A Fistful of Apples: True Grit is Magic

by Alsvid

Infiltration

Applejack led the way, with Grimes and the Sheriff trailing in her wake. The corridor was brightly illuminated with green. The walls were softly curving metal, with exposed piping and sparkling wires of all shades here and there.

Applejack had her hand within reach of her rifle. She was looking at everything around her. Sometimes she'd even sniff the air suspiciously, tilting her head back, and slowing her pace.

"Hey, sheriff. Whatcha reckon THIS thing is?" Grimes poked at one of the exposed pipes in the walls.

"Consarn it, Grimes, you leave that alone. You don't even know where it's been!"

"Sorry, boss," mumbled the chastened Grimes.

"Shhhhh!" Applejack frowned at them both.

They kept walking. Applejack strained to hear more of the bug-like creatures clicking and scrabbling within the vessel. The solid metal floor ramped downwards.

"Ah think we're gettin' deeper into this thing. Maybe we'll find somethin'."

"What if somethin' finds US?"

Applejack looked at the sheriff scornfully. "Well, maybe they do, an' we might ACKCHERLLY find out what this big ol' metal barn is! Get movin', would ya? We ain't got all day, ya know."

Applejack quickened her step. She could hear the Sheriff and his fat friend struggling to keep up.

Shortly they came to another hatch, similar to the one they'd entered. It opened easily before them, however, exposing a small chamber with a touchpad before it.

Applejack stepped inside boldly. "C'mon." Grimes and the sheriff hastened to obey.

She touched the pad. It glowed green and warn against her palm. Her stomach dropped away - from the gasps of the other two, she assumed they, too, felt the sensation of suddenly being lifted. She rubbed her cheek, and sucked thoughtfully on her cigarillo, tasting the warm, fragrant smoke.

The hatch slid open.

They found themselves entering a large, circular room. Brightly lit holo-displays blinked and shimmered around them. On one display was a globe - very obviously Equestria. The other showed the outside of the vessel - they could see the town of Appleloosa, along with a section of the Sheriff's destroyed office. Yet another displayed a series of arcane gauges, meters, and readouts in a strange script that Applejack couldn't read.

Dark black monoliths stood at silent attention all around them. They were a good many feet higher than even Applejack, and as wide as an arm-span, casting looming, angry shadows upon them, giving the trio a rather oppressive feel.

Green glyphs, with sharp angles and slim lines, marked them from top to bottom. The glyphs had an odd glow to them. Applejack watched them dim and brighten rhythmically, and was reminded of a heart-beat. They were quite similar to the text on the displays.

The back of Applejack's neck prickled uncomfortably. She moved closer to one of the monoliths and stood watching the glyphs. They were slightly warm, in contrast to the chill of the room. Their glowing was oddly hypnotic. As the Sheriff and Grimes picked their way around the room, Applejack blew a smoke ring on the glyphs. They did nothing. She frowned, flicking ash off her cigarillo, and turned to examine the rest of the room.

There were three oddly-shaped seats here, as if they were made for a four-legged being. The controls were outsized, strangely shaped, and there even appeared to be levers that were roughly bit-shaped, as though the operator were intended to use it with their mouth.

Applejack walked over to one of the levers. She eyed it balefully. "Ah reckon this is where they steer the thing-a-ma-bob." She planted her boot atop the console at the side of the lever, and peered at it scornfully. It was all aglow with tiny blinking lights of all kinds.

Applejack squinted at them. They seemed to be buttons, on closer inspection, with writing above them. She couldn't read it. The whole thing made her feel depressed and disappointed.

She took out one of the sheriff's whiskey bottles that she'd filched, and pulled the cork out with her teeth, taking a few gulps. It was sweet, and burned her throat and belly going down. She felt a pleasant wobbliness to her legs, and, in spite of the strange, bitter coldness of the vessel, her skin felt flush and warm.

Grimes examined one of the transparent displays, the flickering green light bathing his features in an eerie hue. He poked at the display. It shimmered and rippled, as water does when it is touched.

