“Doesn’t it bother anypony in the slightest that there’s a gi-normous snake livin’ right on our doorsteps?”
Everypony in the library looked up at Applejack. Nopony said anything.
“Oh, come on! Shouldn’t we do something to get rid of ’em?”
“Why?” said Twilight Sparkle. “He’s not likely to leave his tree for any reason. Probably territorial.”
“He’s rude,” Fluttershy said, “but it’s not like he’s dangerous. All he does is talk about creepy stuff.”
Rainbow Dash turned a page in her book. “He’s kind of a putz if you ask me.”
“I don’t care if he’s a putz,” Applejack said, “I care if he’s up to something! He’s covered in trouble like it’s goin’ out of style!”
“What sort of trouble?”
“Well, like... okay, I don’t have the faintest clue. But he’s up to something for sure and it jest can’t be good.”
“He’s just a load of hot air,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “He doesn’t have the guts to actually do anything.”
“I think he’s lonely,” said Pinkie Pie. “I get the feeling he’s always been that way. Like he’s seen the whole world go by, but he’s never been a part of it. He’s never gotten the chance to make a real difference.” She gazed out of a window. “...Except once.”
Applejack stared at her. “You’ve got a crush on ’em, don’t you!?”
Pinkie Pie sat up straight. “What!? No! Don’t be silly!”
“That no good, greasy varmint’s wormed his way right into your heart, hasn’t he? Well you’d best get it into your head that he’s no good for anypony!”
Rarity stood up and locked eyes with Applejack. “Would you please relax?”
Applejack looked away and pawed at the floor.
“You’re blowing this completely out of proportion, and frankly, it’s embarrassing to watch. Fluttershy was right: he’s just your average, everyday talking snake in an apple tree and there’s nothing special about that. You’ve simply got to get over your fears.”
“Fears!?” Applejack set a hoof on her chest. “Me? Afraid? Of all the—!”
“If you aren’t afraid of him, then why don’t you go and deal with him yourself? You’re the only pony here who hasn’t met him yet, and yet you’re the one who’s complaining the loudest.”
Applejack frowned at her. “I did meet ’em.”
“For all of three seconds,” Rainbow Dash said, “and you ran away screaming like a little baby.”
“Well first impressions are usually right, aren’t they?”
“No,” said Rarity, “They really aren’t.”
Applejack turned and stormed out of the library.
“Finally,” Rainbow Dash said, “some peace and quiet.”
Pinkie Pie looked away from her window. “Do you think we should go with her?”
“Nah,” Dash said. “She’s not going anywhere near the thing. She’s just a big scaredy cat around snakes. Give ’er some time to cool off and she’ll forget all about it by the end of the week.”
Fluttershy glanced at the door, still ajar. “You don’t think she’ll do anything hasty, do you?”
“Hasty?” Rainbow Dash snuggled back into her beanbag chair and turned the page of her book. “This is Applejack we’re talking about.”
Applejack tromped down the dirt road at the edge of the everfree forest and shoved open the rickety wooden gate. She marched into the clearing, straight up the hill, and stopped right next to the tree.
“Are you there, mister snake?” She slammed a hoof against the trunk. “I know yer up there somewhere. I gotta have words with you.”
A prickle ran up her spine as a shadow slid down the trunk of the tree. A faint hissing lowered into place behind her. She turned around and met the serpent eye to eye.
She took a deep breath and flexed her shoulders. “Ah’m back.”
“And I’m here,” he said.
“Right. Well. About that.”
“Yes?”
“I wanna know what yer deal is. And no funny business.”
“I guard the tree.”
“And what’s so special about this tree, then? Why can’t you go find some other place to live?”
“It’s the tree of knowledge. It’s completely and utterly unique.”
“Well, go on. Shoo. We don’t want you around here no more.”
“What am I supposed to do? Pick up my tree and take it with me?”
She nodded. “It just so happens that I run an orchard, and we know all about the proper way to relocate a healthy tree. We can have it done in a thrice.”
“A fellow arboriculturalist, are we? Well I appreciate the offer, but this particular tree is both unyielding and immutable. It cannot be relocated.” He affected a shrug. “Though the garden can be.”
“The... what? The garden?”
“Yes. The garden itself moves about on occasion.”
“Well how does that work?”
“I don’t know. It moves on it’s own.”
Applejack glowered at the serpent.
“Now you listen here. I know you weren’t here a week ago, which means you moved this tree somehow... and that means you can move it away. And I’m not leavin’ this spot until you do that! I don’t care what it takes to convince you.”
“Convince me?”
“I’m not an unreasonable sort. I’m perfectly willin’ to cut a deal.”
A smirk tugged at the corner of the serpent’s mouth. “Well this just got very interesting.”
“Well? Are we dealin’ or not?”
“I think we can deal. But I hope you realize just what you’re getting into here. I’m somewhat known for being a difficult dealer.”
