Parallax roamed the Changeling hive. Ever since the departure of the pink alicorn known as Cadance and Predator the hive has seen better days. The changelings didn’t have much energy to carry out their normal routines. A good percentage of the changeling drones had to go into early hibernation in order to conserve what love energy the Princess of Love left behind, others, such as the Sentinel guards, and the nurse drones, were the only ones still moving around.
The Entity of Fear remained in an invisible state, keeping his presence suppressed. Though he was a changeling, he was not like the others and would surely draw attention. He had sneaked into Chrysalis’ chambers more than once to see how she was doing, and she was devastated. The Queen of the Changelings had been brought low before the towering might that was the Entity of Love, all according to Parallax’s plan.
Tantalize her with infinite power and have it taken away from her, desperation and fear are great motivators and can make anyone do what needs to be done, or take salvation from one who offers it, thought Parallax.
Unfortunately, the Entity of Fear was getting just a bit bored with watching and waiting for Chrysalis to hit her lowest point. Considering what she and her hive experienced, the Queen was less than willing to give up hope that she would find a way to help her precious changelings.
Parallax spat at that, hope, it was a weak concept. Hope did not save him when he was but a mere insect at the beginning, he did not “hope” he would survive, he did not hope that he would not be crushed by some bigger, stronger creature. No, it was Fear! The power of fear is what saved his life, the fear that drove him to flee from danger, the fear born from doing whatever it took to survive! It was that Fear that he embodied and gave him power, now there was nothing he feared, for all things feared him!
He then visited the nursery; the number of eggs had been cut down considerably since his last visit. The nurse drones worked tirelessly trying to keep the healthy ones alive. Parallax noticed that the healthy eggs had a sort of green bioluminescence glowing within them, humming and beating like a heart. While the light of the sick ones dimmed and brightened, showing that they were less than alright. And the ones that had gone dark were, of course, dead. He noticed one nurse drone, Murmur, if he remembered correctly, sitting at the edge of the dead eggs.
Her sobs had filled the nursery when she saw the lights dim and could do nothing to stop it. The other nurse drones did all they could to console Murmur, but she didn’t hear any of it. Parallax strode up beside her to see if he could hear what Murmur was muttering to herself.
“I’m sorry little ones…If I my love was enough to keep you alive I would gladly have given it to you…”
Ugh. More of her little pity party drivel. Sadness and despair are good, but it’s nothing that I can feed on or connect with!
Parallax eventually made his way to the center of the hive. The large rotunda that Predator and Cadance left through had quickly been repaired. He then scuffed the ground with his hole-ridden hoof and scoffed in annoyance.
“I’m getting bored waiting for Chrysalis, maybe it’s time I had some fun for a change, kckt, kckt, kckt,” he mused.
(Ponyville)
The Entity of Fear was had entered Ponyville, walking amongst them in the form of a random unicorn stallion form. Parallax couldn’t see what the appeal in this world was. This world reeked of all of the positive emotional energies of Willpower, Hope, Compassion, and Love. Fear was present, very little Rage, and even less of Avarice. The last two he didn’t really care about, but Fear. These ponies knew of it, but their collective hope and willpower saw them through and made it hard for fear to take root.
Well that will change so enough, we’ll see to it personally.
Parallax stopped walking, sensing the presence of another emotional energy. He watched from the corner of a house, seeing two mares exit a treehouse, which also appeared to double as a library. One was a blue pegasus pony and had a rainbow mane and tail, the other was purple and had both wings and a horn, an alicorn if he remembered the terminology correctly. Followed closely behind them was an orange pegasus filly, and right next to her was…Adara!
Though in pony form, Parallax could sense her power. Luckily for him, his Changeling powers didn’t just allow him to mask his appearance, but also gave Parallax the added bonus of masking his energy, allowing him to go undetected by any of his fellow entities. Parallax watched as Adara nuzzled the filly next to her, rather very affectionately he might add. And it seemed that the other filly returned the affection.
Hmm…Seems Adara has found a host, strange she does not take residence in her. Humph, no matter.
Parallax decided to allow Adara a reprieve, their time would come soon enough. For now, Parallax wanted to visit an old friend, so to speak.
The Entity of Fear headed towards largest concentration of Willpower was, for surely that was where Ion would be. His journey through town eventually led him to a farm named “Sweet Apple Acres.” Parallax looked at the sign and then the farm itself, raising an eyebrow at the location.
Of all the places for you to inhabit, Ion, you choose a farm? The almighty Entity of Willpower, decided to live on a farm?
Parallax could sense Ion’s power coming from the house, but something else drew his attention. It was surprising, amongst all the Willpower that this farm put out, he never expected to sense even a minute spark of Fear. Parallax decided to investigate, shedding his stallion form and disappearing from sight before entering the farm. He flew through the trees, trying to find the source of the Fear energy. After a few minutes of searching he finally found it, emanating from an orange earth pony mare wearing a hat. She was apparently kicking down some fruit from the trees, while a little filly watched.
“Soooooo…?”
“So what, Apple Bloom?”
“Are ya gonna go on a date with Ion or not!?”
Applejack was busy tending to the apple trees, bucking down their fruit as it landed into the baskets with a thud. She then stared down at her little sister with a surprised expression and with a slight shade of red on her cheeks.
“Apple Bloom – Ah – well –” Applejack then shook her head. “And what business is it of yours if Ah do or don’t little missy?”
Apple Bloom gave her sister an indignant look, “Really, after y’all went and kissed!?”
“Who told you that!?” Applejack half yelled, half squeaked.
“Oh, well, Rainbow Dash told Scootaloo that she saw ya kissin’ Ion after the whole thing with the volcano, and then Scootaloo told me,” said Apple Bloom with a proud smile.
Applejack made a mental note to hogtie Rainbow Dash, but that was for a later time. Right now Applejack had to think of something to get her little sister off the subject of dates. As she moved to the next apple tree a thought popped into her head.
