//------------------------------//
// 87 - Chronicles: Applejack 
// Story: Re:Harmony 
// by starcross7 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 87 - Chronicles: Applejack
 
"Come on Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo cried.  "Push harder!"
 
Fluttershy was indecisive on how she should handle assisting Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, both of whom stood at the highest metal stair with their backs pushed against the icy cold hatch leading up to the deck.  Sweetie Belle had already exhausted herself after a few seconds of effort, and now she concerned herself cleaning off the ice and snow that fell from the cracks of the hatch off from her purple scarf.  Apple Bloom seemed to be doing the most work given the natural strength of Earth Ponies, but even with Geosense training, she was still a growing filly. 
 
"Um, are you sure you don't need any help?" asked Fluttershy. 
 
"I can do this," Apple Bloom grunted.  "Upon my pride as an Apple, I will get this darn hatch open!" 
 
Her struggle was nothing compared to the training she had to suffer under Agatha's Geosense training back in the catacombs of the Crystal Empire.  Here however, the cold exhausted her body further, and she was losing grip on her boots.  Fluttershy was prepared to catch the yellow filly if she was to slip and fall, but all the same she did not want her hurt herself.  It was painful to watch Apple Bloom to take the entire burden upon herself. 
 
Apple Bloom finally attained a firm footing on her hind legs, and she used her front hooves for one last push.  Pop went the hatch.  A blizzard's wind flushed through the hatchway, temporarily grounding the adult pegasus on the nearest metal landing as she helplessly watched the girls climb out.  This wind was a lot stronger than a few hours ago when Fluttershy let in a flock of vultures.  Still, she imposed onto herself the responsibility of looking after the girls.  Fluttershy's worries gave her the strength to crawl on her stomach out of the hatchway and onto the deck.  Her wings had been weighed down by matching wing-mufflers.  It wouldn't allow her to fly anyway, but she kept her wings folded to the trunk of her body for fear of being blown away by the winds. 
 
"Girls, please come back inside," Fluttershy pleaded.  Her voice could not penetrate the blizzard, and the blizzard blanketed a sheet of snow that it made it difficult to see several hooves forward.  She tried to follow the three little silhouettes that were Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, but her boots, despite being spiked did not inspire confident traction on this ice rink of a deck.  Hopefully the boots, socks, coats, and scarves Fluttershy made the girls wear would keep them warm and toasty. 
 
Then Fluttershy noticed a dark shadow far off in the distance growing exponentially larger with each passing second.  Ice cracks began to creep towards her, and she could feel the steel floor underneath trembling.  Fluttershy tried once more to call back the girls, who were now a few more feet further, but the winds continued to drown her voice. 
 
It was too late.  The girls, surprised by the incoming shadow, screamed out.  The dark shadow tried to slide to halt, but instead careened towards the yellow pegasus.  A Stetson hat flew off the owner's head, and Fluttershy grounded herself as best she could on the ice anticipating an emergency use of her Element of Empathy to mitigate the damage. 
 
Unfortunately, she couldn't utilize her arcane powers in time.  An orange body collided with a yellow body, and the two slid far past hatchway until they slammed at the walled edge of the deck's fore.  It was a smart impact, but nothing to writhe in pain about.  Yet right as Fluttershy reeled back from dizziness, an avalanche of snow suddenly buried her and fellow companion. 
 


 
The flames of the first propane heater illuminated the abstractness of Love Nest Zero's white walls and white furniture.  Soggy clothes hung almost haphazardly on the few modernist black chairs and the blocky bedposts of a decoratively blank bed.  Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had taken off their clothes to warm themselves near the second gas heater that had been placed in the corner to dry out the all-important Stetson hat hanging off a clothes hook. 
 
Not too far from the same heater, Fluttershy sat on her haunches underneath a felt blanket shivering before she sneezed a long and cute "achoo" out of her lips.  It was enough to make the Orange farm pony blush with suppressed giddy.  Surely the yellow pegasus was pretty, if not jaw-droppingly beautiful.  Any regular stallion would fall for her delicate shyness, as would mares of a certain persuasion.  Yet Applejack felt no strong romantic attraction to her, thank the earth.  Other mares did not make the rebel mare's heart go aflutter.  At times she found the idea downright disgusting while opening herself to the general idea of fraternizing with two or more mares.  Twilight on the other hoof caused Applejack to lose a lot of sleep over, and her thoughts dwelled on saving what's left of Twilight's sanctity from the clutches of a perverted captain. 
 
