Persona: Harmony

by sorakun555

Chapter 3

*Thursday 8/17*

*Morning*

Twilight arrived at Sweet Apple Acres just in time to see Big Macintosh and Caramel hauling baskets on their backs towards the orchard. The sun was beating on her, one of the hottest days of the year, causing her to sweat before she had even started to work; she could only imagine what the day would be like.

The unicorn snorted. The old Twilight would have feared and whined at the idea. Not her. She could do this. She just needed to keep herself hydrated and stay in the shade if possible. Besides, Applejack was counting on her.

Twilight approached them, ready to work through the heat, when she noticed said pony missing.

“Hey, where’s Applejack?” she asked.

“She’s in her room,” Big Macintosh said, his deep voice dragging out his words, “She just got a big chewin’ out by Granny. Ah didn’t listen in, so Ah don’t know fer sure what about, but Ah got a feelin’. If ya wanna see her, go right ahead. We can start workin’ without ya.” Caramel followed Big Mac without getting his own words in and they both disappeared into the trees. Twilight didn’t hesitate in going to check on her friend.

She walked in to see Granny Smith knitting in a rocking chair, something Twilight thought she’d only see in books. Granny Smith looked up, her wrinkly face showing signs of slowly dwindling anger.

“Good luck tryin’ ta talk ta that hard-headed filly. Thinks she knows what’s best fer the farm. Can’t even notice the trouble swallowin’ ‘er up.” She started to mumble through her words and returned to her knitting, not paying any more attention to Twilight.

Twilight walked up the stairs and found the door slightly ajar. She nudged it open and poked her head inside to see her friend sitting on her bed, silence in the room. Her eyes were wide open, revealing an empty gaze leading to nowhere. Her body was rigid, not moving save for the slight rising and lowering of her chest as she breathed. The bewildered unicorn gathered the nerve to take a step into her friend’s room uninvited, only now seeing signs of life in her when she turned her head to look at the unicorn.

“Applejack?” Twilight was hesitant, wondering if it was alright to disturb her friend at all right now.

“Heya Twi.” Applejack was quiet, rivaling Fluttershy even. “Wassup?”

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” Twilight couldn’t help but let concern cross her face, “Is everything OK?” She took a cautious step, wincing at it as if she was stepping on glass. The sound of her hoofsteps seemed to echo in her mind, setting off alarms. She took another cautious step, and then another, until she was inside, though only enough so that her hind legs were still by the door.

Right then, the normally strong and independent farmer started bawling. She tried to walk over to Twilight, but her hooves slipped when she got off the bed and she fell to the floor. She didn’t even try to get up as she sobbed at her friend’s hooves. Twilight reflexively took a step back, but forced herself to remain in place. She couldn’t help but stare at Applejack’s crying and vulnerable state, sweating, and finally breaking her stare to look around the room for a clue. When her frantic searching proved fruitless she sighed, knowing that all she could do was to wait until Applejack could speak. After a few minutes, she was finally able to speak somewhat coherently between sobs.

“Twilight. . ." She looked into the unicorn's eyes through her tears as long as she could before dropping to the floor again, "No, everythin’s not alright! Everythin’s terrible! Ah shoulda listened, but Ah didn’t! An’ now, the farm might end up bein’ the price fer my ignorance!”

“You mean--" Twilight had a feeling she knew where this was going.

“The farm really is in danger o’ goin’ bankrupt. That would mean the loss of the farm, our home, everythin’ we have! We’d have nothin’ and it’d be mah fault!”

Twilight audibly gasped, failing to hide her increasing anxiety, “How can that be?!”

“Our sales have been goin’ down since new products started comin’ into the market. We usually earn enough every year ta get by, but with apples and some small desserts bein’ our only products we couldn’t keep up with the change.” Applejack was managing to speak through her harsh hiccupping and sobs, though Twilight was having slight trouble understanding her.

“Soon, ponies were losin’ interest in our apples in favor of the new stuff. Big Mac warned me about it last season, sayin’ that we needed ta do somethin’ soon, but the sales hadn’t dropped by that much at the time and Ah didn’t pay no attention to it! Our sales are still fallin’ and with the way it’s goin’ we won’t have enough money to support ourselves or our farm!”

Applejack started to cry uncontrollably again. Twilight raced through ideas and things to tell her. Whatever she did, it would have to be said gently. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Applejack, I might have a way to save the farm.”

Applejack shot her gaze straight up at Twilight, pools still under her eyes and streams staining her face. She quickly stood back up to be eye-level with her. “Really? Ya do?!”

Twilight recoiled a bit, now not being able to take it back, though she wouldn’t. “Yes, but it’s kind of risky. Well, anything at this point would be risky, really.” She noticed Applejack’s eyes showing collapsing trust and quickly got to the point. “Look, I have a way to get the farm more money, but it’s going to take some time for the sales to rise. But I have to ask you to trust me.” Her face became stern with that demand.

Applejack almost went for the obvious answer, but thought about it for a moment. She hesitated, then eventually gulped down the knot in her throat and spoke.”Yes Twilight. Please, help me save mah farm. Ah trust ya. Ah don’t really have a choice. . . .” she finished her promise quietly.

Twilight smiled, “Good. Now, stay here and clear your mind, it’ll help you get through today. If you see Big Mac or Caramel, tell them I won’t be working today. I’ll come back with good news as soon as I can.” With gusto, she quickly galloped out of the room, out the front door, leaving a puzzled Granny Smith in her wake, and over the hill back to Ponyville.

*Afternoon*

Twilight raced through the streets of Ponyville, getting to her library as fast as possible. When she finally saw the large tree house in the distance, she lit up her horn and surrounded herself in magic. In a bright flash, she disappeared off the streets and landed in the middle of her first floor.

Twilight groaned dizzily, catching herself on her hooves before she could fall over, soon recovering and galloping upstairs to fetch quills, ink, and scrolls. She’d barely scribbled a few notes on the parchment when she heard a knock at her door. Bringing her stuff with her in a magical grasp, Twilight trotted back downstairs and opened the door to see Fluttershy and Rarity.

“Hello, darling!” Rarity greeted Twilight. “We were just in the neighborhood and thought to drop by.” She noticed the paper and quill floating next to her fellow unicorn and seemed ready to take back what she said. “Oh, are we interrupting something?”

“Well,” Twilight thought her words carefully, “actually, I am really busy.”

“Oh. . .” Fluttershy looked down, disappointed, “That’s okay. We’re sorry to have disturbed you. . . .” Her whisper dropped down even lower. They turned around and were about to walk away when Twilight called them back.

“This might be a stretch, but I need help. I’m trying to figure out a way to save Sweet Apple Acres from going bankrupt an--"

“Oh dear!” Rarity raised a hoof up to her mouth in shock, “I had no idea it was in such bad shape!”

Twilight nodded her head, “If they don’t start getting sales up now, then at the rate it’s going the Apples will lose their farm,” Her ears fell flat on her head as she looked to the side, hopelessness and sadness creeping across her face as she realized the task she had signed herself up for, “I had the idea of coming up with a new product for them to sell, but I don’t have any idea about what that product should be! And forget about business techniques! I can’t just learn them like I can with magic!” Her voice grew louder as she went on, her anxiety from Applejack’s room returning tenfold. She was sweating now and breathing hard as she felt her mind crumbling on itself.

