Dust in the Wind
Chapter Two: Dust in the Wind
Rainbow Dash’s lips creased back as a mischievous smile beamed from her muzzle.
This is gonna be… so… awesome, she thought, waiting. She could hardly contain her giggles while imagining what Pinkie Pie was about to do. Their latest prank was truly ingenious.
Dash’s hiding place behind a large green bush gave her the perfect view of a wide, lush pasture near one of Ponyville’s many farms. It also gave a perfect view of the unfortunate cow that had chosen the wrong time to take a nap.
Out of the corner of Dash’s eye, she could see her party animal friend tip-hoofing her way onto the field. She let out snort as Pinkie took another stealthy step forward towards their prey.
The other pony got closer... then closer...
Dash smothered her muzzle with a hoof to contain an outburst of laughter.
Pinkie Pie glared back at her loud mouthed friend before shaking off the disturbance and returning to the task at hoof. Step by step, she crept up towards the target; who remained oblivious to the pair’s scheme.
Come on Pinkie…come on, Rainbow Dash chanted in her head and grinned wildly. Behind the pegasus, her trademark rainbow trail, a rare thing in ponydom, flicked erratically in anticipation of the glorious idea she had planned the night before. Her eyes widened as the planning seemed about to come to fruition.
Pinkie Pie was finally standing side by side with the bovine, starting to chuckle a little herself. Meticulously, she reached a hoof into her saddle bag and pulled something out of it.
Wait a second… what is she doing? Still grinning, Dash cocked her head and tried to puzzle out her friend’s unplanned action.
Pinkie Pie lowered the bag in front of the cow with the most careful touch she could, releasing it on the grass. Reversing her steps, Pinkie slowly made her way back to the bush, where her friend’s jaw was resting on the grassy floor.
“Pinkie, what was that?!” Dash hissed softly so as not to rouse their victim. “What were you doing?”
The baker’s apprentice beamed at her friend. “Huh? Pulling our prank, Dashie! What did it look like I was doing?” She waited for her pranking partner to respond even as said partner guffawed back.
“Pinkie, I thought you said that you’ve been cow tipping before.” Rainbow Dash deadpanned at the other pony, trading stares with her and the bag that she had left sitting in front of the cow.
The pink mare rolled her eyes back at Rainbow. “Of course I’ve tipped a cow before, silly. Just last week I had one wait on me at a restaurant.”
Rainbow’s expression shifted to a glare as a dark cloud seemed to hover over her, a worried realization clicking into place in her Rainbow-maned head. “…Pinkie, where’s your bit-pouch?”
Pinkie grinned at her pegasus friend and swiftly raised a hoof toward the small coin purse laying on the grass in front of their prankee. Rainbow Dash facehoofed.
She groaned and fell away from the party animal to lay on the ground in defeat. “Pinkie, that’s not cow tipping…”
“It’s not?” Pinkie asked in a earnest manner.
Rainbow facehoofed again, then looked up. “No, and you just gave her the rest of my paycheck from last week.”
As if on cue, the lone bovine in the pasture jerked awake from her slumber, smacking off the leftover sleep from her jaws. She let out a big yawn and stretched out her large beefy back. Her gaze then shifted to the ground.
Rainbow Dash watched in sadness as the cow realized there was money in her hooves, then widened her eyes in disbelief as the cow actually fainted, possibly from the shock of it all. “Well...” She cracked a small smile and looked over at her comrade in crime. “I guess that... kind of works.”
Pinkie Pie was busy rolling on the ground with laughter. “That was great, Dashie, you were right!” She continued her victory giggle long after she was joined by Rainbow Dash, until abruptly springing up to cut things short.
“So Dashie,” Pinkie piped up. “What are we gonna do now?”
Rainbow Dash thought aloud for a moment, massaging her chin trying to conjure another brilliant idea. “Hmmm… I’m not sure Pinkie, it’s kind of hard to top that prank.” Her hoof was beginning to get more familiar with the features of her own face since she started pulling pranks with Pinkie. “Ugh… Well, what’s Twilight doing today?”
“Twilight?” Pinkie questioned, sitting on her haunches while she shrugged. “I dunno, I think she said she had some work to do or something, and didn’t want to be disturbed. Seeing as how last time we didn’t listen to her you ended up losing all your fur, we probably should leave her be...” Her hooves folded in front of her while she gave the grass a thoughtful frown.
Rainbow Dash shuddered a little from the memory, she hadn’t been able to go outside for weeks until Twilight had helped her grow it back quicker. “Well, what about Applejack then?” She asked, hoping their favorite farm pony target might be a better conquest.
“Working I think, reeeally, really, really hard too, and she’s been sore at us about the pranking lately yah know.” Pinkie looked up and gave Rainbow Dash a defeated look, one that also held some uncharacteristic understanding behind it. “I think she was upset about the weather, too.”
Rainbow Dash snorted and frowned. As if that’s my fault. Well okay, I guess you could argue the weather is, but she’s the one that won’t lighten up about a good joke. She gave the sky a frown, the last few days had been difficult to keep the weather controlled; gusts and rain kept trying to sneak in from the Everfree as of late. And I paid her for those bushels of apples after all...and then some! One of her hooves dug at the grass irritably all the while she thought things over.
Rainbow readdressed pinkie without taking her gaze away from the open sky. “How about Big Mac then? We could put itching powder in his bed sheets maybe...”
Pinkie’s mouth twisted in a doubtful look as she glanced to one side and made an eeeh sound, then her face lit up like a star all of a sudden. “I know, we could go watch a movie!”