“Well, first off, how could ya not tell meh about Ion’s real special talent?”
The little filly squirmed a bit, “It was a secret sis…Ah couldn’t break a promise! Especially after what he did to save our farm and you, Ah know Ah should’ve told ya…”
After bucking down another round of apples, the farm mare moved towards her little sister and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
“Ah ain’t mad at ya, Bloomy. To be honest, it’s better Ah found it out for mehself, Ah probably wouldn’t have believed it unless Ah saw it.”
“Thanks, so, when are ya goin’ to go on a date!?”
Applejack smacked her forehead.
“Tell ya what, Ah’ll ask Ion on a date, if you ask Spike on a date.”
Apple Blooms yellow cheeks flushed red at the mention of Spike’s name, and the word “date”.
“Wh-Wh-Why would Ah ask Spike on a date!?”
Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at Apple Bloom’s flustered state.
“C’mon now, Ah’ve seen the way ya look at him, and how happy ya look when you talk to him.”
“Ah don’t like Spike like that! And besides…even if Ah did, he’s still got a crush on Rarity.”
Applejack admitted she did forget about that one little bump in the road. That little dragon had been pining for Rarity since he and Twilight first arrived in Ponyville. She had hoped that Spike’s crush on her friend would just fade given enough time, but his devotion to the fashionista bordered on obsession sometimes. Twilight and the others didn’t really have the heart to say he stood no chance with her, besides the obvious age gap, Rarity’s romantic interests leaned towards the fairer type of pony as well as stallions. Although said fashionista would never admit it openly.
Of course, none of this was fair to Apple Bloom. She felt for her little sister, and wanted her to be happy, but Applejack knew that when the day came when Spike figured out that Rarity didn’t like him the same way he did, she knew Apple Bloom would be there to help him. Although, Applejack wasn’t too sure how much she liked her sister catching Spike on the rebound. Shaking those thoughts from her mind, Applejack placed a hoof under Apple Bloom’s chin and lifted it so that she could look into the filly’s eyes.
“Don’t fret now, sugarcube. Spike will get over his crush eventually, and when that’s happened, he’ll be able to see the filly who’s been there for him and will care for him even when he’s actin’ like a love sick fool,” said Applejack.
Apple Bloom blushed at her sister’s words, but it did bring a confident smile to her face nonetheless.
“Thanks sis.”
“Any time.”
“So when are ya goin’ to date Ion?”
“Apple Bloom!”
Ion had stared down many a foe, had united with two different Green Lanterns and fought side by side with them, he even suffered being enslaved by Krona and forced to possess a Guardian. But right now, Ion was facing down a foe that rivaled his dominant willpower, feeling the pressure of the analyzing and critical gaze of the red stallion before him. Both Ion, and his opponent in a contest of wills, Big Macintosh, were sitting in the living room of the Apple Family house.
Apparently, Big Macintosh had also gotten wind of Applejack’s romantic interest in their farmhand. And, like any big brother, at least that’s what Ion assumed, he was grilling the Entity of Willpower, judging to see if the green earth pony stallion would flinch before him, or give him a reason to jettison Ion out the front door and off the farm.
“So, ya like meh sister,” asked Big Macintosh.
It was less of question and more of a statement, but despite that Ion felt that he should at least make himself clear on his matter.
“I do…yes. Actually, I-I love her,” said Ion.
“Really, ya don’t sound sure?”
“I am sure!”
Big Macintosh narrowed his gaze at Ion, “Let me be clear here, Ion. Applejack don’t need somepony who’s half-flanked in their convictions. She’s a good mare, and deserves to be with somepony who’ll make her happy, and treat her as such. Are you that pony?”
Ion puffed out his chest and gave Big Mac a stern look.
“I am, Big Macintosh. And I will make her happy, I don’t know how, but I will!”
Big Mac leaned in towards Ion, staring him right in the eye.
“Are ya sure? Really sure Ah mean?”
At that moment Big Macintosh felt somepony swat him upside the head. The large stallion rubbed the back of his head tenderly and turned to see who it was. To both the stallions’ surprise, it was Granny Smith.
“Big Mac, quit scarin’ the poor boy.” Granny scolded.
“But –”
“No buts!”
Big Macintosh pouted but relented to his grandmother. Granny Smith then looked upon Ion with her usual kind expression.
“Now, Ion, Ah know ya care deeply for meh granddaughter. And Celestia knows, that girl’s never goin’ to find her special somepony workin’ the fields day in and day out. Now don’t get me wrong, tendin’ to the fields and workin’ on Sweet Apple Acres makes Applejack happy. But Ah don’t want her to spend the rest of her life not knowin’ what love is or wonderin’ what coulda been when she gets to be my age!”
Granny Smith then walked closer to Ion and placed her hooves on either side of his cheeks.
“All Ah’m askin’ is that ya be patient with her, and be there for her when she needs ya. She’ll always have her family, but family can only do so much, sometimes we need the strength and love of the pony we care most fer to give us a helpin’ hoof.”
Big Macintosh and Ion just stood there in stunned silence at Granny Smith’s wisdom. She may act kooky and can be forgetful at times, but that never seemed to stop her from dispensing great advice and deep stuff from time to time. The elder mare then released Ion and smiled at him, making the green stallion respond with one of his own.
“Now that that’s outta the way, hurry up and marry meh granddaughter and give me some grandchildren! `Cause this one here hasn’t done the deed with that school teacher friend of his, yet, and Ah want to at least see one before Ah go,” said Granny Smith, pointing a hoof at Big Macintosh.
It was hard to see if Big Mac was actually blushing, but from the look on his face, he was definitely blushing underneath that red fur of his. That’s not to say that Ion wasn’t glowing red either, the notion of having children with Applejack sent his mind into places that he wasn’t sure he could imagine, until now that is. Granny Smith then exited the room, cackling like a madmare at the flustered appearances on her grandson’s and Ion’s faces.