“We’ll be happy to help,” Rarity returned with a smile, like a ray of sunlight forcing its way to Twilight’s panicked mind, “Won’t we, Fluttershy?” She turned to the pegasus, who smiled and nodded her head in reassuring silence.

Rarity turned back to Twilight as she thought aloud, “I do own my own business, and the first thing I learned was that a new product puts you back on the map, so you have a good start there. However, I’m no good at baking. . . .” Rarity drifted off into her own mind, putting a hoof up to her chin.

“What about Sugar Cube Corner?” Fluttershy piped up, “They always make the best desserts and they’re really popular. I’m sure they can make something mostly out of apples.”

Rarity took over the brainstorming, “If the Cakes can whip up something that everypony will enjoy, then they can cut a deal with the Apples to share the profits. They could also include the recipe for a separate price--"

“Which they’ll have to buy apples to make!” Twilight finished with excitement. “This is genius!”

“Another thing I know is that a dazzling appearance attracts attention. That drab, old cart of theirs is so rickety and brown. If it stood out, ponies would have to take a look!” Rarity clapped her hooves at the idea. “I can’t wait to design it myself!”

“That settles it!” Twilight said, “Rarity, you go and start designing a new paintjob for the cart. Fluttershy, lead me to Sugar Cube Corner so we can make an order!” She pulled her bag from the house and placed her equipment inside for the journey.

“W-what?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened like saucers, “D-do I have to? I think I should help Rarity with the designing. . . .”

“But I don’t know my way around here yet. Rarity sounds like she can take care of the cart by herself, anyway.” Rarity had already taken off in the other direction.

Realizing she had nowhere to hide, Fluttershy slumped and sighed, “Okay. Follow me.”

---

Twilight could see a large, gingerbread-like house, the same one she spotted when she first arrived in Ponyville, down the street. She was ready to race in and get things done quickly, but Fluttershy seemed to have other ideas. The pegasus was slowly losing pace, and eventually stopped at the door.

“Okaythereitisgoodluck!” Fluttershy spoke faster than she could ever run. With a quick turn-around, the pegasus was galloping in the other direction, only to be stopped by Twilight’s magic.

“If they need taste testers, it would be best to have more than one opinion!” Twilight walked through the doors with Fluttershy clutching as much of the earth as she possibly could before bumping up the steps and onto the hardwood floor of the sweet shop. Once the door was closed, Fluttershy was released from the magical grip and they both stood at the counter.

“Hello!” A mare cheerily welcomed them as she stepped through a door standing far behind the counter. The smell of baked goods flooded the front room, teasing Twilight with their delicious scent. The blue mare straightened her apron with a hoof as she approached the counter, making sure she looked presentable to her customers.

Twilight couldn’t help but look at her pink-red mane, topping her head like a tuff of whipped cream. She noticed the mare still smiling at them and quickly stopped staring at her mane.

The mare didn’t seem to lose a single friendly beat, “What would you girls like?”

“Actually, we’re here on business.” Twilight answered matter-of-factly.

“Oh my, what’s this all about?” Her smile drifted into a curious, if worried frown.

“You see, Sweet Apple Acres is having a rough time with sales. At this rate, they could go bankrupt soon,” Twilight got out her notes and quill and readied them next to her head, “We were hoping that your store could make something new, mostly made up of apples, for them to sell. They could sell this new product and split the profits with you.”

The mare cut Twilight off, “That poor farm! And those ponies are such nice folks. We’ve done plenty of business with them in the past. You don’t have to convince us, we’d be happy to help them! Right, Sugar?” The mare called out, facing the door she had come from.

A gold-colored stallion with an orange mane popped his head through the door. He was wearing a small baker’s hat that pressed the top of his mane down between his eyes. The strands were thick like spines, continuing along the top of his head and down his neck in a straight line, “Of course we would, Honeybuns!” He retreated behind the door again.

“We’ll even split it 25-75, the 75 being for them.” “Honeybuns” offered.

“That’s very generous of you!” Twilight felt hope rising in her, “We would also like to include the recipe, if we could, to sell at a separate price. Since the recipe would call for apples--"

“Then the customers would have to buy apples to make it themselves. Of course we’ll include the recipe!” The mare just kept going along with it, as if she were doing this for a child of her own. Twilight couldn’t help but frown in concern.

“I don’t mean to turn down the offer, it’s very generous of you, but I just had a thought. Are you sure this won’t hurt your store’s profits, if not soon, eventually?”

“Don’t worry about our shop. We earn more than what is fair for that farm. Besides, this adventure will improve our reputation, so we’ll end up getting more customers as well. It’s win-win!” the mare turned up to a set of stairs on the far wall, “Pinkie, we have a job for you!”

“Oh no. . . .” Twilight heard Fluttershy from underneath the counter. She had her hooves up to her ears, as if protecting herself from an audio assault.

As if there was a jump in time, a pink pony with a cotton candy-pink mane had popped into existence next to the blue mare. A smile that could put Celestia’s sun to shame stretched her face from ear to ear.

“I’m ready, Mrs. Cake!” The pony saluted, her squeaky voice piercing Twilights ears. Twilight began to smell a strong scent of cake frosting, pondering shortly where that could possibly be coming from all of a sudden.

“I need you to make something new, something made mostly out of apples.” Mrs. Cake didn’t seem fazed by this pony’s presence.

“Not a problem, Mrs. Cake!” The pony looked ready to race through the back door until she turned to Twilight, “By the way, sorry for not giving you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party yet. I’ve just been soooooo busy playing with the new foals that I haven’t been able to plan a proper party yet! I promise it will be soon, though!” The smell of frosting seemed to assault her nose even more as she spoke at her. Twilight did her best to keep a good face, but the pink pony was getting to her every new second. Pinkie peered over the counter and continued, “Hi, Fluttershy!”

“Hello Pinkie. . . .” Fluttershy was shaking with her hooves still over her head.

“Well, time to work!” Pinkie disappeared as fast as she had appeared, almost as if she was never there, her escape visible only by the swinging door behind the counter.

Mrs. Cake noticed Twilight frozen in place and couldn’t help but giggle behind a hoof. Despite being Celestia’s prized pupil, she was having trouble processing what she just saw. The pink pony’s energy seemed so unreal; Twilight couldn’t understand how that pony functioned in such an abnormal way.

“She’s on the energetic side, but she has a good heart.” Mrs. Cake said after getting over Twilight’s expression.

When Twilight finally regained her composure, she had too many questions, “What did she mean by a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party?”

“Well, she knows everypony in Ponyville. Literally. She could tell you anything she knows about anyone. So, when a new one comes to town, she sets up a party for them; she just has to look for the ponies she doesn’t recognize.
“The parties usually turn out fun for the newcomer, so everypony’s happy. Throwing parties is her special talent, after all,” Mrs. Cake paused for a moment, “Believe me, that was the short version. Anyway, we only have enough apples for one experiment like that. Could you take this bag of bits and get us another shipment?” She plopped down a sack from behind the counter in front of Twilight.