“Yeah, that’s a great idea! The new theater thing just got a brand- Oh, wait...” Rainbow Dash halted the agreement mid-sentence after a realization dawned on her. “Pinkie, you just gave away the rest of your money...and I’m broke.”
Pinkie Pie’s face melted from jubilant to sadly thoughtful in seconds. “Oh yeah...” She shuffled her hooves, pouting her lip and squinting her eyes up at the grey clouds that were gathering aimlessly overhead. “What’s there to do that’s free?”
Rainbow shrugged. “We could always improvise I guess.”
Applejack heaved the container of apples up onto her stall’s counter and grinned across at her latest customer. The girl was new to town, and not at all the sort she was usually the type to be friends with, but after some time she usually warmed up to anypony. It helped when they ate as much as this particular pony did. “Thank ya kindly, and come again soon!” She smiled and waved to the green earth pony, who waved back smiling, already walking away with an apple jammed in her gob and the bushel hoisted onto her back.
My new best customer or not, I doubt I’ll ever get used to the habits that pony has. Applejack stared at the pony’s blonde mane until it was swallowed by the teeming crowd around her. She refocused a smile on her face and brightened up. A good appearance was crucial to being a good salespony, after all.
The smile wavered a tad, however, as a sense of fascination swept over Applejack while looking at everypony milling around her cart. She couldn’t help but gawk momentarily, stunned by how crowded the wide, main avenue of the Ponyville market tended to get these days.
A lot of new faces in town these last few years, Applejack smiled and reflected on the population explosion her quiet, tiny little town had undergone in recent times. She wasn’t sure if it was how she liked it yet, but things seemed alright so far. A chuckle escaped her while scanning for more customers. If nothing else, it’s good for business.
“Eh’fuse ‘eh,” another blonde mane popped up suddenly in front of her stand, or rather, plopped out of the sky. The mane belonged to a gray pegasus, who tumbled more than landed, and interrupted her own train of thought. Applejack fixed her attention on the mare, locking eyes in the process. She stared into their golden irises until she noticed the unopened letter in her muzzle.
“‘re hyu Apple’ack? I ‘ave a ‘arcel ‘or hyu!” The strange mare said around the letter with a muffled tone.
“Huh?” Applejack raised an eyebrow, not understanding a word that was said.
The mare pointed a hoof at her muzzle and made a motion for Applejack to take the letter. “Oh, sorry, sugarcube.” Using her teeth, she took the letter from the mailmare.
“‘hanck hyu.” Applejack called out.
The gray blonde maned pegasus gave a confused look. “Huh?”
Applejack facehoofed and spit out the letter over onto her applecart. “Thanks, sugarcube.”
“Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” The grey pegasus giggled, then pawed a hoof in the air. “I’m just kidding, no problem at all ma’am! Have a nice day!” With that, she took flight, soaring straight up, then off into the distance over the tile and thatch roofed houses of Ponyville.
Applejack stared after the mare until she was out of sight, then looked down at the mysterious note that had come into her possession. Now, who would send me a letter? The parcel was small, and she quickly recognized it as one of the signature letters that Twilight often sent to Princess Celestia whenever she would learn a lesson about the magic of friendship.
As soon as Applejack realized who had sent it, she ripped it open and unfolded the letter.
Applejack,
I’ve had a breakthrough in my research and I want you to come to the library as soon as possible! I’m sorry for coming to you without warning like this, but, well, Rarity is off who knows where, Pinkie is...well, Pinkie. And Rainbow is...not much better than Pinkie. I also don’t think I could ask Fluttershy to help with this, and you’re the closest, too! Please hurry, I’m on the precipice of a monumental breakthrough and I need your help.
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle
Applejack closed the letter. Well ain’t that ominous. She stared out into space a moment, carefully considering and wondering what exactly it could be this time that had the unicorn so excited. Oh well, whatever it is it’s probably important, she doesn’t usually ask for help; I’d better go there pronto. One of her hooves dived over the top of her apple cart and flipped the ‘Open’ sign backwards. She trotted away from the cart quickly, content with leaving her property for a bit despite the business she might lose by not being there to hawk her apples.
As Applejack trotted, her legs burned from the strenuous activity she had performed that morning. Six straight hours of applebucking earlier had not left her feeling well. “Ah think ah overdid it this mornin’... Ah feel shakier than a jug of jelly on a three-wheeled cart.” After stopping a few times to stretch achy muscles, she finally reached the front door of Twilight’s home.
The Golden Oaks Library stood proudly as an accomplishment of earth pony skill and artisanry. Applejack couldn’t help but again admire the old treebrary that had been shaped by careful hooves into the happy home that Twilight Sparkle now lived in. There weren’t too many treehouses in Ponyville, and Twilight’s was one of the nicest...after everypony’d helped to clean it up that is.
Raising a tired hoof, Applejack made to knock on the door, engraved now with Twilight’s cutie mark. She recalled briefly the old candlestick it had born, the cutie mark of Ponyville’s old librarian.
Before Applejack’s hoof made contact with the door, it cracked open and a pair of purple eyes locked with hers. What in the… Caught off guard, her thoughts did nothing to explain what she was looking at.
Twilight stood before her, a strange metal helmet on top of her head. Various wires hung from the device, and ran behind the purple mare and into the library’s depths. Her eyes were a mixture of intense focus and complete surprise, but strangely she looked well rested. It was well known habit of the purple mare’s to make breakthroughs after an all nighter and hours of book diving.
“Great, you got my letter! Quick, get inside!” The bookworm immediately ushered Applejack in and slammed the door shut behind them.
