//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: The Apple's Desire // by ZStrike37 //------------------------------// Without Luna, Celestia had to once more bear the burden of moon and sun. She had taken Twilight and her four friends to the castle to rest. Although, rest did not come easily. The princess left them to attend to her official duties. Twilight meekly questioned her mentor, stating that she should alert the guard of a possible attack. Celestia brushed these concerns aside, telling Twilight that if Chrysalis did come, then it was her duty as princess to protect Canterlot as she would be the only one to have the ability to stand up to the threat. The five ponies from Ponyville went through a rough night. They barely talked to each other. What was there to talk about anyway? Dash spent the night tossing and turning in her bed. The others fared no better in their pursuit of some sleep. “Augh! I can't sleep!” Dash called out loudly. “Hey, anypony else asleep?” Various murmurs from the others confirmed that nopony was able to sleep. “Yeah, me neither. Just can't get all that junk outa my head. I keep thinking on what's gonna come next.” Dash threw off the bed covers and began pacing around her bed. The night had gone and the room was filled with the faintest glimmer of a sun that had yet to show itself. “I just want something to do. Waiting just isn't my style.” Twilight tossed her covers aside and stood near Dash as she paced around her bed. “I know, Rainbow. But Princess Celestia will think of something, I'm sure.” Twilight put on a smile to suggest her confidence in the matter. Rainbow stopped pacing and gave Twilight a heated stare. “The princess, huh? If she's so great, why did this even happen in the first place?” The smile dropped from Twilight's face as she shot an indignant look at her pegasus friend. “You can't be serious?” “I can be, and I am! She let that loser changeling into Canterlot once before. Now, she let her in again to Ponyville! Last time I checked, Princess Celestia is the co-ruler of Equestria and I'm pretty sure that includes Ponyville. So why can't our princess prevent these things from happening in the first place?” “Come on, Rainbow. You can't expect the princess to know everything.” Twilight could understand what Rainbow was saying, but she knew it wasn't that easy. Years with the princess had revealed to Twilight that Celestia is just as fallible as any other pony. However, Celestia had to maintain an air of perfection for the sake of her subjects. The thought that Princess Celestia was omnipotent gave her subjects a sense of security and peace of mind. She could not show weakness, such is the burden of leadership. “Well why not? She always acts like she knows everything about everypony.” “You mean like how you act like your the greatest flier ever but can still mess up now and again?” “I... but...” Dash looked like she was about to shout, but caught herself and just sighed heavily. “You're right, Twilight. I'm just looking for somepony to blame because I feel useless.” “It's alright, Rainbow Dash. Even if the princess can't think of something to do, we will.” Fluttershy had joined the pair near Dash's bed. “Being angry won't help anypony.” Her soft smile soothed the spirits of Dash and Twilight, as if her words were spoken to a shooting star, raising the hope that the wish would come true. “Of course we'll think of something,” piped in Rarity. Her mane and tail still expertly styled despite the lack of rest. She truly was a natural beauty. “I will not let such disrespect against a friend of mine go without reciprocation.” Dash gave Rarity a confused look to which Rarity let out a quick chuckle. “What I mean is that we will beat the stuffing out of that changeling loser!” Rarity's choice of words brought smiles and even laughter to the four ponies. They yelped in surprise as they found themselves brought close together by a pair of pink hooves. Pinkie wore a small grin with glinting eyes that had found hope. Her mane was still rather straight and limp, but a few curls formed around her eyes. The five ponies stood there in silence, enjoying the group hug. In unison, they looked to the window to meet the cresting sun as it rose over the horizon. Warm sunshine snaked into the room and joined them in their embrace. It seemed the moment was not to last forever as the ponies broke from their tight hug. Rarity coughed quietly to get the attention of her friends. “Fluttershy, Pinkie, would you two be dears and go down to the dining room to get us a table for breakfast? I'm afraid that because I do not have all of my essential tools with me at the moment, I will need the aid of Twilight and Rainbow Dash to make myself look presentable.” “Say what? Make you look presentable? Come on, Rarity, you don't need me or Twilight to help, do you?” an aggravated Dash asked. Rainbow hated being up so early and on top of that, she was really getting hungry now that the word “breakfast” had been spoken. Twilight