//------------------------------// // Ch.17: Honesty // Story: A Hairy Problem // by BlueBastard //------------------------------// Chapter 17: Honesty “I’m coming, I’m coming!” called out Sandalwood, dressed in a bathrobe as a result of having just come out of the shower. Due to the time of day, it was probably Derpy with the day’s mail. Instead, it was a very distraught Applejack, apparently trotting in place out of nervousness. “Applejack,” asked Sandalwood, “what are you-“ The tan pony suddenly found herself pushed into the flat as Applejack hurriedly intruded and then shut the door. Considering Sandalwood knew Applejack’s secret, it was rather obvious what had happened. “Alright, fleabag; who, what, and when?” “About an hour ago, in front of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, while savin' Rarity’s house from bein' destroyed by Cerberus.” “Wait, Cerberus was attacking her house? Why?” Sandalwood made a mental note to not take two-hour showers anymore, apparently all the interesting stuff in town happened when she was busy singing her favorite song by the Flying Lotus Blossoms under the showerhead. “It’s a long story, but right now Ah need your help, yours an’ Lyra's.” The aroma therapist narrowed her eyes, “Applejack, don’t tell me you bit somebody…” Thankfully, Applejack immediately sprung into a defense, “What!? No no no no no! It’s just that Ah…Ah don’t know if Ah can ever face mah friends again, not after what Ah did…” “AJ, sit down, I think you need to tell me everything that’s happened.” And so Applejack proceeded to tell Sandalwood the events an hour earlier. After briefly letting Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash see her as a wolf, she’d taken some bones that Cerberus had been obsessing over for some reason and led the beast deep into the Everfree forest. There she ditched the bones and so had succeeded in luring the three headed beast away from Rarity’s home. However, due to extreme worries about what her friends would think about the recent development that their friend had been a closet lycanthrope for months, and the fact both Twilight and Fluttershy still didn’t know anything about this, Applejack was scared of whatever action she did next of being the wrong one. So, she’d pretty much just waited for forty five minutes in the forest before going the long way around town and seeking refuge at the flat Lyra and Sandalwood shared, they being the only ones who wouldn’t freak out at the idea of Applejack being a werewolf. Sandalwood couldn’t help but give Applejack the most “are you serious?” look she could muster. “Applejack, I know you told me and Lyra about your, erm, ‘issues’, but you shouldn’t be running to us! We’re not talking about any group of ponies here, these are the ponies who have stood beside you against some of the greatest threats within recent history! Heck, after Twilight figured out how to restore all of you after Discord reversed your personalities, weren’t you the first one she turned back to normal?” “Y-yeah…” Sandalwood got out of her sitting position and walked over to Applejack, putting a hoof on the distraught apple farmer’s shoulder. “Look, you’ve proved that even when in your…’other’…form, you’re still fully the pony you are inside. Why should something as trivial as what amounts to a functional costume change alter how they see you if everything else about you stays the same?” “Ah just told you that already happened! Right in front of Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity! Rarity, well, her reaction doesn’t count for obvious reasons, but both Rainbow and Pinkie aren’t the kind of ponies who get easily scared. With that in mind, now imagine what kind of fear they had as they grappled onto each other for dear life when Ah only took like, five seconds to simply make mah coat look unshorn and make mah hooves look funny?” To illustrate the last point, Applejack held up a hoof. Although she hadn’t intended to, her subconsciousness made just the lower part of her foreleg shift into its more vulpine form. This freaked out both Sandalwood and AJ, the former because she simply hadn’t expected it to happen, and the latter because she didn’t even know partial limb morphing was even possible for her. Quickly willing her forehoof back to normal, she apologized to Sandalwood. Nervously waving it off, the tan pony did her best to not start going into hysterics. That was the last thing this situation needed, especially since the already distraught pony was the significantly more dangerous one whether she meant harm or not. “Well, clearly you might need some more, um, help with controlling this, help that we really can’t give you. Lyra and I can try our best, but you have to agree that now that some of your friends know about this, it’s time to come clean.” “Ah know, it’s just that…that…Ah don’t know how to even bring up the subject! Before today, there was somethin’ in me, some kinda feelin’, that helped me keep this secret, but now that it ain’t that much of a secret to ‘em that Ah’d end up simply lyin’, and Celestia knows Ah’m not the Element of Lyin’!” It was just then Lyra came in, bag of purchased goods in her magic grip. “Hey, I didn’t know Applejack was-“ one look at the expressions combined with the overall tone the atmosphere held told the mint unicorn all she needed to know. Setting the bag down, Lyra sighed “This better not involve the entire dog population of Ponyville again.” “It doesn’t, but you and I need to have a talk,” said Sandalwood, before turning to Applejack. “Just stay here, alright? And, uh, don’t, er, do anything that, um…” “You’d expect an unhousebroken dog to do?” glumly finished Applejack. “Ah know, you were tryin’ to phrase it in nicer terms, but Ah’ve never been one for constantly tryin’ to sidestep around somethin’. Don’t worry, Ah’m not gonna carve up the sofa or anythin’, as you said Ah’m still a pony regardless of what Ah look like, right?” “Right,” replied Sandalwood, somewhat relieved that she didn’t need to be so blunt with Applejack. Motioning Lyra to follow, Sandalwood went upstairs to her still-mostly-empty bedroom. Lyra came in as well, closing the door behind her. “Alright, Sandy, what’s going on?” “Well, the resident werewolf has managed to botch revealing her secret to the ponies that matter in the worst way possible, although in her defense it was extremely situational.” The earth pony then proceeded to explain the situation to the unicorn. Lyra, for her part, thought the fact Applejack had managed to avert disaster in more ways than one was enough to make the situation actually seem favorable, but the status of Twilight and Fluttershy complicated the matter. “Yeah, the absence of Twilight and Fluttershy…had