Applejack looked around the library and the obvious state of chaos and disarray it was in. Geez, Twi’, you ever heard of cleanin’ up after yourself? Piles of book littered the floor, leaving the majority of the shelves barren of more than a few lingering tomes, more than usual anyway. Where in tarnation is Spike?
Twilight stepped in front of her workbench; an area that had been severely neglected for what looked like weeks. Vials of various shapes and colors were connected by a spider web of clear tubing, but for every few standing up two or three more lay tipped on the table or strewn on the floor. Her magic was currently busy turning knobs and mixing liquids, when she abruptly spoke up.
“Excuse the mess, I haven’t had much time to clean up yesterday’s failures and Spike is…well... Actually where is Spike?” Twilight quickly glanced every which way around herself while levitating various pieces of lab equipment and books.
To Applejack, it looked as though the unicorn had shifted from working and had begun trying to form some sort of order out of the mess. Until that is, the other mare quickly stopped all together with that to call up the stairs for her assistant, instead. The orange mare cringed as several of the articles clunked and clattered back to the floor, released from Twilight’s unicorn magic.
“Spiiiike!” Twilight cocked her head and listened intently with one ear, then growled in frustration. “Oooh, just like him to be asleep. Oh well, this can all get taken care of later. What’s important is that you’re here and I can proceed now!” She reared up onto her hind legs, clopping her hooves together happily and letting out a few filly-like teehees.
“Ah see...” Applejack said warily, beginning to have doubts about what exactly she had volunteered to do or help with. This better not turn out to be like that time she was trying to reproduce whatever made that fluffy pony’s hair grow so much.
Twilight regained Applejack’s attention, she had taken up a seated position just in front of her friend. “So, are you going to ask me what precisely the reason is why I called you here?”
“To take care of Spike?” Applejack asked sarcastically, an eyebrow cocked back.
Twilight laughed and rolled her eyes. “No. Spike will be fine, he just needs his rest, I did ask him to stay up last night now that I recall...” She wheeled about and briefly began tending the vials and bubbling apparatus she had tinkered with when Applejack had first entered.
From the frazzled mane and unkempt coat, Applejack could tell something was amiss with her fellow Element of Harmony. Her jitters made her feel uneasy, and Twilight’s uneasiness gave her the jitters. “Ah’m not sure ah followin’ you Twi’.”
Twilight looked back and ceased her dabbling. She smiled coolly, then approached her friend and gave her a meaningful look of concern. “Applejack, you look tired. I take it that you’re still harvesting the apples in your orchard around the clock?”
“Well… yeah, Ah’ve been workin’ all mornin’.” Applejack shifted uncomfortably on her hooves. She suddenly became aware of her own flustered appearance. “Is it really that obvious?”
“No, not at all…” Twilight’s words sounded convincing, but her eyes gave her away to the farm pony. “Well, maybe just a little bit,” she admitted, grinning. “But that’s not the point. I meant are you feeling fatigued? Exhausted? Jaded?”
Applejack’s nose scrunched up at the last word. “Ah don’t know about that there last one, or what it means for that matter, but the first two for sure. Mah legs feel shakier than Fluttershy around a crowd full of stallions.”
Twilight giggled a bit, it was hard to tell if it were at the analogy or was simply because of the all too usual excited state she was in. “Well then, allow me to help you…” A ding from her workstation made her ears perk as she oooed and turned about to stir something.
Applejack raised a hoof in a waiting gesture. “Twi’, please Ah don’t-”
“Applejack, just hear what I have to say, please?” Twilight spun around in a flash.
Applejack watched her friend’s look of anticipation melt into a pleading one before she could even react. The cowpony deflated a bit and sat down from the sudden change of things, her legs quivering as she did so. Well, she thought, Ah guess a little help at the farm wouldn’t...hurt. “W-well, alright, ah’ll hear you out Twi’, I do want to help after all.”
Twilight smiled calmly again, then made her way once again over to her messy workbench, where she slowly reorganized various papers and mixing tubes with her hooves. “This morning, I was hanging a clock over my kitchen sink when I slipped and hit my head. It was the strangest thing; for a moment, everything became clear to me. It was as if I had woken up for the first time in ages. And that’s when I figured it out!”
Twilight became engrossed in her work, almost as if she had forgotten that Applejack was in the room.
Eventually, the earth pony piped up. “...Figured what out, Twi’?”
Twilight’s reply was quick and almost mechanical. “For the past few months, I’ve been working on a formula to help improve a pony’s natural born talent. Imagine, a drink that could allow a pegasus to fly faster and higher than they ever thought possible; or a potion that could increase an earth pony’s stamina tenfold! Why, you could buck apples all day without feeling even the tiniest bit fatigued!” Her eyes stared at the purple mixture that was suddenly levitating up slowly in front of her. “Imagine…more magic than you would ever possibly have a use for.”
The room fell silent as Twilight seemed to dwell in the realm of her own thoughts. She stared blankly at the vial, unblinking.
“Uhh… Twi’?” Applejack took a couple careful steps towards her friend.
“…. Huh? What?” Twilight snapped out of her trance-like state.
Applejack waved a hoof in the air to attract the unicorn who seemed to be somewhere else completely. “You were sayin’ that you were gonna help me?”
“Oh yes, well since I’ve only discovered this yesterday, I haven’t had ample time to test it on a pony. I almost gave up a few weeks ago when I let slip to Rainbow what the potion was for, and she drank my test vial!” Twilight huffed and stamped a hoof, “You’ll recall how bad she had gas a while back, yes? After that I put the project on hold, yesterday Spike volunteered to test the new batch, and it worked! His fire breathing was spectacular! Almost up to 25 hooves in the air!”