Twilight gasped at the sack of bits in front of her, realizing something that had been pushed from her mind since Pinkie’s sudden arrival, “The Apples!” Twilight grabbed the bits with her mouth, not even thinking to use her horn, and turned to make a run for it when Fluttershy tugged at her tail.

“Why don’t I go get those apples?” She asked pleadingly.

The unicorn wanted to just yank off the meek pegasus, but only let that thought linger for a moment before repressing it. She looked at the pegasus as politely as she could through her racing mind, “Feh Ahhles--"

Twilight let out an annoyed grunt as she levitated the bag from her mouth, “The Apples are in a really tight spot and probably won’t trust just anypony with that shipment. I have to go,” She noticed Fluttershy open her mouth to say something and, against her better judgment, spoke before she could give a rebuttal, “And if they finish the new recipe before I’m back you should be here to taste test it.”

Twilight lifted her tail as fast, but gently, as possible from Fluttershy’s grip and started for the door. She did remember she had the use of her horn this time and swung the door open in a purple aura.

Just before she left, she called back, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back as soon as I can!” Her magic hadn’t even fully shut the door before it released itself. Her fast hoof steps were kicking up dust, causing discomfort for the ponies around her. She couldn’t care about that, however, as the sound of ticking echoed in her mind, ticking faster than her hooves could run and chasing her all the way down to the farm.

---

“I. . . can’t believe. . . I actually. . . .” Twilight huffed for breath with her head low, exhausted and sweating. She was standing at the gate of Sweet Apple Acres, the barn clearly in sight. She had managed to keep up her speed for the whole trip, which turned out to be just a little farther than it was from the library. She took a moment, wondering how she’d manage to gain so much more physical stamina since arriving here, then shook her head. This wasn’t the time to ponder that.

She continued at a trot down the hill and to the front of the barn. She had managed to catch her breath by the time she reached the door and put a hoof to the doorknob. She was about to enter when she heard the familiar sound of bucking close by. She allowed her curiosity to control her for the moment, running through the possibilities of who it could be. Though, Twilight figured, meeting any of them would suffice right now.

She entered through the break of trees to find the one pony she actually was looking for. Applejack turned her head after another hard buck and saw Twilight running towards her.

“Hey, Twi,” Applejack said through an obviously fake smile, “That was quick.” She turned her head to the sky and spotted the sun hiding behind her trees, giving her the time of about 2:30pm or 3:00pm, “Anythin’ yet?”

“Definitely something, but I still want to wait a while before sharing my plan,” Twilight pulled out the sack of bits, “Sugar Cube Corner needs another shipment of apples.”

Applejack’s smile lost part of its anxious edge, “Sugar Cube Corner, huh? They were always kind ta us fer business,” The Earth pony loaded up the wagon next to her with three full baskets, “Not that Ah don’t trust ya Twi, but I’d feel better knowin’ these apples got there safe. It’s a lot farther than to the barn.”

“I understand.”

Applejack cleared her throat and sucked in as much air as she could, “CARAMEL!!!” Her voice shattered the air and echoed throughout the farm, forcing Twilight to cover her ears. In what seemed to only take seconds, Caramel had galloped from his end of the farm, at attention. His boss turned to him and pointed to the wagon, “Take these here apples to Sugar Cube Corner with Twilight. Don’t waste time, though. Ya still got a lot o’ work ta do here.”

“Right away, Jack!” Caramel quickly strapped himself to the wagon and started to pull. It was slow going at first, but soon he was pulling it along with relative ease. Twilight, confused, turned to Applejack.

“Are you sure you want Caramel to take those apples? Didn’t you say he was really accident prone?”

“Fer some reason he causes a lot fewer accidents when pullin’ somethin’. He actually lugged the baskets around like you do now before you came along. Jus’ watch out around ya when ya follow ‘im,” Applejack gave a reassuring smile and let Twilight turn to leave. Just before she was out of earshot, she called out again, “And Twilight, . . . thanks, fer everythin’.”

Twilight smiled back before turning around again to follow Caramel up the hill and to town.

---

Twilight left Caramel at the door. The walk had taken them quite a while considering they were pulling a load. Normally Twilight could make the trip to the farm from her library in half-an-hour’s time, even getting there in only twenty minutes when she raced there earlier from Sugar Cube Corner. This time, however, took them a whole hour-and-a-half. It was almost four-thirty.

While Caramel went to the back to meet Mr. Cake, she would see if the dessert was ready. When she entered, an explosion of confetti and noise went off right in her face, knocking her backwards and back down the steps to the ground. When she recovered from her daze, she could see Pinkie standing right in the doorway, still smiling that same huge grin. Twilight was about to growl in anger when the delicious smell of baked goods filled her nostrils and overpowered her judgment.

“That’s just a preview of what you’re going to get at your party!” Pinkie giggled through a kazoo in her mouth that was letting off a low buzz with each word, “But that’s all I’m going to tell you! I want it to be a surprise, of course!”

She bounced to the side so Twilight could walk safely into the sweet shop and see a steaming plate of delicious cupcakes. She continued to bounce at Twilight’s side to the plate, letting her motor mouth go.

“I just pulled them out of the oven a couple minutes ago! It took a lot of work to think up a cool design but I think they turned out really good I hope they turned out really good do you think they turned out really good?” Pinkie eyed Twilight eyeing the cupcakes, waiting with baited breath for the unicorn to give her creation a shot. Twilight looked over at Fluttershy, who was sitting farther along the counter and enjoying her own free sample.

Twilight reached for one herself and inspected it. Each cupcake was covered with yellow, green, or red frosting. On top of the frosting was a chocolate-covered apple slice. She felt the base of the cupcake with a hoof, the nice, solid, not mushy sensation making her mouth water from the feel alone. She dared to take a bite, first swallowing the apple slice with unanticipated delight, then savoring the green frosting that was on her cupcake. It tasted of delicious granny smith- the apple, not Applejack’s granny- and finally the cupcake itself.

She was surprised when a cool mush covered her tongue and coated the chewed-up cake in her mouth. She immediately thought about spitting it out when the strange combination of textures danced on her taste buds, but thought better of it when the flavors meshed together. Twilight couldn’t help but let out an audible “Mmm” sound, closing her eyes in pure delight at the deliciousness that graced her senses. Before she could give her opinion, Pinkie went ahead to give the details.

“I used as many apples as I could, just like you asked!” She smiled proudly, “The cake is dotted with very small apple squares to give that chewy texture and provide a blast of apple flavor before you taste the awesome applesauce in the middle! The frosting was a little difficult, but it turns out that apple juice works really well for flavoring! I made each frosting separate so that each cupcake would taste exactly like the apple I used in the frosting! I even used the same apples for the slice on top!”

Twilight couldn’t help but stare at the cupcake in her magical grip after hearing the ingredients. She could now feel the small apple bits combine perfectly with the applesauce and frosting, the chewy texture giving it surprising character that only made her want more.

