//------------------------------// // Pride // Story: Wrath // by FishyCrackers431 //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Pride pride, noun: a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority - Applejack it was. Wandering around aimlessly had so far failed her twice. Besides, this time, Twilight didn't need to think, she needed to know. Not only about the gem, but particularly Rainbow; she needed to apologize. 'And just what were you thinking using a spell like that on her?' Twilight scolded herself as she continued walking. She'd stepped out of the town moments ago. On her left and right were endless fields, as far as the eye could see, and in front of her was Ponyville's own Sweet Apple Acres. She could hear the smack of hooves connecting with tree bark from here. Besides, it wasn't like she had many other options. Fluttershy, while helpful, had proven to know nothing about cheering Rainbow up in times like this. And Pinkie Pie was... Pinkie Pie. So, Applejack it was. Out of their little group, the apple farmer was the closest there was to being Rainbow's best friend... and with so much land, she probably wouldn't notice if Twilight decided to keep the gem hidden somewhere nearby. As Twilight came closer, three little fillies came into view, running from the farm. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle passed by Twilight, ignoring her with some mischief in their eyes. No doubt they'd either been causing some trouble, or they had been going to try some other random scheme for their cutie marks. Apple Bloom seemed to be lagging behind them however, and wore a mask of mud over most of her face. "Ya'll get back here and help me! Big Mac's gonna get mad at me when he sees-" She stopped running as she was passing Twilight, jogging in place as she did. "Oh, hey Twilight, you looking for Applejack?" "Um, yes actually, I-" "She's in the back. Sorry, gotta run!" Apple Bloom gave a quick point to the farm and hurried on after her two friends, yelling after them. "Get back here you two varmints!" Those were the last words Twilight heard from her as she hurried off after her friends. Twilight gave a silent chuckle and, for the first time in a while, cracked a decently genuine smile. 'You need to calm down, just a little longer and you'll be all set for the rest of the day' In only a few short minutes, Twilight reached the main gate of Sweet Apple Acres. The voice of an old woman called out, Granny Smith from the front of the house, sitting in her rocking chair. "Twilight? Is that there Twilight? Oh, come on in dear!" She waved the unicorn over, falling back into her chair with a look of pure bliss, as she usually wore. She'd never needed an invitation in before, and of course she didn't actually need one now. Still, it was nice to give the old-timer these little moments. Giving a nod of thanks, Twilight hurried in and up to the main building; the actual living quarters of the Apple Family. Specifically, to Granny Smith. Twilight was anything of polite, especially to this pony. "Thanks Granny Smith, how are you doing? Apple Bloom causing some trouble?" She asked with mild interest. Granny Smith waved it off with a smile, rocking back and forth in her chair. By her face alone, you wouldn't know she'd heard any of what Twilight had said. "Oh don't worry about an old mare like me, hun. What about you?" The old mare sat forward in her seat, suddenly stopping its rocking, to stare Twilight in the face. "You look troubled. Things not been going your way lately?" Her kind smile fell to a look of concern. Twilight's stomach gave a jump in surprise. "Just a lot on my mind, it's nothing too bad. I had a bit of a fight with Rainbow Dash..." Now, this old mare was one of the least expected people to talk to, but if she wanted to hear... "With who?" Granny Smith asked, as if she'd never heard of the pegasus. She leaned back in her chair with some slight interest. "Rainbow Dash?