Applejack suddenly became aware of the black char marks festooning some of the library’s main room. A few ash piles lay scattered here and there, a sign of a careless dragon, no doubt.
From the charred remains of Ponyville library, one could infer that there was indeed a dragon who took residence there, but a quick glance around and Applejack couldn’t locate the reptilian assistant. “So he was alright then?” Applejack inquired.
“Spike? Oh, yes, he’s been snoozing since his episode last night I imagine. I’m afraid that the potion I gave him wasn’t quite optimized. It did give him more energy, but after a while he was out like a log. It could be the fact that he’s a dragon, but either way I tweaked it to get rid of that nasty crash… er, I think I did.” Twilight rubbed her muzzle with a hoof and scrutinized one of the vials hanging in her magic.
Applejack raised a cautionary eyebrow and asked, “I’m sorry Twi’, ah didn’t quite catch that. What did you say?”
“Oh nothing, don’t you worry about it.” Twilight cleared her throat and diverted her attention to various parchments tacked to the wall. “Now, as I was saying; this will not only make you feel rejuvenated after a hard day of work, but it will make you feel like you were a foal again! A very strong, applebucking foal at that, but nevertheless a foal.” Applejack shrugged off the bad analogy, instead focusing on the concept of Twilight’s request.
Applejack eyed the vial of purple fluid carefully while the other mare looked through her papers. Ah don’t know about this… things could get mighty hairy if this don’t work right. She refocused her attention to Twilight who had turned from the work bench to... Darnit Twilight, don’t give me that look.
Twilight was giving Applejack doe eyes, the vials she still held floating beside her head.
“Fine,” Applejack muttered defeatedly. “Ah’ll drink it, but only because Ah trust you Twi’, and don’t think that every time you shoot me that look or ask me to drink some Celestia knows what, that Ah’ll bend over backwards, cause ah won’t,” she lied.
Twilight’s face lit up with the glee of a filly waking up on Hearth’s Warming Eve.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now I have a control!” Twilight let out a shrill noise that sounded a bit like somepony saying ‘squee’ really loud, then began jumping up and down. “You won’t regret this Applejack, just you wait!” Her horn lit up with a purple aura, and vials of every color began to mix and churn once again. After a few moments, two pink vials presented themselves to the waiting mares. “Cheers...” Twilight mumbled and then chugged down the liquid.
Applejack grimaced and then regretfully took it in her muzzle. She gulped it down, swallowing every last drop of sweet tasting elixir. Wow… that tastes mighty good for medicine…
Twilight took a step closer, scanning Applejack. She forced open the mare’s mouth open with a hoof, checking her muzzle for any peculiarities by shining her horn in the earth pony’s eyes, then prodded and pushed her test subject’s hind legs with a fore hoof to test their strength.
Applejack was blinded by the sudden light from her friend, and let out a protest after being examined with no warning. She sighed and let it happen though, not wanting to go through another explanation. When touched, she shifted uncomfortably, still quivering in fatigue from a hard day’s work, not to mention to the invasiveness of it all.
Finally, Twilight sighed, looked her over one final time trotting around, then returned to her workbench. “Something must have gone wrong,” she explained. “You don’t seem like you’ve changed or been affected at all. Are you still tired?” Her horn was alight and scribbling fiercely at various scrolls.
“As a sloth…” Applejack drawled back, then sat down, thankful to be free of the unicorn’s probing.
“I don’t get it…that was the correct formula. Maybe I didn’t put enough cyanide in the mixture…” Twilight quickly made herself busy again, inspecting each and every last step of the process until she could find the culprit.
‘Ah’m sorry Twi’, but maybe you just need to keep at it until you’ve figured it out? After all, you know it already worked on Spi-.“ A sudden rumbling echoed through the library, its deep monotone interrupting Applejack’s country accent. She didn’t just feel it though; she really felt it. What in tarnation…
Another groan escaped into the environment as the orange mare realized the source. She flipped her head around and investigated her stomach, which broke into another chorus of fits. “Twilight, what’s goin’ on?” Her answer was given in the form of Twilight rushing over and placing a stethoscope on her undercarriage, who listened intently for the next belly fissure.
A moment of silence passed between the two.
Whatever it was seemed to be over, and Twilight eyed Applejack curiously. “...How do you feel?”
“Ah feel...” Applejack was about to restate the fact that she felt the same, but that would have been a lie. “Ah feel... great!” Sweet Celestia, this feels fantastic! Ah could buck apples all day like this! The earth pony beamed at her friend who was rapidly scribbling down notes on a levitated clipboard. Even if she had been working since the crack of dawn, she felt more alive than she had in weeks; months even.
Twilight’s expression lit up to equal her farm pony friend’s and began to prance around the room. “It worked! It worked! It worked!” She chanted. “I can’t believe it worked!” Abruptly the joyous hopping stopped cold and she froze in her tracks. “Err, I mean... Yes, I knew it would work, hehe.” Her eyes blinked over towards Applejack nervously.
Oh hay... The comment quickly went through one of Applejack’s ear and out the other faster than twenty Rainbow Dashes put together. Wait a second... what did she just say? Did she just... aww, who cares. Ah feel too good to care! The bags under Applejack’s eyes receded and her hind legs were once again as hard as stone. She was ready to work.
“Well,” Twilight started again, “This is excellent news! Actually, I nearly forgot why I had wanted to finish the project in the first place.” Celestia’s star pupil began to shuffle around the library in search of something. “Now, I hate to gallop off like I’m about to Applejack, but I was summoned to Canterlot late last night before my breakthrough this morning. It’s somehat urgent apparently, and I’m going to be gone for a few days as a result. Thanks so much for helping me, this is the perfect opportunity to test out the potion’s effectiveness! You have no idea how exciting this is!”