“These are magnificent!” Twilight exclaimed louder than was probably necessary, but the cupcakes were just too good to not shout to the heavens about. Despite wincing in embarrassment at her outburst, she wanted to devour the rest, but thought better of it until Pinkie offered her more. Once the tiny cakes were consumed, Pinkie gave her a proper greeting.

“My name’s Pinkie Pie, party thrower extraordinaire! Also, bomb cake maker!” She raised a hoof to Twilight.

“Twilight Sparkle, uhh, . . . learner from Canterlot! And great lecturer?” Despite the effort it took to give herself titles, she returned Pinkie’s hoofshake.

“I’m happy I could help that farm!” Pinkie beamed and waved vigorously good-bye as Twilight and Fluttershy turned to the door, “We’ll make sure to make lots for them to sell tomorrow!”

Fluttershy let out a heavy sigh, “So, what now?”

Twilight pondered a moment, “I don’t know. Do you think Rarity’s done designing their cart?”

“She would come looking for us if she was,” Fluttershy looked up at the sun. It wasn’t setting yet, but with it being summer it wouldn’t set until around seven. She let out a small gasp as she realized the time, “Oh, my, it’s getting late. I have to get home quickly or my animals will have a late dinner. It’s a very strict dinner time. Rarity’s house is on the way to my cottage, so is there anything you need me to tell her?”

“Just that she should bring the finished design to Sweet Apple Acres with me tomorrow so we can show Applejack.”

“Got it. See you later, Twilight!” Fluttershy galloped off in a surprising hurry for such a meek pony.

Twilight pulled out her list from her bag and stared at the unfinished words marking its incompleteness. It bothered her, it really did. The thought of losing track frustrated her. She was about to dwell on it longer until she yawned, her mouth stretching farther than she thought possible. She made her way back to her library home, ready to tackle the rest of this issue tomorrow.

---

“How are you feeling?” Spike was racing around Twilight, inspecting her over and over again, looking for wounds that she had sported the previous night. To his surprise, she was completely healed, as if that big fight had never happened.

He sat down next to her and sighed, “Good.” He looked up at her again.

“What’s with the surprise inspection?” Twilight eyed the dragon suspiciously.

“I’m, uh, just worried that you might not be able to see my awesome help out there again!” Spike slowly worked through the sentence, his face betraying any truth in it. Twilight shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, deciding not to dwell on it as the dragon went to speak again, “I think we should go back.”

To his surprise, Twilight agreed, “I think so, too. I have this strange feeling that tornado is important, and that we have to go inside it somehow.”

Twilight found her crown on a nightstand next to her bed. Either it disappeared last night and reappeared on the nightstand or Spike carried it back in after she left. Either way, she placed it on her head, raring to go. With a nod, Spike jumped off the bed and led the way back to the tornado.

As they walked through the empty streets of “Ponyville”, the unicorn, keeping her stomach in check, began to look around their surroundings, examining all of the buildings from afar. A strange sense of familiarity came over her. She shook it off. Of course it looked familiar, it was Ponyville! Everything was right where it should be! They were in the shopping district, with all of the tents, stands, shops and carts, among other things, exactly where they should be, standing on the not-ground starry sky.

She felt the wind start to pick up, then increase more and more the closer she got close to the tornado’s location. Her mane and tail whipped violently around her, slapping her, and sometimes Spike, in the face. They turned a corner and found the source, its terrifying blackness still putting a twinge of fear into the pair.

Finally, it hit her. This tornado was right on top of--

“How do you think we’ll get in?” Spike asked, snapping Twilight out of her thoughts. Strands of her hair floated in front of her face, which she quickly brushed away only to end up being in vain. Spike grabbed the offending hair and held it back so she could concentrate.

Twilight stared at the tornado, now realizing its location in this strange world. Her mind went off in the distance, letting itself be consumed by the blackness of the tornado, blinding her from the inside of her own mind. Then, images of Applejack appeared, along with Big Mac, Caramel, Applebloom, and Granny Smith. They were all at the farm, memories of the last couple days surfacing. Applejack teaching her how to buck apples, taking the apple baskets back and forth, and Applejack pleading at Twilight’s hooves, begging for her help in keeping her farm.

Suddenly, Twilight’s crown started to hum, emitting a soft glow and growing brighter and brighter. The light became steady and covered the six-pointed star in pure, white brilliance, then focused on the very center of the jewel. The light shot forth as a beam at the tornado, piercing straight through it. The sudden disturbance forced the tornado to teeter from side to side, the wind slowly dying and the black disappearing as the tornado lost control of itself. After what seemed like minutes, it was gone, not a single gust of wind blowing.

Twilight gasped at what was before her, despite knowing what was there. At the very edge of where the tornado had been was the path leading to a wooden arch at the top of the hill. She slowly stepped forward and climbed the hill, Spike in tow. When she reached the top, she could see trees stretch out before her like a forest, going for what seemed like miles. At the very bottom of the hill, at the start of the trees, was a red barn with a shed next to it. She was unsure of how to take this, simply staring in silence.

Spike nervously looked up at Twilight, “Twilight? What is it? Is there something about this place?”

“I know this place, Spike,” Twilight kept looking at the forest of trees, never once looking away even to talk to Spike, “This place-- I visit it all the time. It’s Sweet Apple Acres.”

“What does that mean?” Spike turned his attention to where Twilight was looking.

“I don’t know, . . . but if I had to guess it would mean that one of my. . . someone I know could be involved with this world.” Twilight, still stunned by the sight before her, let her mouth hang a little open.

“Twilight, . . . there’s something here. But, . . . it’s nothing like I’ve ever felt before. It’s not familiar. I don’t think I can even define it as a shadow!” Spike clung to Twilight’s leg, the weird sensation scaring him out of his wits. She grabbed him with magic and planted him on her back.

“Just do what we did last time. Warn me of any incoming danger and--" The Fool appeared next to them and Izanagi made his usual appearance, “--I’ll knock them out of the way. I’m still hoping I won’t find what I think I’ll find. . . .” Twilight let her last sentence trail off and slowly walked down the hill, reaching the barn, and turning into the forest of apple trees, entering like she had the day she tried bucking apples.

The forest, aside from the usual eerie glow from the night sky being below them, surrounded them with an ominous feeling, making Twilight’s steps heavy and almost echo in her head. She could see every root of each tree, as if the trees were suspended in mid air. Shadows covered the top half of the trees, spots of light getting through the leaves and reaching random parts of the next set of branches. Some shadows even made faces, faces with fangs, beady, evil eyes, and devilish grins that only an otherworldly creature could have.

Twilight was suddenly blinded, something scaly covering her eyes. She could hear Spike screaming next to her ear.

“Don’t look at them!”

“Spike! Spike!!! What’s going on? What’s happening?!” Twilight, after having a mini-heart attack, tried to control her breathing back to normal.

“Don’t look at their eyes, Twilight!” Spike’s voice was frantic, “You’ll be paralyzed in place!”

“What do you mean? How could the trees do that?”

“Those aren’t trees, Twilight! They’re shadows!”