the whole contingent been there, Applejack certainly wouldn’t be as skittish about talking to her friends about the werewolf thing.” Commented Lyra, “But without the raw reactions from most of them, just having Twilight’s response is probably going to lead into a whole bunch of ‘research’ that would be extremely uncomfortable to the poor girl.” “Uh, what about Fluttershy?” asked Sandalwood. “What about her? We both know she’s gonna pass out the moment Applejack starts sprouting pointy bits from her hooves.” “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Remember, this is the same Fluttershy that worked up the nerve to stare a grumpy, smog-breathing dragon in the eye after he knocked her friends back. And then later stared a cockatrice into submission while it was turning her into a stone statue because it had done so to Twilight earlier. She may be timid, but Fluttershy may be the ticket to helping Applejack the most that can be done. After all, Fluttershy is skilled in working with animals most ponies like us would be scared to even be near.” Lyra nodded in agreement.  “I see what you mean, but that still leaves the question of how we’re going to set them all up so Applejack can make peace with her friends knowing about her ‘condition’ so to speak.” “Her family, too. There’s no way she can keep living with Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom like this. We’ll need to get them all in the same place, probably Golden Oaks since it’s sufficiently large enough.” Suggested Sandalwood. “I think I know how to get them all together in one place. Bon Bon still owes me a favor or two back when she was residing here.  Let’s go talk to AJ so she’s on board with this, but if we’re lucky we can get this settled before the night is done.” “Thanks for coming with me, Fluttershy,” said an exhausted Twilight Sparkle to her pegasus companion. “I’m not sure I could have handled that ursa without you.” Indeed, the situation in Fillydelphia had been near disasterous. Twilight’s attempt to calm the angered space bear in a similar manner to how she’d done it before had failed miserably, but Fluttershy had managed to sway the young beast with her soothing “Hush Now Quiet Now” lullaby. By the time the mother bear, the even more fearsome Ursa Major, arrived, she found her child sleeping soundly in the forest a far distance away from Filly, without having done any damage. Of course, the baby space bear had been considerably much older than the one who attacked Ponyville, this one having been close to maturing into an Ursa Major, so it had taken a LOT of Twilight’s magic to move the heavier bear without reawakening it and repeating the whole process. “Oh, it was nothing, I was just glad I was able to help,” replied Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, you really need to put more stock in your abilities. Sure, most of the time you’re tending after your small animals, but your ability to handle the large and scary fauna of Equestria is no small thing. Heck, just take this incident in Fillydelphia, you didn’t even need The Stare to calm it down!” “Yeah, I guess you’re-“ started Fluttershy, before the door to the train car burst open, scaring her and sending her crashing into the ceiling as her wings involuntarily launched her upwards. “Ponyville in ten minutes!” called out the conductor, making his way through the train car to the other side. Once he’d left through the opposite door, Fluttershy fell onto the ground from her perch high above. Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle, an action that would have just humiliated Fluttershy had she not been a close friend. Instead, Fluttershy herself had to join in the laughing, knowing that it had been a rather extreme overreaction on her part. Soon, the train hissed to a stop at Ponyville station, where Twilight and Fluttershy disembarked. Both were tired and more than a bit hungry. They were soon joined by Spike, who had elected to stay in his sleeper bunk in return for being the pack mule by carrying the bags of his pony companions. Fortunately for him, since Rarity wasn’t one of the ponies who had been on the trip, he didn’t have to move Mount Fashionista. At that same time, the Fashionista herself along with a rainbow hued tomboy and a moving violation of physics were visible rushing towards the station. “Oh, hey, here come the others…wait, where’s Applejack?” mentioned Twilight, surprised at the lack of the behatted pony in the welcoming committee. “Oh, Twilight, it’s horribly, simply HORRIBLE!” lamented Rarity, skidding to a stop in front of Twilight and Fluttershy, clearly distraught over something. “Yeah, Applejack is a-MRMMNPH!” started Pinkie as she slowed to a stop, before Rainbow Dash quickly darted in front of her and shoved a hoof into the energetic pony’s mouth. “Wh-what about Applejack?” asked Fluttershy, nerves starting to panic again despite not even knowing what’s going on. “Look, it’s better if we handled this, erm, privately as it t’were” replied Rarity, suddenly taking on a conspiritual tone. “Trust me, it would be disaster for everypony if they learned the truth.” “Truth about wha-AAAAH!” cried Twilight, who had no time to react before Rarity took her by the hoof and began dragging her into town. Fluttershy and Spike exchanged glances before proceeding to follow, with Rainbow and Pinkie in tow. Twilight, for her trouble, didn’t get an answer until all of the ponies plus dragon were inside the security of Golden Oaks. “I’m sorry, Twilight dear, but it is imperative that you know the truth about Applejack so you don’t have to go through the same trials that Rainbow, Pinkie, and I had to earlier.” The unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony then launched into a retelling of the day’s events since Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike had left for Filly. Or rather, it was mostly Rarity, who rambled on about how after sending her sister off to learn from the halls of knowledge, Pinkie arrived with her gifts of time and space warping such that she could get to the fabric warehouse on time. However, due to the implied actions of a most heinous and deplorable jackass, she and Pinkie ended up luring a rampaging Cerberus to Carousel Boutique by complete accident. While the monster began to destroy the poor residence, Pinkie went off to enlist the aid of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. But it was when the chips were down and the Carousel seemingly lost, did Applejack reveal her monstrous secret. “Our dear Applejack, she…she transformed before our very eyes into…into a WEREWOLF!” cried Rarity, rearing up on her hind legs before falling backwards to add dramatic effect, something she’d made into