She nodded, briskly. “Just as long as you stick to your end of the bargain, that’s all that matters to me.”
“All right.” He nodded to the tree. “Eat of the tree. Then I’ll leave.”
She frowned at him. “That’s all?”
“That’s all. Take it or leave it.”
She eyed the diverse array of fruits hanging from the branches: all different shapes, sizes and colors. “Which one?”
“That’s up to you.”
“What’s yer game? What happens if I eat ’em?”
“Not my problem.”
She glared at him. “Yer gonna be straight with me from start to finish. Tell me what happens if I eat the fruit.”
“This is the tree of knowledge... the knowledge of good and evil.”
“And what’s that mean, exactly?”
The serpent watched her for a moment.
“Tell me, Miss Applejack. Is it wrong to steal?”
“What the hey kind of question is that? Of course it is!”
“What if a building were burning down? Would you steal water from your neighbor’s river to quench the fire? Do you think that would be wrong?”
Applejack glared at him. “Don’t you play them fancy mind games with me.”
“You don’t think!” he snapped. “You don’t think about it, because you’re not equipped to! And until you eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you never will.”
“You really believe that?” she pointed up. “That just eating a piece of fruit will change the way I think?”
“It’s a metaphor,” he said, “but the change it inflicts upon you is very real.”
“How long will it last?”
“It will last until you die, and further still into the eternity that awaits you. And it will go on to affect your children’s children’s children, so on and so forth.”
“Eternity!?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? You can live on after death. The immortality of the soul cannot be quenched by mere physical threats or hardships. A paradise awaits you in the world beyond.” He tilted his head. “That’s the gimmick, you see.”
“Whoa whoa whoa, there.” Applejack took a step back. “Are you sayin’ this tree is gonna do something to me... after I die?”
“Yes. That’s the entire point.”
“But nothing happens after you die. You just disappear. Gone. Poof.”
“At the moment, yes.” The serpent’s voice softened. “But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Applejack’s eyes flicked up to the branches. “This is crazy. You’re crazy.”
“But what if I’m right?”
“But it’s crazy.”
“Then what if I’m crazy and right? What then? Just... use your imagination this one time. Please. If what I’ve said is true, what would your decision be?”
Applejack bit her lip. “Well how should I know? What if you’re trying to trick me or somethin’?”
“So what if I am?”
Applejack walked in a tiny circle, muttering to herself. “Okay... if the tree is good, then... no, that’s not right. But what if it’s...I can’t believe I’m even thinking about this!”
“Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I need to talk to the princess. They’ll know what to do.”
“Cheating is lying, and lying is wrong.”
“What? Did you call me cheater!?”
“This princess of yours has been making all your moral decisions for you. She’s controlled every aspect of your civilization for as long as you can remember, and because of this you’ve never had to think about anything important.”
“But... but they’re good ponies! They know what’s best!”
“You are extraordinarily fortunate to have fallen into the clutches of such wise and benevolent dictators, but that does not change what they are.”
Applejack stared at the snake, aghast.
“You’ve never thought about these things before,” he said, “because you lack the capacity to know good and evil.”
“Now just... just hold on there.” Applejack removed her hat and scrunched her eyes shut. “If... the tree... will let me know... good and evil...”
“Yes?”
“Then I’ll be able to tell if the tree itself is good or evil. I’ll know if you’re good or evil.”
“...And?”
“Are you saying that this fruit is the only thing that can help me figure that out?”
“There is no other path to the knowledge of good and evil. Of course, the tree has taken on many shapes and forms over the ages... but it all boils down to the same thing in the end.”
“Then I can’t know,” she said. “I can’t know if I should eat the fruit until after I’ve already eaten it.”
The snake smiled broadly. “We have a breakthrough! Oh, this is magnificent! You have no idea how proud of you I am right now!”
“Well, great. That’s just great. I can’t win.”
“This isn’t a game,” he said. “Think of it as an opportunity. You don’t win or lose those.”
“So take it or leave it? That’s the deal?”
“Pretty much.”
Applejack stared up at the fruit for some time.
“Knowledge of good and evil, huh? Well, ah reckon it’s mighty important to know right from wrong. We’d all be livin’ in caves and eatin’ crabgrass if it weren’t for that sort of thing. I’m not really seein’ any downside to all this.”
“Does this mean you’ve made your decision?”
“Might as well get it over with, ah suppose. Gimme a fruit before I come to my senses.”
“Which one?”
“Well, aren’t they all the same?”
“Quite the opposite: They are all unique. One of these fruits—and only one—will grant you power everlasting.”
“What about the rest?”
“Death,” he said.
Applejack’s eyes shot wide open. “That wasn’t part of the deal! There must be hundreds of ’em up there!”
“It’s not part of any deal. It’s just the way things are.”