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, answering the question. "What about her?" The old mare asked again, starting her rocking once more and going back to her blissfully ignorant look. Well, that was Granny Smith's few minutes of proper thought for the day. Twilight inwardly smiled and shrugged to herself. "Thanks. I'm going to head around and see Applejack, okay?" Twilight turned and began heading off behind the house. "Of course, dearie" Granny Smith gave a friendly wave to send Twilight off. "And if you see Big Mac back there, let him know the pigs got loose in his room, would ya kindly? Can't imagine how they managed it, but..." With these words, she closed her eyes and drifted off too sleep. Quickly wishing her well, Twilight hurried around back and into the acres of apple trees that littered the area. When she'd first come, Twilight might've gotten lost within the trees. How long ago that seemed now... Soon enough, Twilight found the orange mare within the trees. Current head of the Sweet Apple Acres and known champion of Ponyville if there ever was one, Applejack. She stood not far off from a few baskets already filled, with her older brother, Big Macintosh standing not far off. He, too, seemed to have a fine coating of mud on him. "She just left" Applejack answered an unheard question, and with that, Big Mac hurried on his way right past Twilight. Twilight risked one question. "Apple Bloom?" "Eeyup" He answered, hurrying on out of sight. "Oh hey Twilight!" Applejack's voice pulled Twilight back to the task at hand. The earth pony was setting herself up against another nearby tree, giving it a quick buck to let the apples fall out neatly into their baskets. Her face turned to one of horror almost immediately afterwards, when she got a clear look at Twilight. "Whoa, hold on sugarcube, what happened to you?" Twilight stopped where she was, not sure what to make of it. "What do you mean?" "Er... might want to follow me real quick" Without a word of warning, Applejack hurried off through the trees, Twilight only barely keeping pace behind her. They ran until finally Applejack stopped in front of a pond, pointing a hoof towards it. "Take a look" Twilight did indeed look into the surface of the pond, and she almost let out a yelp at what she saw. Her mane was twisted in a fashion that screamed of the Rainbow Dry she'd been a victim of earlier, yet at the same time it seemed a bit longer, painfully crumpled out of shape. Her eyes were baggy, as though she'd gotten not a wink of sleep the previous night, though it must have been stress; Rainbow certainly hadn't mentioned it. Twilight's eyes themselves seemed to have a wild hint to them, as though she only had a loose grip on her sanity. But perhaps most troubling of all was her horn. It had undoubtedly grown at least an inch, and even now glowed its customary purple despite her not using it. Instinctively, Twilight used it to cancel any magic she might have been casting, and its glow stopped. The bag around her neck also suddenly felt heavier. Had she been levitating the gem inside the bag? Why? Or had the gem perhaps been doing the magic this time? "So..." Applejack's voice finally pulled Twilight from her thoughts, and she turned to address the apple farmer. "Princess got you working overtime, or something?" Twilight gave a weak, fake smile, though she knew that looking like she did, it was nowhere near believable. "You could say that" "Twilight, I'm not just the best here apple farmer in Ponyville, I'm the Element of Honesty" Applejack leaned in accusingly, giving a playful jab to Twilight's shoulder. "Don't lie to me. Come on, what's got ya all worked up?" And that was it. Those words were all it took. Without hesitation, Twilight let everything out. The trip to the abandoned Castle, the Sea Serpent, the gem. Spike's teeth, and the visit to Zecora. Rarity's attack, along with -and she reminded herself she was breaking rules by saying this- what she'd told the Princess and vice versa. Spike's want for the gem despite his pain, her blowing up at him. Onto the meeting with Rainbow, the fight they'd had, how she turned the pegasus's wings to stone and driven her away. But the story was just one part of it. Twilight told her the stress, the undying stress she'd felt from looking after the stupid jewel the whole time while juggling all of these never ending problems. The rage she seemed to be feeling more and more and how she worried that her magic had been effected by it. How she was deathly afraid that Rainbow might hold what had happened against her, and that the one thing she wanted to do right now was let it all just go. Element or not, Applejack was anything if not loyal. While she did drift around some and eventually settle on laying on the grass, she listened to every word of it. Twilight, on the other hand, was much more animated, and practically paced around the pond throughout the entire story with the energy of Pinkie Pie. Finally Twilight collapsed down onto the grass before Applejack, giving a final sigh and asking "So, that's what happened" Applejack waited a few minutes in painful silence, thinking it all over before finally rolling over onto her back, hooves behind her head to relax. Twilight followed