a kind of learned performance art due to her supposed need of fainting multiple times rapidly. “A-a werewolf?!” answered back Fluttershy, now hiding behind her massive pink mane. Twilight opened to speak, having been skeptical of the whole thing, but Pinkie raised a hoof. “Twilight, we were all there. I know I’m usually not the voice of reason in any situation, but I’m being dead serious in that I saw Applejack do something no pony should be able to do. I know the physical limitations of Earth ponies, especially the ones I break on a regular basis that neither you nor I can explain, but even I can’t somehow make my fur grow longer, turn my hooves into paws with sharp bits at the end, or develop a wet dog nose at the end of my muzzle at the drop of a hat, all of those which Applejack DID do!” Twilight’s mouth remained open, although now more out of complete shock at Pinkie being gravely serious about the matter than contesting the truthfulness of Applejack being a paranormal creature of legend. Either this was Pinkie’s greatest acting job and it was all a setup for Applejack, in a costume, to scare the living daylights out of her, or Applejack actually was no longer fully a pony. “Okay, since you guys are so sure, I guess I have to believe that Applejack has been…lying…to us this whole time, but there had to have been signs that she was hiding the truth that she was a werewolf,” deduced Twilight. Surprisingly, it was Fluttershy who pointed out the obvious which everypony had overlooked; “Uh, well, she HAS been having some strange events happen around her…” “The Meatery!” exclaimed Rarity, finally putting two and two together. “Girls, think about it; that incident that Applejack had because she somehow was eating a burger? It’s honestly sort of bugged me as to how she rationalized it with her being under the influence of the “monthly inconvenience” but if she actually was secretly some kind of carnivorous animal…” she shuddered at the thought. Rainbow was next to fit more of the puzzle together. “What about that whole deal with every dog chasing her through town?” “But Sandalwood told me that was because Applejack was coated in some kind of new perfume concoction gone wrong.” Interjected Rarity. “How do we know Sandalwood isn’t in on the secret?” answered Fluttershy. “That, um, ‘aroma bomb’ scent that Rainbow and I could detect, along with what those poor dogs told me had been the scent they’d been following, had to have been given off by a female dog in heat. Except they were chasing Applejack.” “And the Chattelle No. 50…it was being used to cover the…you know…that Applejack was giving off, but why?” asked Rarity, still uncomfortable with saying Applejack’s body was doing inequine things. “Because when Applejack said she was having a particularly bad ‘time of the month’ as explanation for what was going on,” realized Twilight, “she was actually lying through her teeth. The pheromones needed to attract the dogs would only be given off if the female is in heat, and the Chattelle No. 50 if applied heavily enough would drown out the smell.” “But…but that doesn’t make any sense!” shouted Pinkie, “Applejack is our friend, not to mention the very embodiment of the Element of Honesty! Why would she lie to us about something this big, yet somepony still relatively new to town clearly knows about it? Unless…unless this is some part of a big ‘ol werewolf conspiracy?!” Just then there was a knock at the door. Everypony inside of the library froze, save Twilight who carefully, slowly walked over to the door and opened it a crack. “Hello?” she asked the pony behind the barrier. “Ah, good, you’re back!” replied Sandalwood, “Look, I know this might be a bad time, but I must-“ She never got the chance to finish as Pinkie dashed over to the door, yanked Sandalwood through, slammed the door, and then softly slammed the startled aroma expert on the ground. “We’re on to you Sandalwood!” cried an irate Pinkie Pie, “We know about the conspiracy you werewolves are planning!” “Wait, what?!” Sandalwood retorted, “Why the hell would you think I’m a werewolf?!” “Because why else would you know about Applejack being a werewolf and we didn’t unless you yourself were one?!” “I have no idea what you’re talking about!” One by one, the Mane 6 sans Applejack confronted the still-pinned-down Sandalwood with the evidence, along with three of the five pointing out the pseudo-confession Applejack had made by transforming in front of them. “Oh, I see. Look, if you let me up, I can explain,” answered Sandalwood, somewhat relieved that the hard part of telling the favored student of Princess Celestia that one of her best friends was a mythical monster known for violent attacks on ponies. With a nod from Twilight, Pinkie let Sandalwood get up. Dusting herself off, Sandalwood explained her position; “Okay, I admit I’ve been helping Applejack hide her secret, but she only confided in me after that incident involving the dogs. I had no idea about the whole thing beforehand.” “But why did she tell you, a relative newcomer to town she’d never really met before, and not any one of us?” asked Rainbow, quickly apologizing with “uh, no offense.” “None taken. As for why she revealed her secret to me, I kind of forced her to explain since having to save her plot from a mob of dogs was only the most recent event that I figured had to be related to something wrong ever since she, well, got bitten in the forest.” “That’s why she was so, erm, ‘physical’ with you at the spa, wasn’t it?” asked Rarity, she and everypony else starting to question how well they’d ever known Applejack. “But wait, you’re living with Lyra at the moment…she knows as well, doesn’t she?” Sandalwood sighed.  “Yeah, Applejack told, or rather showed, us both at the same time, immediately after we’d saved her from the dogs with the car we’ve been building.” At the mention of the word “car” it was like Sandalwood had just let out a bad fart judging from the reactions of the rest of the assembled group. “You saved her with WHAT?!” shouted Twilight, “I thought that thing was both still busted and rotting away in one of the Apple Family Barns!” “As far as I know, THAT car is. But Lyra and I aren’t three fillies who don’t really understand what we’re doing.  