looked just as befuddled as Dash was annoyed, but raised her head slightly as understanding dawned on her. “But Rainbow, I have no products here to help me. And you have absolutely no idea what can go wrong in the blink of eye! I absolutely need your lightning reflexes to catch any mistakes. Please?” Rarity's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and her lips were contorted into a pleading pout. “Please please ple–” “OK! Fine! Let's just get this over with then, OK, Twilight?” Twilight nodded to Dash. Fluttershy seemed a bit confused as well. Pinkie just looked glad that there was no fighting. Fluttershy spoke up for her and Pinkie. “Um, sure, Rarity. Let's go Pinkie.” The yellow pegasus and pink earth-pony quietly left the room. Twilight looked at Rarity with an amused grin. “Help you look presentable? That was the best you could come up with?” Rarity appeared taken aback. “Oh, I was not joking, Twilight. There certainly are some things you and Rainbow could do to help me with my mane. However, you are correct in your assumption that I desired to speak to you two alone.” Dash broke in between the two unicorns. “Wait a minute. You just wanted to talk to me and Twi', Rarity? Why? What's up?” “Is it about... AJ?” Twilight quietly asked. Rarity's downcast look gave her the answer. “Yes, it is.” Rarity spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. “We know Chrysalis is an enemy. But what will we do if we encounter Applejack? I'm not sure exactly of what would need to be done. I was worried that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie would be too sentimental to discuss this.” Rainbow spoke up. “What makes you think AJ will show up with Chrysalis? I mean, yeah, obviously Chrysalis is going to make the next move since she thinks she has the advantage.” Twilight brought a hoof to her chin in thought as she sat down. “Well, Applejack is Chrysalis' advantage. I imagine that Chrysalis would want to keep an eye on her at all times. So when Chrysalis shows up, I bet she'll have Applejack right there at her side. Plus, it would certainly be a good psychological ploy against us.” “But when we meet, what shall we do? What can we do?” Rarity asked. She brought her gaze to the side and cleared her throat. “I suppose what I'm really getting at is this. Do we still consider Applejack a friend?” The three ponies exchanged uncertain looks, each afraid of what the answer may be. Thick silence hung in the heavy air. “Yes.” Dash announced. Rarity and Twilight let out held-in breathes of air and dawned relieved smiles. “We don't know for sure what Applejack was thinking. Maybe something else was wrong with her. Until we figure everything out, as far as I'm concerned, she's still a friend.” The two unicorns beamed at their pegasus friend. “You are absolutely right, Rainbow Dash. Let us not jump to conclusions without getting our facts straight,” Rarity chimed in a cheerful tone. She was truly glad that Dash and Twilight still saw Applejack as a friend as she did. “Now, we mustn't keep Fluttershy and Pinkie waiting.” “Yes, let's head down. I'm starting to get hungry myself.” Twilight chuckled. Rainbow and her began to walk towards the door before they were stopped by a noise. “Ahem,” Rarity half coughed, getting the attention of her two friends. “Aren't you both forgetting something? Something important?” Rarity shot them an accusatory glance, nodding a few times at the adjoining washroom. “Oh, I suppose we did.” Twilight gave a half-hearted laugh as she ruffled her mane slightly with waves of her right foreleg. Twilight and Rarity walked into the washroom followed shortly by a rather unamused Rainbow Dash. “I was totally hoping she'd forget,” Dash muttered under her breath. She steeled herself for the most depressingly boring and mundane task she'd ever had to face in her life. --- The moment was soon to come. At last, Chrysalis would reclaim what had been taken from her unjustly. It was true that she had failed in her attack on Canterlot. However, that defeat did not merit her subjects casting her aside, labeling her as a failure. Only a small hoof-full remained loyal and followed her out of her kingdom. The only way to earn back her kingdom, to earn back the respect and adoration of all changelings would be to correct her mistake and conquer Canterlot. With Canterlot under control, the rest of Equestria would be foal's play. Her empire would grow under her watchful eye and before her would be a vast legion of loyal subjects that submitted themselves to her will. She stood tall, bathed in a regal composure and absolute resolve. Her eyes pierce the horizon, fixated on the city nestled in the comfort of stone. In that city, in every location thriving with Equestrian citizens were thoughts of happiness and content. This day would see all that change. Her rule would cement the end of a reign that had overstayed its welcome. Soon, the legions of changelings that she left back in the kingdom that once she called her own, would