“She uh…She’s a wild one, Granny Smith, ain’t she,” asked Ion.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac responded.
The two stallions shook off the awkwardness of what Granny Smith said and proceeded outside to finish their work, having taken a break to have this impromptu conversation. Once outside, Big Mac put on an apologetic look.
“Sorry, Ion. Ah was just lookin’ out for meh sister; Ah didn’t mean to give ya a hard time.”
“No it’s alright, I understand. And, to be honest, I’m not sure what Applejack and I have right now…”
Big Macintosh raised an eyebrow at that.
“Ya havin’ second thoughts?”
“No, nothing like that… It’s just, ever since that incident with the volcano, she hasn’t…well…it kinda feels like she’s avoiding me now. I haven’t pressed her about it because I don’t want to push Applejack into something she’s not ready for, or doesn’t want.”
Big Macintosh found that rather odd. Given his sister wasn’t the romantic type; she was straight forward with pretty much everything she did. So it seemed odd that Applejack would just kiss Ion, and then not pursue it further. He knew for a fact that Applejack wasn’t for stringing anypony along, so why is she doing that now?
“Ya want me to talk to her?” Big Macintosh asked.
Ion shook his head, “No it’s okay I –”
Just then Ion heard something in the distance, a rustling of leaves, but that wasn’t all. For some reason he vaguely sensed Fear energy, it was very faint, almost nonexistent, but it was there for a moment. Recent events have made the Entity of Willpower more suspicious, with Butcher and Ophidian’s arrival, Ion was sure that a visit from Parallax wouldn’t be too far behind. However, the sensation was gone, and he didn’t see a need in getting paranoid and worried, yet. For now he would remain vigilant.
Snarling and howling echoed in the darkness. Applejack looked around her, not knowing where she was. The orange mare looked to right and then the left, frantically searching for the origin of the noises. If there was one thing Applejack hated, it was fighting an opponent who hid in the shadows like a coward.
“Show yerself! Ah’m right here!” Applejack shouted into the darkness.
It was then that something in the darkness shifted and changed. A flash of yellow light blinded Applejack for a moment before she saw two ponies. An earth pony mare and stallion were standing in the distance, both had their backs turned to her, but the stallion seemed to be wearing her favorite Stetson hat. Applejack was about to yell at the two ponies and ask for their identities when she gasped.
The stallion turned around, big and burly, much like Big Macintosh, with the same stoic expression. Applejack could never forget that stallion, never in a million years. It was her father, Alexander Apple. And the mare beside him, bearing a kind smile and eyes that belayed the boundless energy she had that allowed her to play all day with her children no matter how tired she got, Applejack’s mother and youngest daughter of the Orange family of Manehattan, Citrus Mist.
“Ma…Pa…?”
It had been a long time since she had seen them, even though for some reason they both looked yellow, she didn’t care. Applejack started to feel an overwhelming sense of joy at seeing her beloved parents again, but that was not to last. Soon Alexander and Citrus were overshadowed by a large timberwolf like creature. The giant yellow wolf howled loudly, sending the two ponies into a panic. Applejack’s heart raced with fear, she quickly galloped for her parents, and at the same time, her parents ran for her.
Applejack ran as fast as she could, but every time she thought she was getting closer, it appeared that she was instead getting further away from them. The timberwolf was on their heels, despite her efforts, the timberwolf was getting closer to Applejack’s parents than she was. Alexander reached out with his right hoof in desperate attempt to get closer to Applejack. The orange mare dove forward, reaching out with her hoof as well, hoping beyond all hope that she could pull her mother and father away from the beast. Sadly that was not the case.
The timberwolf raised its right claw and swiped it. The claw connected, Citrus Mist only seeing a rush of yellow strike her. The blow sent the mare hurdling into the air, her body slashed apart by the wolf’s razor sharp claws. Applejack stared in wide eyed horror as the divided pieces of her mother laid on the black nothingness, still and lifeless. It was then that Applejack heard a scream; she turned around to see that the timberwolf had Alexander Apple trapped between its rows of dagger like teeth. Once again the stallion tried to reach out for his daughter, and Applejack pathetically did the same, thinking that she could snatch her father away from the jaws of death.
Her hopes were once again dashed when she saw the wolf clamp its muzzle shut, biting her father in half. Applejack collapsed onto the ground, tears welling up in her eyes as she let loose a sorrowful sob.
“Not again…Ah can’t lose ya again…!”
Just then, Applejack felt a hoof touch her shoulder. The farm mare dared to look up and was greeted by the strong smile of Ion, like the others, he too was yellow. Applejack quickly rose up from the nonexistent ground and embraced the stallion, hugging him tightly as she sobbed into his shoulder.
“Ion…it-it killed my Ma and Pa! And Ah couldn’t do anythin’ to stop it!”
Applejack then felt Ion’s hoof gently stroke her mane comfortingly, she felt safe in his grasp, like nothing could harm him or her. But then, suddenly, she felt nothing. Applejack opened her eyes and gasped once again. Ion was gone, vanished from sight. Applejack frantically looked around and called out his name, but alas, she couldn’t see him or hear him. Then she felt a rumbling vibration through her forelegs, the thunderous thudding sound coming from behind her. Applejack stared in disbelief, seeing the Emerald Giant standing tall behind her, although, it was more of a Topaz Giant rather than emerald.
A few feet away, the creature that called itself the Butcher snorted and snarled as it stared down Ion’s hero persona. The Butcher then let loose its fiery blast right in Applejack’s direction. Ion quickly stepped between the farm mare and the attack, taking the full brunt of the blast. Applejack watched as the Giant’s body began to crack and dissolve under the fiery blast. In no time the Emerald Giant’s form was destroyed and completely shattered, leaving behind only Ion.
“ION!!!”
At that moment the stallion’s body broke apart, dissolving into particles of light.
“NO!!!”