“You’re mad as a jackrabbit in july if you think I’ll risk dyin’ just to get you offa my doorstep!”
“It’s not about me. It’s not even about you.” He slithered out of the tree and coiled on the ground around her hooves. “How important is the truth? How far would you go to find it? Could you live in a world knowing you were incapable of telling fact from false? Right from wrong? Would such a world be worth living in?”
Applejack leaned away from him as he loomed closer, and a droplet of sweat trickled down her brow.
“Some people really do think the truth is worth dying for. Or would you rather live in ignorance?”
“I can tell when folks are lying to me, you know. I can tell every time. So why can’t I read you? Yer like a blank page to me. That’s never happened before.”
“That would be cheating. You need to do this yourself.”
Applejack gazed up at the branches, and at the hundreds of colorful shapes. Her eyes wandered between them, back and forth, dizzy with thought. Her eyes settled on a shining, golden apple and her vision cleared all at once.
“That one.”
The snake’s body slipped underneath her and hoisted her up into the air, her nose inches from the golden apple. She stared at it’s shiny surface and saw a reflection of her own face.
“You can still turn away,” the snake said. “You can still decide not to eat it.”
She squinted at him. “Has that ever worked? Has anypony ever changed their mind at the very last second?”
He shook his head. “Not even once.”
Applejack snatched the apple in her teeth, tore it off the stem, and tossed it into her mouth whole. The snake lowered her back to the ground and waited patiently as she chewed and swallowed. Several minutes passed as she stared off into space.
“Well?”
Applejack looked at him, askance. “Are you... the devil?”
“The devil is a concept that encompasses a variety of very different—”
“Answer me! Are you?”
“The devil would lie, and anyone else would tell the truth. You’d get the same answer either way.”
Her eyes flicked over him, trembling. “You’re not evil.”
He arched his eyebrows. “Really?”
“You’re not good, either. You’re neither.”
“Oh... well.” He swallowed. “That’s a little disappointing, actually. But I suppose I can live with it.”
“I picked the wrong fruit, didn’t I? Why didn’t it kill me?”
“Did you think you’d keel over on the spot? That’s a little melodramatic, don’t you think?”
“No, no! This is serious! I picked the wrong fruit!” She frowned. “No... wait. The wrong fruit was the right fruit. I’m gonna die of old age, aren’t I? Just like everybody else?”
“Indeed.”
“But... but that’s horrible! You can’t just... you can’t just let me die like that! What’s gonna happen to me then, huh?” She walked in place, glancing left and right. “No, I mean... I’m actually going to die! It’s really gonna happen, and there’s nothin’ I can do about it! I don’t even know how or when it’s gonna happen: it could be a hundred years from now, or it could happen tomorrow!”
“Look, I know it’s a lot to take in all at once, but there’s—”
“Aahhh! All my friends are gonna die too, aren’t they? All of ’em! Either I gotta watch them die, or they gotta watch me die! I don’t know which would be worse! And what about my family? I can’t just leave little Applebloom all alone, without a big sister! She’d be—”
“Okay, maybe... one of us needs a little nap or something.”
She shoved her face up against his, spitting and snarling. “This is no time fer nappin! I’m dyin’ a little bit every second and theres absolutely nothin’ I can do about it!”
He reared up above her. “Would you settle down, already!?”
Applejack clenched her jaw tight. Tears trickled down her face. “I wanna go back. Back to the way things were.”
Zaraturvara slowly shook his head. “It’s always been this way. You just didn’t know it.”
“Well I don’t wanna know anymore.” She curled up on the ground and sniffled. “It’s too big... it’s just too big.”
“You want my advice? If you try and swallow it all at once, you’ll go crazy. Give it time. Visit your friends. They’ll give you everything you need.”
She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at the tree. “Yer a liar, ya know that? This isn’t how it was supposed to be. Ya lied to me.”
“Nothing I said was—”
“You lied right to my face! You said it’d let me tell the difference between good and evil, but I can’t! It’s even more muddled up now than it ever was before!”
“I never said it would help you tell the difference. Only that it would show you that there is a difference. That good exists, and evil exists, and the two can intermingle if you allow it.” He set her hat back on her head. “That is the task that lies before you now. You must learn to differentiate between good and evil. Don’t concern yourself too much with finding the right answers... worry about finding the right questions.”
“How’m I supposed to do that, huh?”
“It’ll come to you. Give it time.”
“What am I supposed to do when that happens?”
The snake paused to consider. When he spoke, he chose his words with great care. “I’d suggest... you explain everything to your friends. They will understand. The princesses as well: I expect they’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time.”
“But how can I explain any of this? How can I get them to understand something so... big? I thought only the fruit of the tree could do that.”
“You are the tree now,” he said with a smile. “And you might want to buy some comfortable shoes. You and your friends are going to be doing a great deal of walking.”