//------------------------------// // ENDGAME II // Story: Apples: Immortal Tree // by Julia //------------------------------// Twilight awoke prematurely from her slumber, finding Luna and Applejack by her side. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Applejack? Princess Luna? Why are you here?... is...is there something wrong?" "Twilight! I just had a vision... er... an out-of-body experience, in Skyline," Applejack replied, as Luna nodded to give approval. Twilight rose quickly, and she teleported next to the two, with wonder in her eyes. "Applejack! You're like a book! A novel of such wonders and surprises, you never cease to amaze me!" "I'm flattered, Twi, but... my experience was far from good," Applejack said solemnly. "I'm afraid that Megan, my friend from all my memories, has given up eternal life for my sake..." "Your sake? Sake of what? I thought that everything wa fine between you too... My mom made sure of that." Applejack needed to explain herself, so she began, "Well, there I was, in Skyline..." Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head. "There's so much to wrap my head around... but surely we have to get the others and the Elements of Harmony so we can go into Skyline and stop our enemies! We can do it, I know we can! Our friendship hasn't failed us even once. As long as we stay calm and stay together, we will pull through!~" "Shall I go alert my sister? Surely she is up, for the time to begin the rising of the sun is nigh," Luna suggested. "Yes, Princess Luna, you must go immediately, Applejack and I will get our friends," Twilight replied, as she left with Applejack and Luna made her way off to Canterlot. "Applejack, can you use your powers to our advantage, or can you not?" "I prefer to not use my powers in the Mother Dimension, but now, I guess I must..." Applejack said, as she looked on to the breaking dawn and the shining moon and stars. She began to emit a light, golden orange aura-like magic from her body, and her cutie mark gave it a red outlining. She managed to grow large wings, as big as Twilight's, and a long Alicorn horn. Her aura sent her into her Rainbowfied form, and it leaked on over to Twilight, who went into her Rainbowfied form as well. "An alicorn form... I don't know what to say... it feels so, unnatural and unnecessary. Do I really need this?" "I know how you feel Applejack, and I can kind of understand the feelings going through your head right now," Twilight said with a smile. "The responsibility that comes with being an alicorn can only be granted to those who can truly bend magic and understand friendship as well as a different feeling that has the same affect that magic and friendship do. Applejack, can you think of a feeling that has stuck with you since your birth?" Applejack began to think, and she reviewed her life moment after moment. Adventurous, daring, honest, devoted, all of them spun through her head. But she could not pinpoint which one it was. "I don't know, Twi... but we don't have no time to sit around like this! Alicorn or not, I can't sit here and do nothing! Come on!" Applejack spread her wings, and nervously took flight, dashing with great speed towards Rainbow Dash's house. Twilight followed happily, glad to see Applejack so set to find a solution to this conflict. Fluttershy woke from her sleep, rubbing her belly as it rumbled. "Are you hungry too, my little dear?" Discord awoke as well, hearing Fluttershy's latest remark. "If you want, I could whip you up a couple of hayburgers. It'll only take a second.~" "Yes please, honey," Fluttershy sighed gladly. She took a plate of nicely stacked hayburgers from Discord, who smiled at her as she giggled. "Your chaos powers surely have a harmonious charm to them. You can create anything from nothing, it's such a scary power when you think about it." "Oh Fluttershy," Discord began with a slight blush. "These powers don't have to be scary anymore... You ponies taught me I could use these abilities for a greater cause. And I guess the occasional making of food is good enough for me. And of course, who needs powers when I can have a sweet force of nature in my company like you?" Fluttershy blushed, kissing Discord for such a kind remark. "Oh, I could just eat you up, you sweet little cupcake!~" They shared a laugh, until being interrupted by a knock on the door. Fluttershy quickly scarfed down the burgers and went with Discord to check on who was knocking at the door. Surely enough, it was every member of the Mane Six, all equip with their Elements of Harmony. Fluttershy and Discord's jaws dropped when they found Applejack to now be an alicorn. "Applejack? Is that...is that you?" Fluttershy whimpered scardily, slowly walking up to her previously an earth pony best friend. "Yeah Fluttershy, some things have happened, and I've been forever changed," Applejack said with sorrow in her voice, "I will need the help of both you and Discord, Fluttershy. I'm afraid that our threats have only managed to get worse... We need you and your Element to help us." "But Applejack, you're an alicorn! How did this happen?" Fluttershy gasped. Applejack used her horn to transmit the memory of her experience in the Skyline to Fluttershy and Discord, who solemnly accepted their role now as the heroes of all of existence. "Now you know," Applejack said to them all. "As a matter of fact...--" Pinkie screamed, pointing to a large black cloud that covered up the coming light of the sun. The cloud descended down in the middle of Equinopolis, and all of the ponies were drawn into it by some hypnotic spell which it gave off in its dark aura. "What's happening over there?!" she cried. Twilight and Applejack stepped up, looking defiant and ready to face anything and everything. "No time to waste, we have to go save everypony from messing with it!" Twilight ordered them, teleporting them all to the dark cloud pillar. The Mane Six all activated their Elements, and Discord used his magic to drag the hypnotized ponies away from it while providing them with shield. They all soon were Rainbowfied, and they used the collective forces of the Elements of Harmony to try and neutralize the dark pillar, but the Rainbow of Darkness counter-attacked them. The Mane Six and Discord all went flying back, landing in a large pond and sinking down quickly, but Twilight saved them using a barrier and levitation. "That thing, is the first thing that has countered the power of the