Chapter 16 - Terra Palâtium
The Palace of the Earth stood as the beacon of purity as one of the highest, if not the tallest pony-made structures in all of Gaea. Revolution Day was still months away, and the Gaeapolis Arts Symphony and the Republic Theater frantically busied themselves with practice and auditions for the Pageant that told the story of how the earth ponies overthrew the unicorns that occupied the obstinate castle where the Palace now stood.
The Palace of the Earth was built to meet the future with form and function based on lost technology architecture the earth ponies had unearthed. They didn't just want to build on top of the old castle. They had to build taller, better, and with a futuristic idea in the form of a thin four-sided spire designed with cross-wings for airship docking. It overlooked the wide sprawl of Gaeaoplolis, and even though its white colors stood in high contrast against the mountains, everypony who ventured in its structures felt safe due to the constant patrol of heavily armed airships and fighter jets.
Nopony lived in the Palace Spire, but below it was the multilevel Chancellor's quarters. For Posey, she would not have to inconvenience herself from traveling very far to greet the clothed delegates arriving from Gaea's allied nations. She shook the hooves of ambassador Zecora of Zebrica, Haakim and Amira of Saddle Arabia, and many more representatives from nations like the far eastern island empire of Koumakuni and the Isles of Mane. All had brought her gifts of their land, most of which had already been given to them in bulk as food and exotic animals that were taken through the Palace's lower levels. That didn't stop the delegates to personally give Posey gifts in the form of jewelry and hoof-woven rugs to name a few.
The last delegate had given her something special. At first, Posey thought it was another rare and exotic bird, but when she pulled the cover off the mesh cage, she discovered butterflies fluttering inside.
"Butterflies," said Posey as she tried to contort her eyebrow's twitch. "You have given me butterflies."
"Sí, Señora Canciller," smiled the delegate. "We have heard you loved butterflies, so we knew it would please you if you added the rare greta oto, the Glasswinged Butterfly, to your collection. Unless you already have it already."
"Oh no, this is the first time I have ever seen it. Wow. Thank you. I'll certainly treasure and nurture these creatures as long as I could. If you'll please, allow my top three President-Advisers lead you to the dining hall."
She kept up her fake smile as that well-meaning delegate disappeared down the hallway. Immediately, Posey shoved the mesh cage into the hooves one of the plain-dressed maids and stormed off.
"Make sure they're dead when I get back to my office," she ordered.
Applejack and Twilight managed to knock out two maids going down into storage for their uniforms for Sunny and Spike to wear. For the latter though, Twilight and Applejack had to quickly perform some alterations to make sure it fit the baby dragon and hid his feet, claws, and tail.
"I don't think this is going to work," said Spike. "How is covering my tail with stocking going to fool them?"
"No complainin'," said Applejack as she snipped another sleeve with her katana. "As long as you're on all fours, nopony should be able suspect you. Twi, you sure you ain't usin’ your magic?"
"I'm not even casting the one that hides my horn," replied the unicorn.
"Good. And I hope Sunny ain't exerting some weird magic we haven't seen or feel."
They were in the belly of the beast known as the Palace of the Earth, the heart of the most prosperous and most feared nation on the planet. Posey was throwing a private birthday party for her daughter, and the Palace swarmed with security. Twilight could no longer use any spell, and she would need to find a way to cover the horn on her head.
"Where the bloody hoof is Shoeshine and Sandy?" a stallion asked aloud. "Maas, it's been almost five minutes already!"
The mares quickly finished their alterations. Applejack reverted her katana back its necklace form, and she and the rest of her group and the dragon hid in their hiding spots in the pipe-filled basement utility access.
"They couldn't have gotten lost, could they?" said another stallion. "The Palace is awfully big."
"It's their problem when Matron Harshwhinny grills them. Don't know why we have to bring up four bushels of pears. I hate pears!"
"Don't worry, my dear friend Turner. I know a shortcut to get down there."
Their accents sounded so similar that one could wonder if they were brothers, but more than likely they would have come from the Isles of Mane. The brown and blue stallions stepped into the basement access hallway and then...
Punch! Biff! Crack! They were knocked out before they could even react. Applejack and Twilight took off their now-tattered government uniforms and slipped into the tuxedos they stripped from the stallions. Though loose, they looked quite dapper and handsome, and with a few adjustments to their manes, they could easily pass off as eligible young stallions.
Of course, therein lies the problem of Twilight's horn, and Applejack had to resort to covering it with her Stetson hat.
"Just take care of it me, will ya?" said Applejack. "Now let's sneak outta here before somepony notices us."
They did not get very far when they tip-hoofed out into the hallway. The loud clearing of an older mare’s throat startled them, and they turned around to freeze in attention.
