Witchcraft is Magic

by wingdingaling


Epilogue: A World United

Epilogue

A World United

A year had passed since Apple Bloom had gone to Macabria, and much had changed since then. Now that the year had gone, Applejack had been busily preparing for her sister's return. And, with her costume on, she was ready to greet her when she arrived.
Since Apple Bloom had been gone, the two sisters had been communicating through smoke channeling. The first time it happened, Applejack was startled to see the smokey image of a slender-legged, pointed faced filly, but more so at the upright, bipedal postures of Courtney and Molly.
Through their regular contact, Applejack learned much about the dark world and the ways of its inhabitants. And about the flora and the fauna there until she no longer feared them. At least, the ones she learned were nothing to be afraid of. Male attercrops were fine, females were dangerous. Bluecaps were friendly, and redcaps were to be avoided. And don't ever, ever say the word 'wendigo' aloud.
Merrily, Applejack placed a saucer of cream in the corner of the living room before she trotted out the door, whistling all the while, and without her lantern. Outside, Applejack went to the orchard, but not before she placed the apple pie she carried on the front porch.
She met up with Big Macintosh in the grove of dark trees, which had grown red, ripe fruits since last years harvest. He had already packed up the cart with buckets full of fruit ready to be sold for Nightmare Night, and prepared the apple stand for his sister. "Howdy, Big Mac," Applejack greeted her brother, "Ya got them essen fruits packed up?"
"Eeyup," he answered. Though he sounded the same as ever, his face conveyed the excitement he felt to see his youngest sister again that night. He had planned to surprise her with his costume as well.
"What about Granny? Ya got her too?"
"Loaded up, an' ready to go," Granny called from the back of the cart. She planned on surprising not just her youngest granddaughter, but the whole town as well. When she saw the smokey image of Molly, and the dress she wore, Granny knew exactly what she was going to wear for Nightmare Night. Her family found the revealing dress nauseating, but Granny felt like wearing it made her think she was a young mare once more.
"Alright, let's go! We got us a witch to greet," Applejack said as she hitched herself to the apple stand and trotted off with a spring in her step.
The trip to Ponyville was shorter than it normally took. When they arrived, the whole town had changed for the festival. All the decorations were up, and ponies were dressed in their costumes. From the shadows, Applejack thought she could see more of the creatures of the darkness peering at her. However, she paid them no mind, and simply walked by as she had done in the weeks leading up to Nightmare Night.
The stall was set up, the fruits were put on display, and the Apple family was ready to receive whoever may come to them. First customers of the night, two young colts.
"Well, hey there, boys," Applejack greeted. "Didn't I see ya here last year?"
"You bet you did," one of the foals answered, "And we're here for more of those caramel apples you had last year. Got any?"
"Here ya go, fellas," Applejack answered as she produced two caramel apples for the foals, "Ya'll remember the price?"
"Yup. Two bits each," the other foal said as he and his friend both paid their fee.
"An' how about I throw a couple o' these in. Free o' charge," Applejack said as she tossed each foal an essen fruit.
"What's this? Some kind of peach apple?"
"That there's a special apple I grew just fer Nightmare Night," Applejack answered, "Nutritious as they ever were, dang tasty, an' there's a special surprise after the first bite."
"I gotta try one of these," the first colt said, before he and his friend left. "Thanks."
Applejack watched the foals go, eagerly awaiting their shocked reaction after the first bite.
"I ain't so sure about this," Big Macintosh said.
"Aw, come on. It's just a bit o' fun. I remember when you younguns took a bite o' those fruits last year. Ya almost jumped through the ceilin' when ya saw 'em gushin' that red juice," Granny chuckled before the all heard the foal's frightened shrieks down the road.
"Applejack! Applejack! Are they here yet!"
Rainbow Dash came flying in from they sky, and landed hard on the ground in her Nightmare Night costume.
"Dang! Y'all look awfully...feminine this year," Applejack observed.
"Yeah, I've been working on it all year! Where's Scootaloo," Dash excitedly asked.
"She ain't here yet."
"What!? But we talked about this! We agreed to meet here in the market square at the apple stand!"
"We never picked a time," Applejack said, matter of factly.
"Yes we did," Dash rebutted.
"Nope. We just said here at the apple stand on Nightmare Night."
"That's not what we said! We said it would be here in town square, at the stand on Nightmare Ni-- Aw crud! We didn't pick a time," Dash finally realized.
"Am I late! Did I miss my sister's arrival," Rarity said as she uncharacteristically galloped to the apple stand.
"Nope. We still got time to wait for 'em," Applejack said. "Heck of a costume ya got there."