Abruptly, the green hue of the holograms changed to a bright red.

"ACCESS TO BRIDGE GRANTED. INTRUSION PREVENTION SYSTEMS: SUSPENDED."

The sheriff spat. "Aw, geez. Jig's up, pardners."

Applejack jerked her head up. "What? Who said that? Y'all better come on out!" She kicked the lever over and stood up, reaching for her repeater rifle. "Ah'm warning you!"

"THE SHIPBOARD AUTOMATED INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM IS AN INTELLIGENCE CONSTRUCT TO COMMAND AND CONTROL VITAL FUNCTIONS. CHRYSALID DIAGNOSTICS ASSIST CREW MEMBERS IN SYSTEMIC CHANGELING PROCEDURE."

Applejack heard a low whirring, worbling sound. It made her skullbones vibrate. She could feel the floor trembling from it, as one feels when a train is rushing by.

Bright beams of green light shot out from the display at the front of the bridge. They converged at a point on the floor just before the display, and darted to and fro, forming a shape.

It was that of a woman. Her skin was chitinous, a lacquered greenish-black hue, like the creatures they'd seen outside. Her eyes were a solid, bright green, glowing like lamps. A long, twisted black horn thrust up from her forehead, and long, shimmering, dark green hair flowed down her head and shoulders. She seemed to be floating in an invisible pool of water, as her feet did not touch the ground, and her hair streamed about her in waves.

"Boss! That lady ain't wearin' no clothes!" Grimes yelped.

"I told you not to touch anythin'! Now see what y'done!" the Sheriff barked at him.

"You doodlebugs better take cover, 'stead'a runnin' your mouths! Ah think that lady's gone an' got mad at us for runnin' up in her-"

The Automated Intelligence spoke over them all.

Hers was the mechanical, staccato voice that had addressed them from the room. It sounded almost as if two people were speaking at the same time - one harmonious female, and one buzzing, monotone, almost insectlike.

"AUTOMATED INTELLIGENCE MATERIALIZATION COMPLETE. COMMENCING ANALYSIS OF LIFE FORMS."

Green beams shot from her eyes. They played over Applejack's body first, then the Sheriff's, then Grimes(who was shaking like a leaf under the Automated Intelligence's glare).

"CHRYSALID IDENTIFICATION FAILED. REQUEST DENIED."

The Automated Intelligence's eyes glowed red.

Applejack unslung her rifle. "COVER!" she barked.

The sheriff rolled behind one of the dark monoliths, as did Grimes. Applejack ran to the Intelligence's right. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Intelligence raising one hand, its arm outstretched towards her.

A ball of green light bloomed in the Intelligence's palm.
Applejack dove and rolled for the monoliths just before her, slamming her back against what felt like mildly warm steel.

Green light blasted the air Applejack had been, mere millimeters away from the monoliths. Applejack felt a searing heat and a dull, wobbling explosion that knocked her flat to the floor and nearly blew her hat off.

WAW...WUBWUBWUB...

Applejack leaned against the monolith and counted her racing heart-beats. The sharp snap of Grimes's snubnose pistol rang out - then the heavy bangs of the Sheriff opening up with his revolver.

She leaned out and peeked. The shipboard Intelligence was looking at her companions, ignoring her entirely. Most of Grimes's shots went wild, but one of the Sheriff's bullets slammed into the Intelligence's wrist. There was a sound like glass breaking.

It screamed, a warbling, electronic-sounding cry, and dropped its arm. Its hand had been blown clean off, leaving a jagged stump. Yet, that did not seem to deter the Intelligence. It spoke again.

"IT IS IN QUEEN CHRYSALIS'S BEST INTEREST TO RE-PURPOSE THIS SECTION FOR EXTRACTION PROCEDURES."

The Intelligence turned and faced Applejack abruptly. Applejack found herself staring into lamp-like green eyes, the same hue as the green glyphs.

"YOU WILL HALT."

Applejack turned and ran, zig-zagging her way towards another monolith. She blind-fired her rifle from her hip, spent shells clattering on the floor.