“Where have you been?” Ms. Harshwhinny frowned. “Are four ponies necessary to retrieve four bushels of pears?”
“No ma’am,” Applejack replied in her deepest voice.
“And you, what's with the hat?”
“Um, a pony from Ausponia gave it to me to hold for him,” Twilight replied.
“Well, those ponies from down under are a rowdy bunch, but nonetheless an earth pony is an earth pony as well as an esteemed guest to our great Chancellor. Now go and put that away along with the pears. I need you and the two maids to help with the reception dinner. You sir, I need you to replace that light bulb in Lady Winter’s room like I told you to. Now get to it.”
“Are you talkin' to me?” Applejack asked.
“Who else?”
Applejack had split off from her group, hounded by the blond and brown-colored shrew of a mare until Harshwhinny suddenly turned a corner to yell at the other maids and butlers. So far, so good. Applejack had yet to be recognized, hat or no hat. It seemed too good to be true that she and her companions deceived Harshwhinny’s discerning eyes. Either that, or the Matron was too dense to realize it. Then again, today was Winter Tulip’s birthday party, and many ponies were hired off the streets of Ponyville as extra help. It wasn't an official holiday, but Posey, despite all her ruthlessness, spoiled her daughter extravagantly.
Applejack managed to clue in on Winter’s room by the ladder and box of light bulbs placed next to a door. She entered after knocking to make sure it wasn't occupied, or a trap. After hearing no response, she entered into a rich little filly’s room where hoof-carved bedposts and silken pink sheets decorated the bed. The partially-opened walk-in closet revealed a small sample of the prettiest dresses crafted from the finest materials. Winter had her own private bathroom, and she had her own playroom filled with the most beautiful toys and dolls. The orange mare did feel a slight bit of envy of all these possessions, but she immediately reminded herself that Winter's prosperity was funded off the sweat and blood of working ponies and the spoils of countless wars.
Applejack started flipping on and off random light switches and found the light bulb that needed replacing located at the corner wall above the cabinets. Easy. This was a filly's work compared to the hard labor back at her farm, but the ponies living here lived too much like the unicorn kings and queens that their ancestors overthrew almost a thousand of years ago. She had a devilish thought of crossing the wires to spark a fire to set this spoiled filly's room ablaze. If she were lucky, she would burn the entire Palace down just as Posey burned down Applejack's family farm. It took everything within Applejack to resist these temptations, because her companions were still inside, possibly captured by now.
She found dust on her sleeve, and sought out some kind of rag to wipe it off. Treading down the ladder, she noticed a pink cloth scrunched up against a pewter lantern next to the nightstand. She picked up that cloth, and before she could wipe herself, Applejack felt something embroidered on its surface. Under the lantern's light, she took one look and read:
A.B.
This had to be a joke. At the very least, let it be a magical illusion. She remembered her sickly mother staying up late at night sewing together a pink ribbon for the newborn foal she would soon give her life for. Whether it became a colt or filly, Applejack's mother was going to name the child Apple Bloom--A.B.
Angrily, Applejack crushed the ribbon between her hoof. Posey was mocking her. She was spitting on the graves of her lost family by using her little sister's ribbon as a mere washrag! The urge to burn this place down had risen within her once more.
“Those Aussies are a hoot, aren't they?” spoke a filly from behind her door.
“What are you saying?” said another. “You were eyeing that colt from Hoofspañola, Diamond Tiara.”
“Isn't he almost a stallion?” asked a third voice.
“The colt your father is making you marry is already one, Silver Spoon.”
Applejack braced herself stiff when the door opened. A yellow filly flanked by a pink one and a gray one was surprised by a stranger in the bedroom, but all three suppressed any inklings of screaming for help. Instead, the pink filly and the gray one cocked an eyebrow and held their giggles behind sly smiles.
“My apologies ma’am,” Applejack bowed to the fillies' general direction. “I shall be on my way.”
It took almost everything to not whack the girls with the ladder. As much as she hated spoiled rich fillies, she could not bring herself to harm them, at least not right now when she had worry over her companions’ fates.
“He sure was cute,” said Diamond Tiara.
“You don't see a lot of stallions with long manes and tails,” said Silver Spoon. “You think he’s available?”
“How should I know?” Winter replied. “We go through butlers and maids like clockwork. Mom is paranoid like that.”
The fillies giggled away, and Applejack dragged the ladder and the box of bulbs down the carpeted halls somewhat lost. At times during her rebel life on the run, she had looked at the stolen floor plans of the Palace of the Earth to get an idea on how to strike back at Posey. The layout had not changed overall, but the floor plans she had seen were years old, and the room designations would have already been changed by now.
Luckily for her, she managed to find one of the hidden storage utility closets. Before she could even resume her search for Twilight and the others, the harsh Harshwhinny was at her face again.