learn again the reason she was meant to be queen. It was her right. A shuffling noise shook her from her thoughts and she turned her side to see the source. Applejack had apparently stumbled slightly and was adjusting her hat. As the young mare came to her side, Chrysalis wondered what she would do with this strange pony once she had attained her victory. These thoughts had crossed her mind before, but now she could not help but feel as though she had already succeeded. A venomous smile crept onto her face as she contemplated what would be satisfying a choice: allowing Applejack to stay at her side as a constant reminder to Celestia of her failure, or perhaps releasing Applejack to Celestia and those other ponies and enjoy the inevitable conflict. A dark laugh escaped her, bringing Applejack's attention to her. “Ya alright, momma?” she queried. “Yes, I am. Merely thinking of what is to come is all. Let us go, my daughter. Let us off and build a world for us to be happy together.” Applejack nodded and looked out to Canterlot with emotionless regard. Together in a green shine, they vanished off the farm. Mere moments had passed before they found themselves before a grand gate that threatened to drown them in its shadow. The entrance was closed with heavy doors the size of two apple-trees stacked on top of one another. On the left door was a depiction of Celestia, wings out, head held high with the shining sun behind her. Adjacent was a door that looked in much better condition than its neighbor, not being adorned with a horde of cracks and weathered edges. It bore Luna in a similar pose with a crescent moon behind her. “Huh, that's weird. I thought there'd be guards here or somethin'.” Applejack walked forward to meet the gate, glancing around to confirm the presence of nopony. Chrysalis looked around as well before resting her gaze upon the gate and showing an eager smile. “It seems that Celestia is expecting us. How rude to leave the gate closed, though.” Her twisted horn illuminated for a second, casting the doors in a faint, green hue. The massive gate groaned in agony is it was wrenched from its resting position. Each door opened begrudgingly, sweeping aside the rocks and dirt clumps in its path. Chrysalis smiled even more menacingly if that was even possible. Normally, ponies would be hustling about their daily routines of talking, bartering, and arguing. The scene before the humble farm pony and would-be-queen was barren of activity. Only shadows crept around the corners of the shops and stalls; wind was the only motion upon the well-traveled roads. She knew Celestia would be expecting her, but she did not think Celestia would issue an order that everypony stay indoors. Still, Chrysalis would have liked Celestia to keep her guards about. It would be more entertaining taking Canterlot if there was more resistance than the princess. That was not the case, however. Quietly, yet with moderate pace, the two went about the town, traversing the ways that lead all the way up to the entrance of the castle itself. Again were they met with closed doors. Chrysalis paused for a moment to look back on the ground that she and Applejack had covered. True, she could have simply teleported both of them into the throne room of the castle, where she knew Celestia was waiting. But walking through the city that would soon be hers and taking in every detail felt much more appealing. With another trivial amount of magic, she freed the double doors from their barring position. Inside the castle was just as magnificent as she remembered. The floor was pristine and gleamed brilliantly from the sunlight that streamed in from the great windows that overlooked the hall. Tapestries each telling a grand tale hung upon the walls. Together, Chrysalis and Applejack walked down the plush carpet leading to the throne. Upon the throne sat Princess Celestia, glaring at Chrysalis. Paying the sun princess no heed, Chrysalis continued her sweep of the room with her eyes, marveling at all that would be hers in a matter of minutes. When the pair were still a few meters short of the throne, they stopped and Chrysalis gave Celestia the attention that she had been waiting for. Neither spoke at first, simply gauging one another in a battle of wills that raged in silence, with neither diminishing in the slightest. At last, Celestia decided she should break the silent bout. “I suppose we both knew this morning where this would end. I shall extend to you one chance to leave peacefully. Of course, I am well aware that you will likely will not, but I felt obligated to at least offer the opportunity.” Chrysalis chortled in glee. “No, I don't think I will take that offer, as tempting it may be. Yet I will also make an offer. Your subjects will listen to you. Declare that I am to be their new ruler, that Equestria is now mine. Do this, and I will allow your time in imprisonment to be spent with your sister.” Celestia's hard glare did not shake as she gave her response. “No.” “Then it