Applejack awoke to the smell of mint and the sound of a lyre. She lifted her head slightly and was blinded by a pain that sprouted from the back of her head. She collapsed again.
“Easy, Applejack,” a voice murmured. “You took a nasty blow to the head.”
“I’ll say,” somepony else cut in. The music was silenced, and there was the sound of hooves hitting a wooden floor. “Equilarsous smacked you pretty hard.” That voice… it sounded familiar. But who did Applejack know who played the lyre and spoke like that?
“L…Lyra?” Applejack stammered, forcing her eyes open. It was Lyra, holding her signature gold lyre, and grinning down at her.
“Good morning, princess,” Lyra chuckled, taking a step back. Applejack raised her head and examined the room. A fire crackled in the right corner, and a table sat in front of it, with parchments, food, and other things piling it. So far, the only ponies that Applejack saw were Colgate and Lyra. She could hear others speaking in some other room, though.
“Where am I?” she question the duo, glancing at them.
“You’re safe. That’s all that matters.” Colgate responded. “How are you feeling?”
“Like crap. Colgate, what happened? Where’s Applebloom?”
“We didn’t see her. Only you,” the pony replied. “Why? What happened? And why was your house up in flames? I thought I had lost Lyra in that building!”
Lyra stared at her. “Are you serious?” she muttered, but Colgate paid her no attention. She was staring at Applejack with a worried expression.
“I… He took Applebloom, Equilarsous did. Then he set the house on fire, in an attempt to get rid of me. He probably would have succeeded, if you two hadn’t shown up.” Applejack explained, staring down at her hooves. “I couldn’t stop him! If I could’ve, I would’ve-” Colgate silenced her by placing a hoof on her mouth.
“Applejack, you need to calm down,” she said calmly. “We’re going to help you get Applebloom back. We all have something against Equilarsous. And you may be the key to finding the other five Elements of Harmony.”
Applejack stared at her for a moment, then sighed. “Gee, Colgate. I don’t think the Elements even exist anymore. It’s been ten years since I saw the rest of my old friends, save for Pinkie… and she went with a pony named Stormfax. He claimed to be the son of Equilarsous, and is part of a rebellion lead by Celestia and Luna.”
Colgate studied the pony with a quizzical gaze. “The two princesses who suddenly disappeared after Equilarsous took rule? That seems unlikely, Applejack. And how do you know this Stormfax isn’t just working for Equilarsous to remove the last of the Elements?” Applejack shrugged. She hadn’t even thought about that.
“But… Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash went with them!” Applejack suddenly exclaimed. Colgate and Lyra stared at her, their eyes wide.
“Well then…” Colgate trailed off, glancing around the room as if to avoid Applejack’s gaze. We’ll just have to…um…”
“We’ll just have to find this Stormfax and see if he’s telling the truth!” an eager voice exclaimed. Applejack turned her head to face the doorway, and there stood…
“DJ Pon-3?” Applejack questioned the newcomer. The pony nodded.
“Yep! But you can call me by my real name, Vinyl Scratch!” She trotted over to her and grinned. “It’s nice to see you alive, Applejack. I thought you were a goner when Colgate and Lyra first brought you here.” Applejack was about to protest, but Colgate looked at her sheepishly and said, “Well, you did look really bad.”
“Not to mention the bump on your head,” Lyra stated. “I think that would have killed a normal pony.”
“What, are you saying I have some type of special power?”
“Technically, you do,” Colgate said. “You are the Element of Honesty.”
Applejack groaned. “And like I said, there are no more Elements of Harmony! Just six ponies who want to get on with their lives.”
“And yet,” Colgate sighed. “You won’t be able to get on with your lives at all. Equilarsous has decreed that you are a fugitive, and Rainbow Dash a deserter. He hasn’t said anything about Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie yet, but I’m sure he will. I hadn’t managed to see any connection to you four at all until you mentioned that Stormfax pony and another rebellion.”
“Wait, another rebellion? There’s more than one?”
The trio of ponies glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, two more ponies appeared, one wearing thick bronze armor, and the other wearing nothing but the simple clothes of nobility.
“This is the Rebellion of the Hiddens. Or, a shorter, easier name would be The Backgrounders.” The one in armor announced. “We’re working to bring down Equilarsous and restore a peaceful rule to Equestria.”
“And you are…” Applejack began, but the armored pony raised a hoof, silencing her.
“I am Doctor Whooves,” he stated. He gestured to the pony beside him. “And this is Octavia.” The other pony nodded to Applejack. “We’ve been searching for the Elements for a while now, but you’re the first one we found.”
“I know where three of them are,” Applejack stated. “In the Foal Mountains, just a little bit north.”
“The Foal Mountains?” Octavia echoed. That was the first time Applejack had heard the pony’s voice, and it was extremely soothing. “Whatever could be there?”
“Supposedly, another rebellion lead by the two princesses,” Vinyl said, snickering. “Can you believe they would fall for such a thing?”
“Actually, yes,” the Doctor responded. “I can believe it. Anything that would give them the hope of bringing down Equilarsous, they will take it. But the question is, are they actually there? Or was it a trap?”
“I guess the only way we can find out is going to the mountains and finding out ourselves,” Colgate sighed. “What do you guys think?”
Whooves and Vinyl nodded, Octavia shook her head. Lyra just stood there, a stupefied expression on her face.
“Why not, Octavia?” Vinyl growled. Even though they had been roommates for a long time, Applejack could tell that they really didn’t like each other. “You scared?”
“Actually, yes,” Octavia shot back. “What if it’s a trap? What if Applejack is actually working for Equilarsous?” The rest of the group stared at her in utter shock. Applejack snorted and said, “Why would you even say that? Equilarsous kidnapped my sister, and I just want her back. I don’t even want to be a part of this whole rebellion thing. I just want to live in peace!
“Besides,” Whooves said. “She’s considered a fugitive. Unless this is a very elaborate trap to bring down a rebellion that Equilarsous doesn’t even know exists, then I doubt this is a trap.” Octavia just grumbled something and glared at the floor.
“What about you, Lyra?” Colgate asked the final pony. “Why didn’t you vote?” Lyra just stared at her, but she finally nodded.
The Doctor stamped his hoof on the ground. “Then it’s settled. We’ll head out at daybreak tomorrow.” The group dispersed, and Applejack was left sitting on the bed. Doctor Whooves was next to her.
“Umm…” Applejack began, thinking of something to say. “Where’s Derpy?” Derpy Whooves was the Doctor’s wife, and was once a mailmare. But Applejack hadn’t seen her in about seven years.
Whooves’ expression suddenly became dark. “She… disappeared a while back. I don’t know why or where she went, but I have a feeling Equilarsous is connected to it. Do you know how I can time travel?” Applejack nodded. “Well, Equilarsous himself came to me one day asking if I can give him the secrets to it. Now, it was the first time I had come face to face with our new ruler. There was a certain… evil feel emanating from him, and I knew that he would use my powers for some sort of dark plan. So I refused. He smiled at me and said, ‘Then I’ll just have to find a way to make you work.’ A day later, Derpy went off to work, and she didn’t come back. But she’s not dead.”
“How do you know?” Applejack whispered.
“Because I can feel it, Applejack. Our love is a connection that we both share, and I know I can use that to find her.” Whooves paused for a moment, studying Applejack, then said, “If you really love Applebloom as much as I love Derpy, then you should be able to use that connection to find her.” He smiled and walked away before calling to her.
“You should eat something tonight and get plenty of rest. I get the feeling Equilarsous will be searching far and wide for you.”