn’t even notice that she slumped to her haunches as her mind was too busy hopelessly trying to comprehend the depth of the situation. Where does it all end? she asked herself again and again.
Applejack shot a furtive glance towards Nightmare Moon’s posturing and incensed words towards Pinkie. She wasn’t sure if she merely imagined it or not, but these too seemed to be just a little tense and artificial, like the Princess herself was vary of somepony or something lurking just outside her vision. Is there somepony even Her Majesty has to answer to? The thought alone horrified her, but what scared her even more was the fact that she couldn’t with a good heart say that she considered the possibility implausible.
Applejack was ripped away from her mounting dread with a shock as Nightmare Moon turned sharply towards her. “Speak, does she say truth?” she asked while cocking an impatient eyebrow.
“Y-Yup, Your Majesty-ness.” Applejack jumped up and nodded fiercely, hardly even understanding the question, while she scrambled to collect her racing thoughts. “I’m, uh, trying to be better an’ make up for my mistakes.” She chuckled awkwardly. “Would’ve been a damn shame, if you shot us now,” she said in a low voice.
The Princess smiled, her white, nail-like teeth glinting in the late afternoon Sun. “Such is music to Our ears.” Her pupils contracted, granting her the look of a predator staring at her freshly downed prey. “We are quite pleased with thy choice. Carry on with the work.”
To give the occasion its weight, her horn burst into flame and she shot between the two mares. A gigantic apple on a tree behind them blew into wet smithereens, partly raining apple juice over them both. Everypony present behind her stomped on the ground politely.