~~~
Applejack awoke with a start. The sun had just started cresting over the horizon. The blond mare was sweating profusely, her fur matted and mane disheveled. Applejack hugged herself tightly, feeling her body shake. She had never had a nightmare that horrible before, not since she was a little filly and her parents…
“It was just a nightmare, nothin’ more,” she told herself.
Applejack decided to push that little episode down and keep it to herself. There was no need to worry her family or Ion. Applejack quickly made her way to the bathroom and took a shower to wash the sweat off her body, and then combed her mane before she placed her hair bands on. After her morning routine was done Applejack made her way downstairs, eager to get to work and clear her mind of the unpleasantness of last night, however, the moment that Applejack opened the door she paused before taking a step outside.
C’mon Applejack, just one hoof in front of the other. Applejack again attempted to leave the house, but froze as if stepping one hoof outside that door would invite some sort of disaster. The normally brave and bold mare started to retreat back into the house a little. W-What’s wrong with meh…? Why Ah’m Ah afraid to leave the house!?
It wasn’t long before Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom walked passed Applejack and were now outside when they noticed that their sister hadn’t been right behind them, the two siblings paused and turned to see Applejack still standing inside the house.
“Aren’t ya comin’ sis,” asked Apple Bloom.
“You alright, AJ,” asked Big Macintosh.
“A…Actually y’all, Ah don’t feel too good. Ah’m gonna sit a spell and catch up with ya later.”
Both Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh looked curiously at Applejack, she hadn’t missed a day of apple bucking in a long time, even when she wasn’t feeling good Big Mac had to drag her back inside to properly rest. So he didn’t argue with Applejack, if she felt she needed to rest and wasn’t feeling good, he certainly wasn’t going to push her and risk getting Applejack sicker.
“That’s fine, c’mon Apple Bloom. Looks like yer helpin’ me out in the fields for a bit.”
Apple Bloom nodded her response. Applejack then watched as her siblings made their way to the orchard when Ion exited the barn. He stopped to talk to Big Mac and Apple Bloom, both he and AB glancing over in Applejack’s direction. Big Macintosh must’ve convinced Ion because now he was following them towards the orchard.
With a heavy sigh, Applejack closed the door. She then made her way towards one of the couches and just curled up on it. She wasn’t really lying she did feel tired, as if that nightmare had sucked out the energy from her. And then there was that little paranoid part of her that she just couldn’t shake. Applejack wasn’t one to worry, but for some reason, the thought of stepping outside scared her.
Minutes turned to hours as Applejack stayed curled up on the couch, every so often her gaze would drift to the window. Wondering how Apple Bloom, Big Mac, and Ion were doing. They were surely done and were probably heading back to the house soon.
“What’s got ya lookin’ so down Applejack?”
The farm mare’s head swiveled in Granny Smith’s direction, but her surprise was short lived as Applejack returned to her curled up position on the couch.
“Hi, Granny, it’s nothin’.”
“Nothin’ my hind quarters, ya look like somepony went and ate yer last apple fritter. Now what’s wrong?”
Applejack sighed, Granny Smith was as stubborn as she was and knew the old mare wouldn’t leave her granddaughter, especially with her looking so downtrodden. So, reluctantly, Applejack told Granny Smith about the nightmare she had, minus the part about Ion turning into the Emerald Giant and fighting a massive red bull, opting to instead tell her about Ion disappearing, which wasn’t a total lie. Granny Smith listened intently to her granddaughter’s tale; it disturbed her that Applejack was having those kinds of dreams. She remembered how distraught and how hard it was for her to sleep when they lost their parents.
“Applejack, I know what happened to you, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh was a tragedy, and Celestia knows that ain’t the kind of thing one gets over too easily. But ya can’t let fear keep ya from doing things ya like.” It was then that Granny Smith had a thought pop into her head. “Is that the reason why ya haven’t done or said anythin’ to Ion?”
Applejack flinched a little upon hearing that.
“Ah’m afraid…Granny…Afraid that he’ll get taken away like Ma and Pa…Ah don’t know why, Ion’s a strong stallion, really strong. But…”
Granny Smith silenced Applejack by bringing the mare into a comforting hug. The elderly pony rocked back and forth a little, holding Applejack the whole time. It was something that Granny Smith would do with Apple Bloom when she was younger, she did it for all of them when they were younger, and it never failed to calm them down.
“Honey, ya can’t keep thinkin’ about all the bad stuff that’ll happen to ‘em. That’s life, we live, we love, and eventually, we die. Ah was sad when yer grandfather died, but Ah had Alexander, and he had yer mother. And, they had you three. They ain’t really gone AJ, they live in yer heart, they always will.”
“But…”
“No buts! Ya can’t let this stand in yer way of bein’ happy with somepony you care about. Don’t be afraid to show him that ya love him, Applejack. He’s worried somethin’ fierce about ya, and if that ain’t love then Ah’m seventeen years old.”
Granny Smith punctuated her remark by stretching out her wrinkles, making her face look like her younger self before the wrinkles snapped back and her face returned to normal. Applejack couldn’t help but let out a chuckle from seeing that, Granny Smith joined in as well, finding solace that her granddaughter was smiling again.
( Later that afternoon)
Ion, Big Macintosh, and Apple Bloom were heading back towards their family home. The whole trek back, Ion couldn’t stop thinking about Applejack. Wondering if she had caught something, or maybe it was that she was avoiding him? So many questions and very few answers, it was starting to wear on him a little. It was strange, when he was just a cosmic entity, Ion really didn’t have to worry about things like this, and all he had to worry about was channeling his power to the Green Lanterns so that they could battle evil.
Being a demi-mortal can get real complicated sometimes, thought Ion.
Just as the trio reached the farm they saw Applejack leaning up against the house as if waiting for their arrival. Apple Bloom detached from the group and quickly ran up to her big sister. The earth pony filly then began to inspect Applejack’s body, much to her annoyance, looking for any cut, or abnormality.