“You mean we just walked into a trap?! How are we supposed to get out of here now?” Twilight started panicking again.

Just then, a loud, thunderous crash shook the ground, a gust of wind blowing Twilight off her hooves and on the ground. Spike jumped off in time so as not to get trapped under the unicorn’s weight, but lost his balance on the landing and tumbled next to her anyway. Despite Spike’s earlier warning, Twilight opened her eyes to see several trees crushed into tiny splinters while others lied on their side, defeated by whatever caused the force. In the middle of the clearing was a huge boulder, standing as tall as the trees that managed to stay on their roots. The two of them stood back up and cautiously approached the boulder, Izanagi close by in case of danger.

“Don’t get too close, Twilight,” Spike put a claw on her leg as if to stop her, “I’m getting a strange feeling from it.”

Twilight remained quiet and took another step forward. As if triggering a trap, the boulder shook at the landing of her hoof. At first the shaking was gentle, and then it started teetering back and forth, then faster and faster until it was vibrating in place. Finally, a piece at the top of the rock broke almost completely off, then the other side did the same, then the same happened to the lower half.

The rocks were shifting and moving together like gears in a clock, dust and small debris falling off of the transforming stone. The broken pieces were swinging around on a single piece of pebble connecting them to the main body, as if they were appendages moving along a joint. The strange appendages started growing smaller appendages resembling Spike’s claws, but rounder, cylinders attached to a ball. Between the two top appendages a large bump was slowly rising, two yellow openings functioning like eyes in a skull.

When the transformation seemed to be done, the boulder stood even taller, growing at least another tree-length in size. It stood up tall on two legs. It had arms, shoulders, a head, and beady, yellow eyes. Twilight stared up at the monster before her, frozen in place. The monster stared back down at the unicorn and her party, menace clear in its eyes.

“That’s it!” Spike was frantically squealing in fear next to Twilight, “That’s the ‘not shadow’ I’ve been feeling!”

The monster picked up one of its arms and raised it high in the air and above his head, fingers clenched in a fist. Twilight tried to move her legs, but fear was gripping her too tightly merely by the monster’s presence and not necessarily by the trees around them.

Desperate, Spike puffed up his cheeks and blew green fire in front of Twilight’s face, slightly burning her snout and singing her hair. Now snapped back to reality and, ignoring the pain, the burnt unicorn picked Spike up and galloped off between the trees, barely dodging the stone fist in time. She was glad that regular light physics applied in this world. Her speed was blurring the trees’ faces and making it easier for her to not accidentally look one in the eye. She could hear the stone giant crushing the trees in front of him, each step getting louder and closer. Spike suddenly pulled her head right and forced her in the other direction, missing a smaller boulder by the hairs of her tail.

The chase went on all throughout Sweet Apple Acres, much longer than Twilight thought she could run even with the constant running back and forth working at the farm testing her endurance or her sprint to the farm from Sugar Cube Corner. They quickly weaved around tree after tree, ducking under low-hanging branches and side-stepping incoming boulders. Just as the unicorn thought she had finally gotten away from the giant she hit an overgrown tree root, tripping her up and sending her and Spike to the ground a second time.

She stood back up as quickly as she could, but froze when she realized that the crashing and mini-earthquakes had ceased. Confused, she made herself into a ready stance, preparing herself for any more incoming boulders or a giant foot. What actually came was the one thing she wasn't prepared for.

“Twilight!”

Twilight jumped at the sound of Spike’s voice and noticed him looking up at the black sky, following his gaze, and gasped. The moon lit something up, something large and made of stone. It was falling fast, too fast for her to possibly run out of the way in time. As she was about to make her desperate run for safety, Izanagi shoved his whole weight to her side and threw the baby dragon with her. They rolled and tumbled along the ground, finally coming to a stop with Izanagi several hooves away. In almost an instant, the giant came down with the weight of gravity on Izanagi, flattening the Persona and everything in the surrounding area.

Twilight felt pain roar through her body, mostly her head, and the force of the giant’s impact sent her and Spike flying through the air yet again. She screamed in pain, as if the giant had landed on her instead of Izanagi. She collided with the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of her. After several seconds of her face in the dirt, she tried forcing her hooves to move again, the muscles cramping and trembling at even the thought. Spike managed to get up despite his own injuries and hurried over to the pony’s aid, though unsure of what exactly to do. He saw a stream of tears in her eyes, the pain so much that she couldn’t even bear through it.

“Twilight! Oh no, oh no! What can I do? Is there anything here that can cure pain? No, no no no no no no! Please, don’t leave me alone!” Spike’s eyes were spilling tears with her, frantically looking around them to find something, anything, that could help her, “Please, Twilight, don’t leave!” His voice had come out as a whisper, barely audible to the unicorn. It seemed Spike didn’t know she could hear him when he continued, “I need you. You’re the only one I can trust, that I’ve been able to trust since I was born. I can’t even trust myself to stay alive anymore with the way things have been happening lately! You’re the only other living being I’ve met, and I don’t want to lose you!”

Through her silent sobbing and intense pain, Twilight heard Spike’s desperate pleas of help. If she could, she would probably laugh and hug him right then, letting him cry into her fur. Desperate, she lit her horn up and covered herself in her magic, a blue glow crawling over her and disappearing shortly after. Spike stopped crying as she slowly rose to her hooves and looked confidently at the little dragon. With sheer joy he tackled her with a hug around the neck, almost knocking her over again. Twilight quickly broke off the contact, however, and then looked at his worried face- that he didn’t even seem try to hide- with a grim expression.

“I hate to say it, but I’m not actually cured. I just numbed the pain so I could keep moving. Whatever my injuries are to cause that much pain are still there, but I don’t want to leave until we’ve properly investigated this place. We do have to be extremely careful, though. If I’m hit again with a strong enough force, the spell will break and all of that pain will come back.“

Spike nodded in understanding and climbed back up on Twilight’s back. She peered around and was surprised to be in a large clearing, going at least a quarter of a mile around. It was a circle of sky amongst a forest of dread, and right in the middle of it was a figure, one that was standing on four legs.

Fearing the worst but willing to press on, Twilight galloped over to the figure and skidded to a halt as the figure became distinct. It was orange with a yellow mane, female in appearance. She sported a cowpony hat and her mane was tied up with red hair ties. On her flank were three red apples.

Although it was what she expected, she still looked on in shock at Applejack standing in front of her. However, Twilight could feel something, something that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, something that screamed at her to run away before it killed her. Applejack wasn’t scared, or even phased at her surroundings. She was standing perfectly still, staring at the unicorn with odd eyes and a wry sneer.

“I’m getting a weird reading from her, Twilight,” Spike said nervously, “She looks like you, but the feeling I get from her is much different from yours.”

“Well, look what the cat dragged in and pissed all over,” Applejack spoke with venom at Twilight, “You took quite a spill there, partner.”

“Applejack?!” Twilight was taken aback by her attitude, “What’s gotten into you? What are you doing here?”

“Obviously I’m tryin’ ta get away from you! How the hay did ya follow me all the way here?”