seems you are correct in your assumption of us both knowing how this is going to end. I will defeat you and take Equestria as my new kingdom.” Her horn glowed a terrible green. Celestia did not move an inch as her horn took on its own aura of magic building up. Both shielded their eyes for a second as an alien magic burst forth between them in a violet shroud. “Not if we can help it!” Twilight announced. The horns of both Chrysalis and Celestia died down slightly. Celestia let out a sigh of annoyance, yet cheerfulness at the same time. She had told Twilight and the others to stay away from this encounter. However, in her heart, she knew Twilight would still come and bring her friends along as well. Twilight and her friends were between Celestia and Chrysalis and their eyes darted back and forth from Chrysalis to Applejack. Fluttershy was somewhat hiding behind Twilight and Rainbow Dash, peeking out with eye as the other was shielded by her mane. Pinkie was beside Dash but not did appear as though she really wanted to be there at all. Chrysalis was beyond annoyed and shot a disgusting look at Celestia. “Hoping to use fillies to win your battles, Celestia? Pathetic, truly.” “Hi kettle. My name's pot. Nice to meetcha,” Rainbow antagonized. The changeling regained her composure and looked at the five ponies before with indifference when an idea caused a twinkle in eye that disturbed Twilight and the others. “Oh, Applejack.” She turned to her side to see Applejack looking coldly at the five ponies that used to be her friends. “Will you take care of your friends for me?” Applejack said nothing as she slowly strode forward until she was right in front of Twilight. Looking into Twilight's eyes, she raised her right foreleg. --- Applejack got up from her bed and went back downstairs. When she awoke, she was in her room alone. Down in the living room was her mother who was simply standing there. As Applejack drew near, her mother turned to her, bent her head down, and gave her a soft nuzzle on Applejack's cheek. There was love in that gesture just as there was love in her mother's smile. Yet despite knowing this, Applejack could feel no affection. It was still a gloomy dusk within the house. However, the door slowly opened on its own accord. She looked over and saw the other Applejack standing before the doorway. Outside was just as bright as she remembered. The sun lit up the whole orchard and the apple's swayed in the trees basking in the golden light. It seemed that the other Applejack had gotten rid of that iron ring around her neck. Now in it's place, was a necklace that held an orange gem of her family's namesake. Still, Applejack was hesitant. “Ah... Ah don't wanna lose her... not again.” The other Applejack gave her a sympathetic smile. “Sugarcube, Ah think ya oughta take another look at that mare. Take a really good look.” She did. She looked hard at her mother. Before her eyes, her mother's face and coat began to melt away. What once had been a warm and caring face, was now a black and twisted figure that overshadowed her. There was no love in this creature's eyes. This hideous thing did not move or make a sound as it vanished in a cloud of murky mist when a pair of hooves dove through its chest. The other Applejack had just bucked away the thing that she had called her mother. Applejack looked up into the eyes of the other Applejack. “Ah'm... Ah'm sorry! Ah just wanted my momma back!” She began to tear up before feeling a hoof on her shoulder from her other self. The other Applejack looked down at her with forgiveness in her eyes and a smile on her face. “Ah know ya did. Heck, Ah know I do. We both miss her a lot. And when ya really saw her on the farm that day, ya fooled yerself that she came back to ya. Ya wanted it to be true so badly that ya shut me out so Ah couldn't take her away from ya.” The room began to brighten as the gloomy strands of sunlight began to intensify into a yellow shine. Applejack smiled at her other self. “Ah saw her, ya know. The real her.” The other Applejack gave a bit of a laugh. “Yeah, Ah know ya did, cuz Ah saw her, too. She's always been with us. Ya jus' gotta remember where ta look.” Other Applejack finished that sentence with a wink. Applejack's smile widened and she threw her hooves around her other self. At the same time, she felt a pair of hooves from a young filly wrap around her neck. She looked down and the filly was gone. The sun finally got up to the levels of brightness that swept across the orchard outside. For the first time in a long while, Applejack felt at peace. --- “Will you take care of your friends for me?” Chrysalis had asked her. She walked forward in silence until she was face to face with her friend, Twilight Sparkle. She brought up her right foreleg. Her head turned up towards the ceiling with a look of contemplation upon her face. “Hmm,” she loudly hummed as she tapped her chin a few times with her raised hoof. Setting her hoof back down and closing her eyes, she replied, “Nah.”