Applejack stood in the Evolution pit and looked at the several evolved Zerg. So far the only Zerg to go through any major evolutions were the Zergling, the Baneling, the Roach, and the Hydralisk. The Zerglings were now a violet color, with a large spine on their back, the Roaches were a deep purple and had several crystals growing off their backs, the Banelings looked barely any different but now were a deeper shade of green, finally the Hydralisks were a light shade of green. From what Applejack understood the Zerglings hatched almost instantly, and in threes instead of twos. The Banelings now split into two smaller creature's upon death. The Roach's acid would now make movement very difficult. Finally the Hydralisk could morph into a completely different creature known as an Impaler. While all of these were interesting, perhaps the thing that Applejack found herself mostly attached to would be the Ultralisk, this was because they shared a large amount of features. Both were used for heavy combat, both had extra reinforced carapaces, and both were able to kill very easily. It's been through fighting that Applejack had come to realize certain things about herself, mostly how good she was at it, but how much of her strength focused in her legs. She even recalled a few times fighting where she'd bucked a human or Protoss like it was an apple tree, back at Sweet Apple Acres. She found her memories fuzzy and sometimes ever forgot her family's names, this confused and upset her.
"Why is it so darn hard tah remember anyhtin'?" She asked herself, but heard Abathur respond.
"Memory unimportant. Present all that matters." Abathur said, which made Applejack's eyes widen.
"Are yah saying yah did somethin' tah mah memory?" Applejack asked, and noticed Abathur bouncing slightly, almost as if he was laughing.
"No, side effect." Abathur responded.
"Side effect tah what?" Applejack questioned.
"Infestation. Clouds mind, corrupts judgement, takes over body. You several key differences. Retained ability express emotions. Capable of thought. Unique, but inefficient." Abathur replied, not once looking to face her, his arms most likely working on some strange project of his.
"Inefficient...? Inefficient!? What do yah mean inefficient!? Me an' mah friends have done more for this Swarm than we'd ever done for anypony else! What exactly makes us so inefficient!?" Applejack asked, getting angry at the larger Zerg creature.
"Those factors lead to increased independence. Increased independence lead to questioning Hive Mind. Questioning Hive Mind lead to disobeying orders. Disobeying orders lead to threat to Queen. Swarm cannot pose threat to Queen! Cannot!" Abathur said, his voice slowly rising and rising.
"You mean tah tell me, that because we can act on our own, you think we're gonna try to git rid of the Queen? If that ain't the most ridiculous, paranoid thinkin' I've ever heard!" Applejack shouted, and then another question came to mind. "Well what about you then? You seem more independent than anything else in this critter. Why ain't you a threat?" Applejack asked.
"Follow Queen's every order. Without Hive Mind, am beast, less. No purpose. Also, Organism Dehaka more independent than I." Abathur responded, and Applejack had taken enough, she stormed out of the Evolution Pit, pushing aside several Zerglings, Roaches, and even Rarity.
"Applejack? Are you feeling all right?" Rarity asked, but received no response from her friend. She looked into the Evolution Pit and went inside, determined to find out what had happened.
Applejack just needed a place to cool down at the moment and couldn't stand to be around anything else, at the moment however she found that no matter where in the Leviathan she went, there seemed to be other Zerg around, and her search led her to the Nerve Center, where she began to look out the Leviathan's open mouth. She sighed and tried to make sense of everything. Did this mean that Abathur hadn't wanted to make them Zerg? Had he not foreseen this happening? Does he regret making them? She would be left to her thoughts, knowing that Abathur would never answer these questions, but heard the squish of footsteps behind her. She turned and saw Stukov entering, but the moment he noticed her, he went to leave.
"I can feel your anger... I'll just leave you to yourself..." Stukov moved to leave, but Applejack let out another sigh.
"Yah can stay if yah want. Just cause I'm upset, don't mean I got to treat everypo... Everybody like dirt..." Applejack said, and noticed the footsteps getting closer again.
"If you do not mind my asking... What has you so upset?" Stukov asked, and Applejack gave a soft smile.