"Hey Sis," said Apple Bloom.  "Sorry we interrupted your trainin', but my friends and I were tryin'--"
 
"We're trying to find Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo cried.  "Is she here?  Is she under the bed?  In the closet?  In your hat?"
 
"Rainbow Dash?" asked Applejack.  "That Captain came up to the deck askin' me if I need a handicap in the race, and I said I could beat her even if she was allowed to fly.  Then she started askin' me about what Twilight likes and all that stuff, but I told her to beat it." 
 
"Do you know where she went?"
 
"Heck if I know.  She flew off, but with the weather turnin' all nasty on us, I assumed she came back to the ship."
 
"Missed her again!  All right girls, we gotta catch up to her!  She should be in the--"
 
Upon her opening the metal bedroom door, a gust of wind and a pile of snow spilled inside.  Scootaloo closed it shut right before an octet of arctic terns flocked in for last minute shelter.  Whether by instinct or by magical enchantment, the terns gathered underneath the warm comfort of Fluttershy's wings and her blanket. 
 
"Of all the..." Scootaloo grumbled.  "Why do these birds keep boarding this ship?  We never had this problem before!" 
 
The other ponies silently watched a frustrated orange pegasus filly shuffle through the spilled snow towards a metal locker at the side of the room.  She made the locker regurgitate romantic candles, incense, and rubber toys before clamping the handle of a snow shovel between her teeth.  Once more the metal bedroom door swung open, bringing in cold wind and more snow.  It was almost heartless to watch Scootaloo dig all by herself, but Applejack could see a little bit of herself within Scootaloo.  Scootaloo would be too proud to accept help from anypony, and anypony who want to help her would have to do so with subtlety.  The orange mare motioned to the other fillies to stand by while she prepared an appropriate distraction and the perfect means to take everypony's minds off of the drudgery of escaping Love Nest Zero. 
 
"So why y'all lookin' for the Captain?" asked Applejack. 
 
"We're trying to learn how she got her, oh, I don't even know what to call it anymore," said Sweetie Belle. 
 
"Something-something-marks," said Apple Bloom, "y'know, the things that appears on your flanks.  Big sis, you haven't told me how you got yours." 
 
"I haven't?" asked Applejack as she carefully watched Scootaloo's ears perk up.  "I thought I did back at the Crystal Empire."
 
"You only told me about how Big Brother Mac got his.  I still can't believe some raggedy doll was responsible for it."
 
"Yeah, that did make Granny Smith look at him funny for about a month or so, but no matter what kind of weird interests he has, we still loved him all the same.  In any case, listen closely lil' fillies.  If not for my marks, I wouldn't have started this crazy journey and I wouldn't have found my lil' sis.  It all started when Posey and her cronies razed the family farm..." 
 


 
After Granny Smith threw me out the window and into the hay, I immediately fled to the Everfree Forest with nothin' but my pa's hat and my Element of Truth.  I've been to the Forest before, but I never spent a night there.  That first night was the scariest, and I couldn't even sleep.  Bats swooped in and chased me out of a tree trunk I tried sleepin' in.  Then a cragadilly crawled out of the swamp and tried bitin' my tail off.  The Feral Pony's haunting whinny was the last straw, and I ran out as fast as I can until the sun came up. 
 
I then wandered alone in the streets of Ponyville Slums, still rememberin' the heat of the fires and the smell of smoke and blood of my farm.  I hid behind alleyways and trashcans hopin' that nopony would recognize me.  The Apples had always been bullied and oppressed, and there were times that I regretted bein' an Apple.  Alone and hungry, I decided that I no longer wanted to be one.  I reckoned that as long as I have that blasted necklace, I'd never have a good life. 
 
I exchanged my pa's Stetson with a blue rag I found in a dumpster before I boarded the tram down to Sewer Town.  I was a scared filly wanderin' alone in the filthy streets while bumpin' flanks with all sorts of shady ponies, zebras, Shetlands, and Diamond Dogs.  I couldn't sell my Element of Truth to anypony out in the open by the tram station, and I used that blue rag to cover it like a scarf of some sorts.  I pretended to ask around for a shop that sells unique artifacts of a certain kind--magical and illegal if you will.  As such, the denizens of Sewer Time directed me to Uncle Curio's, and hurried away from them before they asked me further questions. 
 
