That was how Applejack got back into prison. This time however, not into her usual cell, but right into the solitary chamber of those soon to be exiled.
She wasn’t quite sure how much time had passed. Every day a tray would be slid under her door, containing little more than stale water and just enough hay for her not to go too hungry. Probably every day, anyway. With no windows and lit torches that never burned out days and nights quickly mixed into each other.
At the moment, Applejack was occupied with her favourite pastime. She sat on her bed, staring at the cracked stone walls, and counted the minutes. Despite all the time she had suddenly found herself having, nothing really came to her mind, so she just kept on counting. Before she settled on such a game she had tried pacing her room, but after she had trod an almost imperceptible circular groove into the floor, she switched to spending her time counting the cracks. The novelty, however, quickly wore off after she counted exactly two-hundred and seventy-three for the fifteenth time.
She also considered creating an imaginary friend to keep herself occupied, but the guards took away her hat and she didn’t consider herself crazy enough to use her food instead.
She was at seven-hundred and twenty-two when suddenly the lock rattled and scraped as a key turned inside of it. Applejack nearly jumped off the bed from the unexpected noise, but she stopped herself at the last moment and slid back down onto the bed with the grace of a burlap sack, her heart stampeding like a herd of rabid buffalo.
Finally, the door slowly opened to reveal a thick pegasus stallion. Despite not being a batpony, he wore the usual Night Guard armour with the Moon-sigil emblazoned on it. He also pulled a small cart behind himself, with a plate of potato salad and a small bottle on it.
“Lovely night for it, Miss Applejack. Name’s Gilded Cage, I’m the officer assigned to prisoners of, well, your variety." The words just flooded out of him as he pulled the cart in front of the bed. "I’m terribly sorry, but y’see I wasn’t able to get any apples because of the strict harvesting policy,” he explained, paying no heed to the fact that Applejack was visibly rustled and still panting a little. “I hope this will do, though.” Finally he shut up, giving Applejack an opportunity to compose herself a little.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, then glanced down at the plate. Seeing actual potatoes mixed with actual onions and actual cream was the single most beautiful thing her mind could imagine at the moment.
“A-All’s fine,” Applejack replied as she continued to stare at the plate, the reason for shakiness in her voice going from fear to hunger. “Very nice of y’all to do.”
Upon second thought, they did ask her what sort of food she would like as a last meal in the purely theoretical situation she were to be exiled. This meant seeing the plate in front of herself could only mean a single thing…
To distract herself from having to finish that thought, Applejack looked at the bottle instead. The liquid inside was suspiciously purple and not apple-like. “Grape wine?” she voiced her worries with a frown.
“Sadly I couldn’t get any cider either because of the same harvest restriction.” Cage flapped his wings. “The mare making the wine is a pro, though. I believe she lives in Ponyville too, just like you did. It might not be from apples, but it should be just as strong.”
Applejack didn’t feel it in herself to argue, so she merely shrugged. “Eh, fair enough. Do you want some?”
Cage shook his head. “Nah, I wouldn’t want to drink it away from you. It’s your last meal here after all…”
Applejack shut her eyes tight and winced as the stallion finished the thought for her. She sighed deeply, then opened her eyes again. “So ya weren’t just nice outta goodness of your heart. Figures. It’s still a bit hard to come to terms with.” She slowly nodded a few times absentmindedly, then looked back at the bottle. “But really, I ain’t one for drinkin’ alone. Come on, don’t be shy.” She held it out towards the stallion.
Cage shrugged and reached for it. “Well, don’t mind if I do, then.”
The two ponies took swigs from the glass after each other.
“So, uh, any family at home?” he broke the sudden silence.
“Yeah, a little sis and a big bro,” Applejack said with a distant smile.
Cage nodded approvingly. “I got two little fillies at home. Not easy with them.”