Still caught up in the rush she was getting, Applejack grinned while staring off into nothing, “You’re welcome Twi’,” then shook her head and returned Twilight’s thanks with a nod. Canterlot? Well that’s kinda sudden. “The princess just asked for you? Not the whole lot of us?” Applejack tilted her head speculatively.
Twilight levitated a suitcase that had been sitting idly across the room. “Oh, I don’t think it’s anything sinister or something like that Applejack. Princess Celestia mentioned strange magical fluctuations in the letter, I suppose she intends for me to investigate them. If something does come up though Spike will let you all know right away I’m sure.” She gave Applejack a beaming face, overjoyed from both getting to study an anomaly and being valued so by her teacher. “I’m bringing a couple more of these potions too!” A purple hoof patted her side satchel, “So don’t worry, if I really needed you all, now I can poof you all to my side in seconds!” An excited teehee escaped her, before she coughed and straightened her face.
“Alright! Well I’m off then, if Spike can’t remember where I went, just ask him to clean up my mess while I’m gone. I would, but I’m in a hurry. Tell the girls I’ll be back in a few days and not to worry!” Twilight continued to smile, and waved across the room to her cowpony friend before finally taking off.
“Will do, Twilight,” Applejack waved back and replied while thinking, That’s just like Twi’ to do some kind of lengthy hoodad research just to revolutionize moving from point A to point B. She watched as Twilight trotted to the middle of the library floor, the other mare’s smile never wavering.
“Phew okay, here we go.” Twilight set herself into a state of absolute concentration, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. With no pretense for modesty, the tip of her horn burst brilliantly aglow like the magical conduit it was, emitting stray sparks of violet light into the air every few seconds.
The stream of magic grew brighter and brighter, soon blinding the earth pony who watched the happening in awe. Twilight’s eyes sprang open the feeling of power she suddenly had access to, a little overwhelming.
Applejack gulped at the sight of her friend, her eyes entirely aglow and whited out. “Twi’ are you alright?” The words were still audible, but mixed with the buzz and hum of the magic filled air.
“Yeah!” Twilight called back. “It’s amazing, everything is fine!” The other mare’s hooves shuffled out some, as though she were supporting a heavy weight. “I’ll be back soon Applejack! I-”
Applejack took a step towards the sparkling mare, but was cut off by a flash of light brighter than the sun. With a sudden roar of noise, Twilight poofed away. The sudden flare blinded her momentarily, and in its wake she quickly readjusted her eyes to the seemingly darkened room. Besides the occasional flutter of loose parchments, the library had fallen silent.
There, right in front of her was the empty air that Twilight had just occupied.
A relieved feeling swept through Applejack. Guess it worked like a charm. Darn you Twilight, you had me goin’ there for a second.
The stillness of the library collided with a strange yearning in Applejack’s hind legs. Ah...Ah s’pose Ah should get back to work! With a quickened step, she was on her way out the bulky wooden door between her and her buckin’ job.
A voice rang out, its tone a craggy rumble, as if strained from a cold or too much cider. “Wait!”
Applejack stopped in her tracks, tensing up from the surprise. “Spike, that you?” She turned around to face the source of the sudden outburst.
From underneath a large pile of books there in the library, rose the shambling wreck of a baby dragon. His face was meshed in a half-cringe, half-scowl as he righted himself, teetering back and forth as he did so, one claw clutching his head.
From the shaking in the stubby legs of Twilight’s adopted sibling, Applejack could tell that he was in rough shape.
“Well howdy, Sugarcube. Are you feelin’ alright?” Applejack asked it in the way a nurse might ask an injured patient. At the same time she thought, What in the hay happened to you little guy?
Spike looked towards her, his face as pale as a ghost.
Wow Spike, did you lose a fight with a minotaur? You aren’t lookin’ so good... Applejack took a couple concerned step’s towards her friend, already wondering about just what could have happened. Likely another bookalanche and nopony around to help him.
Twilight’s dragon assistant rubbed his adjusting eyes with his claws, and stared blankly at Applejack. “Wh-what happened last night?” His eyes were having a difficult time adjusting to the natural light seeping in through the library windows. He smacked his lips loudly and audibly sucked at his gums. A pinch of confusion dashed across his face, displaying discomfort to Applejack.
“...My- my thooth! It’s gone!” His jaw snapped open, revealing a jagged layer of sharp teeth once concealed by his purple scaled muzzle. His forked tongue lashed rapidly at the empty gap where a canine once sat with pride. “This is just perfect!” he said, throwing his arms up in a sarcastic manner. “Applejack, what are you doing here?”
The orange earth pony was trying her very hardest to suppress the mounting laughter fighting to escape her own muzzle. Her eyebrows creased in a blatant attempt to guise her amusement, but it fell flat. She laughed. “I’m…” she snorted and a giggle escaped. “I’m not sure, Sugarcube, I just got here…”
Spike glared at her. “Yeah, hyuck hyuck. Laugh it up.” He rubbed his face and added, “It’s just a baby tooth, but still...” Another claw rubbed his temples, trying to get a grasp on his situation. “Where’s Twilight?”
Applejack hummed and let out a deep breath. “Twilight left for Canterlot, said you knew about it, and she said she’ll be back in a few days.” The reply hardly seemed to phase the poor dragon who still fought against the obvious migraine sucking on him like a parasite. That poor sweetie, she thought, he looks like he’s in all sorts o’ pain.
“Oh yeah,” Applejack added, “she gave me a message to give ya once you woke up.” The dragon raised his head and looked at her with drowsy eyes. “She said to clean up the library.”