I was prepared to lie about who I was and where I got the Element of Truth.  When I arrived, I became scared of all the frightful wares, like severed rabbit feet necklaces, zebra skulls, and the like.  That Asian pony emerged from the shadows of his store with a shifty smile, like he wanted to kidnap me or worse.  Fortunately, he didn't ask a lot of questions when I offered to sell my Element of Truth.  I didn't haggle because I was tired and hungry, and I accepted the first offer he made of 200 bits.  Once I got my money, I immediately ran out to find a good place to eat.  I was far away from that Asian district and followed some ponies to a nice restaurant with a lot of leafy greens growin' on its sand-colored columns and fences.  With the bag of bits tightly wrapped on my back, I tilted my nose up pretendin' to act like one of those Earth Party Elite snobs.  I couldn't get in because some mohawked bouncer stepped in front of me. 
 
"Zebras only," said the striped bouncer.  "Go home, little pony." 
 
"But I have money!" I cried. 
 
"I care not for your frown.  This is Sewer Town.  So take your pout and get out." 
 
"Let her in," said the dinner guest who was ahead of me.  " She is my companion for within."
 
"My apologies, Lady Z," said the bouncer.  "I did not realize she is with thee." 
 
With that, the bouncer opened the barrier and allowed me in.  I did not know what to make of it.  The zebra mare ahead of me commanded a strong presence that it silenced the other guests and made them resume their meals.  Like all most other zebras, she was striped and had a black muzzle, but she wore a fine black silk gown and had the shiniest gold earrings and neck rings.  She had a long white mane that made her look old or witch-like.  Ordinarily, I would avoided zebras like her, but with my stomach growling so loud I followed Lady Z in without thinkin' much about it. 
 
I didn't know a lot about zebra culture or zebras in general, but I didn't realize Lady Z was such a bigshot in Sewer Town.  Every few feet there were burly zebra stallions in black suits, black shades, and radio earpieces bowing slightly every time we passed by.  We moved upstairs to a private dining area where I saw not just rich, well-dressed zebras but a few Earth Party Elite members dinin' while discussin' politics, money, and whatnot.  Nopony gave us notice so far, and we were seated in a private balcony booth overlookin' the street.  Immediately afterwards, a pair of zebra waitresses served us cups of a tea. 
 
"I can pay for this," I said. 
 
"I know the owner," said Lady Z.  "Here, I carry a lot of power.  So feel free to dine with glee." 
 
"What do you want out of me?  I don't even know you."
 
"Something compelled me to take you in before you committed a grievous sin."
 
"I'm fine on my own.  I don't need anypony." 
 
"Yet I can see that your are not being honest with yourself.  You certainly need help." 
 
"What makes you think that?" 
 
"The tears on your flesh have once more become fresh."
 
I didn't realize I was cryin' back then, but that Lady Z figured me all out.  As quiet as I could, I cried myself out, and the kind zebra sat next to me to wipe off my tears here and then.  Eventually breakfast had been served, but the plates were so big that I could have mistook it for dinner.  I immediately started eating like pig, but my tears kept runnin' down my cheeks like waterfalls.    
 
"I lost everythin', Lady Z," I said.  "My home, and my family.  I wanted my hurt to go away so bad that I threw away my father's hat and sold my family's heirloom.  I figured that would be the only way to distance myself from them.  Livin' with my family always felt like a constant curse, and all my life I was bullied simply 'cause I was born an Apple."
 
"For you, that is not true.  In spite of your social blight, your life has been bright.  With your family you had your highs and lows, but surely that brought you close together you know."
 
"I tried to make the best out of it, but one by one all my relatives were dyin' off.  Now they're all gone, and I'm the only one left."
 
"From what I can tell, that too isn't true as well.  They may be gone, but your family and home live forever within your heart.  Their love and their memories deep inside you will never come apart.  Do not hate your family, little one, for without them you would be long gone.  They had made you strong, and you must use that strength to make new family and friends while you are still young.  Honor them not by crying, but by living." 
 
"I ain't sure I can do that." 
 
"I believe you can do it, but only if you commit.  I know this because I sense an urge to correct a mistake, and that you need to make haste." 
 