Elements!" Twilight cried, setting everypony down and spectating the movements of the now released Rainbow of Darkness, which came back into the cloud and made a fog like cloud upon the surface of the ground. "The Elements of Harmony are non-lethal, the only way we can defeat this thing is if we kill it!" Applejack told them all, as the wind began to pick up and thunder sounded all around them. "How do you know?" Twilight asked Applejack. "I know because that Rainbow of Darkness is the same one from my old life... it was what gave Tirek his power, and we used the Rainbow of Friendship to destroy both him and the Darkness, surely it killed him," Applejack replied. "The only force we can use is lethal force, we have to destroy our enemies!" "But, we've never destroyed anything before, how can we do it now?" Fluttershy whimpered as she was trembling uncontrollably. Applejack looked to them with concern. She thought back to how she used to destroy the ponies who were underneath her, and how easy it became. She shed a tear for how unprepared her friends truly were for this situation. "You guys go on and get the citizens away from here... I can't bring y'all into somethin' that y'all can't handle. Maybe I should do this..." Fluttershy insisted, "But--" Twilight held her back, looking to her and shaking her head. Fluttershy began to sob. "You're... not serious Applejack... if the Elements Harmony can't beat that thing, what makes you think you can? You'll get yourself killed!" "Fluttershy! No!" Twilight shouted at the pegasus pony. "Applejack wouldn't take on something she know she can't handle! And if she can't, then she'll pull through... she always has. Haven't you, Applejack?" Applejack looked up, then smiled upon seeing her friends looking to her. She thought of all the times they had together, and how the times were going now. How much they have grown and matured, how much they had changed, and the things about them that never would. Fluttershy was still being herself, and so was Twilight, but Applejack knew it was because of this. It was that same adventure they strived for the past ten years. It had been so long, and yet, it was truly different. Completely different than anything they had dealt with before. Applejack shed more tears, and brung them all in for a hug. "I'll be fine...I'm sure of it...I promise!" "Pinkie Promise?!" Pinkie exclaimed. Applejack chuckled. "Yep! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" The Mane Six, with Discord taking Applejack's spot, all left, telling Applejack to be careful, good luck, and that they knew she could take this thing down. How hard could it be? Applejack looked on as the cloud opened to reveal a tall, black unicorn within, with a long, flowing midnight violet mane. Her eyes opened to a baby blue glow with slits for pupils. Applejack had seen this within a leafline, it was Nightmare Rarity. "Well, surely I knew from the start you were my foil, but this? Hey, hey, now!" Applejack shouted triumphantly. "When I heard the Demiurge say Nightmare, I had no idea he meant YOU." The Demiurge spoke through Nightmare Rarity, using her voice. "I can't rest assured knowing that a beautiful villain like this fell so easily! I had to resurrect her, and now, I'll use her to destroy you!" "Ha! Her? Take down me? You're kiddin'!" Applejack dashed towards Nightmare Rarity, who used her dark blackish blue magic to press back the pony, who teleported up and out of the way. Applejack dropped down and kicked her in the head, but the mare quickly rose back up, using the Demiurge's black tendrils to hold her in place. Applejack laughed, as her light magic began to combat the Demiurge's. She managed to break free and kicked a hole in Nightmare Rarity's body, but the grievous wound merely regenerated. Applejack grimaced at this, and she flew in a circle around the mare, creating a tornado and bucking it into a building. She charged a light of golden magic at the tip of her horn and discharged it as a laser, sending it right through Nightmare Rarity's right eye. Nightmare Rarity still healed herself, and used her magic to pick up carriages to throw at Applejack, who merely kicked and shattered them. This attempt of attack was not even an attack however, as Nightmare Rarity used this as a distraction to hide in the shadows until she would attack once again. "C'mon out, ya coward! Fight me! Or do ya know y'all gonna lose?" Nightmare Rarity lunged out at her and managed to kick her back, then cut her body with one of the dark tendrils before Applejack could jump back fast enough. "You have no grace, Apples!" the mare shouted, as the black tendrils had given up some of its magical DNA to run through Applejack's veins. "Remember the hatred, the pain you felt for all those years! And it's all because of those damn ponies! You should fucking skewer them and send them all to Hell with us! Hell is rising, and has already risen! The end is now! Give in to your hatred, and follow me!" Nightmare Rarity ran towards Applejack once again, preparing herself to stab Applejack with a lance of the black flesh of the Demiurge, but Applejack grabbed the lance with her bare hooves and scoffed. "You villains will never learn," she began, looking up to Nightmare Rarity as the Sephirotic tree of life appeared glowing behind her as a magical gate to and from Skyline. "If you think I'll fall to the forces of Hell, then you haven't witnessed Heaven yet!" The angels of Skyline who followed the orders of Applejack flew forward out from the gates, clad in golden armor with weapons to aid them in battle. Nightmare Rarity tried to escape, but found that Applejack had jammed her hoof into her chest, taking hold of her heart. "You know, this Sephirot has ten spheres to them... There's the Kingdom, the Foundation, the Perpetuity, the Splendor, the Adornment, the Majesty, the Strength, the Understanding, the Wisdom, and finally, the Crown... but, surely all things do have a dark side...There is also the Daat sphere...it cancels and makes negative what once was and ultimately destroys it. Such a scary power, right?" A grey energy emerged from the Tree of Life and began to smother Nightmare Rarity. She screamed in agony and great fear as her body began to deteriorate and become light. Applejack used a blade of light magic to shatter her and destroy her completely. The Rainbow of Darkness made its escape and scurried away from Applejack, who concluded she now had to find her friends.