//------------------------------//
// My Little Witchcraft Chapter 1, Part 2: Applejack's Cerebral Meeting 
// Story: My Little Witchcraft 
// by DaylightsBeginning 
//------------------------------//

  Apple Bloom's older sister was just returning home from bucking the harvest for the day. The evening sky was a blend of violet and maroon, and the vampire fruit bats awaken from their nocturnal slumber began to pattern the sky. “Hey Big Macintosh! Where's lil' Apple Bloom? Have you seen her?" Applejack asked with developing concern. 

“Nope.” Her elder sibling replied in a slow, monotone voice.  

Applejack began to worry. “My lil' Apple Bloom would never run off on purpose. I wonder where that filly could possibly be at this time." She looked off down to Ponyville, and then off to the sky. She noticed the last thread of light was barely peaking off the horizon, only present until their Celestial princess's patience runs out. “I'm going to go and try to find her.” Applejack implied with a concerning facial expression. She galloped at full speed down the road back to Ponyville. 

She arrived in Ponyville as Luna's night shift began. The radiant sky-ridden orb coated the land in a soft, moon-lit glow. Applejack began investigating the town for her young sibling, and suddenly had found one of her elemental counterparts, Pinkie Pie. She was bouncing upon her hooves into the Cakes Bakery. “Pinkie!” She squealed out as she scuffled towards the door of the shop. 

“Hey Applejack, Goodnight! I mean, I'm not going to bed juuuust yet. And you obviously aren't either, so... goodnight is being used in a different cont-” 

Applejack placed her hoof over Pinkie's muzzle. “Pinkie, I really don't have any time for your darn rantin' right now. Have you seen my lil' sis anywhere?” 

The pink pony muffled out through the hoof of Applejack. “I saw her at the bakery earlier, but she disappeared after I gave her a fresh cupcake, a new recipe of mine! Made of fresh zap apple. Aw, it was so lonely though Applejack! I had to bring it home and feed it to Gummy! I am very surprised that Gummy ate it, since I am faaaairly sure that alligators are carnivores. It was very odd, but then again, nothing wrong with that!" She gave a pleasant giggle and realized her mouth was free. Her eyes had been closed while she was ranting and when she opened them, realized that her friend had left mid-chatter. 

Applejack began to grow tired. Her eyesight was beginning to fade, as well her ability to trot. She had been galloping around for hours, searching for her younger sister. “W-where could she possibly be... I-I've been searching for... for... for...” Her eyes closed, and she fell down into the cold road. She began to snore out under the watchful eye of Luna, who was sitting patiently at the watch-tower in Canterlot. 

She woke up within a dizzy trance. The orange ponies eyes opened and realized she was back inside of her bedroom, “How'd I end up back in this ol' barn?” She thought to herself. Applejack got up out of her bed and trotted over to the window where she attempted to speak, "Mph!"

In a hurry, the confused mare reached her hoof up towards her distraught face to find that her lips were pierced shut by steel bars. A salty waterfall of fear-driven tears flowed down her cheeks. As the silenced mare gazed out of her window, still feeling around her face with her hoof, she noticed the apocalyptic site that is presented before her. The sky was checkered with dark, potent clouds and Stringy, gaseous strands of green steam composed of carbon monoxide and sulfur pouring down into the town of Ponyville. Applejack easily recognized the poisonous gas from some of Pinkie's past, "incidents" from her maniacal experiments. With one hop, Applejack broke her mental shackles of confusion and hopped out her window to try and help the ponies of her beloved society. She ran through Ponyville, her heart full of ache and concern for the Equine citizens. When she finally opened her eyes from the galloping rush she had made to make it there, a painful realization had come into fruition. The other ponies had been breathing in the toxic gases that have been emitted from the sky above. 

“Mpppph!” 

She tried to plead for the others to stop breathing in these fumes, but it was too late. Applejack watched in horror as the other equines eyes, with expressed fear within them, melted out of there skulls. Patches of furry skin pealing off of their bodies and into the streets below which were filled with the lost souls of hundreds of ponies slowly slipping out of reality. Echoing screams danced into Applejacks eardrums and, suddenly, a light appeared. Some sort of heat source. Twilight seemed to be attempting a spell. And with a harsh failure, one of the sparks emitted from the spell interacted with the flammable gaseous element. All of Ponyville became engulfed in heated flames, incinerating everyone into a motionless body of soot and ash. Nothing was left but the smell of scorched flesh and burnt fur. 

Everything was black, Applejack looked around as nothing but the thought of inevitable doom breached her once optimistic mind. She noticed the bars that imprisoned her vocal cords have vanished. 

“A downfall is coming Applejack.” whispered a soft, mystical voice. 

The sounds of slow hooves were becoming louder and louder *Clip... clop...clip..clop..clip*, until a difference within the blackness appeared. And suddenly, a bright light illuminated the entire area. Stars scattered across the horizon, turning the void into a planetarium-like room. The younger alicorn of the royal sisters appeared.

“Princess Luna!” Applejack exclamated. “What in the hay has been goin' on around here?!” 

“Calm down, dear Applejack. I am here to send a warning to you.” She replied. “I must tell you, this is just a mere dream you are having. You are laying in those cold streets outside of Twilight's library.” Luna's eyes locked deep with Applejack's, showing signs of bad news. “Me and my elder sister sense Apple Bloom has stumbled upon something awful. She will not arrive home anytime soon, and I am not able to sense her dreams within my power. If she is sleeping, something is preventing her from entering a dream state. It is impossible for me to tell if she is okay.”

Applejack's eyes watered up like oblong shaped glossy marbles. She stood tall and confident, her tears soaking her orange fur, “I need to find my lil' Apple Bloom. That lil' filly is my responsibility! What kind of sister would I be to not worry!?"

Luna frowned, but aloud her transient student to believe what she will. “I understand your reason, Applejack. Anyway, survivors from a past organization have resurfaced. We must hunt them down. And as we do so, you must let go of your love for your dear sister." 

Applejack was in denial. Letting go of her sister is the last thing she would want to do. "B-but... Why?"

"It's already too late for young Apple Bloom... These demonic foes only lust for pain and agony from equines and to use their black magic to disturb the friendships of us all. Now, listen carefully..."

Applejack's ears puckered, and listened intently to her princess.

“I need you to talk to Zecora, and ask her about 'The Cauldron'. I believe she is our only chance at figuring this out.”

Still thinking of her little sister, Applejack nodded in return. “A-alright Luna... I'll try my best, I promise."

Luna's mouth curved up, revealing the trust she has in Applejack. “And, do not bring any of your friends. If an emergency is to arise, they will be needed. I will be watching your dreams Applejack, farewell.” Luna began to morph into the dreamy air of the imaginary room, and vanished. Applejack's dream ended, and she slept soundly until the morning.