Our car is actually operable and not just a float engine mounted on an old cart chassis. But we’re getting off topic here, especially me since as you’ve all probably figured I’m here because of the events that occurred at Carousel Boutique. “I’ll assure your concerns right now: Applejack is okay. But she’s kind of shaken up because, well, she thinks you all will think she’s a monster and not be her friends anymore.” “You can’t be serious!” argued Rainbow, “She can’t honestly think that just because she’s got some kind of a hairy problem going on that her closest friends would just up and leave her!” “Deep down, I’m sure she knows that,” replied Twilight, “but considering she outright lied to not only us but also the Princesses…” the purple unicorn’s eyes went wide open as she realized that maybe that whole deal with “checking the Elements” from a few weeks back might have been a cover story for what the Princesses had really been up to. Her thoughts were interrupted by Sandalwood. “Okay, before anything else gets said, I’m going to explain what’s going to happen. Since you all know Applejack’s secret now, and she knows that you know, she wants a chance to try and explain herself to you all. But in order for that to happen she needs all the ponies she is closest to all in one place. Since we’re already here at Golden Oaks, this is as good a place as any.” “Who else is coming?” asked Pinkie, her mind racing to decide whether or not to quickly throw together a coming out party for Applejack. “Well, Lyra’s going to get the rest of the Apples, then once they’re here she’ll bring over Applejack, and we can all get this matter sorted. Oh, and Twilight? She said she wanted Princess Celestia and Princess Luna here, too, as I’m sure they’ll need to know that one of the Elements of Harmony happens to also be a werewolf.” Spike instinctively, whipped out parchment and a feather pen. Without missing a beat, Twilight immediately began dictating a letter she’d rather not have be sent to the royalty, but once Spike was done she nodded and watched as the scroll disappeared in dragon flame. Even though now everypony in Golden Oaks knew Applejack’s secret, all that had done was raise more questions than answer them, and raise the concerns of five specific ponies as to how changed Applejack would be in their eyes now that they knew the truth. “Now what in tarnation was that?” shouted Granny Smith to Apple Bloom. “Ah…Ah think it was somepony drivin’ a car, Granny!” the young filly called back. A minute earlier, there had been a knock at the front door, to which Apple Bloom had gone to open. What she found was a nicely crafted sweets basket with a note addressed to “The Apple Family” on top. In the distance, the roar of an engine could be heard while a vaguely box-like shape on wheels hurried away. “Apple Bloom, Ah hope ya didn’t mean somepony somehow fixed up that machine you and your friends crashed into the Everfree and just stole it!” called back Granny. The bow-wearing youngster tried to respond, but as she was carrying the gift basket in her mouth it came out in a series of mumbles. She placed the basket on the table in the living room, saying “Whoever it was, they left this nice, big basket fulla sweets for the family!” “Huh, Ah wonder who could of left such a thing for us?” Just then Big Mac came in, already informed of the situation as he’d heard it from the other room. While Granny and Apple Bloom went into looking at all of the delicious goodies inside the basket, Big Mac figured this kind act had to be covering something. Picking up the discarded envelope, he opened it up to find a note inside; Dear Apple Family,    Please be at Golden Oaks Library tonight at 6:00 PM. There is a matter concerning Applejack that she really wishes to discuss only to those she knows best. P.S. Don’t worry about Applejack’s whereabouts, she’ll be at the library by 6. Normally, Big Mac was just quiet, but upon reading the note the blood visibly drained from his face and he stopped breathing. This was bad. All this time, his suspicions of Applejack possibly becoming a monster like their parents had been slowly slipping away, giving him more peace of mind, but this… “Big Mac, are you okay?” asked Apple Bloom, both her and Granny now looking concerned towards the noticeably paler work stallion. Saying nothing, he slowly handed the note over to Granny. As she read the note, Apple Bloom bouncing up and down to try and look at it, Granny’s face also lost some of its color. “Oh, my…” muttered Granny, flashbacks of the night of Apple Bloom’s play coming to mind. Or rather, just images of Applejack’s bedroom, without a sleeping Applejack. “What is it? What is it?” the yellow filly asked over and over, curiosity blinding her to the otherwise obvious negative impact the note was having on her family. “Bloomie…” said Big Mac, “it’s an invitation to one of Pinkie’s Parties, probably for Sandalwood’s birthday.” “It’s Sandalwood’s birthday?!” exclaimed Apple Bloom. “Well, no, not today specifically, but since she’s goin’ home to celebrate it with her immediate family Pinkie has decided to throw her a Birthday party today. Why don’t you go upstairs and get ready?” “Okay!” beamed the filly as she raced upstairs, oblivious to the lies. Meanwhile, for the two ponies in the know about the situation, Granny gave an approving nod to Big Mac. “Ah know that had to be hard, lyin’ to the poor young’n an’ all, but if you were right and Applejack’s a…a…” Bottled up emotions started to bubble up and tears began to well up in the old mare’s eyes. This could not be happening to her again. She’d lost two rays of light already, she wasn’t sure a third one going the same way as her parents could be survivable this time. Reacting immediately, Big Mac rushed to comfort his grandmother, being strong when nopony else could. “Granny…Ah hope it really isn’t what we think it is. Or worse for the same reasons. All we c’n hope for is that maybe we’re still wrong and she’s really…Ah dunno, comin’ out as a mare-lover?” suggested Big Mac, assuming the biggest, most fake looking grin he could. Granny could have slapped Big Mac right then and there, but through force of will she did not. “Do ya really think Ah’d believe that? Do YOU think you could believe that?!” Big Mac’s grin immediately faded in defeat. In all honesty he knew the suggestions was crap the second it left his mouth. But as the two waited for Apple Bloom to return so the trio could head over to Golden Oaks, only the filly would be concerned with matters other than if the middle Apple child was lost to what seemed like a family curse. Meanwhile, at Golden Oaks, the Royal delegation had arrived. And been informed about the nature of the meeting. Celestia was thankful that Golden Oaks had two floors, for she currently occupied the second and was pacing the perimeter like mad. As the older Princess, she was effectively the “face” of the country of Equestria and it simply would not do for the populace to see their great demigod ruler be reduced to something barely above a nervous wreck. “Celly, please, calm down!” pleaded Luna, the only other occupant of the room. “I’m sure the matter isn’t as bad as you would think! Applejack