“That’s not important, Applejack. This place obviously got to you. We need to get you out of here,” Twilight approached the farmer and went to grab her hoof, “I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, but I will!” She tugged Applejack towards where they came from, but lost her grip when the much stronger Earth pony jerked her hoof away.

“Ah ain’t goin’ nowhere! Ah don’t know what yer tryin’ ta pull!” Applejack was getting angrier and her words expressed that.

“What do you mean?”

“You, . . . you come all th’ way from that fancy city Canterlot o’ yers, actin’ all innocent like. Then, you have the nerve to even suggest that mah farm was in so much danger ta hire yerself, insultin’ me with the very idea that Ah needed yer help!”

“Applejack, you know that’s not true!” Twilight’s eyes watered at the edges, but focused on Applejack to calm herself. She needed to think rationally and be strong for her friend. She wasn’t sure what was going on with her, but she needed to find out.

“The hay it aint’! You even go so far as ta convince mah family that the farm’s in ruins, breakin’ me down to such a low ta ask you, of all ponies, for this help that you think mah farm needs so much!” Applejack started to emit a dark aura, something like a sickly orange color that obscured her figure.

“Well, Ah’ve had it! If Ah needed yer help in the first place Ah woulda asked for it! Let me say it jus’ one more time: Mah farm. Is. Jus’. Fine!”

With that final outburst, Applejack’s orange aura exploded and shot at Twilight, aiming straight for her body. Her crown glowed reflexively at the aura’s presence and repelled the offending aura away from its bearer. Applejack stomped her hooves in frustration and snorted like an angry horse.

“Jus’ get outta here!” Applejack screamed to the blackness above her.

A massive boulder, the same one from before, burrowed out of the ground next to Applejack and transformed into its giant form again, preparing to attack the unicorn. Twilight easily jumped out of its slow attack and readied her crown.

“It’s weird, . . . I think she’s controlling it!” Spike said from atop Twilight, “It’s kind of like how you control Izanagi!”

“What are you talking about, Spike?” Twilight looked back questioningly, “I don’t control Izanagi at all!”

“Twilight, I would love to explain it to you, but now’s not the time! Just know that if you attack that giant, you’ll be hurting that pony, just like how you get hurt when Izanagi does!”

Twilight stared in horror at the dragon, then at Applejack, then the giant, Applejack again, and finally back to Spike, “How am I supposed to fight back, then?! I can’t hurt her!”

“It’s them or us, Twilight! And by the looks of it, she’s not willing to let us escape! You don’t have to kill her like you do shadows, just knock her unconscious or something! That should make the giant disappear!”

Twilight decided to simply take Spike’s advice and bring out her Persona. Her crown lit up, but as much as she tried The Fool wouldn’t appear. The light faded from her horn and she gasped, sweating and out of breath. She heard Applejack scoff at her.

“Are ya kiddin’ me? First, you squabble between yerselves like siblings, then you put on a light show? And you’re tryin’ ta stand up ta me?!” The giant next to her clenched his fist again, cocked his arm back, and punched forward, shooting his hand at the pair. Twilight dove out of the way and watched as the hand continued on and on along the ground, finally coming to a stop far away.

Twilight stood back and was about to try summoning Izanagi again when she remembered him having been squished by the giant. Apparently, that rendered that Persona unusable. Frustrated, she decided to go for her other one. The Fortune card appeared from her crown this time and Fortuna gracefully danced out of the card and in front of her summoner, ready to defeat her foe. Determined to finish this quickly, Fortuna stood up and spun her wheel, green sparks charging up her attack and finally releasing a strong blast of wind under the stone giant. The blast connected cleanly, evident by Applejack’s wince at the attack. However, the wince was small, and, once the attack’s wind had finally died, the giant remained on its feet, as if the attack did nothing.

“An’ now you can’t even put up a fight when ya try?!” Applejack was almost rolling on the ground in her fit of laughter.

Twilight turned to Spike, “Do you have anything at all on this rock thing?!” That came out harsher than she intended.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Spike shook his head, “This isn’t a shadow, so I have no idea how to even look for a weak point!”

“This is jus’ sad!” Applejack cut in when she’d finished laughing, “Now, stand right there an’ let me put ya outta yer misery!” The giant next to her cocked back his arm again and heaved boulder after boulder into the air, throwing them into the black sky, arching them just so to land right in Twilight’s vicinity.

Panicking, Twilight quickly dashed back and forth, narrowly dodging the stone missiles. She leaped left, almost crashing face-first into a stationary boulder, then side-stepped away before a falling one crushed her and Spike. She looked in awe at her blurring hooves, pushing her from place to place in an instant with more dexterity than she thought she had. She felt a brush of soft wind from her side and looked. Fortuna was keeping pace easily with her and giving Twilight a warm, small smile. With new confidence, she just let herself move on auto-pilot, knowing that if she kept calm, the boulders couldn’t touch her.

By the end, she was standing on top of one of them, it being the only safe place the falling boulders would give her. She sighed, taking a breather from another long run.

Just as Twilight finished her thought, the rock she was on top of started shaking. Five fingers rose from the edges and brought themselves to a fist, trapping the unicorn and dragon. They were lifted off the ground as the surrounding boulders moved and shifted by themselves, reforming the rock giant. With an intimidating glare, he tightened his grip around them and lifted them up even higher, all the way up to his arm’s length. Twilight could see the starry sky beneath her, knowing that even a simple drop from this height would kill them even without the force of the giant’s stone hand.

Before Twilight could even register what happened, she felt the rock hand release his grip on them. She turned around as gravity pulled her back to earth to see Fortuna’s wheel return to her middle after attacking the wrist like a makeshift blade. She screamed in fear, watching the stars get closer to her. Her mind began to reel, words and images appearing disjointedly.

“It’s weird, . . . I think she’s controlling it!” Spike said from atop Twilight. “It’s kind of like how you control Izanagi!”

Control Izanagi. . . .

As she was about to make her desperate run for safety, Izanagi shoved his whole weight to her side and threw the baby dragon with her.

“You’re the only other living being I’ve met, and I don’t want to lose you!”

Twilight stopped screaming and focused her thoughts to Fortuna. She had a plan.

“Brace yourself, Spike!”

“What? What are you doing?!” He yelled back.

At Twilight’s command, Fortuna had caught up to them, wheel spinning again and green sparks spraying everywhere. She looked below to see a flat circle of green energy facing away from the golem and towards Applejack, the green swirls of energy telling her it was ready to go. She lit up her horn and surrounded Spike with a protective bubble. He looked around, kicking in surprise for a moment.

He was about to ask Twilight what was happening when the circle exploded with wind energy. It knocked them off course and propelled them forward. Spike, being protected by the bubble, landed shortly, bouncing once before the bubble disappeared and planted him on the ground, relatively undamaged. Twilight, however, kept going like a purple missile crossing the air. She was heading straight for Applejack, who was too stunned from the Fortuna’s effective blade attack on her rock giant to even notice the incoming unicorn.

Spike looked up in time to watch his companion speed towards their foe. He felt dread cross over him, realizing how much damage to herself the wind blast caused and how much more damage she would do to herself when she hit the ground. He remembered what Twilight had said about her numbing spell and panicked helplessly.