suit. "You certainly got yourself in quite a pickle, huh sugarcube?" "Yeah... so, what should I do?" Twilight had to strain herself a bit to get a look at Applejack from this angle. Though the farmer was obviously just cloud watching while she spoke. "Well, break it down first off. Little miss Rainbow, to start. I may not know her head as much as I'd like, but I'm amazed you even managed to fight her" At this Twilight sat up and turned slightly to give Applejack a look of confusion. Applejack must have caught this look, because she quickly specified "Not like you're a string-bean or nothing, just that she's got a bit of a soft spot for you. You've done her good in the past" Twilight gave a nod of understanding and laid back down as she had been. "But that girl's wings are like to her as this here farm is to me, you know? You shouldn't have hurt 'em" "Thanks, I hadn't figured that one out yet" Twilight mumbled sarcastically. "But you managed to explain it all to me, right? Just say you're sorry, let her know you were a bit freaked at the time" Twilight sat up for the second time, this time actually standing and stepping over Applejack to block her view of the sky. "She attacked me!" Applejack gave a shrug and sat up, avoiding bumping heads as she did so. "Sugarcube, I know it hurts but you've gotta swallow your pride here a bit. I certainly wouldn't much care where you were coming from if you set Sweet Apple Acres ablaze, even if you did put the fire out. She'll be nicer than that" "But but-!" Twilight started to object, though she already had the suspicion it wouldn't do her any good. She stepped back over to the lake, sitting before it and staring into the water once more. "You're right, fine... But what about the gem?" Applejack's figure appeared in the water beside Twilight's, staring in at the unicorn's reflection. "Well, I don't know much anything about your unicorn magic, but..." After a few moments of thought, she raised a hoof to Twilight's side. "Give it here" Instinctively, Twilight jumped up from her seat and backed away, clutching the bag to her with her magic. "Are you crazy?" Thankfully, the farmer seemed to be expecting this, and sprang up in an as least-threatening pose as she could manage. She took a few calm steps forward towards the unicorn. "Now listen Sugarcube, you told me yourself you wanted to get that thing off your hooves. I'm sorry, I know you're a bit wound up, but I don't think you're the best person to be carrying that thing around" If Twilight looked down now, she'd see the eye on the gem glowing brightly enough to be seen through the bag. "I am not giving this up! I promised the Princess!" She finally shouted, taking another step back, but raising her glowing horn to Applejack as though threatening her. "She'll understand, hun. Trust me, I'm more than proper enough to handle that there voodoo gem of yours. You don't have much a mind left by the looks of it, I can't have you carrying it around. Come on, have I ever lied to you?" Twilight only stepped back once more, horn glowing brighter. The waters of the pond beside them began to ripple. At this, Applejack's calm look fell to one of frustration. "Twilight, you'll thank me for this later" She dragged one hoof across the ground, preparing to gallop forward. Twilight's eyes darted from the pond to Applejack and back once more. Finally, Applejack kicked off the ground, sprinting forward right at Twilight with the intent to ram her and rip the bag from Twilight's neck if need be. Twilight saw only a brilliant flash of light from her horn lighting up so brightly. Once she could see again, she had to blink several times to clear her vision, and what she saw made her gasp. Applejack, not an inch in front of her, frozen in an everlasting gallop. The water from the pond has vanished, and in its place was the apple farmer before her frozen solid, an unmoving look of determination over her face. With a sigh of relief, Twilight stepped back from the frozen form, her legs suddenly feeling very wobbly. "Sorry AJ, I know it hurts, but you've gotta swallow your pride here a bit" Twilight could swear she heard something of a crack in the ice at these words. "I certainly wouldn't much care where you were coming from if you tried to steal from me. The Princess might be nicer than that" Angry? Yes. Very, that was the only word to describe it. Very, very, angry. This time, Twilight didn't even bother undoing the spell. AJ could thaw on her own. Twilight turned and headed away from the dried pond. She still had a job to do, but perhaps some calming might be nice beforehand.