is still a strong willed pony, the fact she’s done her best to keep the secret by not giving into whatever is going through her head is testament to that fact alone!” “Lu-Lu, I wish I could believe you, but this is Sable Loam’s doing that we’re talking about!” retorted Celestia, certain she was about to have a nervous breakdown. “AND” interrupted Luna, “As much as I dislike making this comparison, but you’re acting no better than a schoolfilly being horribly teased by the schoolyard bully. Think about it; if you’re having this reaction to just ONE of your subjects being turned into a werewolf, what will you do if he steps up the attacks? He’s practically won his war against you already!” That got Celestia to calm down. “You’re right, Luna, I shouldn’t be letting this be getting to me like that. In truth, I guess it’s fortunate that if one of my loyal subjects had to be turned into a werewolf, it was one of the Elements. No doubt going through such an experience will require strong friendship to pull through, to which there is none greater than that shared by the Elements.” A third presence cleared her throat, to which the two alicorns looked over to find Twilight Sparkle waiting to get their attention. “Ah, Princesses? The Apples just arrived. Just so you know, I don’t think they know about Applejack’s…issue.” A smile came to Celestia’s face. Twilight’s presence always had that kind of effect on her, maybe it had something to do with what was in store for the young mare and how innocent she still was. “Thank you, Twilight, I will be down to see them momentarily.” As Twilight nodded in acknowledgement and descended the stairs, Celestia walked over to a mirror to try and tidy up. Somehow, even for having a magical mane and tail that appeared more ethereal than physical, it had lost some of its enchantment and had blended back into reality. Thus, she had a very disheveled look to her mane most ponies wouldn’t believe possible. To that she let out a small laugh, it was very rare that she had the chance to even look like this. But The Apples would need the support only the royalty could give, especially since she truly was the only pony alive who had any real experience with werewolves first hand. After doing some cleanup to look decently presentable, Celestia descended to the main library portion, Luna not far behind. As she made her way down, she could see the gathered ponies all take note of their leader. The Mane Six were all scattered about the place trying to look busy, but it was clear it was just a cover to try and not expose their concerns. The Apples, sans Applejack, were making small talk with Sandalwood simply to try and avoid discussing the reason they were all there. Apple Bloom, who had figured out it wasn’t really a party to celebrate Sandalwood’s birthday, was trying to make the best of everypony not telling her what was really going on by playing some checkers with Spike. A quick check of the clock showed the time to be close to 6:00pm. Almost as if in reaction, the ponies began to stop whatever they were doing and looked towards either the Princesses at the foot of the stairs, or the door to the library awaiting the missing Mane 6 member. “Well, ponies,” said Sandalwood, “she’ll be here any minute. You all ready for this?” “Ready for what?” asked Apple Bloom, “Nopony will tell me what this is about!” “You’ll find out soon enough, Apple Bloom,” said Celestia, turning her head to gaze down upon one of her smaller subjects. Finally, the clock chimed to signal the change to 6:00. Sandalwood then went out the door to wait outside Golden Oaks. As was the usual procedure, there were two royal guardsponies flanking the exterior entrance, but having been instructed to let Sandalwood do as she needed to, they paid her no heed. The Princesses also went back upstairs to carry out their duties of lowering the sun and raising the moon on the library’s upper balcony, but also to watch over the arrival of the dubious guest of honor. Soon, two figures emerged from the growing shadows. Their bright fur coats seemed to light up in catching what little of the sun’s light remained, revealing the forms of Lyra and a very nervous looking Applejack. Slowly, they made their way to Sandalwood in front of the treehouse. “You ready for this, Applejack?” asked Lyra, concern on her face. “Ah got a feelin’ in mah gut that the smart thing to do here is to run off an’ hide, but this has gone on long enough. Mah friends, mah family…they need to know. Ah just hope they’ll still see me the same way afterwards.” “I’m sure they will, now come on. Let’s get it over with,” said Sandalwood, opening the door to let the unicorn and apple farmer in. Applejack’s gut feeling that this was a HUGE mistake only intensified exponentially the moment she stepped into the library, as everypony who knew her well was there and now looking right at her. “Uh, howdy, um, everypony…” greeted Applejack half-heartedly, shrinking back and not even trying to hide her violently shaking legs. It was taking all she had not to just break the door down and run away from Ponyville out of shame. But she’d technically done that before, sans destroying Twilight Sparkle’s front door, and it hadn’t worked out. This time, instead of shame from not winning blue medals, she had a semi-controllable wild side that could land her in even bigger trouble, the kind that some ponies would never forgive. Sandalwood then came in, locking the door behind her before nodding to Lyra. Lyra nodded back before saying, “Okay, just so we’re all clear, who here already has a pretty good idea why we’re all gathered in this place?” Almost everypony raised a hoof up, including the Princesses who had since come back downstairs. The only hooves not raised up were those belonging to the Apple Family. Applejack sighed. Even with the majority of the gathered ponies already knowing the truth, or at least informed of it, it was still going to be difficult to do what she had to do in front of her family. Lyra just turned her head to look at Applejack, implying it was now or never. Applejack nodded in acknowledgement before taking some deep breaths. This was it. “Alright, Ah’m sure that y’all have noticed some strange things goin’ on with or around me over the past few months.” Out of the corner of her sight AJ noted Rainbow rolling her eyes, but the situation had made Applejack not really care what her friends did as long as they still shared friendship with her. “And then there was that whole deal with the Elements where Ah said the reason for all of that was because of…you know. “Well, that ain’t the truth, not all of it anyway. In reality, all of the things that have been happenin’ to me is because Ah’m-“ “You’re a