Applejack laughed a little at that, as she thought back to Bloom and her antics. “I know, right?” Her sister was probably out there right now, getting into trouble with her friends. And Applejack wouldn’t be there to make sure she was safe. She would never be there to make sure she was safe again. The smile fell from her face. “It’s not easy,” she echoed, her eyes suddenly feeling a bit wet. “Not easy at all.”
To distract herself, she dipped down and began chewing on a bite of food. In response, the pegasus scooted closer. “Sooo, how’s the salad?” he purred.
Applejack chewed slowly for a few seconds, then swallowed. “It’s nice.” Her voice rang without any real conviction, but Cage didn’t seem any more dissuaded than before.
“I always recommend this kinda stuff. Tastes just as well whether the pony is Lunar or Solar. And when the prisoner can’t eat it due to nervousness or whatever, it just goes here.” He slapped his belly, laughing. Applejack didn’t laugh, so he cleared his throat awkwardly, before continuing. “B-but please don’t think I’m envying it from you.”
“I don’t think that,” came the quiet, subdued reply.
Cage opened and closed his mouth a few times, before settling on what to say. “Ehm, right. Do you want to consult with a pony of the Solar-cult, before… You know.” He nodded towards the door.
“Nah, I’d rather not.” Applejack shook her head, then wiped her tears away. “Unless I have to,” she added with worry in her voice.
“Oh, no, no. Of course not. Real sorry, I forgot you’re a Lunar.” Cage scoffed a little. “You know, not even that long ago under Her Radiance’s rule…" He shook his head. "Don’t worry about it, that’s in the past. What I mean is that nowadays things are so tangled up,” he finished with a sigh. Applejack just held up a hoof weakly to show that it was alright. Cage nodded and the two remained silent, while Applejack began to eat in earnest.
Soon she was done with the food and she sighed again, her mood a tiny bit better than before. “That was the best meal I’ve had in a mighty long while. Lunch like this almost makes ya wish you could get exiled multiple times,” she said with a sad little chuckle before wiping her hot tears away. Her shoulder bounced a little as she choked on a breath, which she washed down by taking another swig of the wine and slowly swallowing the sweet drink.
“Very glad you liked it,” Cage said with a warm smile as he began gathering the silverware. He cleared his throat. “Well, I should be going now."
“So soon? We’ve had a good chat.” Applejack tipped her head towards him. Truthfully he did little to improve her mood, but anything was far better than the being stuck alone between these walls.
“Sadly. I’m taking an exam for my promotion tomorrow on Lunar history and I’ll be frank, I haven’t learned a word.” He fell into deep contemplation for a second, then his face suddenly lit up. “But hey, wait a second, you said you’re a Lunar yourself, right?”
A pained grimace crossed Applejack’s face. “Eh, I’spose we can say that,” she finally said.
Cage put his hooves together. “Then please help me out!”
She shook her head. “I would, but I’m not good at all this ideology stuff.”
“These are just the basics," he continued to plead. "It should be foal’s play for a mare like you, but I’m in real trouble if I can’t pass.”
“Sugarcube, believe me. I’m thicker in the head than a pile of mud after rain.”
Cage glanced behind himself before reaching into his armour, fishing out a tiny bottle. “Apple schnapps,” he declared with a conspiring smile, as he passed it over. “Go ahead, I’m sure this will thin things out in your head.”
Applejack shrugged and sipped the bottle. A pleasant warmness spread through her body, loosening her a little both physically and mentally. Meanwhile Cage pulled out a small list of questions written in ugly, chicken-scratch hoofwriting.
“Okay, first question," he said as he began to read. "What was the Longest Equinox?”
“Kick me in the face, but I have no idea.”
Cage grabbed her hooves pleadingly. His eyes gleamed with desperation as he stared into hers. “Please! You’re gonna be far away tomorrow either way, but me? I can’t lose this job, I… I have two fillies at home!”
