Applejack in Lordran

by Simbody

The Bright Side

Princess Luna stared blankly where the black orb had been, it was obvious that Princess Luna knew they were there so Twilight and Pinkie walked in.

"Did you really have to yell?" Twilight asked Pinkie, responding with a quiet "sorry". Twilight shook her head.

"You shouldn't have followed me Princess Twilight"

Gah! that Princess title is still so foreign!

"Sorry, but I noticed you taking my book about Lordran." Twilight stated.

"Yes, I hoped you would not notice so soon. I suppose investigating was a reasonable response to such an act." Princess Luna admitted, still staring in the orb's previous position.

Pinkie, for some reason, was smiling intensely. "Soooooo...Who was that? She didn't look very pretty, she looked spiky, like 'ow don't put your face on my face, it hurts!' right? I hope its not your special some pony! Its okay if she is but--" Pinkie began.

"His name is Gwyndolin, he isn't my "special some pony" and that is not part of his face, he wears a mask and collar." Princess Luna retorted, giving Pinkie the stink eye.

Twilight intervened, holding up a hoof. "Hold on, how can you be sure its a he? I mean, it sure didn't sound like a he, maybe a he going through puberty but-" Twilight was interrupted by Pinkie

"PUBERTY?! but isn't she like, an all powerful moon god or something?! I don't know any moon god like things that haven't passed puberty! I only really know one moon controlling pony, person, thing anyway but MY POINT STANDS!" Pinkie shouted and smiled childishly at Princess Luna

Princess Luna was mildly disgusted by Pinkie's reaction. "Thou art an ignorant mare aren't thee Pinkamena Diane Pie?" Pinkie and Twilight were immediately confused.

Who calls her that anymore? Thought Twilight.

Princess Luna continued matter of factually. "I asked Gwyndolin himself! He was born a male but due to his interest in the moon and stars, his father raised him as a female."

Pinkie rolled her eyes and responded. "Well it doesn't matter what she was before, she is a she now and she will do she things and be a she doing them!"

It was Twilight's turn to be irritated. "Can we not emphasis every gender related word?" Twilight asked irritated "And just because it was raised as a girl doesn't mean it has to sound like a girl!"

"The only ones I know that have an obsession with the moon and stars are both female and so Gwyndolin is female. That's my final answer!" Pinkie continued

Princess Luna ignored the comment but Twilight's jaw dropped, taking a moment to respond "Pinkie! don't be sexist! You do realize that there is a Stallion in Canterlot who does nothing but observe the stars right? Astrology? You know?"

"Oh please, he's probably a she too." Pinkie stated, not even making sense anymore.

"Ohohoho" Twilight giggled, gritting her teeth. "I swear if Celestia was here she'd banish you to the moon for more than a thousand years!" Princess Luna scrunched her face and glared at Twilight.

"No offense!" Twilight said, forgetting about the Princess.

"Did you see her tits?!" Pinkie blared out. Princess Luna nearly fainted.

"Pinkie! Sweet Celestia! I did not notice anything about its chest but I did notice a tentacle or two flick by during the conversation." Twilight said, surprised by another of Pinkie's ridiculous comments.

"OH MY GOD, GWYNDOLIN IS A MEDUSA, COCKATRICE, BUFF--" Princess Luna encased Pinkie in a dark blue, sound proof bubble.

Rubbing her head, Luna continued. "Twilight, it really doesn't matter what gender Gwyndolin is does it?"

Twilight, also recovering from the pink noise maker agreed, stating that it certainly wasn't helping to save Applejack. Apparently Luna's spell was only sound proof one way, Pinkie stopped blabbing, presumably mid rant. Sadness grew in her eyes and her hair deflated shortly thereafter. Princess Luna expelled the bubble, freeing Pinkie.

"Guys...i'm going to go home now...Talk to you later Twilight." Pinkie said sadly as she walked past the two Princesses.

"Aww, Pinkie. Applejack will be fine, I promise!" Said Twilight

"As do I!" Princess Luna agreed, shouting out to Pinkie but she simply kept walking away. After some time of silence Princess Luna stated that she had a plan to save Applejack but she was unable to tell Twilight in fear that her sister might find out. Twilight left, understanding, and returned to the mirror

----------

Applejack approached the fortress yet again but this time she didn't enter alone. She sat on the stairs for an unknown length of time basically hoping a summoning sign would show up. As luck would have it, one did! Applejack approached it, curious as to what the person she would be summoning looked like. She stood in front of the sign and a faded image appeared, it was Twilight!

Applejack gasped in amazement at her friends image standing before her, she quickly touched the sign and stepped back expectantly. A few seconds passed and a ghostly white phantom slowly rose from the ground, bringing up its head to see its summoner.

"Twilight!? Well i'll be! Is that really you?" Applejack said excitedly. Twilight nodded, smiling and hugged Applejack.