Most of her bullets whizzed past the Intelligence. It raised its other arm, a ball of green light swirling in its hand.

WUUUUUB...WUBWUBWUB.

Another blast of green light shot past Applejack, worbling and humming.

She barely made it to cover behind the monolith. Applejack lay flat against it, hissing through her teeth with pain. It felt as if she'd received a dreadful sunburn in a split-second, and was unsurprised to find her exposed flesh at her back red and sore.

Gunshots rang out to her left. The sheriff and Grimes were firing on the Intelligence. Applejack briefly considered reloading her rifle, thought better of it, and slung it back over her shoulder. She went for the heavy, long-barreled revolvers, glancing at their cylinders quickly. Bullets gleamed in every chamber.

Maddened with pain, she leaped up and rapid-fired both revolvers at the Intelligence. In her rage, Applejack's bullets went wild, ricocheting off walls and monolith alike, forcing Grimes and the sheriff to dive for cover.

The Intelligence, in an almost careless way, flicked its hand upward. The ball of light in its palm spread out into a green shield, like a large, glittering plate of translucent green glass. Applejack's last few shots bounced off like peas.

Applejack slid behind another monolith. More gunshots cracked and thundered at her left, along with the harmonic, ringing, bell-like sound of bullets bouncing off the Intelligence's shield.

Applejack hastily reloaded, flicking the cylinders out, sliding bullets into each chamber. She peeked out from around cover, and watched the Intelligence turn to face the Sheriff.

She got an idea, then. Sliding her guns back into their holsters, Applejack stood up.

The Intelligence was re-forming its destroyed hand. Small green shards, like glass fragments, whirled and spun around its stump, piecing themselves back together. Her palm was almost fully formed. Then her fingers.

Applejack sprinted at the Intelligence, boots pounding on the floor. She cocked one fist back - and swung with all of her body-weight at the Intelligence's head.

Her fist connected with what felt like glass, with a hollow ringing sound.

The Intelligence went flying backward. It slammed against one of the obelisks with a glassy thud, and slid down to the ground.

The room's lights blinked and went totally dark. For a second, Applejack was left blinking in total darkness.

Then the red lights shimmered back on. In the gloom, Applejack saw the Intelligence struggling to get up.

"DAMAGE. CALCULATING ORBITAL TRAJECTORY...NO...CALCULATING CHRYSALID SURVIVAL RATE...INCORRECT...REQUEST DENIED..."

Its eyes were blinking out of sync. Standing up seemed to be too difficult for the Intelligence; it was kneeling and rocking back and forth like a very drunk woman.

Applejack walked up to it, pulled her revolver free, leveled the barrel with its head, and squeezed the trigger with all her might.

There was a sound like a nearby thunderclap, the muzzle flashed like lightning, and the Intelligence's headless body slid back to the ground.

Just then, the ground shuddered beneath Applejack's feet. She nearly pitched forward onto her face, and slammed one hand against the monolith next to her to keep upright.

"Boss! What'cha reckon that was?" Grimes yelled. He was flat on his butt.

"Whole darn place is collapsin'. You got what you wanted, Miss! Let's skedaddle! I ain't stayin' around with that thing around."

Applejack kicked the glassy body. "She's DEAD, Sheriff. Y'all ain't got nothin' to fear." She took a final drag off her cigarillo, ashed it, and threw the butt at the Intelligence's remains.

"Y'seem to forget, Miss, that dead people 'round here ain't got the gumption t' stay dead," the Sheriff flung back at Applejack.

Applejack shoved her stetson down and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Great. Real nice. Let's git."

She was off and running for the bridge exit before the others could reply.

Comments

[Jordan179]

"Boss! That lady ain't wearin' no clothes!" Grimes yelped.

Grimes instantly grasps the most important aspect of their situation.

[Jordan179]

I like your story and I like your Applejack. Her behavior under the circumstances wasn't unreasonably ruthless, given her knowledge and lack thereof. This is a good story.