Captain Applejack Harkness

by Inthretis

Descendants

Chapter 3: The elements of harmony

... The elements of harmony are a collection of ancient magical artifacts of great power, having existed since before the founding of Equestria. They were believed to have been forged by starswirl the bearded, and originally used by the founders of Equestria. Not much is known about their origins other than these facts, and any attempts to decipher the history has proven pointless...

... It is believed that starswirl collaborated on his creation of the elements with an earth pony known only as "The Doctor". Starswirl never disclosed the exact contributions to the invention of the elements, other than that it was crucial to the development of the regalia's spell matrix. It is odd that an earth pony knew enough about quantum magic fluctuation patterns, especially in those times, when 50% of earth ponies were serfs controlled by unicorn and pegasus masters...

Chapter 6: Equestria's founding

... Not much is known about smart cookie, the second earth pony founder, other than her involvement in Clover the Clever's study of time spells. Legend has it that she mysteriously appeared one day on the outskirts of an earth pony village, nearly frozen to death in an attempt to find a friend. Despite being the distant ancestor to one tenth of all earth ponies, she remains an enigma.

Old journals discovered during the excavation of mount Canterlot revealed that smart cookie was a mare, liked rare fruits, and talked in a strange accent. She was especially close to Clover the Clever and Private Pansy, considering the two some of her best friends...

... Seventeen years after Equestria's founding, the old capitol was attacked by celestial followers, leading to the deaths of the founders. All the bodies were later buried, with the exception of Smart Cookie's, which was never found…

Trixie was galloping as fast as she could. She needed to think, but she couldn’t stop for some reason. After the embarrassment caused by the ursa minor, she needed to leave Ponyville. Just as she reached the outskirts of town, she heard a noise in front of her.

Bzzt! warp-worp!

A flash of light and a swirl of colors appeared as a lone figure approached Trixie out of nowhere. Trixie braced herself, ready to fight Twilight, Ursa majors, or other abominations. But she didn’t expect to see a familiar orange earth pony.

“Howdy Trixie, nice night fer a stroll, huh?” Applejack asked.

Trixie stared in confusion, unable to wrap around what was in front of her. She ran at top speed for nearly twenty minutes. She was sweating through her cloak and hat, exhausted from the vigorous exercise. And then suddenly, an earth pony with no visible mode of transportation popped out in front of her, with no strain and a mellow facial expression. Trixie was suddenly sweating again, realizing that she was now in grave danger. Her face started twitching slightly as she tumbled backwards and onto the ground. Trixie couldn’t believe it, but she recognized the strange pony.

Applejack simply smiled, took off her hat and pulled out a folder with Trixie’s full name on it. Applejack looked at the folder and back at Trixie, before closing it and raising an eyebrow.

“That was pretty impressive fer a show mare, if I must say. I didn’t see gettin’ hogtied as possibility. First time in a while since someone bested me.”

Trixie’s eyes grew focused as she wrinkled her eyebrows. Sweat continued to trickle down her neck, as she panted deeply. Her mind’s gears were whirring. What the hay was going on? Where did she come from?

“Wait, what?” Trixie blurted out.

"Course, ah believe ya just got lucky that time. Losin' ta an ursa minor not very becomin' of a descendant."

"Descendant?"

"Yer a grandchild of time, Trixie. Yer mother was a companion, and ah'm sure she told you about the stories."

"You... You're one of them. What do you want? You chased me out of town, ruined my reputation and my trailer, and now you're harassing me! Trixie does not know where he is! Not even my mother knows, so go away, and leave me alone," Trixie demanded as she begins to leave.

"Actually, ah'm here with a job offer."

Trixie halted, turned around one eighty degrees, and stared at Applejack with determined eyes, "what kind of job?"

"A little reconnaissance. Ah just recently took down a member of the ‘Germaneian Incognito Liberty or Die Alliance’. She has agreed to work with me, albeit begrudgingly. You’ll be sent to Canterlot as part of a new team.

“Ya remember the battle of Canary Wharf, don’t ya? Torchwood One was destroyed, along with thousands of casualties. Yvonne Heart was the leader, otherwise known as Yvonne Lulamoon, yer sister. Now, ever since then, Canterlot’s been vulnerable to attack and mah surveillance has faltered.

“You’ll be given a new job protectin’ Equestria from enemies more powerful than an Ursa, while gettin’ a new fancy paycheck. If yer anythin’ like her, you’ll do fine,” Applejack finished, then looked at Trixie expectantly.

“M-my sister’s job? I don’t know what to say...” Trixie said.

“Yah could do it fer her. Also, a job protectin’ the Canterlot nobles can getcha a lotta connections, good fer any showmare.”

“...”

“C’mon, I know a certain white unicorn stallion that’s got a bucket load of political allies,” Applejack insisted.

“...”

“If ya don’t, I gotta bring ya in ta prison.”

“... Alright. I’m in.”

Dear diary,

Fluttershy is scary. And this is coming from the mare who’s died from everything from dragons to rotten tomatoes. She is scary. (And also heavy, but don’t tell her I said that.)

Also, fighting dragons is harder when you’re being discrete. I couldn’t carry any weapons other than apples. Really Twilight, just because I am an apple farmer does not mean I attack with apples. I use knives, guns and heavy artillery like everybody else.

-Captain AJH

Dear diary,

Twilight’s first slumber party. It was okay, other than Rarity being annoying. The nerve of her, telling me things I can and can’t do! I’m like, 450 years older than her, cut me some slack, an elderly mare has trouble eating.

(I swear, if I had brought my vortex manipulator with me, the whole night wouldn’t have happened. But somebody *cough*Cheerilee*cough* wanted me to get it dry cleaned! How do you dry clean a teleporting bracelet!?