That zebra lady really figured me out.  I threw away my pa's hat and sold the necklace, but deep inside it felt like I was killin' my family with my own hooves, and that was the real reason I was still cryin'. 
 
"You're right," I said after wipin' my tears.  "Granny gave me a mission to spread the truth about the world, and I gotta uphold it as the last of the Apples.  Lady Z, how can I ever thank you?"
 
"I ask not for compensation, but your companionship is enough reason."
 
"An Apple always repay her debts.  I don't know how long it'll take, but I will pay you back somehow.  Thanks for the meal." 
 
I left the zebra restaurant, and upon me takin' one look back at the balcony, I saw that Lady Z was gone.  Thinkin' back, I knew that wasn't her real name, and yet I couldn't help but wonderin' that she knew me from somewhere or that I met her before without realizin' it. 
 
Eventually, I galloped my way back to Uncle Curio's shop and then threw my bag o' bits on the front counter right in front of him.  Here I was, starin' dead on at him huffin' and puffin', but that shifty pony stared at me blankly as if I was some hungry wolf eyein' his prey. 
 
"That was fast," said Curio.  "I thought you ran off to buy some food."
 
"I'm buyin' my necklace back," I huffed. 
 
"Ah, but you are too late.  I sold it not too long ago to a Miss C for 400 bits.  Quite a profit for a worthless antique." 
 
"Worthless?  You damned swindler!  That was the Element of Truth!"
 
"That was one of the fabled Elements?  Drat!  I knew I should have sold for a higher price.  Then again, it was probably best that I got rid of it before the Government decides to raid my shop again."
 
"Forget that!  Where did she go?  And what did she look like?" 
 
"Miss C had just left to take the tram to the surface.  She's quite a sight, if you ask me.  She's a big buffalo covered head to hoof in a beige cloak.  Yet, there is something odd about the way her tail moves.  And how it sounds." 
 
I didn't listen any more to the swindler's pinin' over that she-buffalo 'cause I was already out of the shop after tyin' the bits back on my back.  I ran fast as my filly legs could take me back to the underground tram station where I saw a small herd of clothed buffaloes in the middle of a large crowd.  Trailin' them was Miss C stickin' out like a sore hoof with her ugly beige cloak. 
 
"Hey Miss C!" I yelled. 
 
The big buffalo didn't turn around, but she definitely heard me.  Miss C started pushin' through all the buffalos to get on the tram, but with me bein' all small, I was able to run underneath many bison legs to catch up to her.  When I lost sight of her, I climbed up the herd and started leapin' off from bison to bison until I reached the platform.  I stopped Miss C by landin' right on her tail right before she boarded the tram.
 
"Get off my neck!"
 
I stepped back and started into the hypnotic eyes of a mean-lookin' asp and her forked tongue.  The snake then curled back underneath Miss C's cloak, and right then a pair of security ponies rushed past me with their batons in their mouths.  Before they could even beat some interrogation out of that buffalo, a tiger's claw slashed across their chests that sent them tumblin' off the platform.  As ponies and buffaloes screamed, Miss C threw off her cloak and bounced up the rails towards the ground level.  I tightened the sack of bits on my back and chased after Miss C.  I heard a tiger's roar, a goat's bleating, and a snake's hiss mixed in with screams and bullets the further I got up.  When I arrived, a group of Clone Soldiers trapped Miss C underneath a net along with her conjoined sisters.  The pegasi alarms sounded off, and the remaining ponies in the station had already fled. 
 
Several Clone Soldiers lay dead nearby, and three more had their rifles pointed at Miss C's tiger head.  I needed to save her despite her kind's reputation of eatin' ponies, and she still had my Element of Truth in her satchel.  But a fourth Clone Soldier blocked my way, and these non-pony ponies were about to pull the trigger and execute Miss C. 
 
Just then, I heard a loud sonic boom, and a rainbow wave exploded from the sky and shattered all the windows of the station.  At that moment Clones were distracted enough for me to give them the slip.  I grabbed an oriental flute from the nearest stall and used it to knock out the Clone Soldier chasin' me.  I used a nearby rope to lasso another to the ground and hogtie him.  I then pushed my behind to a wooden a chair and used it to beat down the Clone who was about to fire upon Miss C. 
 