“Fine, fine.” Applejack rolled her eyes before pursing her lips. “Longest Equine-ox… It must be some pretty ugly animal.”
“See! That’s more like it!” He smiled at her encouragingly. “Alright, second question. What were the Elements of Harmony?”
Recognition flashed in Applejack’s eyes. “Oh, I know this one! Granny taught me them when I was a just lil’ filly: A good mornin’ breakfast, a good day of work, an’ a good night’s sleep. I’m surprised ya didn’t know it. It’s pretty darn obvious.”
Cage furrowed his brows. “Hmm, I thought there were six of them.”
“What? Is three not enough for you? Lemme have a bit more of that schnapps, maybe it’ll make me remember.”
Time passed, answer followed question, schnapps followed answer. In the middle of a particularly difficult topic, their treatise was suddenly interrupted by the distant, hollow ringing of the city’s great bell-tower. Cage’s head shot up, panic on his face.
“Oh, Stars above, we really took our sweet time! I’m very sorry, Applejack, but I’m afraid it’s, umm, time.” He struggled to stand up, having sat so much.
Applejack sighed. “Is the ride gonna be at least comfortable?”
“Think so, the pony managing it is quite new, but he has qualifications in transporting cattle. Apparently the route is very calming and scenic. Not that there’s anypony left to really confirm it,” Cage said with an awkward chuckle. He stretched the tiredness out of his wings, then put away the small bottle and placed the little cart to the side. “Well, it’s time to go. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to the Solars? I really don’t much care about who’s on what side and I’d hate if you came across Her Radiance out there without any insurance.”
Applejack shook her head. “Nah, thank ya kindly, but I already put my bits on the Lunars, I’d rather not change my mind last moment.”
He shrugged. “Hm, well, suit yourself.” He placed the key into the lock and opened the cell door. He motioned for the mare to leave. “Go ahead then.”
“No, no, feel free to go first,” Applejack offered politely.
“It wouldn’t feel right, please,” Cage replied just as politely.
This went back and forth a few more times until the pegasus lost his temper and raised an armoured hoof threateningly. “Out. Now.”
The two of them left the cell and slowly made their way into the prison’s yard through the eerily quiet hallway. It was an awful day outside, the sky was a dirty-grey wet sheet, ready to drench anypony in freezing rain any moment soon. Only the barest hints of the Sun shone through the thick, dark clouds, illuminating the yard in a gloomy, sinister half-light.
“Well, I suppose here we are,” Cage commented idly. He looked around, confusion slowly spreading on his face. “Huh… That’s odd.”
The cart was already prepared in the middle. It was a simple, shoddy wagon on rickety wheels, made from rough, splintered planks, with a bit of hay spread at the bottom to provide cushioning and perhaps, at times of great need, a barely-palatable emergency snack. Applejack was unsure how it was meant to prevent the exile from merely hopping off and legging it, but at the moment she wasn’t exactly in the mood to question it out loud. Especially when, at the moment, what was even more puzzling was the fact that the pony supposed to draw it was nowhere to be seen.
“I don’t get it." Cage scratched his head. “I’ve been guarding this prison for well over two decades and I have never-ever seen an exile postponed. There’s supposed to be a system against this,” he explained with eagerness. “You see, if the pony in charge of the cart happens to be ill, or busy with family matters, a heartsong, or whatever, then he’s supposed to have a deputy to take over. And if said deputy isn’t available? Another deputy. And so on…” He gesticulated wildly with his wings, before collecting himself a little and coughing. "What I’m saying is that ever since I was assigned here, this has never-ever happened.”
Applejack just blinked a few times. “Welp, I guess I’ll just wait.”
“It’s not really nice to wait in a situation like this,” Cage said, reaching back to comb through his mane with a hoof. “I guess you could sit down if you want.”
“Why?”
“Why not? Makes it easier to wait.” While Applejack sat down against the carriage, Cage flew up into the air with all the elegance of a bumblebee driving a train. “Long Voyage! Long Voyage!” he yelled.