A hug from a ghost doesn't feel as warm as a hug from some pony else. Applejack noted. Applejack stood there in amazement, gawking at the fact that her friend, Twilight Sparkle, was actually here in Lordran, helping her get through this mess! she almost shed a tear. Twilight waved her hands in front of Applejack to get her attention.

Applejack shook her head rapidly "Yeah, sorry sugarcube, how have you been?"

Twilight gave a thumbs up. "Not in the mood to talk?" Applejack asked, a little confused. Twilight smiled, shrugged and mouthed the words "I can't talk" pointing to herself and shaking her hand as if saying "no".

"Huh. Well that's okay I guess. At least you're here!" Applejack exclaimed, catching the gist of Twilight's message. They began to walk into the fortress, Applejack shoved Twilight aside abruptly, Twilight looked at Applejack from the ground questioningly.

"Sorry sugar, this here place is riddled with traps." Applejack demonstrated by stepping on a pressure plate, allowing the spear shooting mechanism to shoot onto the bridge. Twilight nodded and continued through the room, killing the two resting lizards. At the first bridge with axes above it Applejack explained to Twilight that she had to be quick to get across, Twilight sprinted across but was clipped by the last swinging axe and fell into the black gunk below where she was promptly squashed by a large demon. Applejack shook her head and went back to summon Twilight again.

Twilight died many times on both bridges and had been shoved off so many times, she basically knew her way through the black gunk below. they eventually made it past and waited at an arch that led to the outdoors; Twilight rested in the hall, Applejack beckoning Twilight to continue.

"Come on! We've made it farther than I ever did on my own!" Applejack stated, stepping just outside the arched doorway. "I'm sure we can-" Applejack's sentence was cut off by a large boulder she didn't notice was heading for her. Twilight would have gasped, she faded away instead.

Each time they tried, they slowly got farther through the fortress. Death was more of a side effect at this point but Applejack was running low on humanity. They eventually made it to the top of the fortress but there were still many dangers between them and the tunnel in the wall attached to the very top of the fortress. Applejack found another person to summon and Twilight died from an explosion shortly after, the new phantom and Applejack continued.

-----------

Twilight watched the mirror happily as Applejack and the other phantom proceeded swiftly along the top of the fortress. Confident that Applejack will not be needing her help, she elected to visit Ponyville again.

...

It was a sunny day with very few clouds in the sky. The grass was a vibrant, lively green, a light breeze could be felt as Twilight hovered along the path to Ponyville, slowly getting used to her still fairly new wings. It wasn't easy to keep her balance in the air, her body would constantly rise and fall as though she were bouncing in the air trying not to put in too much or too little effort.

I've never actually noticed what any Pegasi look like when they hover. Do their bodies remain stationary or bounce like mine? Twilight pondered. The division in her attention made her lose her balance, falling slightly but regaining the lost altitude. She looked down as she hovered along, amusing herself watching the air currents from her wings remove the dirt beneath her.

I bet if I did this at home, Spike would be asking me to "sweep" the floor all of the time! Twilight looked around. I should be about halfway to Ponyville. She concluded. She saw other Pegasi gliding through the sky, Twilight wanted to give that a try. She beat her wings harshly, trying to gain altitude, temporarily losing her balance each time her rise climaxed; She began to glide.

Oh! This is quite nice! I can easily see Ponyville from here and the extra breeze is very refreshing! I should go find some books on aerodynamics later. Twilight wobbled through the air as she glided across a field, obviously not used to being the subject of changing air currents. She slowly descended upon the path to Ponyville again as she neared a small bridge, landing just before it. As she crossed the bridge, Rainbow Dash landed on the other side, waiting for Twilight who felt a little uneasy from their last encounter.

Rainbow waved. "Hey Twilight. What's up?" she said, trying to sound excited.

Twilight put on a smile. "Hey Rainbow, I was just headed towards home to check on Spike, I haven't seen or heard from him since I left."

Twilight passed Rainbow, Rainbow followed along side her. "Oh, yeah, that's cool...So...Is everything cool now?" Rainbow inquired.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, genuinely curious.

"Between us! I thought that writing that letter to you might clear things up a little..." Rainbow said with her head down. Twilight did not recall receiving a letter.

"I didn't get a letter, did you put an address on it?" Twilight asked, figuring she didn't.

"Uh...no, I just basically wrote your name on the envelope and sent it off." Rainbow said hesitantly. Twilight shook her head with a smirk, The letter was probably at home. They rounded the corner of a house and began walking through the market, Twilight's stomach turned a little more upon seeing Rarity. It seemed Fluttershy was shopping with Rarity though they seemed to be just browsing.

"Hey Rarity!" Twilight was surprised to hear Rainbow say her name with a positive tone, looking to see how sarcastic she was being, Twilight was more surprised to find a genuinely happy expression on Rainbow's face. Rarity Returned the greeting in the same positive tone.

"Hello Rainbow! How have you been? I see you've kidnapped Twilight from her heroic journey" Rarity joked, nodding at Twilight.

"Yeah, something like that. Hey Fluttershy."