"Do you like it," Rarity said as she showed off her costume for the festival. It had taken her much trial and error, but finally, she replicated the fiery dress that she had seen Molly wear the year before. She didn't manage to actually fashion it out of flames, but she replicated it in a way that made it appear so. Though now, the gown was made to appeal more to her own glamorous tastes. "I see that you've picked a similar costume," Rarity noticed Dash wearing her own version of the gown.
"Yeah! This is a gown that I can wear," Dash said.
"That is not a gown at all," Rarity remarked. "Observe. A gown has two key features: a tight fitting bodice, and a flared, billowing lower section," Rarity said as she showed the example on herself. She also took the time to show off her accessories as well. Her jeweled rings, bracelets, earrings and tiara all glimmered like firelight on her body, and matched wonderfully with the arm length gloves and stockings she wore.
"You, on the other hoof," Rarity continued, "Have made a bodysuit. A full bodied, one-pieced outfit meant to cover everything from the neck down. Though, I must say, you've done well to accessorize." Rarity stepped back to notice the flame pattern that covered the whole suit that gave the illusion of rolling flames when Dash moved. That, along with the wonderfully color coordinated thigh-high stiletto heeled boots and goggles made her a sight to behold. "Though I must ask: how did you manage to get that figure in only a week?"
None of Dash's friend's had seen her all week. Dash said that she had to get in shape if she was going to show up Molly for who looked better in their fiery outfit. Now that she had reappeared, Dash suddenly looked much more shapely and toned.
Applejack was doubtful that such a thing was real, and decided to investigate.
"Hey! What the buck are you doing," Dash said as she felt Applejack's hoof prodding her leg.
"I thought so. Foam implants under the suit so ya get those nice toned legs," Applejack said.
"Oh, I see," Rarity said next, "And is this a corset I feel under here?"
"Ya also stuffed the chest area."
"And you're using those high heels to appear taller."
"An' don't think I didn't notice yer wearin' makeup an' mane product."
"And is this another foam implant in your flank?"
"Alright already," Dash yelled as she pushed her friends away, having had enough of being poked and prodded. "So what if I did a little modification. Just don't tell anypony about the flank implants."
"Folks ain't gonna need us to tell 'em," Applejack said.
"Applejack!"
From somewhere down the road, Applejack heard a familiar voice call to her that made her heart flutter. Looking to its source, she saw an orange-eyed shadow in the darkness down the road running toward her.
With a bright smile, Applejack abandoned her post at the apple stand and ran to greet her sister, and the two received each other with the warmest hug either one ever gave.
"I'm back! An' I got so much to show ya! An' Granny! An' Big Macintosh," Apple Bloom said, as she tried greet her other family members, only to find herself caught in her sister's embrace.
"Well, come on, youngun. The rest of us wanna see our baby filly," Granny chuckled.
"Ee-Yup," Big Macintosh said, much more enthusiastically.
"Sorry. Here ya go," Applejack conceded.
Now that she had, she regretted not holding onto her sister, the very same way she had one year ago that night. However, her feelings subsided slightly when Winona heartily greeted her by viciously licking her face.
"Alright! Alright! I'm happy to see ya too," Applejack said as she greeted her overjoyed pet.
"She missed you every day since she left," said another familiar voice. Looking up, Applejack was greeted by the blue-eyed silhouette of her sister's teacher and caretaker. "Hello, Applejack. I'm sure it's nice to see you again."
"Hey there, Courtney," Applejack greeted. "How ya been?"
"Since we spoke the other day about meeting here: only as well as I can."
"What's that mean?"
"Only that ever since our worlds started crossing the fillies have been bounding off the walls to get back here," Molly explained.
Since they returned to Macabria, Molly's burns and dry spots had been healed, and her shapely figure had been maintained by regular bloodletting. Now, she was back to her glorious splendor that Pinkie helped her attain.
While Courtney and Molly maintained an armslength relation with Applejack, and offered their best greetings, Bruce stayed back and glared at the farmpony.
"Yer pet's still sore 'bout his hand, huh," Applejack asked.
"You might say that. More precisely, you could say he's only not going to your home and tearing your mattress to shreds is because Winona asked him to behave," Courtney answered.
With a low, throaty growl, Bruce slightly bared his teeth, until Winona let out a short, yet authoritative bark, making the larger canine take a small step back.
The situation was diffused by a sudden, "Wah ha hah!" When everypony looked, they all saw Rarity and Sweetie Belle bouncing up and down. Nopony knew what for, until they saw Sweetie Belle's flank adorned with a mark of a magical seal with a shadow of some indistinguishable beast in front of it.