“How’re ya feelin’ Applejack, any better?”
“Ah’m fine, sugarcube, nothin’ to fret over. Ah just didn’t sleep well last night.”
Apple Bloom then wiped her brow with a hoof; Applejack playfully rolled her eyes at her little sister’s worry.
“Ion, ya mind takin’ a walk with meh…There’s somethin’ that Ah want to show ya, alone.” Applejack added that last part to tell her younger and older siblings to not come with or follow them.
The two apple siblings, with worried glances, entered the house and left Applejack and Ion alone. She didn’t say a word, but Ion could tell by her body language that he was to follow her, and so he did. Applejack led Ion through the orchard; all the while neither one of them said anything. She did, however, move closer to him, making Ion blush slightly from the close proximity, he could almost feel her body heat.
The two of them walked for a long while, with the farm mare leading Ion into a part of the orchard he hadn’t been to before. The trees around this area seemed bigger and presumably older. They continued on through the dense forest of apple trees till they happened upon a clearing. It was like the one that Ion fought the Alpha Timberwolf when he first arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, but unlike that clearing, this one had two objects sticking out of the ground in the distance. Ion was about to ask what they were, but Applejack continued forward.
After walking a good distance from the tree line, Ion was able to see just what exactly the objects were. They were headstones. The one on his left read “Alexander Apple, a good stallion, devoted husband, and a loving father.” Ion then looked to the one on his right adjacent to the first and read silently, “Citrus ‘Misty’ Mist, a wonderful spunky mare, a dear wife, and loving mother.” Ion glanced over at Applejack; her expression was solemn upon looking at the headstones. He had an idea who these ponies were, but felt that he needed Applejack to confirm this verbally.
“Applejack…are these, are they…?”
“Meh Ma and Pa…they were good ponies, Ion. Ah wish you could’ve met them. Pa was a strong one, like you and Big Mac. He could lift a whole boulder with no sweat, and he had to buck the trees with one leg, because he almost knocked one over hittin’ it with two.” Applejack chuckled at the memory of seeing her father nearly snap a full grown apple tree in half. “Ma, she was a feisty one. Always full of energy, guess that’s were Apple Bloom gets it from, and her sass too. Ma always had time to play with us, even if she was worn out, she made the time.”
“Sounds like you had wonderful parents,” said Ion.
“……Then…one day, when we were all out havin’ a little picnic, IT came for us.”
Ion felt that he shouldn’t press the “it”, but the look in Applejack’s eyes was that of one waiting for the question to be asked.
“What was ‘it’?”
“Ah timberwolf, but not just some ordinary one, no, it was an Ironwood Timberwolf! Their bodies are as hard as iron, they’re bigger, meaner, and unrelentin’ when they find their prey. All of us were there, me, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, even Granny. That thing rushed for us, Pa went to distract it while Granny and Ma got us to someplace to hide. Ah watched that thing fight Pa. He was strong, bucking that thing’s legs and leavin’ dents in it, you could tell that thing was scared.
But that’s when that thing sideswiped Pa against a tree. Ma ran out to stop it from bringing down its claws, but ended up gettin’ slashed by ‘em. She had three big gashes on her side…Ah-Ah never seen so much blood…” Applejack shook her head, trying to block the dreadful memory from resurfacing.
Ion placed a hoof on her shaking shoulders, “AJ, you don’t have to continue, I can tell it’s too painful for you.”
“No…Ah, Ah need to tell ya this. When Pa saw her on the ground, bleedin’ and dyin’, he got up and grappled with the wolf, Pa found a big tree branch and used it like a spear. He then used an opening and jammed that thing right in the timberwolf’s eye, all the way through. That creature let out an unholy howl of pain that Ah’ll never forget. But…right before it died, that wolf released a long sharp five foot long splinter and…and…it hit Pa right in his heart…” Applejack eyes started to water, recalling these painful memories and baring her soul to her potential paramour. “Pa died instantly, but Ma just bled out before anypoy could save her…”
Ion brought Applejack into a hug, letting the mare cry into his chest. He wanted to say he understood, that he felt her pain of lose, but really he didn’t. Ion was the Entity of Willpower, a creature whose life was endless, never having any parents or family outside of the other Entities, if that even counted. But even then, they too were eternal. All Ion could do was sit there and hold Applejack, letting her vent all her sorrow, after a bit, she separated herself from Ion and wiped her face with her foreleg.
“Sorry, Ah…Ah just wanted you to know why Ah haven’t done anythin’. With us Ah mean.”
“Your parents are the reason?”
“Ah just…with you bein’ the Emerald Giant and fightin’ monsters like that bull, Ah’m afraid of-of losin’ ya…”
“Applejack, you and your friends go on dangerous adventures all the time. You stood against Nightmare Moon, thwarted a Changeling invasion, defeated and reformed Discord, and helped save an Empire from that tyrant, King Sombra. You risked your life plenty of times, and walked away each time.”
“Yeah…but that was different, Ah wasn’t alone, Ah had meh friends helpin’ and watchin’ each other’s backs. You…you fight alone, with nopony to help you!”
Well that’s not entirely true, thought Ion.
“Applejack, I promise you, I’m not alone. Before, I did this hero thing to help others, which was good, but then, during that fight at the volcano, I realized, when I came close to losing, it was you. I wanted to keep fighting, no matter what, I wanted to come back and see you again. As long as I have you, Applejack, I’m never alone!”
Ion’s cheeks were burning red, he couldn’t believe he had said something so embarrassingly cliché. Applejack stood there as well, fidgeting with her hooves and sporting a red blush that burned with equal intensity. As corny as that was, Applejack couldn’t deny the warm feeling in her heart that it gave her.
“Ion…”
*AWWWWOOOOOOOO*
Applejack’s eyes went wide as her pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks. The mare’s body began to tremble with fright at that Faust awful sound.
“No…!”
*AWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO*
“What was that!?” Ion shouted, assuming a defensive stance.
The birds in the trees started to fly away, sensing the danger that was fast approaching. And from the rustling sounds, they were surrounded.
Just then, from the tree line behind the headstones some ways down burst forth a giant timberwolf. But this timberwolf was different. Its body was twice the size of the Alpha he fought long ago; the bark color was a kind of dark sliver that sheened in the sunlight. Its bushy tail was comprised of hundreds of sharp splinter quills, hooked claws, large dagger like teeth, and yellow glowing eyes that stared down the two ponies. This was the dreaded beast that Applejack spoke of, the very creature that took her parents away from her, the Ironwood Timberwolf.
Ion was about to make a break for it, and ready to haul Applejack along with him. But then, multiple timberwolves popped out the tree line, creating a perfect circle, they were completely surrounded. Ion kept Applejack close, prepared to do what was necessary to protect her. There was something wrong about this, a familiar aura that Ion knew he had felt before. As they grew closer, the green stallion was able to look into their yellow eyes, for a brief instance, a familiar symbol flashed in their eyes. It was one that Ion would never forget – could never forget.
Parallax! He’s behind this!?
The Ironwood Timberwolf stared directly at Applejack. The orange mare cowered before its gaze, a look of disbelief and terror were mixed upon her face.
“What are you doing here!? Y-You can’t be alive!”
“Applejack, I don’t think this is an accident, these may not even be real timberwolves!”
Whatever Ion said was lost on Applejack, her mind was too idled with fear that she was visibly shaking, the beast that took her parents from her was now standing before her, threatening to do the same thing.
Ion watched as the wolves started to get closer and closer, there was only one option left.
In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night,
No evil shall escape my sight!
Let those who worship evil’s might,
Beware my power, Will’s grand light!
Ion’s body erupted into a pillar of emerald light that shot up into the air, making the other twenty timberwolves, and Ironwood Timberwolf, take a few steps back. The light then took form, growing arms, legs, a chest, and finally a head. The Emerald Giant had risen once again, eyes glowing with the symbol of Willpower. Ion quickly erected a barrier around Applejack and her parents’ headstones. The wolves snarled in disapproval that their mare target was cut off from them, but they didn’t seem to mind too much, switching their focus to the Emerald Giant instead. Suddenly the smaller timberwolves glowed with yellow light, growing twice the size they once were, becoming near equals to the Alpha Timberwolf.
Ion assumed a defensive stance, bringing up his fists in preparation for battle. One of the wolves lunged for the Emerald Giant; Ion saw this attack coming and punched the beast right in the snout, sending it flying back to the ground. When he retracted his fist, Ion noticed that there very tiny cracks on his knuckles. Fear was the enemy of Willpower, and the yellow light, much like the red light of Rage, disrupted and destroyed green light constructs. Ion looked down at Applejack, who was staring at the scene before her in terror.
He couldn’t afford for his Emerald Giant construct to dissolve, so he opted for a different approach. Ion held out his hands as particles of green light began to coalesce in his open palms, he gripped the particles which then transformed into two, double-edged broadswords. Ion twirled the blades around and assumed a combative stance, keeping the left sword in a reverse-grip style, while the right sword remained in a normal-grip style. Ion shifted his eyes from one wolf to the next, watching them as they circled Applejack and himself.
One wolf attacked from behind, Ion spun in place and brought the blade of his sword right at the beast’s midsection, slicing it in half. The two halves fell off to the sides, twitching at separate intervals from each other. Ion noted that the insides of this wolf were filled with yellow light, furthering his suspicions that Parallax was behind this attack, but it didn’t make any sense to him. If they were constructs, they’d be glowing yellow like his body or swords, had Parallax acquired a magic from this world that allowed him to mask the obvious glow of the light constructs and make them appear more like the real thing?
Unfortunately, Ion didn’t have time to ponder that question as two wolves lunged form him. Ion stabbed the first wolf through the head with the right sword, retracting it, and then spinning in place to bring the left sword to slice the other wolf clean through. The other wolves took this as the initiative to attack at random. Ion went into a flurry of blade strikes, ducking, down and stabbing one through the stomach as it sailed overhead. Keeping the wolf on the blade, he then flicked the blade in the direction of three oncoming timberwolves, using the impaled wolf’s body as a projectile to bowl down the attackers. Ion was starting to get a good momentum going, keeping the wolves at bay by creating a zone-of-death with his swords.
Soon the last timberwolf, save for Ironwood, lunged for him. Ion brought his left sword into a normal-grip style He then struck with both swords at once, slashing in an X pattern that scattered the timberwolf’s wooden body into pieces. Ion then turned to the Ironwood Timberwolf and pointed a blade at it.
“Is this all the force you can muster against me, Parallax! You’re losing your touch,” he mocked.
The Ironwood Timberwolf merely smirked. The symbol of Fear shined in its eyes once again. At that moment all the severed bodies of the timberwolves began to rise up, wrapped in an aura of yellow light. The ones that he had been sliced apart regrew into new timberwolves, and the ones he had stabbed had their wounds healed, where once he was facing down twenty timberwolves, now had been doubled to forty.
Then again, maybe not!
Ion could see that slicing and dicing would only create more of these things, so he changed tactics. He decided to take a lesson from one of the Green Lanterns, and created a certain ones favorite weapon construct. Ion melded the swords together, weaving a new weapon. The two blades became one new weapon, with a twenty foot shaft and a large, heavy, blunt object at the tip. Ion lifted the war-hammer and twirled it around in his hands to get a good feel for it. Once he was satisfied, he entered a fighting stance. If he couldn’t shred these things then he’d just have to smash them with a hammer instead!