No reply from anywhere, so he descended back and turned to her. “Sorry Applejack, there really is no mistake here, you’re supposed to be exiled today. Say, what if we yelled together? Maybe that would work better.”
“If ya say so.”
So they yelled together.
“Long Voyage! Long Voyage!”
“Just who the hay is this Long Voyage anyway?” Applejack asked between two shouts.
“Ah, he’s the pony who’s supposed to cart you off.”
“Oh, I see.”
They continued to yell. “Long Voyage!”
Suddenly a window slammed open and a very angry looking unicorn looked out. She wore baby-blue pyjamas, with tiny yellow crescent moons peppered on them. “Just what in Her Highness’s great dark moons is going on out there?” she boomed, her voice easily filling the great courtyard, while her eyes burned like two hot coals even from that far.
“Good morning, Miss Director!” Cage jumped to attention. “I report the prisoner to be exiled is here, but the cart-pony is nowhere to be found. We are unable to execute her sentence," he explained with great import, before pausing for a second and scratching his head. "What are we supposed to do?”
A long, drawn-out sigh filled the yard from above. “Just stay there,” came the extremely slow and tired answer. “I’ll be with you in just a moment.”
A few minutes later the mare appeared, her pyjamas still hanging loosely on her. She scratched her chin and glanced at Applejack with half-lidded eyes under her uncombed mane. She lazily held out her hoof and Applejack politely shook it. “Seven Locks, I am this prison’s director," she introduced herself, suppressing a yawn. "So… who exactly are you again?”
“Pleasure’s mine, Miss Locks. I’m Applejack. I’m the one y’all are supposed to exile.”
“Applejack, Applejack,” she repeated the name, as the ungreased gears of her memory slowly began to turn. Suddenly she raised her eyes towards the sky. “Sweet Moon above. Haven’t they told you already?”
“They have, Miss. Today, at dawn, I’m off. That’s why I’m here.”
“Where have you even been since yesterday?”
“In solitary confinement,” Cage cut in. “She received an exemplary dinner, I made it myself,” he added proudly.
“Gracious Moon above.” Locks sighed as she buried her face into a hoof. “I understand everything now.” She looked up. “Well, congratulations, Applejack, you are officially going to be rehabilitated.” Her tone was just as flat as before.
“If I’m here already, wouldn’t it be easier if y’all just exiled me the normal way?" Applejack asked, while she nervously played with a lock of her mane. "I’d really rather not prolong these things.”
Locks groaned in irritation. “Re-ha-bi-li-ta-ted. Which part don’t you understand?”
“Oh, I get it alright." Applejack nodded understandingly. "I assume it’s some new method to make me disappear.”
The only reaction this got her was another long sigh. “Look. What I mean is that those fickle tides of politics have turned and you’ve been pardoned. You get it now? There will be no exile today. To be rehabilitated means you are innocent.”
Applejack scratched her scar. “Beg pardon, Miss Locks, but I knew that from the get go.”
“And now you get it in writing as well," the director explained with all the patience of a teacher who needs to set an unruly student straight. "Well, run along now, we’ve wasted each other’s time enough, haven’t we? You’ll get your bits in the mail. Is your address still the same?”
“Just the same," Applejack replied automatically before furrowing her brows. "What bits?”
“A rehabilitation check. Consider it money for your troubles. Well, good day, then.” With that Seven Locks turned around with a grunt and began to walk back inside.
Before she could get far, Applejack suddenly had an idea and yelled after her. “Excuse me, Miss Locks!”
She turned back with a groan. “What now?”
“Do you happen to know what happened to Twilight Sparkle?”
“Twilight Sparkle, hm. Familiar name…” Locks pursed her lips in concentration. “Right, I remember now. That little mare has been home for a week already.” She stifled a yawn. “Anything else to waste my time with? No? Great. Good day.” She trotted away with stiff steps.