"I got it for learning about the creatures from the dark world. Molly taught me everything she knows about them, and then we learned even more about them from all kinds of experts. She even taught me a few performing tricks. Watch this," Sweetie Belle said before she beckoned Bruce over to her.
Quickly, she hopped onto Bruce's back when he offered her his hand, and readied her trick. Bruce lowered himself, and jumped as high as he could and executed a somersault which ended with him landing on all fours. All the while, Sweetie Belle was walking forward so that it was as if she wasn't moving as all, and remained in the very same spot as when she started.
All around, ponies watched in awe of the spectacle and approached the two to examine the strange creature, some recognizing Bruce from when they saw him last year.
"Scoots! You got a cutie mark too," Dash noted, "What's this for?"
"I got mine for seances and clairvoyance," Scootaloo said as she showed off her picture of a crystal ball surrounded by mist.
"Who the hay taught you that," Dash asked, brimming with pride for her filly.
"Courtney's mom taught me. She's here in Ponyville somewhere, but Twilight caught us to ask about witch magic, so Courtney left her to answer a whole list of questions," Scootaloo answered.
"You should have seen the vein bulging in her forehead," Molly chuckled.
"Had I an instrument, I could have kept rhythm by its throbbing," Courtney added.
"Ya brought yer mom here," Applejack asked.
"I convinced her to come see the world of light. More, Molly, Bruce and I had to shove her through the portal. Of course, some of our other friends came as well after we told them about this place," Courtney said.
Hearing that made Applejack take a look around herself, and made her wonder if maybe the ponies around her may actually be the dark kin in absolutely no costumes.
"This looks like a good spot," said a pony who looked like he was made of wood with hinged joints. He was accompanied by a griffin with a wickedly curved beak who carried a clarinet, and what looked like four disembodied hooves carrying an upright bass. All three set up at the fountain across from the apple stand. "You ladies don't mind if we play here," the wooden pony asked.
"Play all ya want. I can't hear much anythin' these days, so be as loud as ya want," Granny answered.
"Right," the griffin said as they all started playing.
"Courtney," said a shadowy, amorphous pony-shaped creature that mysteriously appeared from the nearby shadows, "Your mother has sent me to tell you that one Twilight Sparkle is driving her mad. She demands that you separate the two."
"Tell mother to go to the Golden Oaks Library. That should prove helpful," Courtney answered.
And with that, the shadowy shape disappeared into the darkness.
"Well, woodja take a look at that, girl," said a pony who appeared to be made of shadows, and wearing a heavy coat and wide hat. He was leading around a pony with a mane that drifted about and solid white eyes. "It's like we wandered inna yeer home."
Across the square were a whole family of ponies. The mother looked around as if she had rediscovered something precious that she had lost. Though her words conveyed broken thoughts, she seemed as though she were happier now than she had ever been with her husband and children.
"Zachary, dear, you must not look so blue," Zecora said as she led around another zebra who was trying not to make eye contact with anypony, "The ponies here would never harm you."
Slowly, Zachary lifted his head, and his gaze was matched by the gentle stare of Fluttershy, who for the first time in years left her house on Nightmare Night, and was wearing a bunny costume. To her side, she was accompanied by her werewolf friend.
"Fluttershy! How good to see you around," Zecora greeted.
"Hello, Zecora. Um, who's this with you," the pegasus asked.
"This is my brother, Zachary. He is new in town."
"Your face..." Zachary began, "Yours is the gentlest I have ever seen. So innocent and pure, as a morning's dewy sheen."
"Oh! Um, thank you," Fluttershy said as she hid behind her mane. "Um...I think I want to be with my friends now."
"Very well. Then we shall leave you be. I'm sure there is more my brother would like to see."
The two zebras left, though Zachary looked over his shoulder at Fluttershy.
Fluttershy flushed red and continued toward her friends with Flipper by her side.
"Fluttershy! Darling, you've actually come," Rarity greeted.
"O-Of course," Fluttershy answered. "I would never miss your sister coming home. Did you learn anything new while you were away?"
"You bet we did," Scootaloo said as she, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom all showed off their cutie marks.
Applejack was awed by the sight of her sister's cutie mark, which she hadn't seen yet. It was the most glorious sight of a sapling growing from a mound of soil with a magical sigil drawn underneath it. "How come ya didn't tell us about this before," Applejack asked.
"We wanted to surprise y'all," Apple Bloom answered as she showed off her mark. "I got mine 'cause o' how much I learned about witchcraft, an' usin' it fer agriculture. Now I can help out in the orchard like the rest o' ya! By the way, just since I'm back: can I have my bow back?"