“TWILIGHT!!!”

Twilight braced herself for impact, yelling as loud as she could, “Applejack, please forgive me for this!” She turned her head just before her horn would have jammed itself into Applejack and used her body to slam into the farmer’s side. She opened her eyes just enough to notice Applejack being physically knocked out of the aura and leaving a faint copy behind. Before she could question what happened, she and Applejack hit the ground hard. Twilight bounced off of the farmer’s now unconscious body and continued flying, bouncing and finally skidding to a stop. As she finally was able to take a breath, she felt the pain from the fall paralyze her, unable to do any more than survive. She could feel the power of the spell she cast earlier fading, the pain from last time slowly rolling over her mind and aiming to crush it with this new pain. She had to bear through it, though. There was something more important than her well-being.

She had to make sure that Applejack was alright.

She opened her eyes to see two Applejacks, one covered in that orange aura and a second one, the one she knocked out of the aura. They were staring at each other, the aura-less version acting as if she had just woken up.

“Wha. . . wha’s goin’ on?” She looked around with sleepy eyes, which shot wide open when she noticed her strange surroundings, “Where am Ah? What is this place?” She turned straight ahead and saw the aura-covered Applejack, “And why am Ah over there? I’m right here!”

“Don’t play dumb, you know exactly what’s goin’ on.” The other Applejack sneered confidently.

The two Applejacks stared at each other, one glaring the other down with a sneer and the other utterly confused. Applejack’s eyes glazed over for a second as she seemed to remember everything that had just happened. She stood there, stunned, pupils shrunk to pebbles, and collapsed on the ground sobbing in her forelegs. She whipped her head violently back and forth, muttering something too quietly for Twilight to hear. “Applejack” laughed maniacally at this display.

Spike sat, stunned at the two look-alike ponies, “There’s two of them. . .” Spike’s spines on the side of his head perked up, causing him to shout at himself over his readings, “That can’t be! They have the same exact reading! It’s like they’re the same thing. . . .”

“You know what we think is true,” “Applejack” continued berating her twin, “If it wasn’t for that wretched unicorn, we wouldn’t be havin’ this problem! She’s the entire reason our farm’s in danger!”

“No!” Applejack shouted back, finally showing her face from behind her hooves, “That’s not what Ah think at all! She’s helping us!”

“Don’t play dumb! She brainwashed our family and used them to convince us that she was helping! It explains everything!”

“Shut up!” Applejack stood up, ran over to her other self, reared around, and bucked her hard in the face, kicking her a yard away. She panted, her lack of energy from this whole ordeal showing, “Twilight has been nothin’ but kind this whole time! Ah would never--"

“It’s okay, Applejack.” Twilight said as loud as she could. Apparently it was enough, as both Applejacks turned to her weak and limp body. Applejack only now noticed the unicorn’s state and rushed to her, Spike running beside her. They skidded to a halt in front of Twilight, green eyes widening with worry and the dragon kneeling next to her.

Twilight’s body was covered in something that looked like sand, except it sparkled and glistened in the moonlight. Some spots were heavy with it where she landed harshly on the ground and some of it was piled against her side where she slid.

Spike put a claw on the prone pony’s chest, feeling the heaving of her lungs as they drew slow, heavy breaths. Her body lay limp despite the hard working of her lungs, legs stretched out, and ears flat against her head.

“Hi Spike.” she coughed, a smile breaking on her muzzle. Her cough shot a cloud of sparkling dust out of her mouth, letting loose some that was caught in her throat. She was sweating, some of it mixing with the dust and clotting her fur.

Spike gently brushed strands of her mane off of her face, revealing quivering eyes. Applejack stepped back at the sight of them, feeling something familiar about them. The eyes seemed to reflect emptiness, like the end was certain. She didn’t want that to be true, not here, not in this place she had no idea where she was or what it was. Not when she had just made a wonderful friend.

“I hope I didn’t hurt you too bad, Applejack.” Twilight smiled up at her, contradicting her eyes.

“I-idiot!” Applejack eyes watered, eventually shedding tears the longer she looked at her limp friend, “Ah’m not that one you should be thinkin’ about right now!” Applejack sobbed, her knees buckling under her and planting her next to the unicorn, “This is all my fault. . . .”

Applejack’s lower lip trembled.

“Twilight! Ah’m so sorry! Ah didn’t know what Ah was doin’! And Ah would never think you were the cause of my farm’s problems! That’s my own stupidity!” Applejack’s tears continued to fall next to Twilight’s body, “Ah don’t even remember what happened,” She mumbled to herself, too quietly and choked up for Twilight to hear, “The last thing Ah remember was goin’ ta sleep in my bed. . . .”

“You’re a terrible liar,” Twilight was almost laughing, the last of her tension melting away, “Besides, it only makes sense. I don’t know what this place is, but I can only get to it when I’m sleeping. In a way, this is all a dream, but at the same time it acts as another reality. It’s just like Ponyville.” She started to cough, then hissed as even more pain started to return from the weakening spell.

“And this place, it’s Sweet Apple Acres, your farm. When I found you here, and then when you separated from yourself, I was convinced. That Applejack over there is part of you in some way. Whatever it is or how it came to be, it came from you. You would have to have thought her way at some point for her to be here.”

“Twilight, . . .” Applejack’s throat was knotting itself around her voice now, “why are you willin' ta forgive me so easily?” She looked into Twilight’s eyes, hoping for an answer, only to find the same emptiness that seemed to be overtaking her each moment.

She made a deep sigh through her tears. She knew Twilight deserved the truth. She swallowed heavily to bring her voice back as evenly as possible to confess, “Ah just didn’t know what ta think. My farm was in danger, but I didn’t want ta admit that ta myself. But then when you came along and met my folks they got all upset wit’ me. They knew what ah was tryin’ ta hide from myself, but Ah didn’t wanna admit it then, either.”

Applejack got up and turned to her other self, who was now standing close behind and replaced her sneer with a blank face, though her eyes seemed to give away understanding. Applejack didn’t flinch at the sudden closeness of her double, now able to stand with some ground to this darker version.

“Ah kept lyin’ ta myself, and even blamed you for it,” She continued, still directing her explanation to Twilight while maintaining eye contact with her mirrored self, “Ah never once thought it was true, that you were causin’ my farm’s bankruptcy, but Ah knew I couldn’t blame my family, so Ah just took it out on you. In the end, it was all jus’ one big, fat lie. Ah feel ashamed that somethin’ like this came outta me,” she gestured to “Applejack”, “but Ah can’t deny that it did, and Ah’m sorry you got caught up in it.”

The other Applejack nodded, a smile gracing her face. A small light erupted from her chest and slowly spread over her body, eventually becoming a pony-shaped white light. In the distance, the rock giant had also become covered in light. It felt warm this time, comforting Applejack’s still choked up mind. She had stopped crying when the warmth reached her, allowing her to stare up in amazement at the spectacle before her. They hovered just above the ground and moved towards each other, stopping midway and floating higher into the air. The two merged together, orange ripples flowing through the white light from the center. They shrank, morphing, and formed a crescent shape. It flashed and revealed its full self, a gold necklace, matching Twilight’s crown, with an orange apple-shaped gem on the front similar to Applejack’s cutie mark. The necklace floated over to Applejack and attached itself to her. The stunned pony simply stared at the jewelry in awe.

