//------------------------------//
// A Round of Questions 
// Story: Everfree 
// by J3sterking 
//------------------------------//

Applejack pulled a large, fresh smelling pie out of the oven just as she heard a car pull up. "Applebloom, how're the drinks comin'?" she called out.

"Apple cider, tea, and grape juice for Sunset," Applebloom said, dropping several bottles of the former on the table.

Applejack laughed. "Just make sure to keep it away from Rarity," she said. She set the pie on the counter to cool, then strode out to the door, waving to her friends. "Howdy, girls!" she shouted out.

Several enthusiastic shouts rang out, as Applejack held the door open.

"Thanks for hosting us," Sunset said as she passed.  

"No problem! Any time I can invite friends over is a good time!"  

"Pie!" Pinkie shouted, rushing past.  

"Yes, apple cider!" Rainbow cheered, zooming past as a blur to start drinking a thing of apple cider.

"You okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"Fit as a fiddle! Just been a little distracted here lately," Applejack replied. "Sorry for worrying you gals, anyhoo. I was just trying to get my thoughts in order before I talked about all this."

"I can imagine," Twilight said. "Sorting out my research notes before presenting them is difficult enough."

Applejack shrugged. "I wouldn't know about that, so I'll take yer word for it." She turned to Rarity, who stood just beyond the door frame, staring intently at Applejack.

"You look different," Rarity said.  

"How so?"

"I don't know," Rarity said. "Something about your eyes."

There was a moment's silence, before Rarity shrugged. "Eh. It'll come to me later, I suppose." She walked past, strolling to the living room table at a leisurely pace.

Pleasant chatter was made as Applejack passed out plates, serving everyone food. Given the wildly different diets of all her friends, serving food to them all always provided a challenge, but she'd managed it like she always did: by plowing through and relying on her stubborn determination. Which was also the way she planned on getting through the next task.

"A'right, so," she said, once the chatter had died down somewhat. "I reckon ya'll have some questions."

There were murmured agreements amongst the other friends.

Applejack sighed. "Okay. Ya'll all know that I'm Applejack, but...I'm also...ah, shoot." She rubbed her forehead. "Once upon a time, I was known as Gaea Everfree."

There was a long moment's silence as her friends processed this.

"So, wait," Rainbow said, "I'd thought you just...like, gained powers or something. You've...always been...Gaea?"

"Er...kinda? I only remembered it all recently, after our time at the camp." She took off her hat, and began dusting it off. "For the past thousand years--"

"Because of course it's one thousand years," Sunset chuckled. When everyone looked at her, she cleared her throat. "Sorry, continue."

"For the past thousand years," Applejack repeated, "I've been reincarnating. Bein' born as different people in different places. While I'm...well..." She gestured at herself. "Like this, I don't remember myself. Or at least, I didn't. I suppose our time at Camp Everfree made me remember."

"It must have been the geodes," Sunset said, clapping her hands together. "Elements of Harmony, right?"

"Er, prob'ly not," Applejack said slowly.  

Everyone turned to her.

"The Elements, uh, are kinda why I was reincarnatin'," Applejack said, blushing. "I'm not exactly proud to say this, but I wasn't the best of critters to get along with."

"You're a reformed villain," Sunset said slowly. Then she chuckled. "Not a big deal. So am I!"

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, only I was a mite worse than you got." She took off her hat, holding it over her chest, and added, "A...a lot worse, Sunset."

"It's okay. You're better now, and that's all we care about," Sunset said. She stepped over, and hugged Applejack.  

Applejack chuckled. "Thanks, Sunset. If...if it's all the same to you gals, I'd rather not talk about it all." She paused. "You can ask Princess Celestia 'bout it, if you're curious. She probably remembers it all."

"You met Princess Celestia?" Sunset burst out.

"Yeah, though it wasn't the happy kind of meeting," Applejack replied. "More of the 'crazy-plant-witch wants to destroy Equestria' meeting."

Sunset returned to her own seat. "I'll probably ask, but if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, okay?"

Applejack nodded. "Too many painful memories, too many regrets," she said. "Not right now. Possibly, not ever." She shuddered. "Anyway, anyone else have questions?"

"Can you do whole gems?" Rarity asked.

"Pardon?"

"I-I mean, you do leave the gem dust trails, right? That's not just some random myth?"

"Yeah...?"

"Can you make whole gems?" Rarity asked. She chuckled nervously. "Let's pretend I'm asking for a friend."

"Um...I dunno?" Applejack shrugged. "I ain't never tried. The dust disappears after a little while, so you probably wouldn't have any luck with it."

"Darn," Rarity muttered.  

Applejack tapped the arm of her chair, and a small, white flower with violet petals grew out of it. She plucked it, then handed it to Rarity. "That make it better?"

Rarity gasped. "Yes! Absolutely! It's beautiful!" She took it gingerly, examining the small flower from every angle.

Applejack chuckled...before shoe flew out of nowhere and hit her in the head. "Stop growin' plants outta our chairs!" Granny Smith shouted from the next room.

"Heh! Sorry, Granny!" Applejack called back. "Darn it, how long does it take a girl to remember to stop creating plants on a whim?" She tapped the empty flower stalk, which immediately evaporated into a fine gray dust.

Sunset blinked, opened her mouth, then closed it. "Did you just vaporise that plant?"

"Um..." Applejack hesitated, looking to the surprised looks of her friends. "Yes?"

"Awesome!" Rainbow shouted.

Applejack ran a hand through her hair as Twilight stepped over, examining the gray powder. "Did it rot, or was it actually disintegrated?" she asked.

"Um...I dunno?" Applejack shrugged. "I've never thought about my powers before."

"Really?" Twilight asked. "Haven't you wondered where they came from?"