Spike glanced around, his expression remaining a constant dull as he did so. Eventually, he came to a halt, glaring at Applejack.
“…” Spike fell over, losing consciousness almost immediately. The library echoed with loud snoring.
You have my sympathies, Spike. With that, Applejack departed the mess that was once called a library, nearly galloping back to her farm. Here Ah come Sweet Apple Acres, and Ah’m gonna buck the apples off of ya!
The spring in her step had returned, and a euphoric energy was attacking her senses with nothing but pleasant feelings and sensations. Ah don’t know what was in that strange elixir, Twi’, but Ah feel better than I have in years!
Before Applejack knew it, she was walking past Sugarcube corner and well on her way home. Though, something felt odd… She couldn’t put a hoof on it, but something felt off about her surroundings. For the busiest street in Ponyville, it sure seems…quiet. Yeah, that’s it. Where is everypony?
A couple of ponies here and there dotted the streets, but it seemed to Applejack like they were in a rush to get somewhere. Hay, where’s the fire at? For the first time in a while, a relative calm had fallen around the town; a sight that Applejack had rarely seen. It was really only when… A sudden wet feeling on her muzzle told her realize why she was currently one of two ponies trotting along the main road of Ponyville.
A single raindrop made her aware of the looming storm in the distance; the tip of which was just now reaching town. Oh ponyfeathers, Ah hate the rain. The sudden beginnings of a slight drizzle only made her mission to reach home all them more imperative. Giddying up, she took a right, travelling down the familiar dirt path back to the orchard.
With every few steps Applejack trotted, the drizzle fell harder, evolving into a steady rain. She watched in horror as the wind howled through the branches of her apple trees, violently shaking them until it was rewarded with the release of its precious apple stash. Darnit Rainbow Dash! We’re not even supposed to get rain today! Torrents of water splashed down on the earth pony, drenching her hat beyond any hope of keeping her head dry. What does she think she’s doin’!? This is more rain than we’ll need for a month!
An epiphany dawned on Applejack. We never get this much rain… Something’s wrong…something is definitely wrong. The suspicion turned her trot into a gallop, as she sprinted back to her home as fast as her legs could carry her. The wet stetson clung to her head, while the frigid rain and irascible gusts of wind attacked her from all sides chilled her. Every step she took brought her closer to the farmhouse; a sanctuary from the depression above and a place where possible answers lay.
The large wooden door swung open to her home, bathing Applejack in the warmth of a slowly crackling fire and the Apple family. She dripped water into a puddle on the floor as she caught her breath; getting the attention of a worried Granny Smith and a very tired looking Big Mac. A sigh of tired relief escaped her.
A boom of rolling thunder echoed into the home.
Applejack’s nerves caught immediately, reacting to the intent stares that her two family members were giving her. Realization struck her like snare drum, she counted the heads of her present family and her face paled.
“Where’s Applebloom!?” Applejack shouted over the increasingly noisy clatter of the outside shutters and rainfall.
The two other apples looked at each other in a panic of their own.
Big Mac stood up and asked, “We thought she was with you!” He limped his way to the door nearest to Applejack, preparing to fight to bring his younger sister back to safety. He almost made it too, had it not been for a stern mare blocking his path into the unknown.
“No dice sugarcube, you’ve still gotta few days ‘fore you’re set to go anywhere, especially out there right now,” she paused for a moment, thinking of a quick plan. “Ah don’t like the looks of this storm one bit. It’s raining dogs and cats out there, and this wind is mighty stronger than anything Ah’ve seen. We need to take shelter until it passes over, ya hear? You take Granny on down to the cellar and Ah’ll go look for Applebloom. Ah think Ah know where she went off to.”
Applejack watched as the stallion prepared to argue against her judgment, but he faltered. His normal stoicism cracked and he winced as he fought against the pain in his side. He remained silent for a moment, regaining his composure before he spoke. “Okay, AJ. Go, and be quick about it. Bring Applebloom back ‘fore that filly gets into any more trouble.” A confirmation nod was passed between the two, and not a moment later Applejack was scrambling through the rain toward the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse.
The distant flash of lightning preceded the deafening crash of thunder, making Applejack shiver more than she had previously been in the cold rain. Come on Applebloom, she chanted. Please be safe! Her strengthened legs slipped and slid in the viscous mud that had begun collecting along the path. She nearly tripped multiple times before finally coming within sight of her target.
The tree containing her little sister’s clubhouse shook violently, more so than any other tree nearby. Another flash of light illuminated the nearly pitch black area. She came up to the structure’s plank entrance, carefully crashing into the front door and into the flimsy structure.
A single candle illuminated the room, revealing a wet eyed, soaking filly trembling on the floor. “Applejack!?” Her red bow was as limp and drenched as the rest of her. The sisters bonded together in a tight embrace, Applebloom smothering her face into Applejack’s coat.
“It’s okay, Applebloom. You’re gonna be alright.” Applejack tried to soothe the shocked filly, but the constant teetering of the treehouse and banging of rain made it near impossible to even hear her own comforting remarks. In the distance, a low rumble violated the moist air, gaining volume as the ground began to vibrate.
The noise made the urgency Applejack felt all the more pressing. “Come on, we’ve gotta get outta here!” She screamed, barely audible over the steadily growing bedlam. Her hoove’s scooped up the filly in and tossed her onto her back with ease. Without another moment’s hesitation, she was already out the door and into the torrential downpour.
The sight that met Applejack almost didn’t register as something that were real.