"Hello!" Fluttershy smiled.

"Weren't you guys mad with each other the last time I saw you both?" Twilight questioned Rarity and Rainbow. Rainbow nodded, encouraging Rarity to explain.

"Yes, dear, we were quite upset with each other but Rainbow here decided to come visit me at home and I, with my completely open heart and mind, listened to her please and forgave her for her wrong doings." Rarity said, pointing her noise skyward as the story progressed.

"Slamming the door in my face twice and calling me a dirty horse isn't really what i'd consider 'open'." Rainbow said, grinning sarcastically. Rarity chuckled.

"Well, maybe I didn't tell the story exactly as it was but the point is we apologized and forgave each other." Rarity said to Twilight and Rainbow nodded in confirmation. "Also, darling, did you receive the message I sent you? I addressed it to your residence but I don't believe you have been home since!" Rarity continued.

"No, I haven't been home yet. Rainbow said she sent me one as well, without an address." Twilight and Rarity looked towards Rainbow who looked away pretending to be distracted. The four mares walked together towards Twilight's house, talking about what they had been doing since Applejack "went away" as Fluttershy put it.

Rarity had been trying to create things such as foods, dresses, hats, she even tried painting but she didn't have the patience. She didn't have much patience at all recently and accidentally let it out on Sweetie Belle a couple of times.

Fluttershy kept herself busy, as Twilight already knew, taking care of her animals and stocking up on supplies, she even went so far as to start taking care of other people's animals, including Opal, which due to Rarity's short fuse, turned out to be a bad idea.

Rainbow couldn't really get her mind off of it especially after that rainy night with Twilight. She tried to cope by being competitive about everything. She said she was just angry that she couldn't help Applejack and felt restless, which is kind of understandable.

Pinkie wasn't around at the time so no pony really knew how she was coping. They reached Golden Oak Library, Rarity and Rainbow said their goodbye's to Twilight saying they had other errands to run. Fluttershy stayed with Twilight a while longer.

Fluttershy grabbed two envelopes off of a dining table and brought them to Twilight.

"You have mail." Fluttershy said, envelopes in her mouth. Twilight levitated and opened the first letter.

Hey Twilight,

I just wanted to drop you a line to say I'm sorry about freaking out the other night. I was out of line. I realize there is no excuse for my behavior, but just to add a little context, I'd like to share with you that I am not dealing with the loss of Applejack very well. I am not a complete ass; rather, I was under a lot of stress. I just feel so helpless you know? I want to go through that mirror myself with AJ and just...I don't know.

I hope that when you receive this, I will be in a better mood. But I understand if you don't feel comfortable having me around for a while.

Again, I'm sorry!

Your friend,

Rainbow Dash.

Twilight put the letter back into the envelope. That was nice of her. Totally unlike her, but nice. She walked over to the table and took a seat, pulling out the second letter.

Dear Twilight,

Where do I even begin?

Please allow me to apologize for how I acted in the library a few days ago. My behavior was extremely inappropriate, immature, and lacked the respect you deserved. I suppose hindsight is always 20/20.

It was embarrassing, but I know that nobody appreciated my poor behavior. In the future, I have every intention of curbing my thoughtless actions and learn to adjust my behavior befitting the environment and situation. I hope you can forgive me for what I did and put this matter behind us. I treasure our friendship and all the things we've done and been through. And hopefully, what transpired can become one of those incidents that make our bond stronger than ever.

Again, I am sorry for my actions and I hope that we can put this matter behind us. I look forward to seeing you again. If you have any thoughts in this, please feel free to share; I promise to listen before I speak. It’s the least I could do if you’re willing to forgive me.

Sincerely,
Rarity.

Twilight smiled at how thoughtful Rarity had been while writing this. She lay the letters down on the table.

I forgive you both.

"Would you like something to eat Fluttershy?" Twilight asked politely. She had just noticed that Spike wasn't home.

"Yes, please! I'd really appreciate something. Anything will do!" Fluttershy replied in her soft voice. Twilight went into the kitchen to prepare a meal of some sort.

...

Later that day Fluttershy had walked with Twilight to the train station but had departed as the train arrived on its way to Canterlot. Twilight boarded the train, happy to have had such a nice visit, though it did feel strange, all things considered.

...

Twilight stood before the mirror again just as Applejack was grabbed by two pale, thin, tall, monsters with long wings. She was dragged high into the air, Twilight panicked a little, thinking they might drop her friend. She relaxed when she saw that they only brought her to the other side of a large wall and into a new city where the sun shone bright and cast a golden glow across the land; it was beautiful!

Oh, i'd like to be there! I should write my name on the mirror. Twilight did just that and watched Applejack spot and use the sign. The sights and sounds around Twilight faded.

Comments

[Mixer]

Not to be a Debbie downer, but these four new releases could use a good polish.

To clarify: There are a lot of grammatical errors, there are some spots where the story is kind of choppy and poorly paced, and some of the dialogue is... a little out of character.