The ten wolves lunged at once, the Emerald Giant then swung the hammer in a wide arc, smashing the heads of all ten in one blow. Their headless bodies hit the ground and broke apart into piles of wood. Ion then felt a shooting pain in his left leg, when he looked down he saw that one of the wolves had sunk its fangs into it. The timberwolf’s teeth glowed with yellow light as it worked to tear off his appendage. Ion brought the butt of his war-hammer right onto the assailing beast’s head, driving the shaft straight through. The creature’s jaw went lax, allowing Ion to get himself free; however, the yellow impurity was in his construct. Yellow fissures spread out through the lower half of his left leg slowly, like the venom of a snake.
Still, Ion didn’t let this stop him. Even with a limp he was still stronger than these things! That’s when he felt even more pain in his body, feeling five thuds striking his back, along with a sharp, piercing pain. The pain made Ion lose focus, making his war-hammer disappear into light particles. He turned his head and saw that five, ten foot long splinter-quills were lodged into his back. Ion saw that the Ironwood Timberwolf had its large paw right on top of Applejack’s barrier, and its tail pointed right at him, each quill tipped with yellow light.
Ion could feel the yellow light of Fear invade his construct body, weakening him. He watched as Ironwood began to press on the barrier, which was now showing visible cracks. Fear started to grip Ion, knowing that if his barrier failed Applejack would be dead. He then tried to make his way towards her, but felt his right leg burn with the familiar pain of fangs digging into his construct body. The wolves he had smashed had resurrected, but, despite not being cut in half, divided once again, now a force of sixty timberwolves. The wolves all started to pile on Ion, each one biting down on different parts of his body, and raking their glowing yellow claws against his form to force him back. With great effort, the timberwolves brought the Emerald Giant falling onto his back. The timberwolves took advantage of this and piled into a feeding frenzy, tearing apart his construct as green patches of the construct’s body flew off and burst into tiny particles of green light.
Applejack watched in sheer horror, her nightmare was coming true. Ion was going to die right in front of her, and she couldn’t do a thing stop it. No matter how much she cried or pounded against the barrier, they wouldn’t let up.
“STOP IT!!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! PLEASE!!!” Applejack cried out.
Tears began to stream down her muzzle, feeling completely useless, like she was a little filly all over again.
“You can’t help him…” Applejack turned up to the Ironwood Timberwolf, who now stared down at her with its terrifying yellow eyes. “He’s going to die, and it’s because of you! Because you’re weak, because, despite all your bravado, at your core, you’re nothing but a scared, weak, pathetic little girl! Crying for someone to save her, and sadly, causing those around you to die, just like your parents! ”
Applejack stared at the headstones of her mother and father.
“Ma…Pa…Ah’m sorry…and now Ion…!”
“All you love will be taken from you, everything you’ve worked hard for will vanish, and all because of you, your family and friends will suffer, Applejack!”
“WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP!!?”
Applejack and the Ironwood Timberwolf both looked to the pile of timberwolves who were still going to town on the Emerald Giant’s body. At that moment a powerful burst of green light erupted forth, blasting the wolves off the Giant’s body. The Emerald Giant was riddled with glowing yellow scars, along with fissures of yellow light that threatened to shatter his form. The right leg was bleeding out green energy, while the left arm was completely gone. Against the pain, Ion charged forward, roaring with defiant anger as he cocked back his fist. Brass knuckles materialized around the Giant’s fist, and, putting all his strength into it, Ion punched Ironwood right in the face, sending the beast sailing into the tree line, and taking out a few of the trees as he skidded to a halt.
Ion then collapsed onto his knees as he supported his himself with his only arm, looking down on Applejack as he felt the yellow light infect his body. The orange earth pony looked up at Ion with distress and concern at his current state, to her it was like the Butcher fight all over again.
“Ion…Ah…Ah did this to you…”
“No, you didn’t, Applejack,” grunted Ion, in pain from the yellow light, trying to fight its influence.
“Ah’m no good for you…for anypony…All Ah do is hurt the ponies Ah care about…”
“Applejack, you can’t listen to that thing! It’s messing with your head!”
“Ah’m better off dead…better than meh family, friends, or you sufferin’ for meh weakness…”
The Emerald Giant’s brow furrowed, he then brought up his right fist and slammed it down on the ground, causing the earth to quake beneath Applejacks’ hooves.
“Overcome your fears, Applejack!!!” Ion shouted.
Applejack paused as she looked into the eyes of the Emerald Giant.
“You’re not weak! You’re not any of those things that Parallax said! You’re the most stubborn, headstrong, bullheaded, and hardworking pony I’ve ever met! But you’re also kind, caring, courageous, honest, and…and the most beautiful mare I’ve ever seen…!”
Applejack felt her cheeks heat up at those words; the fear she was gripped with was starting to wane a little.
“You…You really think all that about me?”
“I do, and I’m willing to bet my life on it! On YOU! Granny Smith told me that, sometimes, ‘you need the strength and love of somepony you care about to give you a helping hoof.’ My strength is your strength Applejack, and yours is mine! You don’t have to face this alone!”
“Alone” that was the thing that Applejack feared, that everypony around her, friends, family, all would die and she could do nothing to stop it, thinking that it was her weakness, her lack of strength and conviction that would eventually leave her with no one to love or care about. And here, Ion was standing, barely, but even after seeing her at her weakest, he was willing to be her strength, and at the same time, allow her to be his.
“Ion…Ah-Ah love you…”
The corners of the Emerald Giant’s face rose slightly, imitating a smile on its faceless visage.
“I love you too, Applejack.”
An angry roar and multiple howls echoed through the air as the timberwolves started to rise up again and make their way to their prey. Applejack and Ion looked to see that they were once again surrounded, but instead of a fearful expression on Applejack’s face, she now bore her usual cocky, smug smile.
“Ion, Ah think you know what to do!”
“Damn right!”
Ion opened a hole in his chest, a swirling vortex of emerald light. Applejack took a few steps back, giving a nod to her parents’ headstones, and then galloped at full speed. She then jumped straight into the vortex in the Emerald Giant’s chest, the opening closing behind her. At that moment, the Giant’s eyes blazed with green light as its body once again erupted into a pillar of emerald light. But this time was different, the power and force behind the light was stronger than it once was.