Across the orchard, the behemoth black funnel of a tornado floated towards them, ripping whole apple trees from their roots and rotating them around in the air as if they were feathers. The thing glided across the nearby pond and inhaled its waters, like Pinkie eating pastries, then proceeded towards them. It wasn’t very close at all, it was simply gigantic, massive, several times the length of a barn across.
Immediately, Applejack backtrotted into the clubhouse and slammed the door shut, latching the tiny bolt lock as if it would have made a difference.
Tornado?! What in tarnation is a tornado doin’ all the way out here!? Towering down from the sky, the massive, rotating funnel crushed anything and everything in its path through the exposed orchard.
It was a sight that Applejack had never—even being the friend of Ponyville’s lead weather pegasus—ever seen. She slowly backed away from the small portals to the outside. Her heart was beating faster than she ever thought possible, and judging from Applebloom’s wide eyes, she could tell her sister felt the same. What do Ah do? What do Ah do? She chanted in her head. Her eyes darted back and forth for an answer, any sort of way to protect her sister from the treachery that lay in wait.
The rumbling turned to thrashing as Applejack soon had trouble staying on her hooves. The best she could hope to accomplish was to grab Applebloom with all her might, and slunk down over the filly, forming a protective barrier for whatever sort of evil reared its ugly head. She closed her eyes, trying to forget her situation but failing to do so.
...Ah’m sorry Applebloom...
That’s when Applejack felt it. Or rather, she felt the absence of something. As what was left of her remaining comfort was drained from her, a wild sense of weightlessness replaced it. Weightlessness, and the terrible soul crushing awareness that she was not touching the hard wooden floor of her sister’s treehouse; nor was she feeling the satisfying sensation of a dry coat.
Applejack’s body whipped back and forth, barely clinging to the one thing that she refused to let go. The eardrum splitting noise was almost too much to bear. A bitter sting of pain attacked her flank. She cried out in agony, but was silenced by the roaring winds cascading around her. Again, she felt a welt of pain, but this time against her back. Her eyes teared up; not only from the pain of her own apples being swung at bone breaking speeds toward her, but also at her helplessness. Right then and there, she could only do one thing. Hold on.
She dared not open her eyes, fearful of whatever terror lay behind her thin eyelids.
Suddenly, her body jerked forward. She felt the impact, but didn’t feel the pain. The wind seemed to be pushing in one direction. Her body was moving; even more so than before. She felt something else. Something that wasn’t there before. Two somethings actually. She almost couldn’t believe it, but somehow they felt like... hooves.
After the barrage of wind and water came the hard, cruel feeling of ground. Fear and relief vacillated throughout her mind as she understood that her figure was no longer flailing through the air with nothing but her sister to hold on to, but instead, rolling violently along the ground.
Applejack’s body was sore, her muscles ached, and her joints cried out in relief, but her determination remained steadfast. The painful tumbling had ceased, and she lay on the muddy ground, breathing harder than she had in as long as she could remember. She couldn’t decide if it was from the shock of it all, or simply the straining it took to hold on to Applebloom. Her eyes creaked open, revealing the tattered fields that had once been Sweet Apple Acres. Her family's livelihood had vanished into thin air with the countless un-bucked apple trees that had remained in the orchard.
The sight almost made Applejack want to start sobbing even more so than she already was. Applebloom was shaking too, the filly in her forelegs was shaking. And she could only hear a single sound break through the chilling silence.
“....”
It echoed louder.
“AJ! Get up, we need to go!”
She could almost make out words...
“AJ! WE NEED TO GO!” The scratchy voice brought Applejack back to reality. She flipped her head around to find the source of the voice. Behind her, stood a cyan mare with a soaked, rainbow mane; she had a terrified, but stern look on her face and her mouth moved as she barked orders.
It took a moment for Applejack to process exactly what happened, but soon she found herself in a woozy gallop toward her home, right behind Rainbow Dash. Before they knew it, they had made it to the Apple family cellar and slammed the cellar door shut. A couple lanterns lit up the cider storage facility, barrels lining the walls.
Applejack took a moment to catch her breath, but soon the adrenaline rush began to subside. Though, not quick enough for her own good. She found herself muzzle to muzzle with the weather pegasus, glowering and huffing as she pushed her closer and closer to the wall.
“What in the HAY is goin’ on here, Rainbow!?” Anger dripped from Applejack’s mouth like poison from a rattlesnake’s fangs. The rage bubbling inside of her felt awful, but she was too mad to stop. “We almost died! How could you be so reckless RAINBOW DASH!?”
Applejack waited for a response, but none came straight away, the slunked over form she watched angrily stayed still. “...Well? Why is that THING tearin’ up MY FARM!?”
The pegasus was seated on her haunches, but not for long. In a flash, she was up on her hooves and advancing on Applejack, her lips brought back in a ferocious growl. “Hey, chill out! I just saved your life!” Her shot was met with instant hostility.
Their heads butted together as they glared into each others very souls. “Yeah, a life that ya put in danger when you decided to screw around with the weather!”
"You think I was the one who did this!?” The other Apple family members watched silently as the two mares battled it out.
The droning of the rain outside beat louder and louder. “Well it certainly didn’t happen on its own, now did it?”
“Stop it!” The squeaky, girlish voice broke through the low rumble outside. Applebloom stood underneath Applejack, displaying an angry expression of her own. “Stop fightin’. Can’t we all just-.”
The ground shook and rumbled as the ear-splitting growl choked the fillies cries into submission. It enveloped the small, dark space; encasing the terrified ponies in a cocoon of speechless fear.