mare-lover?” interrupted Apple Bloom, causing the room to go dead still as all attention went to her. “What? Ah’ve heard what these ‘comin’ out’ moments are like, an’ since nopony would tell me just what was goin’ on Ah figured as such.” To everypony’s surprise, Applejack…chuckled. “Ah wish it were that simple, sis. But no…Ah am so sorry about havin’ y’all in the dark about this, just…just please forgive me if you can, although Ah won’t blame you if you can’t.” And with that, she decided once again it was better to show then tell, and so right in front of everypony she risked the most important things in her life; the relationship between her, her family, and her friends, all in the name of being honest to both them and herself at last. Once again, although the transformation took only seconds, it was like an eternity passed for those who hadn’t previously seen a werewolf go through the process. Twilight shot back like a rocket into one of the bookshelves, sending a tidal wave of books crashing on top of her. Fluttershy, oddly enough, didn’t backpedal as hard in reaction, but her wings immediately flared in shock. But it was the reaction of the Apples and the alicorns that were the most surprising. Granny, Big Mac, and Celestia initially jumped when the transformation began, but were otherwise static with nothing but sad looks on their faces. They’d been through this before, so sadness was the only real reaction they had to learning somepony close to them would suffer the fate of those before her. Luna, on the other hand, seemed legitimately curious on a Twilight Sparkle level, while Apple Bloom’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped . Applejack, transformed, opened her eyes to find all attention directed back to her. Nopony said anything for what felt like forever. The secret was finally, truly out, having been seen with their own eyes, and it was taking them all a while to fully process it. Yet, it was Apple Bloom, who by all right should have been running for the hills after seeing her sister willingly turn into an unnatural cross between pony and canine, that spoke first. “S-sis? Is that you?” “Yes, Bloomie, it’s still me,” replied Applejack in her slightly huskier werewolf voice. To the shock of both her and everypony else, Apple Bloom then proceeded to walk towards her transformed sister. “This…this is because of that creature who attacked you in the Everfree, isn’t it?” said Apple Bloom, “No…this is because of me, isn’t it? If Ah hadn’t gotten Scoots and Sweetie to help me build that stupid car only to wreck it in there, you wouldn’t have needed to go after it, and so you wouldn’t have been bitten, and then you wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble because you’re a werewolf now!” Applejack was taken aback. Was Apple Boom blaming herself for this whole mess? “Apple Bloom, that’s not-“ “IT’S ALL MAH FAULT!” cried the filly as she suddenly bolted to embrace the werewolf in a bear hug, tears beginning to stream down her face. “It’s all mah fahuhuhuhlt…” “Now hold on just a second!” declared Applejack, pulling Apple Bloom off her to look in her face, eye-to-eye. “None of this is your fault, do you understand that? The fact Ah had gone lookin’ for that car was nothin’ more than a matter of circumstance, you cannot blame yourself for somethin’ you did not do, understand that?” “Y-yes, but…” replied the filly, sniffling. “Whatever it was that turned me into this, it could have attacked me at any time Ah went into the Everfree. Like goin’ to Zecora’s, or helpin’ Fluttershy find her chickens. Heck, the fact it was me who got bit was completely unpredictable, it could have been anypony else who Ah’d taken with me to find that car. But Ah don’t care about that right now, all Ah need to know is that you still love me as much as Ah love you, even now that you know my secret.” “Heh, even when you’re more hairy than Winona, you’re still a silly pony Applejack” said Apple Bloom, the humor starting to hold back the tears. “Ah’m a silly pony?” replied a mock-offended AJ. “Yeah, because you think Ah’d think of you as anythin’ different than my big sis in any situation!” And with that the sisters embraced, tears starting to well up in Applejack’s eyes. The hug soon expanded to include Granny Smith and Big Mac, who while saddened that Applejack had indeed fallen victim to lycanthropy, she was still the Applejack they knew on the inside and to that end they held on to her dearly. Eventually, the Apple Family hug dispersed and Applejack turned to face her friends, the rest of the Mane 6 and Elements of Harmony. “Ah’m sorry that Ah didn’t tell y’all sooner about this, but-“ started the werewolf, but she was cut off by Twilight’s raised hoof. “Whatever your reasons, Applejack, I believe I can speak for all of us in that we trust you weren’t planning something bad.” “Well, it’s just that Ah was worried y’all wouldn’t want to be my friends anymore, since who would want to be friends with a pony who craves eating meat?” “Big deal!” said Rainbow. “So you’re a carnivore, it’s not like you’re planning on eating us or anypony we know, right? Besides that, the only way you’re different like this is that you’re fuzzier, kind of like the time we all got altered by Poison Joke and Rarity looked like a walking, talking mop.” The Pegasus snickered while Rarity nickered, both having very different opinions on what had happened to the fashionista’s fine fur coat during that incident. The rest of the Mane 6 made similar comments, washing away all of Applejack’s fears of losing those she was closest to because of her altered state. But something still bothered her. Turning to face Princess Celestia, who along with Luna had just been watching the events unfold, Applejack asked “Princess, if you don’t mind me askin’, what aren’t you mentioning?” Celestia was surprised; “Whatever do you mean, Applejack?” “Judgin' from your reaction to me turning into a wolf-like pony, y’all have seen this before. Plus, mah cutie mark has been fadin’ much like mah parent’s cutie marks were shortly before they died, Ah’m thinkin’ nopony told me the full story behind the fate of mah parents.” Celestia looks like she was going to try and divert the issue, but was cut off by both Granny and Big Mac. “Ah knew this day was going to come, just not in circumstances like this.” Said Granny, a forlorn look in her face. “But now that you’re a werewolf and all, and Apple Bloom knows of it, there’s not really much point in hidin’ the family secret any longer.” “Wait, we’re ALL werewolves?!” exclaimed Apple Bloom, who proceeded to try and assume her wolf form by puffing out her cheeks and concentrating really hard. It did nothing but make her look extra cute. “Uh, Apple