"Nope. I'm a Spirit of the Wild, sugarcube. I ain't never had to worry about it, so...I didn't."

"But we could learn so much if we studied it!" Twilight said.

Applejack shrugged again. "I don't need to," she said.

"Hey..." Applebloom cut in.

Applejack turned to her, seeing Applebloom stare to the side with a sad expression. "If you're...Gaea Everfree, then...are you not Applejack?" She paused, then continued, "Are...are you still my sister?"

Applejack got up, and walked over to her. She dropped to one knee, stretching out her hand, and put it on Applebloom's shoulder. "Applebloom," she said, "of course I am." She gave a smile.

"Are...are you, though?"

"Eeyup. Just because I had a different name once upon a time don't mean I ain't yer sister," Applejack said. "I grew up here, with you, and was there with you throughout your childhood. We cared for each other, we were there for each other. As far as I'm concerned, I'm as much your sister as if I wasn't ever Gaea. And I don't consider myself the same Gaea that was around a thousand years ago, Sugarcube." She pulled Applebloom into a hug, patting her on the back.

Apple Bloom brightened up considerably. "Oh. Eh...sorry. I kinda killed the mood, didn't I?"

"Don't apologize, ya needed to ask," Applejack said, kissing the top of her head. "I may be called 'Gaea', but to you gals, I'm still Applejack. I'm the same rowdy farm girl you've always known, just with a little extra, okay?"

There were a couple of mutters amongst her friends.

"Well, duh," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. "Even if you're not named Applejack, you're still the girl we've known all this time!" She leaned over, punching Applejack's shoulder, then ruffled Apple Bloom's hair. "Don't sweat it! This is still AJ we're talking about!"

"Leave it to Rainbow Dash to defuse the existential crisis," Sunset chuckled.

"That said, I do have a question," Rainbow said. "How awesome are your powers, anyway?"

"Eh...I guess it depends," Applejack said. "I'm connected to this world now, so, if I leave, I'll be weaker. Further away I am from the wilds, the weaker it gets, too."

"Wait," Sunset said. "Does that mean you can't do things like hang out in town?"

"Ya don't need to worry 'bout that, sugarcube," Applejack replied. "This close to Everfree, I'll be fine in town, and even otherwise, it'd take a day or so for me to start feelin' it."

"What about when school starts up again?" Sunset asked.

Applejack hesitated. "I'll be fine," she said. "I can manage it, girls."

"Question," Twilight said.

"Go for it, sugarcube."

"Can I have a blood sample?"

"Pardon?"





After that point, no one asked any of the questions Applejack was most worried about. It was all more mundane aspects about her powers, and a polite refusal to be Twilight's lab rat.  

After an extended hang-out session, the other girls were getting ready to leave, and Sunset came over to Applejack. "Hey."

"What's up?" Applejack asked. Something about the way Sunset looked at her implied trouble.

"I have a concern," Sunset said. "What about the original Applejack?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"You're an Equestrian, banished to this world for misbehavior, right?"

Applejack nodded. "A light way of puttin' it, but yeah."

"And you incarnated repeatedly?"

"Eeyup."

"Did you take Applejack's place? I only think I sense one soul from you, but...I can't be fully certain," Sunset said. "Is it Applejack and Gaea in there? And if not, then what about the original Applejack?"

"There wasn't one," Applejack said with a shrug.

"What do you mean?"

"There's plenty of people who aren't ponies, and plenty of ponies who aren't people," Applejack explained. "As best I can tell, there just wasn't an Applejack, and so I filled in that spot."

"Isn't that...I dunno, kinda horrifying? What does that say about you?"

"Absolutely nothin'," Applejack said. "I lived before then, and I will live long after any other Applejack in any other world. I've seen empires become as dust, and their false gods burned to ashes by yet more false gods. I ain't particularly concerned about where this body came from, y'know? I'm still Applejack; just as you're 'Sunset' and 'Shimmer'; they're both yer name."

Sunset stared at her for a long moment. "Your eyes are doing the, uh, tar thing again."

Applejack sighed. "Yeah, I figured."

"How old are you?"

"I don't know. Never bothered to count."

"You...wouldn't mind if I hopped over to Equestria and asked about you? Even if you don't want to talk about that all?"

"Yeah, I said that already," Applejack said.

"Just double checking," Sunset said. "I'm going to have to take you up on that."

"Sorry, sugarcube," Applejack said. "They're all just...a li'l fresh in my mind right now."

"I get it," Sunset said. "If any of you had asked about Equestria just after the Fall Formal, it would not have gone over well. But, if you ever do want to talk about those things..." She reached over, patting Applejack's shoulder. "We're all right here."

Applejack smiled. "Thanks. It means somethin' to have all you girls so understanding about all of this, y'know?"

"I've been there," Sunset said with a chuckle. She leaned over, pulling Applejack into a half-hug. "I'll be there if you need me, okay?"

Applejack chuckled, too. "Thanks a bunch, sugar. Now, you should head on home now. Don't want to be out after dark, right?"

"Alright. See you soon!" Sunset walked off towards the rest of her friends, waving goodbye.

Applejack kept waving until the two cars they'd arrived in, Fluttershy's mini-van and Pinkie's unnecessarily large 'Partymobile', pulled out, watching her friends wave from the windows.  

The moment they were gone, Applejack let out a long, slow breath, then collapsed into a rocking chair.

Apple Bloom stepped onto their porch, handing her a fizzy apple cider.

"Thanks," Applejack said, popping the cap without hesitation.  

"You alright?"

"Heh...fit as a fiddle. I think." She shrugged. "Hard to say. I'm just a little worn out right now, though. Gimee some time."

"Okay," Applebloom said. "Love you, sis." She reached over, hugging Applejack.

Applejack smiled. "Love you, too."