“It feels so warm. . . . Persona. . . .” Applejack murmured as if in a trance.

Twilight smiled to herself, then winced painfully now that the numbing spell had completely worn off. She couldn’t cast it again. Because she had to sustain that spell throughout the battle she only had enough energy to save Spike from his own fatal crash. She was now empty and slowly slipping away. She closed her eyes and made sure she left with a smile on her face.

*Friday, 8/18*

*Morning*

“Twilight!”

Twilight felt the full force of the orange Earth pony tackle into her. Twilight had only looked up for a second, not having any time to react. Applejack sobbed on her shoulder, a tight hug around the unicorn, “You’re OK!”

Twilight looked past her and saw Big Mac staring in wide surprise. She waved a hoof dismissively, telling him silently that everything was fine. He shrugged and went to his work, disappearing through the trees.

“I thought you were dead!” Applejack finally let go of Twilight to look her in the eyes, waiting for an explanation.

“No, but I’m pretty sure had I stuck around any longer I would have,” Twilight pondered what happened last night. In all honesty, she was right at death’s door, facing it like the thing had stuck her in place, immobile. The last thing she remembered was falling unconscious, “The damage was enough to kill me, but not instantly. As soon as I let myself fall unconscious, I woke up in my bed, completely healed.”

“So, what, you don’t hafta worry ‘bout diein’ in there or nothin’?” Applejack questioned.

“No, I don’t think that’s the case. It is within a dream, after all. While our physical bodies may not have the scars, enough pain will affect the subconscious and it will carry over to the real world,” Twilight focused on the hoof at her chin as if writing her thoughts on it, “If I die in there, I’m sure I’ll die here.”

“But you hafta go anyway, huh?”

“Yeah,” Twilight looked down with half-lidded eyes, a slight frown creasing her face, “I have this power to defeat the monsters in there and I have a feeling that the arrival of this world is going to mean something later. I have to look into it as much as I can. I’m the only one who can.”

A small silence divided the two ponies before Twilight broke it.

“Did Spike make it out OK?”

“You mean the purple thing?” When Twilight nodded, she continued, “Yeah. Ah was surprised when your body disappeared and he tried to calm me down. It took a while, but eventually Ah figured with the way he was frettin’ over ya you two had some sorta connection. By the time we had walked out the gate Ah was too tired ta move and collapsed right there. Ah’m sure he made it back to wherever you two call home there.”

“Good.”

Another small silence. This time, Applejack broke it.

“Well, it’s about time we got ta work.”

Twilight snapped her head up, a slight happiness returning to her, “Oh, by the way, there’s a surprise coming today! In fact, one of them should be--"

Almost as if on cue, a light, refined voice came from up the hill, “Yoohoo, Twilight~!”

Twilight smirked at Applejack a bit, “Get ready to see your new apple cart!”

*Evening*

The sun was setting behind the tall hills surrounding Ponyville, casting a magnificent orange fire around the small town. Twilight and Applejack sat on the hill after another day’s hard work. Rarity had shown her and Big Macintosh her cart design and, while much more showy than they would have liked, agreed that it was just the thing they needed to attract ponies to their apple cart. They would spend the weekend painting it and adding extra shelves for their new product, called “Applecups”, that Pinkie had brought over to let the Apples sell. After having a bite themselves, they couldn’t refuse the new dessert creation. The recipe called for quite a few apples, but on the first day the sold recipes alone were enough to turn up a profit.

With their new cart, Monday would mean a full day of apple bucking, both for Sugar Cube Corner to make the dessert and for the Apple’s cart to keep up with demand. In the end, the plan worked perfectly and Sweet Apple Acres, while still in a rut for the time being, was finally rising back up.

Applejack turned to Twilight, “Ah can’t thank ya enough, Twi. You’ve done so much for our ol’ farm. And what you did for me last night. . . .”

Twilight shook her head, “You don’t need to thank me. Only somepony cruel would turn a blind eye to your farm. And last night. . . honestly, I still don’t quite understand what all that was about.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow, “But you were the one who explained it ta me, remember?”

“I just said what I had gathered from appearing there the last few nights. I still don’t know anything about that place, how it works, why it is what it is. I don’t know how it was able to create another you, a you that you didn’t want anypony to see. Honestly, I’d be dead if Spike wasn’t there with me, and I don’t even know what he has to do with that world, either!”
Twilight was starting to rant, but Applejack put a hoof to her shoulder. The unicorn immediately stopped at the touch, taking the message to calm down.

“Ah wanna help.”

Twilight looked at her, confused at the random statement, “What?”

“Ah wanna help you learn about that world. If Ah can get there, then other ponies might end up there, too. Ah have this power now, a Persona, and Ah can’t stand sittin’ back here and doin’ nothin’. Besides, you said that you can only get there when you sleep. Ah have a feelin’ that whether Ah want to or not ah’m goin’ ta end up in that place every night with you, so yer stuck wit’ me.” Applejack finished with a cocky smile.

Twilight stared at Applejack and smiled. Applejack extended her hoof out to her and she took it, forming their partnership.

“No matter what,” Applejack turned to the setting sun, a burning fire in her eyes, “as repayment fer what you did for me, and as a testament to our partnership, Ah promise ta protect ya with everythin’ Ah got.”

Comments

[Dragoon]

Annnd now I want to play Persona 4 again. Listening to the track while reading this helps the feeling too.
Anyway good chapter, wonder who's going to be next to be sent to that world.

[who149]

Why is this not more popular?

I mean, its well written, deep, long. The only downside is that its a while between the updates.. But I've seen fics that are complete garbage that get the feature box, and something like this that is this well thought out and worked on is hardly noticed?

Anyway, as said. Amazing fic! i love every bit of it and nearly jumped out of my seat when I saw an update!

[sorakun555]

899522
I... Umm... Thanks! I really don't know what to say to that kind of praise. Sorry for the long time between updates, I'm the worst procrastinator. Yes, even for things that I would use to procrastinate with I procrastinate. As I said in a blog earlier the next update will probably be quite a while as I work to get this on EqD. I won't put a Hiatus tag on it since I will be working vigilantly on it, but there could be a very long wait time for Chapter 4 depending on how fast I can get help editing this outside of my two pre-readers.

[Trot C. Foxy]

oh boy wait till rainbow dash gets involved.........can;t wait for update.....

[TundraStanza]

This is the best thing I've ever read in a while.
Where do I start?
The writing takes the 'next level' narration that other stories imitate but can never get just right.
The midnight hour from Persona 3 plus the facing yourself of Persona 4 is always a good combination.
Plus, it's a... well, realistic version of events in Ponyville that makes sense if allowed the right dimensions.
Whatever you're doing, you're doing something right.
Keep up the good work!

[AtTheCrimsonFckr]

only six MOAR