Bloom? Trust me when Ah say you DON’T wanna be like me in this case.” Said Applejack, slightly amused at the innocence her sister still had about the whole matter. The first transformation that night so long ago had been the worst pain Applejack had ever felt, she wouldn’t stand for Apple Bloom to go through the same. “But Granny, as you said, it’s time to reveal the truth. If ma and pa ended up going for some reason involving werewolves, then as one myself Ah think Ah have the right to know.” “Considerin’ how close y’all are to the family as it is, Ah guess everypony here has a right to know. However, Ah need you all to promise that what you will learn here tonight you will speak of to nopony who is not currently in this building. With a Pinkie Promise,” requested Granny, giving Pinkie Pie a sly look with the last line. Complying with the request, everypony did the Pinkie Promise mantra, including the Princesses. Satisfied, Granny began to open up old wounds in the hope that they could finally heal now; “Alright, to fully understand, Ah’ll have to go back to when everythin’ started goin’ south for poor Appleseed and Cornflower…” Princess Celestia slowly walked up to the homestead on Sweet Apple Acres the night after the attack.There were several guardponies, but not of the regular variety. These ponies were encased with a special, impenetrable armor that left no part of their body exposed to attack. After what reportedly happened to a pair of ponies, Celestia had the elite guard stationed all over the farm in the event the perpetrator returned. Normally, a simple attack on a homestead such as this one would just be handled by the local guard garrison, but it was the nature of the perpetrator that warranted direct crown involvement. According to the one reliable witness, an elderly mare by the name of Granny Smith, her son and daughter in law had been doing some late night harvesting in order to make production quotas when out of the blue a vicious wolf had come out and horribly maimed them. By the time Granny Smith had come out, all she said was she could see a pony shaped wolf look at her through bloodshot eyes before taking off for the Everfree, leaving behind the grievously wounded couple. Noting their liege was wishing to enter, one of the elite guards knocked on the door, where a normal guard on the inside opened it to let Celestia in. She ascended the stairs, a tight fit due to her height being twice that of a regular earth pony’s, even greater if her horn was factored in. At the top, she entered the master bedroom. Inside she found an assembly of ponies. On the bed lay the victims of the attack; Appleseed and Cornflower. To look at them now would suggest nothing of how bad the wounds had been, but while the doctors said it was a medical miracle it was only more concerning for the sun princess as it continued to support her worst fears. On one side of the bed stood the chief doctor from Ponyville General Hospital; Dr. Wishbone, and his recently hired intern nurse Redheart. On the other side was Granny Smith and her grandchildren; a young colt by the name of Big Mac and an even smaller filly named Applejack. The youngest Apple; a year-old filly named Apple Bloom, currently lay asleep in the forelegs of her mother Cornflower. Celestia registered some surprise at Apple Bloom, she had not been told of the infant. But she did not appear to be in any serious danger. “I didn’t know you had a toddler, Cornflower. May I see her?” “But of course, your majesty,” replied Cornflower, evidently still weakened from the attack but happy to still be alive to be with her family. Apple Bloom did not stir even though she suddenly began to glow a bright yellow and levitated over to the slightly pink alicorn. Cradled in royal magic, the baby yawned cutely before shifting her position to be more comfortable. The princess just smiled as she held a piece of Equestria’s future in her telekinesis. But, like all good things, the serene moment had to end and reality faced. “Now, I have some good news, and some bad news, but it is of a private matter that I wish to discuss only with Appleseed, Cornflower, and Granny Smith. I’ll have to ask the rest of you to leave for a moment.” Complying with their leader’s request, the ponies both big and small filed out of the room, Dr. Wishbone taking the infant into his own magic so the Princess could fully concentrate on the matter at hand. Once the door had been shut, Granny moved to lock it. “Thank you, Granny Smith” said Celestia, prepping herself for what she’d have to say next. “Now, you three will be happy to know that the culprit who viciously attacked you has been identified and I personally have taken measures to see that he will no longer be a threat to you or anypony else. Permanently. “However, the nature of your assailant is what brings me to the bad news. You see, you two were attacked by who I believe was the last werewolf alive.” “W-werewolf?” stuttered Appleseed. “Yes. His name was Sable Loam, who admittedly has been a thorn in my side for over a thousand years and I am glad to see him go. But I do wish it hadn’t had to be at such a high cost, especially since it will be you two paying it for the rest of your lives. “What do you mean, Princess?” worriedly asked Cornflower. She trusted her princess to only have the best intentions for any and all of her subjects, so if even Celestia was concerned about something, it was bad. “You two are the first, and I hope the last, victims of a werewolf attack in almost a millennia. The fact you survived such horrific wounds and are recovering so quickly makes me consider the worst and that both of you are going to become werewolves yourselves. “Y-you mean we’re going to become like that…thing…that did this to us?” murmured Cornflower, starting to shake with fear at the potential of violence she could inflict on anypony. Especially her own family and children. Without saying a word, Appleseed reached over to give a one-foreleg-embrace to his panicking wife, a silent strength that his son Big Mac would mirror years later. “Is…is there anythin' we can do to cure ourselves of this curse?” asked Appleseed, continuing to be strong for his beloved. “I’m afraid not. In a month’s time, you will probably experience your first transformation. However, from what I can remember from the original werewolves who returned to Equestria, you’ll still be in control. Many of those werewolves who eventually tried to return to normal pony life with assistance from the crown did manage to do so successfully, and even though you two may be the only werewolves left, I will not deny you the same support I gave those poor souls centuries ago. Plus, you have the advantage of family, should