Anyways, the night actually was fun, and I heard a ghost story that actually scared me. So yeah, apparently both Twilight and Fluttershy can scare me now. Rarity acts just like a Canterlotian, despite the fact that they don’t act like that around friends (Canterlot beer pong is awesome, by the way.)

-Captain AJH

Shortly after Zecora left the spa, she began wondering. So it seems to be real, the latent chaos magic I feel.

She continued to walk back to her home in the everfree forest as Celestia’s sun began to set. Five minutes into her walk, she heard a rustle and what felt like a breeze.

“Do not believe you can fool me, pony hiding within the trees. I can tell you do not belong, and yet your mind is still strong.”

A single pony stepped into the open, donning what appeared to be a black trench coat, sunglasses, a gray bracelet, and a stetson. This was dwarfed by the fact that she was holding a very large double barreled gun.

“Give me one reason why ah shouldn’t shoot ya.”

“I know who you are Applejack, now please put that shotgun back.”

Applejack closed one eye and began to aim, “One. Reason.”

“I originally came to Ponyville to investigate, an unusual source of magic ready to open Discord’s gate. I work for the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, and came here at the request of a humble horse. He told me something strange was ahoof, but his superiors demanded proof. So he called me to study and search, this little corner of the earth.”

Applejack finally lowered the gun, but still held on, “Ya should’ve just called. Ah would’ve explained everythin’.”

“Listen to me, undying mare, take the utmost care. For the ponies in certain groups and rings, do not approve of your meddling. Thrice already you have changed history, everything in the future will soon be a mystery. Your own existence is at stake, for while you fear no death, how much can your family take?”

Applejack’s ears perked up, her head turning to the side. Her eyebrows furrowed and a slight frown appeared on her face. The mare’s eyes filled with worry as she began to contemplate what she was hearing.

“The acquisition of the grandchildren of time is not enough, unlike before, this timeline is not set in stone, but more like a diamond in the rough. Change is coming, and I cannot see the future anymore. It is time to start running, and forget the old lore.”

“But... ah can save them. I can prevent Celestia from creating the solar empire. If ah can just make sure Luna gets friends this time, the two wouldn’t fight, and ah can save so many lives...”

“While that is correct, when one changes a bad thing another takes its place. You are not the architect, attempting to fix the darkness that has permeated the pony race. In reality you are waging a secret war, one whose influence have spread far. It has attracted the attention of others, ones who have the capability to make you suffer.”

“...”

“This is the truth, stop the war or else ponies will sleuth. When all your secrets are revealed, who will keep their anger concealed. You wield the element of honesty, but you deceive and manipulate everypony consciously. You sneer at idolatry, yet you continue to search for the blue box constantly. In short, you have to admit that you are a hypocrite.”

A smirk appeared on Applejack’s face, “Is that all? Anyone who really knows me already knows that.”

“I see you take your predicament lightly, such blessing for one so mighty.”

“Ah truly am honest, however. In mah entire life, nobody ever asked me mah opinions on Celestia. No one expects a simple farmer to fight a war. Ah’ve never lied because no one bothered to be curious. No pony, dragon, griffon, or eldritch abomination ever sees me as hiding secrets, because ah hide in plain sight; who’d expect a farmer-turned-savior-of-equestria would be able to hide any secrets? No one, especially when said bearer holds the element of honesty.

“Very few ponies really understand how the element works. They assume ya can’t lie or have to be free of secrets fer it ta work, but actually, all that’s needed is truth between friends and family. Ah’m allowed ta lie for the safety of others, and that’s what ah do. Ah’m changin’ history because it’s already changin’. Ah mean, why not go fer a better future? Celestia’s brighter future ain’t gonna happen, but that doesn’t mean tryin’ a different way couldn’t make things better.”

Zecora looked at Applejack with an astonished look, “Life is not a chess game, Captain Harkness. The ponies in your immortal life can be found in both light and darkness. She is no longer the tyrant in your past, but has changed with the history you’ve craft. You have done enough, so stop before the enemies get very, very, tough.”

"Ah'm not playing with lives, ah'm merely... influencing the events. If ah go too far, I inform the affected parties about mah changes. Mah family knows, and they're okay with it. Ah'm here to only slightly change things fer the better. Ah mean, it's basically the same thing a seer like you would do."

Zecora’ eyes continued to widen, her mouth barely able to open, “How did you know I was a seer? Never to Ponyville or Equestria have I been near.”

With a broadening smile, Applejack answered, “Ah knew yer father, he was a nice zebra, albeit a bit naive about pony culture. Told me all about how he married into a family of prophets, and had a ‘magic kid’. Haven’t seen his family since the ice crash of ‘96. He was a very good stallion, and it sure is nice ta see one of his descendants again.”

“So, why the shotgun? I don’t see why for you it’s so fun.”

“Had ta be sure, ‘cause another one of yer relatives stabbed me the back. Literally. Scared the buck outta him when I resurrected,” Applejack said, “but ah’d like ta say, ah am not gonna change things that much, and some things ah will leave intact, such as Discord and Sombra.”

“Speaking of Discord, I sense a disturbing amount of his magic. If what you are protecting is true, the results could be tragic.”

“Don’t worry, ah got a plan fer that. Ah’ll leave yah ta yer work, and you’ll leave me ta mine. Deal?”

Zecora pondered deeply, then decided to answer, “Very well, we have a deal. Just be wary of the monsters of the meal.”

“Ah understand.”

Dear diary,

Fluttershy does not understand the danger of eat-everything monsters. Or she does, but doesn’t care about property damage. Either way, the chaos in Ponyville continues to rise. At this rate, Discord will be drawn here like a moth to a flame when he’s released. Plans for his release are about to enter phase 2.

-Captain AJH