"Abathur... He said some things that... Made me angry." Applejack responded, but found a question of her own forming in her mind. "What planet did you say you're from?" She asked, and Stukov began to chuckle.
"A planet very far from the Koprulu sector. A planet known as Earth. Looking out at the stars like this... I remember its green fields, its blue oceans, and finally its dark night sky..." Stukov said, closing his glowing orange eyes, and Applejack felt a similar sensation.
"Back home... In Equestria... I used to work on an apple farm... My family's owned and run it for years, but that doesn't really matter now does it?" She asked, and Stukov shrugged.
"It is good to think about your origins. As long as you do not allow them to consume you, you should be fine." Stukov replied. Applejack smiled and began to think about the orchard, began to think about home.
Applejack had been working for about an hour now, repeating the simple process of collecting apples from their trees, and placing them in their baskets, before moving back to the barn, leaving the baskets, and starting over again. It wasn't easy, but once you've done this kind of work for almost all your life, you really get used to it. She looked and saw Apple Bloom running off with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, most likely off to their little clubhouse, to try and find ways to get their cutie marks. She gave a warm smile and moved back to continue collecting the apples, when she stopped. Standing before her was a strange creature. Strange didn't even begin to cut it, she would have used a different word... Monster... It was short, and had a bulbous body that jiggled like gelatin when it walked. While it had no visible eyes it obviously able to see, for it racked her every movement. Whether she moved left or right, it kept its head on her, never once breaking its "gaze". Her mind was racing with possibilities for it being here, and the most rational one was that its just a curious animal. It wasn't doing anything to harm her, or the orchard, so maybe if she just left it alone, it would leave.
Applejack decided that would be the best course of action and tried her best to ignore the animal but found it following her, almost as if it... She slapped a hoof to her face and groaned. No wonder this creature was following her like this, it must think she's it mother. Applejack couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that, it made perfect sense. She moved close, hoping to at least be able to move it, but when she stepped forward, it let out a loud hiss. Applejack could definitely cross the idea of it thinking she was its mother off the list, but then why did it follow her like this? Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft scuttling, and turned to find more of the creatures, they had gathered in large numbers and each one blocked any path she might be able to take, and it was then that she realized what they were doing... Hunting. The one had simply been a distraction, to lure her attention from her surroundings, causing her to become trapped by the creatures. The slowly began to approach, all while letting out soft hisses and screeches of delight. Applejack was running out of options and quickly snatched and apple with her mouth, before launching it at one of the creatures, hitting one of the light green areas, causing it to burst like a balloon, sending green liquid going everywhere. A small amount hit her leg and she let out a loud cry of pain as it began to eat away at her fur and flesh, causing red blood to bubble out. The other creatures let out loud yells and rushed at her, intending to avenge their fallen brother, which cleared a small, but usable path. She pounced on the opportunity and quickly ran down it, leaving everything behind, including the brown stetson that she frequently wore. She heard several more bursting sounds and the splash of the acid, melting the trees and destroying her family's main source of income. However she didn't care about that right now, she cared about getting back to the house, and getting inside as fast as possible. The moment she broke through the trees and was able to see town, she let out a gasp. She saw nothing but monsters attacking anything that moved, animals, ponies, even the trees seemed to be dying. She just couldn't believe what was going on, and then she felt something collide with the back of her head, knocking her out cold.
Stukov placed a hand of Applejack's shoulder and sighed. "Home is a wonderful place, wouldn't you agree?" Stukov asked, and Applejack thought she saw something in his eyes, something sinister, as he knew what she'd been thinking about.
"It was... Until the Zerg arrived... Now I doubt Equestria is anything like it had used to be... Nothing but dead animals, ponies, and plants..." She muttered, but it was loud enough for Stukov to hear.
"You'll always have your memories. Memories of what your life was like before the Zerg..." Stukov slid his hand off her shoulder, and turned as Kerrigan entered.
"Well, you two are already here... I was just about to Izsha notify you that we've arrived. I'll tell Izsha to let the others know." Kerrigan said, before she pointed at a ship off in the distance.