“She ate the salad, drank the wine, drank my schnapps, won’t get exiled, and will even get paid for her troubles?” Cage fumed under his breath angrily. “No question, you Lunars really are all just one big band of worthless, rotten no-goods.”
The weight of events slowly sank in for Applejack. She remained standing in place, staring at the cart. She slowly reached up and scratched the scar on her ear, before putting her hoof back down again. Then she continued to stare, her mouth slightly agape. “I just really don’t get it at all,” she muttered.
Cage stomped the ground and his tail flicked in anger. “What’s with the romantics? Shoo already!" he screamed at her. "Unless you want me to throw you out by your fat flank!”
She was truly free, there was no helping it. What’s more, they even gave back her hat! It really felt like a substantial piece of her being had returned. Applejack passed through the not so pearly gates of the prison and began her long trot home. On the way to the train station, she greeted the first passerby that came across her—a pegasus colt reading a newspaper.
“Howdy, partner! I’m mighty sorry, but would’ya be nice enough to tell me what day is today?”
“It’s the third,” he replied, looking up from the paper, with a slightly annoyed expression on his face.
“Which season?”
“Fall.”
Applejack nodded in understanding. “Fall, huh? Been away for quite a while then. Do you have any idea if there were any recent apple-related plagues?”
“No idea, Miss," he replied with an impatient roll of his eyes. "Anything else? Should I lend you my fillyfriend too or what?”
Applejack did not get upset. She gently pulled out the paper from his hooves with ease and looked at the news herself. There were massive, yelling headlines about some unsuccessful counter-revolution and how Her Majesty decreed to replace her cabinet and introduce some reforms, but Applejack paid them little heed. Upon coming to a particular title, however, her face fell dark.
“Sweet Stars above!” she yelled. “I’m wasting time sittin’ around in prison, while my apples at home are in trouble again? Beg ya pardon, but I must go, right now!” With that she shoved the newspaper back into the colt’s hooves—who continued to stare after her long after she had left, blinking in utter bewilderment—and rushed off.
After getting lost a few times, she finally found her way to the train station and got on the earliest train headed for Ponyville. As the train began to move, she stared out through the window on the door. She was about to get lost in watching the station slowly snake past them, when she noticed a pink mare rushing towards the vehicle, her face obscured by her nail-straight mane. Quickly grabbing a piece of rope laying in the corner of the cabin, she fashioned a makeshift lasso and threw it at the pony, pulling her into the carriage at the last possible moment before the train sped up too fast.
The two of them stumbled onto the floor in a sore, tangled pile. But at the very least they both were safely on board. Once she didn’t see double anymore, Applejack took a closer look at the newcomer.
“P-Pinkie Pie?” she asked in shock, as she freed her limbs and clambered to her hooves. “I’m mighty surprised to see you again. How come you’re here?”
“Hello, Applejack,” Pinkie replied darkly, as she dusted herself off. She didn’t look at her.
There was a beat of silence between the two as Applejack fruitlessly waited for her to answer the question.
Applejack thought hard what else to say, but she realised she and Pinkie really didn’t have much in common. “So, uh, how are you these days?” she finally asked.
“Take a guess.” Pinkie turned towards Applejack and scoffed in anger. “Your little courtroom stunt was just the spark those Solar ingrates needed to launch a coup attempt." She paced angrily in the carriage for a few steps, before facing the farmer again. Hurt and pain were written all over her face. “In less than a week Sun-banners hung from all over Canterlot. And you know what happened then?”
Applejack stared back dumbfounded. “Not a clue, Miss Pie.”
“We beat them back, obviously,” Pinkie replied with a roll of her eyes, like she was saying something blatantly fundamental. “The combined force of the Night Guard easily drove those wannabe counter-revolutionaries into a rout.”
“That’s, um, great?” Applejack’s confusion was only growing. Pinkie in return laughed sharply.