“You idiot,” she said to the orange pony. “You forgot to unclog the drain in Lady Winter’s bathroom. Now hurry up and fix it!”
If Applejack could grumble, she would--loudly, and then buck Miss Harshwhinny in the muzzle. Feigning obedience, she returned to the utility closet to grab a plumber’s toolkit, and trotted all the way back to Winter’s room with the Matron hounding her halfway before she turned a corner to yell at another poor group of servants.
Once more, Applejack stood before Winter's room, but knocked on the door this time. When nopony answered, she allowed herself in, damning all the rules of etiquette until she fully realized the utter pointlessness of her presence her. Why should she slave herself to these spoiled ponies, Posey especially? That Matron could shove a plunger into her behind for all she cared. Applejack slammed the toolkit on the floor and decided to walk out.
“Can I help you?”
Applejack jumped. Emerging from the walk-in closet and half out of her dress was Winter who stared straight ahead at the cross-dressing mare.
“By golly, you really are cute," said Winter. "Almost like a mare. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon have said that you might be, if you pardon my language, queer.”
“I have been sometimes called that.”
“You don't sound like you're from Gaeaopolis. Are you from Appleloosa?”
“Yup.”
“So you must be another refugee looking for work. In that case, my name is Winter Tulip. What’s your name, comrade?”
“Oh, my name ain’t anythin' the daughter of our glorious Chancellor should worry about.”
“On the contrary. Anypony who is a victim of the pegasii horde is a dear comrade to me and my mom.”
“It’s... Jack...”
“Jack? Short for Jackie? Jackson?”
“Just Jack. The Matron said that you have some kinda clog in your bathroom.”
“Yeah, it's that sink over there."
The rebel went to work, but she felt more uncomfortable in the presence of the filly than that of Matron Harshwhinny. Unafraid of another pony in her room, if not a cross-dressing rebel mare, Winter went back and forth in her closet to try on new dresses before several mirror panels next to her large dresser. If that was not enough, she hummed playful songs as she lay on her bed reading various old books. She had literature that would have been forbidden in the common libraries of Gaea.
"Those fillies who were with me," said Winter. "They're not my friends. They're just daughters of the Elite Earth Party members trying to suck up to me. They're always acting so fake around me. Wouldn't surprise me that they hate me as much as I hate them."
Applejack smirked. There was something so honest and genuine about Winter that took away the drudgery of unclogging pipes. For a pampered filly, she was certainly adorable, and it might explain why Applejack went back to her room regardless of Harshwhinny's nagging.
"They're nothing but stuck-up spoiled brats," continued Winter, "always looking down all the other foals like some unicorn bourgeois. We're supposed to be all equal earth ponies in Gaea, but I'm not sure if that's true. Mom always spoils me, but all I really want to do is spend time with her and travel through our great country. She never has time for me."
"I'm all finished, Lady Winter," said Applejack after rolling the sleeves back down her hooves. "May you have many more happy birthdays."
“Thanks, but I'm not sure if today is my birthday. My mom thinks I don't know, but I heard her talking with Big Brother Lancer that I was adopted. It worried me a bit, but she really does love me. I guess in the end you can say we're both refugees."
Winter spotted the pink ribbon on the floor and picked it up.
"Oh, I'm so careless," said Winter. "I couldn't put this on in time for my party. Do you think you can get one of the maids to wash it for me real fast?"
"Is that very important to you?"
"It is. Mom says I had this when she found me when I was a baby. I never did get to find out what 'A.B.' meant. Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and I went through a lot of dictionaries, both Gaean and foreign, and we still couldn't figure it out. No one else knows what 'A.B.' means."
"Apple Bloom."
"Pardon?"
"That's what it says... Apple Bloom."
The orange pony couldn't hold back her tears. She should have known when she first saw her; the yellow coat, the red mane and tail, and the most adorable orange eyes she had ever beheld.
"You're alive," Applejack wept.
"Sir, are you all right?"
"Listen, you have to believe me when I tell you this, but your name is Apple Bloom. You’re part of the Apple Family, but most importantly, you’re my sister."
"What are you saying?”
"I'm not really a stallion. I'm a mare, and I'm your big sister. Oh, bless my heart, you're alive. You’re alive! Thank the Elements!"
"Why are you saying such wild things?”
“Because it’s all true, Apple Bloom.”
“No, it’s not true. It’s not!” The filly gasped. “I knew I seen you before. On the TV! You're the Rebel Applejack!"
"Apple Bloom, you gotta calm down."
"No! My name is Winter Tulip! Winter! I am not an Apple! Help! Help! Rebel Applejack is here!"
“Apple Bloom!”