"Drop the chair, rebel scum," said the last Clone.  I did as I was told, but the Clone butted my head to the ground with his rifle and aimed the barrel between my eyes before I could even blink.  Suddenly, the snake head lunged in and sank its fangs into the Clone Soldier's neck.  That Clone wrestled with the poisonous grip of the snake head, fired two shots in the air, and then collapsed dead right in front me. 
 
I thought I was out of danger when a tiger's claw slammed me on a steel pole.  Sharp nails dug dangerously into my flesh and hindered my breathin'.  That chimera had freed herself somehow, but the tiger head looked mighty peeved at me.  Meanwhile her conjoined sisters, scary as they were, didn't appear as angry I thought they would be. 
 
"Chi," bleated the goat head.  "Let her go.  I control the hind legs, and I will break them if I have to." 
 
"Why should we, Mer?" growled the tiger head.  "Her kind is the reason why we're driven to extinction.  And this filly is the one who stepped on Ra's neck." 
 
"Sshe saved uss," hissed the snake head.
 
"She's the one who nearly got us captured." 
 
"All I want to do is buy that necklace back from you," I gagged.  "That's the Element of Truth passed down from my ancestors, and I need it to overthrow the Government and tell everypony the truth about this country."
 
"So you're an Apple, aren't you?" asked tiger head Chi. 
 
"The last of my clan and proud of it.  You kill me, and you'll be no different than Earth Ponies killin' chimeras." 
 
Miss Chi's eyes moved down as if she was thinkin' about killin' me or not.  I never thought the Apple Family would be of any interest to chimeras like her, as we were either scapegoats or poster children of rebellion.  Whether it was my bravery or my family's reputation, she finally let me go, and I fell onto my hooves tryin' regain my breathin'.  Miss Chi threw down to my hooves my family's heirloom, the Element of Truth, right as she turned away. 
 
"Take it," said the tiger head.  "That thing brought us a lot more trouble that what it's worth." 
 
I count myself as a lucky filly to survive a chimera attack, and maybe she and I had a lot in common than I thought.  Before she left, I made sure to toss to Ra the bag of 200 bits, which concluded the transaction.  I ain't sure if we're even 'cause Ra the snake head kept her hypnotic eyes on me as her conjoined sisters leapt from the ran out of the station before leaping to the rooftops.  Then she was gone. 
 


 
"That rainbow explosion caused a mighty riot in Ponyville," Applejack concluded, "and it gave me a perfect time to slip past the police and recover our pa's hat.  Not long after, I got my Apple mark, which finally convinced me to keep on livin' and fightin' the corrupt Government.  I nearly threw everything away that day, but if not for that zebra, I wouldn't have found you again Apple Bloom." 
 
"Big sis," Apple Bloom sniffled.  "I know I said this before, but I feel guilty for livin' the high life while you lived a hard life."
 
"There ain't no shame in that.  All that matters is that you're alive and that we're together again."
 
"But are we the only Apples left?" 
 
"We still have Aunt and Uncle Orange along with cousin Babs and her sister.  They probably fled the country after I stayed with them in Manehattan.  At least you were spared from knowin' what happened to the rest of our family.  Braeburn, Apple Fritter, Goldie Delicious--many of our family had died when I was your age, and it put a lot of toll on Granny Smith, bless her heart.  As the last of the Apples, we have a responsibility of clearin' our family name and restorin' the family farm." 
 
By now, the spilled snow in Love Nest Zero have either melted or cleared off with the help of Applejack, the three fillies, Fluttershy, and the adorable arctic terns who used tiny branches as makeshift brooms.  The sad yet hopeful tale made the cleanup go a lot faster than expected, and the hallway was now cleared for everypony to leave. 
 
Yet Applejack found Scootaloo at a corner leaning against her snow shovel.  Obviously she had been hiccuping, but not due to food stuck in her throat or a beverage her body didn't agree with. 
 
"Hey Scoots," Applejack said.  "Are you cryin'?"
 
"What?" cried Scootaloo.  "No, I'm not!  I caught a light cold and I had to blow my nose." 
 
"Can't you just admit that you've been cryin' after every story?" asked Apple Bloom. 
 
"I told you, I wasn't crying!  You don't know anything about how us pegasi deal with sappy stories like this.  Say, what time is it?"
 
"A quarter to four on my watch," replied Sweetie Belle. 
 
"It's almost time!  We gotta get to the dining hall right now!"