“Great, she says!” She scoffed. “Yeah, it could have been great! Everything was going so, so well! And yet Her Highness still decided to compromise! Do you have any clue why you’re out and not on a one-way ticket ride to the Griffonlands right now?” Applejack just shook her head as she watched Pinkie’s tirade with increasing worry. “Because Her Highness promised leniency! There will be no more exiles, at all. And what’s more, she sent me away! Said my methods are too much! My entire department, dissolved… After all these years! What will happen to me now? Where will I even go?” Pinkie sobbed just once with the pureness of a filly after her first heartbreak. Then her face darkened again and she wiped her tears away. "To think I did so much for these ponies…” she said darkly, while nodding back towards Canterlot, which rapidly shrank behind them. A pained laugh left her lips. “To think I got my stomach ruined for… for this!”
Applejack was not sure how to react. She certainly didn’t intend any coups to start in her name, but on the other hoof, she also didn’t mind being free. “Ah, uh, well. Things like that sometimes happen.”
Pinkie’s head bobbed up and down slightly, as if she was laughing to herself or perhaps sobbing. She suddenly turned towards Applejack again. “And you? What about you?”
Applejack shrunk back a little. “W-What about me?”
“Are you angry at me too?” Pinkie turned her face away. There was no anger, nor accusation in the question, just a dull sadness. “Do you think Her Majesty did the right thing?”
Applejack wanted to strike back with a decisive “yes” as payback for all the hurt, pain, and calamity she was put through, but one look at Pinkie took the wind out of her lungs. She took a deep breath, but for a few seconds no words came to her mouth. Finally she exhaled, shrugged, and said, “I’m sure you only tried to do your best.”
“That’s right!” Pinkie looked back, her eyes burning with vindicated fury. She stomped on the cabin’s floor. “That’s exactly right! You know full well, I spent day and night on you all!”
Applejack frowned and looked to the side. “Maybe you should have spent a few less nights on us then?” came her gentle, helpful reply.
The two stood in silence for a few seconds.
“You ponies will beg to have me back soon enough,” Pinkie said to nopony in particular. “You’ll beg. Just you wait.”
Applejack tipped her head to the side. “I’m not too sure about that, sugarcube.”
They didn’t talk after that. Some time passed and the train finally arrived to Ponyville’s station. Applejack got off and glanced back as her ride rolled away, carrying the still-fuming pink mare onwards.
Applejack breathed in the fresh, early-Fall air. She felt like not just one, but several heavy weights were lifted off her back. As she stopped to stretch out the tiredness out of her neck, she looked around and realised she never quite noticed before how colourful Ponyville was during these days. Stopping at the fountain in the main square of the city, she spent a few minutes lost in merely watching ponies going around their days in the early morning light. She made a mental note to spend more time in the city, with how much time Bloom and Mac held the front just fine, surely they could allow her the occasional day off. She could maybe even visit Twilight, for old times’ sake. The two of them did have quite a bit to talk about after all.
Stars, now that she was thinking of it, she could even take up Trixie’s offer. Bloomie definitely deserved a bit of spectacle after all that happened and she was sure deep down Mac would enjoy some simple fun for once too.
Applejack nodded contently. It was quite a sweet plan, all things considered. Then she let out a slow approving hum and began to make her way back towards the haphazard, bizarre tower that was her new home. Her Apples were waiting for her, after all.
On the way home she sung a little song to herself under her breath, one she heard from her grandmother oh-so-many years ago:
Somepony tomorrow must rise up to defeat the darkness.
Oh tell me, who is the one you would choose?Somepony tomorrow must rewrite the fables we tell each other.
Oh tell me, who is the one you would choose?Somepony tomorrow must absolve this world from its sorrow.
Oh tell me, who is the one you would choose?
And behind her, for the first time after such a long-long time, the Sun seemed to outshine the Moon just a little bit.
Fin.