Applejack could hear the awful groan of bending wood coincide with the shrieking creaks as they splintered in half. The doors of the cellar exhausted every resource they had to expunge themselves from the tight iron hinges, barely unable to free themselves from their protective prison. Flakes of stone and dirt chipped themselves away from the ceiling, delicately falling onto the trembling ponies below them.
Not many thoughts were going on in Applejack’s head other than the nagging voice that continued to yell, run, get out of there! Grab the filly and go! She knew it was not an option and quite frankly, her legs refused to move anyway. She was glued to the same spot, too shocked to move.
Applejack’s gaze darted back and forth to each pony in the room. Applebloom laid down, hooves protectively arched over her head. Big Mac stood motionless, watching the ceiling for a reason only he knew about. Granny Smith clung to her lantern, jittering at every loud boom and low groan that found its way into the shelter. And finally, Rainbow Dash glared at Applejack, refusing to mollify the daggers she shot in bitterness.
The incessant drumming of rain and quiver of the ground subsided. A lantern above the them shook from side to side, casting its beam from one pony to the next. Applejack was sure that the same thought crossed the mind of everypony in the room. Is...is it over? The remaining sounds died down, carrying with them the stark silence that made Applejack’s ears ring.
Rainbow Dash made the first move toward the cellar door, trembling a little even though it looked to Applejack like she was desperately trying to hide her anxiety. Applejack almost reached out to stop her, but waited. Whatever was on the other side of the door, she had to see. She followed the other element of harmony to the door. The pegasus carefully unlatched the iron bolt that had kept the door secure during their bombardment. With a push of the hoof, the door swung open and the saturated air flowed into the cellar. The pleasant breeze brushed against Applejack’s face as she climbed the steps into the slight drizzle that remained.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood in awe for a moment as they peered out onto Sweet Apple Acres. Or rather, the ruins what used be her home.
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This would have been a great chapter for the front page.
Ouch. SAA gone. Living in Tornado Alley I've seen my share...
...And I guess that's where Twi departed.
I hunger for moar.
Great job! Keep it up.
2827126 Just for you!
Green Leaf! Wow, I really need to post that story now. It should be up in the next few days, I swear!
Good job on this chapter! Lots of funny stuff up in hurr.
Welcome to Oz. Please present your passports to the nearest munchkin. Thank you.
Something weather related goes wrong. Proceed to immediately yell at Dash
Great Scott!
I loved the BTTF reference, I noticed it as soon as Twilight opened the door with the thing on her head.
2828141 good eye! Yeah, in the original draft, I modeled a lot of that scene after a couple of things from BTTF, but after strenuous editing, I had to take it out. There's another reference in here, can you figure out what it's to?
2827836 I think you may have stumbled onto something there.
2828167
Do you mean the clock over the sink for BTTF, the RD-drinking-potion thing from Double Rainboom, or the Tornado that had me singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow"?
2828185 well, the clock thing was a BTTF reference, I honestly forgot about the double rainboom thing (but you're spot on), and somewhere over the rainbow, you might find more than a reference. Oh, and there's still one more, and it's a little bit harder than the rest.
2828201
Somewhere over the Rainbow, there might be a reference, but only if there's a copy of the movie along with it so I can actually watch it.
She put cyanide in the potion? Isn't that a deadly poison?
Both this chapter and the previous one have had a palpable sense of dread to them. I knew in my gut that something real bad was going to happen, but I didn't expect a full-blown tornado.
I assume that with Twilight gone and the opening chapter of Rarity's story not mentioning natural disasters, that This also takes place after Rarity's dissapearance?
And was the tornado supposed to plop AJ into another realm?
2859775 Well, let me first say thank you for identifying the tone of the story. I wasn't sure if the dark/ominous mood really got across. As far as the timeline goes, Rarity's disappearance did happen a little bit before the tornado. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say that you're pretty close about the tornado sending Applejack somewhere over the rainbow.
Also, I'm not sure if it got across but there was a bunch of foreshadowing in the first chapter. Just wanted to put that out there.
I'm working on the next update, and soon, the adventure tag is gonna make a lot more sense, if you catch my drift.
2828141 BTTF?
2863667
Back To The Future
2863697 Thanks.
And everypony died.
Until they didn't.
uh huh.
I see what you did there, very clever,
did nopony notice the obvious flufflepuff reference?
3168586
What?! Where.
“Excuse the mess, I haven’t had much time to clean up yesterday’s failures and Spike is…well... Actually where is spike?”
Missing noun capitalization.
Flufflepuff?
Is that a reference to Double Rainboom? So did all of that happen here or not?
These are references to Back to the Future. The only other Madverse story I'm familiar with so far is A Twilight Landing and its side stories and that has a couple of references to Back to the Future in it.
Speaking of ATL, I know that story begins with a storm. I imagine this tornado is what transported Twilight during her enhanced teleportation to the future of the world Scrubs apparently is set in. (One of the side stories features a character from Scrubs, so it takes place in that universe.)
I wonder if those vials of potion are responsible for the crystals. 
Recent chapters have shown they have an immense of power in them.
But enough of ATL. As for this story, I'm really starting to like this. Let's see what happens next.
Loved the Back to the Future reference. Ooooo, and there goes Twilight, hope you enjoy your new world & body. Watch out for that Internet they have.
Tornados? That hits close to home living in Oklahoma.
Ahh, so that OC we just Green Leaf? And here I was being all suspicious of a non-canon character in a mostly mane character story, I figured it would be someone relevant to the overall plot. (Not that I'm complaining about the cameo or anything.)
Surprised noone's done this yet...so I will!
Ok, I've got to ask. I know AJ and Dash are supposed to be athletic rivals, but why is there so much vitriol between those two in this story? Something from one of the other stories perspectives, maybe?