you choose to share it with them, something many original werewolf victims didn’t have.” “So, even though you’re sayin' my son and daughter-in-law will become monsters temporarily, there’s still hope for them?” asked Granny, who was willing to do what it took to ensure her offspring and his mate would fully recover as much as possible. Celestia smiled, “Of course, the original werewolves eventually learned to deal with their lycanthropy as nothing more than a handicap an obstacle to overcome, and I’m sure you will be able to treat it the same way.” “Unfortunately” said Celestia in the present, “they would only live a few months longer before meeting their untimely end, well before I could mobilize anything to be of assistance to them.” “So…how did they die?” asked Apple Bloom, who was the only Apple child who couldn’t remember her own parent’s faces. “To be honest, we never did find that out.” Said Granny, sadly. “It was a few days before Hearth’s Warming when Appleseed just up and walked out of the house and into the Everfree, without even wearing any clothing, not even his special hat.” Applejack reached up and felt her father’s hat, which for years after his death had called her own head home. “Your mother, Cornflower, went off to try and see what was the matter.” Continued Granny, “ That’s when the blizzard hit and, as far as anypony ever knew, they got lost in the storm. A search party was organized the next mornin’ to locate them, but they didn’t need to go far. The bodies of Appleseed and Cornflower were found close to the edge of the Everfree, holdin’ onto each other but half-buried in snow and covered all over with scratch marks, like they’d been fightin’. Officially, they were said to have died from a timberwolf ambush, then in order to hide even the brutal nature of their deaths from you youngins Big Mac and Ah agreed to say they died of pneumonia. But the truth is that somethin’ in their natures was influenced by them bein’ werewolves and they possibly came to blows. Ah’ve never known two ponies to have had as much true love between them as Appleseed and Cornflower, so whatever happened to them can’t have been natural.” The room once again went silent, Applejack’s own shocking reveal being dwarfed by the revelation of the demise of the Apple parents also having been werewolf related, even if it was just in theory. It was Princess Luna who realized it first. “Applejack, although it is regrettable that it did not return in time to have been of any help to prevent the deaths of your parents, you may have better prospects now that the Crystal Empire had returned.” That confused Applejack and pretty much every other pony there. “What does the Crystal Empire have to do with mah condition?” Celestia clarified; “The werewolves were originally a traitorous royal guard unit led by a pony named Sable Loam, an able soldier who had an unfortunate obsession with wolves and hunting. They allied themselves with King Sombra in return for him making them into the first werewolves.” Luna continued from there; “From then on until the first defeat of Sombra, the werewolves were used as a kind of gestapo who kept the enslaved crystal ponies in line. I have no doubt there are records about the werewolves due to them almost certainly biting some crystal ponies who refused to cooperate, records Sombra can’t have destroyed due to having been locked in ice for a thousand years and not even reaching the castle when he was finally destroyed not to long ago.” Twilight lit up at the obvious implication. “So what you’re saying is that we need to go up to the Crystal Empire and do a research project on werewolves!” Celestia frowned. “Well, yes, but I’m afraid you won’t be going, Twilight, as much as I know how you’d love to and get to see both your brother and Princess Cadence. You’ll be needed here along with the rest of the Elements to provide the support Applejack will need in her current state. “However, the same cannot be said of you two,” continued the solar ruler as she turned to face Sandalwood and Lyra. “I cannot thank you two enough for being active in your support of Applejack, even if you did force the secret out of her. But now I must ask you to perform another task to help her.” “Go to the Crystal Empire and do our best Twilight Sparkle-in-a-library-doing-research impressions to find info on werewolves?” replied Sandalwood, grinning as she saw Twilight’s annoyed face just off to the side. “Well, yes. I trust you’d be willing to do it?” “I’d need to talk to Lotus and Aloe, since I’ve got lots of ponies who booked aromatherapy sessions with me.” “No, let me talk to them. I’ll just say I’m sending you to go give Princess Cadence some aromatherapy, she could probably use some to considering how much of a hassle it must be getting the Crystal Empire back into Equestrian jurisdiction. Of course you’ll also have to give both Luna and Myself aromatherapy sessions as well, since Rarity says they’re quite nice.” “Wait, you want me to-to-uhhhhh…..” Sandalwood tried to comprehend the exact boost her business would get once she could say all three princesses had been customers of hers. She failed and passed out, much to the amusement of everypony else, something much needed considering the otherwise downcast mood of the gathering. Elsewhere, in Baltimare, the bartender noted a newcomer had arrived at his counter top. “Welcome to the Rusty Horseshoe, mate. What’s yer poison?” “Give me the hardest thing you’ve got on tap, then make it stronger,” said the pony, much to the bartender’s surprise. However, before he could say anything, a third voice cut in. “Tapper, don’t do it. You and I can both clearly tell this guy can’t handle that kind of liquor. Give him a sweetened milk or something like that, no way he’s a heavyweight like me.” The stallion turned to face his opposition; “Oh, you think you can handle more liquor than me, do you? I’ll have you know that I’m the greatest heavyweight of drinking from where I come from for miles around.” The seated mare narrowed her eyes. “Okay, how about we just cut the insults and get right to business?” She slammed 50 bits on the table, “drinking contest, anything goes. Winner take all.” Reaching into his own satchel, the stallion plopped his own 50 bits on the table. “You’re on.” Tapper, eager to see a good old fashioned drinking contest between the resident champion and this upstart, took both wagers and began to mix the drinks. “Before I kick your plot and take your cash, I’d like to know your name, stranger.” Said the mare. “Sure,” said the stallion, “the name’s Intellectual Pursuit. And yours?” The mare smiled as Tapper put the first of what would be many, many drinks in front of the contestants.  “Lightning Dust.”