Within the pillar a transformation was taking place. The destroyed arm reformed, the bleeding wound on the right leg sealed shut, and all the scars and cracks were healed with the power of Will. The Emerald Giant then started to sprout armor around its body, with large panel shoulder plates that bared the insignia of Willpower. The Giant’s head formed a helmet with a crescent horn mantel on its forehead. And lastly two fierce glowing eyes appeared on the chest of the giant, with the chest armor slightly resembling the face of a horse.
With a battle cry the pillar shattered apart and revealed the new form of the Emerald Giant.
“Fear has no place in our hearts, even when it’s staring us in the face, our strength will never waver!”
“We’ll gather up all our courage and face whatever comes at us, we’ll tear it down like a wall that blocks our path!”
“We are courage, we are Willpower! We are the Emerald Knight!!!”
“We are courage, we are Willpower! We are the Emerald Knight!!!”
The Knight’s body then flared up with green power, raging like an inferno as its twin eyes blazed with unbridled determination. The timberwolves cowered a little in the presence of the newly revived Emerald Giant. One of the wolves dared to attack the empowered warrior, but the duo were more than ready. The Knight cocked back its right fist.
“If cutting and smashing don’t stop ya –!” The Knight then punched forward, making contact with the wolf’s midsection and causing the beast to let out a pained grunt. “Then we’ll just have to turn ya to dust!”
At that moment, the Willpower insignia shined in front of the Knight’s fist, collecting energy until it released it in a powerful burst that blew the timberwolf’s body away, turning into dust, and leaving behind a yellow timberwolf construct in its place. Within mere seconds the construct too disappeared. The wolves all roared and growled with anger at seeing their own taken down so easily. All fifty-nine wolves then leaped into the air and charged straight for the Knight, trying to overwhelm it like before. The twin eyes of the Knight glowed brighter, along with its entire body.
“Not gonna happen!!!”
At that moment multiple Willpower insignias appeared all around Knight’s body. The centers of the symbols then shot out, blasting green energy beams in every direction. Fifty-nine beams for fifty-nine timberwolves; each one was suspended in the air by the light, until each light sent a powerful bolt of green energy straight into the wolves’ bodies. When the beams disappeared, each one of the wolves shattered apart in mini explosions of yellow light. The Ironwood Timberwolf roared in defiance, aimed its tail, and let loose a stream of yellow tipped quills at the Emerald Knight.
The Knight then created a shield in front of it, bearing the symbol of Willpower. All of the quills bounced off the shield like toothpicks being thrown at a window. Ironwood was visibly starting to panic, it had them on the ropes and now it was the one in danger. The Emerald Knight then ran straight for the wolf and then punched the wolf right through their own shield. The Knight then sped past the wolf and grabbed its tail with its left hand. With its mighty strength, the Knight crushed the base of the tail, making the quill shooting appendage dissolve into nothingness.
“Let’s end this!”
“Let’s end this!”
The Emerald Giant then fired an energy blast at the Ironwood Timberwolf, when it struck it did not explode but instead it captured the wolf, surprising the beast. The sphere then lifted into the air and stopped at a certain height in the air. The creature tried to move, but the power of the sphere kept it still.
The Knight’s twin sets of eyes once again blazed as it lifted its right arm into the air, particles of emerald light collected around the Knights’ forearm, forming a ridiculously, enormous drill! Leveling the thing with its left hand, the Giant took off into the air! Its body transforming into pure light energy as it propelled the gigantic weapon forward, the drill then spun at a fast rate, accelerating with each passing second. The drill made contact immediately, piercing through the sphere and right into the wolf’s body.
The power of the drill completely annihilated the wolf and the construct underneath, tearing apart the particles and body until there was little to nothing left of the nightmarish creature. The Emerald Knight then landed thunderously back on terra firma. The sphere containing the blast released the full force, lighting up the sky while the twin eyes of the Knight shined through it all.
Off to the in the shadows of the trees, Parallax watched the spectacle with intrigue. His lips forming a fanged smile as he contemplated the events that just transpired.
Neither possession nor unification, merely piggybacking off one another’s willpower, well played Ion, I really must remember to thank you when everything is set and done. You’ve obviously chosen a host, as I’m sure the others have, but from the looks of it, none of you are willing to inhabit them. An advantage we will see fit to exploit. But nonetheless, that was entertaining.
With that the Entity of Fear disappeared from sight, off to concoct whatever nefarious plans he and his fellow Negative Entities had put together.
Unfortunately, Applejack’s parents’ headstones were wrecked during the fight. Luckily, there were enough pieces lying around for Ion to put them back together. Once that was done, the stallion and mare paid their respects to the two long dead ponies, and apologized for disrupting their sleep. When they were done, Applejack and Ion decided to walk back to the farm.
During their trek, Applejack had saw fit to walk very close to Ion, even going so far as to interlock their tails, an act which was only reserved for intimate couples.
“So…”
“So…”
“What do we do now, y’know, since we just proclaimed our love for each other and all,” asked Ion.
“Well, Ah reckon that the right proper thing for ya to do is to ask me out on a date,” answered Applejack.
Ion gulped nervously at the prospect of dating Applejack, when you’re a cosmic entity of all Willpower in the universe, your dating knowledge is very, very limited, if not nonexistent. But one look into those emerald green eyes of Applejack’s and Ion’s nervousness flew away, so what if he didn’t know how to date, he’d figure it out.
“Alright, Applejack do you want to –?”
“Not now, sugarcube, the mood ain’t right. Let’s just enjoy the walk for now.”
“I can deal with that.”
Applejack then rested her head against Ion’s neck, nuzzling him affectionately.
“Thanks, Ion, Ah love ya.”
“Same to you, and I love you, too.”