"What's going on here?" Harshwhinny demanded. During Applejack's attempt to corner the filly back into her room, Winter gave her the slip, and Applejack inadvertently head-butted the Matron hard in the muzzle. Ignoring her, Applejack followed the screams of Winter down the many hallways, and promptly saw her diving behind the legs of three stallions. Here, Applejack faced off with a fuming Lancer and his two subordinates, Taurus and Aries.
“Rebel Applejack!” cried Lancer. “What have you done to Lady Winter?”
“I ain't got time for you and your goons, Lancer!” Applejack retorted. "Get the hay out of my way!"
The stallions Taurus and Aries deployed their tonfas and galloped for the attack against the rebel, who transformed her Element of Truth in its katana form. The two stallions lunged from behind and in front to keep the mare in bay, and while their teamwork was impeccable, nothing could stop Applejack and her sword. She threw her blade into the air, caught its handle with her tail, and in a full circle-swing of her sword, she dispatched Taurus and Aries. She didn't kill them, and the Element of Truth would only destroy those filled with falsehoods, but one strike from its magical blade was enough to knock almost everypony out cold.
Lancer was a different issue. He was one of the few stallions who kept his tail long, and with good reason. It was attached to his telescoping carbon-fiber spear he used to gain additional control with his mouth or a free hoof. He kept Applejack at bay and at a distance with quick and repeating thrusts of his weapon. He continued to drive her down the halls closed in at her at a dead end, but the mare daringly charged forth, deeply grazing herself in the process. Caught by surprise, Lancer was picked up off his hooves as Applejack pushed him through the doorway, through another doorway, and off the second floor balcony. Lancer and his spear crashed onto a dessert cart before an astonished group of foreign delegates in a large and extravagant foyer.
Posey, unamused by this surprising development, looked up to see the Rebel Applejack beaming her anger towards her.
“Posey!” cried Applejack. “You are mine!”
The rebel mare leapt off into the ground floor of the grand foyer, using a group of four Clone Palace Guards as cushioning before slashing her way towards the chancellor. Many delegates screamed and promptly fled away from Applejack's wrath. The only pony who remained and still calm was the icy Chancellor Posey. At the very last minute, Teddy tossed over into the bewitchingly beautiful Chancellor's teeth an ornate black cutlass
Magic or technology, Posey's sword easily parried Applejack's Element of Truth, and the Chancellor backflipped up the stairs. Her icy stare and cold grin mocked Applejack into increased anger, and she slipped through the glass doors into the long carpeted hallways to allow the orange pony to chase her.
When she arrived, Applejack had lost Posey, and there would be no way a mare like her to slip back into the grand foyer. This was no time for Applejack to let her guard down. She knew not of Posey's true age, and it was said that the singlehoofedly slew one hundred pegasii at the Battle of Horn’s Ridge. That was one of the Chancellor's many legendary exploits, and she needed no government propaganda to drum up her fame. Posey was a living a legend. A terrible, tyrannical legend.
Suddenly, one of the wall lights shattered. In that moment, Posey leapt out from the shadows with a wide slash, and then slid underneath Applejack’s low-swung swipe to buck her in the stomach. Applejack was sent flying, but she managed to land back on her hooves to face off what seemed to be a final strike Posey was preparing.
Applejack winced. Both mares were of equal skill, and it would do them no good to waste time in this duel. Plus the bleeding in the orange pony’s shoulder would mean that Applejack would lose in the long run, and now she had to make this last attack count. She accepted Posey’s challenge by scratching her front hoof on the ground, and after a few tense seconds staring each other down they charged.
Their strikes had connected in a flash, and they faced opposite directions. Applejack suffered yet another long cut to her side, but she kept her body standing with wobbling hooves. Posey, however, collapsed.
Applejack could now focus at her throbbing pain all over her body. She turned around preparing to triumphantly to gloat her revenge over the fallen Chancellor. She waited for this day for so long. She had words to say for this horrible mare, and if she was still conscious or alive to hear it, it was a heavenly perk.
But it was not to be.
Instead of a beautiful mare sprawled on the floor, there lay a black and gangly pony-like insect creature with a deep cut through its abdomen. The sharp odor from its gaping wound momentarily distracted Applejack, and all of a sudden she received a sharp shock in the back from one of Teddy's tasers. Unable to counterattack, she fell, and Taurus and Aries struck her left and right with their tonfas before slamming her whole wounded body down. Her katana reverted to its golden necklace form on her neck. With its bearer spent of her energy, Applejack could feel the shimmer of its apple-shaped jewel fading.
In a final humiliating blow, Ace the Younger wiggled his butt before bucking the orange mare in the head. Her consciousness soon began fading, and the last thing she saw was a frightened Winter Tulip peering from behind Posey's legs.