"Ya mean this," Applejack asked as she lifted up her hat to reveal the pink bow tied in her mane, "Come an' get it."
The Apple sisters had greatly missed roughhousing with one another. Both sisters laughed merrily every time that Apple Bloom missed reaching for her bow every time Applejack stepped out of her reach. Finally, Apple Bloom charged forward and tried to grapple with her sister.
"Hey! Easy on the costume," Applejack said.
Apple Bloom honored her sister's wish, and stepped back, but she wasn't about to let her bow get away. Using what she had learned, she surrounded the pink bow with shadowy magic and untied it from her sister's mane, levitated it over to her own, and magically tied it.
"Can't keep a good witch down," Apple Bloom said. "Say, that's a pretty snazzy costume, sis."
"I know. I saw Rarity makin' somethin' like this, an' asked her to make on fer me," Applejack said.
It came to everypony's attention that Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were all wearing quite similar costumes. Rarity's looked like a formal gown, Dash's looked like sportswear, but Applejack had chosen a more rustic look with what looked more like a cowmare's outfit, complete with a fiery vest and trousers.
"I got me one too," Dash said as she showed off her figure to Molly. "So, what do you say? Can I pull this off, or what?"
Molly glanced to Courtney, and exchanged a smirk. Both had heard much of Dash's competitive nature and assumed that this behavior had something to do with it. However, they both had an idea to make their own versions of said costume.
With a sudden burst of coordinated steps, Molly danced about while Courtney worked her theatrical magic. Both mares stopped back to back with their hooves on each other's hips, showing their cutie marks for the first time. Courtney's was a spotlight with a five pointed star in its beam, while Molly's was a spotlight shining on two masks, one smiling and the other frowning.
Both were engulfed in flames, which when they died, both were dressed in flaming clothes. Courtney had donned a similar outfit to what she conjured in Dash's house, only she removed the sleeves and put a slit in one of the legs. Molly's had taken an even more revealing appearance, now becoming a two piece outfit that barely covered anything on her, complete with the flaming accessories that matched Courtney's.
"Keep trying," both mares said together.
All around, hooves clopped on the ground in a round of applause at the spectacle.
"Thank you! We'll be here all night," Courtney said, earning a chuckle from Molly. "What?"
"Who says that anymore?"
"Oh, bugger off."
"Hey, why don't y'all perform? There's a stage thattaway, an' I bet Mayor Mare won't mind ya usin' it when she's done givin' her speech," Apple Bloom suggested.
"That sounds absolutely lovely," Courtney said.
Molly only giggled and trembled at the idea of performing for a whole crowd of the adorable equines.
"Would you like to come with us," Courtney asked the fillies.
"Yeah--" Apple Bloom stopped herself. "Actually, I think I wanna stay with my family fer now."
After a year had gone, Courtney had gotten used to spending time with her young friend. Now, they were all reunited with their families, and choosing to stay with them. Though it hurt her slightly, she completely understood their decision.
"I see. Molly, shall we be off?"
"Yes!"
With that one word, Molly grabbed Courtney's hoof and pulled her away toward the direction the stage was indicated. Before they left, however, Courtney stopped to ask Bruce to look after Apple Bloom until she returned. With a thump of his tail, the werewolf went about playing with Winona and Flipper in the fountain square.
"This is going to be the biggest step of our career: performing for an entire crowd from another world," Molly said excitedly.
"Yes, yes. One small step to send us hurtling forward to the glitz and glamour of cross-world adulation," Courtney answered.
"I'm sorry, are you jealous?"
"Of what?"
"Of Applejack. Apple Bloom chose to stay with her sister, and now you're going to spend the rest of the night sulking about it."
Courtney said nothing.
"Now, Courtney. You may have spent the year teaching her how to be a witch, but it was her sister who made her the pony she is today. You heard the stories about Applejack and how they spent so much time together. With a bond like that, of course she'd choose her sister over you."
Courtney smiled at the truth in her friend's words.
"It won't be so bad at all. We can perform for the public, maybe do an encore or two, and if we have time, why don't we visit Pinkie Pie to see if she has any--"
"--Blood pudding," Pinkie offered as she appeared in front of Molly wearing her lollipop costume. In her bandaged hoof she held a small bowl of the savory treat.
"YES," Molly shouted as she reached out and embraced Pinkie. Courtney used her magic to pull the bowl out of danger and allowed her friend to express her appreciation.
High above the celebration, highter than any bird, pegasus, or speck of dust could fly a faint noise sounded, like a distant screaming. Though nopony heard it. And to those who did, they would only forget it as soon as they had, leaving the owner forgotten to the winds above.