The One True Queen

by Queen of Cupcakes

Chapter 7

Not Far From the Tree or The Return of Honesty

"Once again, I must point out, YOU'RE INSANE!" Lyra shouted at Doohickey. The filly sighed and looked at the Doctor, who was being unusually quiet.

"Rarity wants proof, proof that we can convince the other bearers to hep defeat Celestia, so lets go convince one."

"Applejack is dangerous! She's the best sharpshooter in the Empirial army. It's like walking up to a sleeping Ursa Major and poking it with a stick!" Bon Bon argued. Doohickey looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright then, why not Captain Twilight Sparkle up in the Canterlot Library, or wait, I know, let's go up to Clousdale and have a little chat with Supreme Commander Rainbow Dash, I'm sure she'd love to have us over for tea." The Ponies all winced and looked at the filly. "Applejack is the easiest one to get to… I had hoped to have Rarity with us when we went to convince her, but we would have had to eventually… it's just a different order of operations… the point is, we need Applejack to get to Rainbow Dash and Twilight anyway… so lets turn two gears with one switch." Doohickey said. The Doctor laughed at her saying.

"'Turn two gears with one switch'? Where did you get that one?" Doohickey blushed.

"My papa was a clock maker." She said quietly. The Doctor blinked at that.

"That's pretty neat actually. What sort of clocks did he make?" Lyra asked with interest

"Pocket watches…" Doohickey replied quietly. The Doctor stared at the little filly in front of him. She looked a bit self-conscious as people began asking about her parents.

"What did your mother do?" Bon Bon asked.

"Urm… she was a storm pony…" Doohickey said quietly.

"A storm pony?" Bon Bon asked in confusion.

"Storm ponies work with thunder clouds, they're the ones that organize when the storms will arrive and when they end." Ditzy said smiling "I was a storm pony for a while, but I wasn't cut out for the long distance flying. Your mum must have had a lot of endurance."

"Haha… yeah…" Doohickey said smiling, but it looked more like a wince. The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Look okay… I don't like talking about them… their dead aren't they." Bon Bon and Fluttershy's eyes widened and their ears flattened. Doohickey was crushed in a hug from Ditzy. She blinked a bit in confusion. The group looked at her a bit sadly. Doohickey finally shook herself free. "I don't need comfort right now… I need Applebloom." The filly said with a grim scowl.

"Huh? Why do you need Applebloom?" Lyra asked.

"Because she's going to be the final buck at the apple tree, so to speak…" the ponies looked a bit nervous at that comment but Fluttershy agreed to go fetch Applebloom. Soon, the earth filly was being herded into the control room. Doohickey sighed and presented her plan to the Peace Core congregation.

"Ya need me ta do what now?" Applebloom asked a bit shocked.

"Applejack has no recollection of you, and it is my personal belief that Celestia is controlling the three bearers of the Elements of Harmony with some kind of… mind control. If we jumpstart Applejack's memory, for lack of a better term, we may be able to break Celestia's hold over her."

"Well this is just Cuckoo-Clock-CRAZEE! How did you know?!" Pinkie pie asked the pegasus filly. Doohickey blushed a bit at that.

" I… may have overseen some…things, from a window…"

"OH so YOU were the one causing my floppy left ear, I thought it was Celestia!" Pinkie said, as if that explained so much.

" What does a floppy left ear mean again?" Lyra asked. Doohickey stared at her in confusion.

" Floppy left ear means some pony is watching me. As opposed to floppy right which means a cup of tea is getting cold."

"I used to be able to tell that." The Doctor said with a touch of nostalgia. Ditzy blinked at him in shock.

"You have a sixth sense too?"

"No no, I could just… feel it." the Doctor said placing a hoof on his left heart. He shook himself out of his remembrance fog. "Anyways, are you saying Pinkie that Celestia is indeed using mind control to control those three mares."

"Well sort of… I wouldn't really call it mind control, it's kind of like being discorded acttu…"

"Don't! Finish that sentence; I don't need to know any more… Discord gives me the creeps!" the Doctor said shuddering before marching up to the console. He pushed a few buttons, and then held his hoof on the ignition lever. "Alright, one pull of this lever and we're at sweet apple acres, but I won't follow through with this plan if your not alright with it Applebloom." The group turned to the filly. Apple bloom nodded with determination.

"If Celestia is makin' my sister do all those nasty thangs… I won't let her hurt ma sister any more!" the filly said stomping her hoof with an audible clang on the metal floor.

"Now that's a apple rancher!" the Doctor said happily before pulling the lever. The whirling sounded out twice before the Tardis suddenly jumped and began to rumble violently. "What the!" The Doctor turned on the screens to see two Imperial pegasi firing some kind of magical energy at the Tardis from strange apparatus not unlike a crossbow. "Darn it Twilight! Why'd you have to be so smart! Why'd I park in the middle of a cornfield! Ah, stupid stupid stupid!" the Doctor said thumping his hoof on his forehead. "Hold on! It's going to be a fun ride!" the Doctor pushed a few more buttons and pulling the lever again. The Tardis tumbled and shook like a leaf on a windy day, the ponies and objects inside bumping along for the ride. Only the pegasi were spared and even then, they had their fair share of bruises. The whirling sound bounced off the walls as they began to land, or rather, crash. "HOLD TIGHT!" the Doctor shouted out before bracing himself. The Tardis gave an almighty rumbled before throwing everypony up into the air. The earth bound ponies landed with a hard thump before the Tardis was plunged into darkness. "Grand…" the Doctor grumbled before the blue light of his sonic screwdriver broke the curtain of black. "Sound off!"

"Here!" Bon Bon called out from under a pony pile.

"Here!" Lyra called a few feet away.

"Here!" Applebloom shouted

"I am here, no need to fear." Zecora said picking her self off the pony pile up.

"I'm okie-dokie-lokie!" Pinkie said.

"Here." Fluttershy said softly helping

"Right here!" Ditzy said helping Doohickey up from the pile of clothes she fell in.

"mpher." Doohickey said. She spit the scarf that was in her mouth out. She tried to squirm free of it but just got more tangled. "Here." She said looking up at the Doctor from his hooves.

"Bless the universe! I haven't seen that scarf in ages… only you Doohickey, only you." he said helping her get untangled. Finally free she turned to the Doctor.

"What happened?"

"Space time interference, we should be up and running in a few hours, if I can find all the problems."

"Why don't' you just switch on the emergency power?" the filly asked. The Doctor stared at her.

"Emergency power?"

"Yeah you know, the emergency power." She turned back to the Doctor "Every ship has emergency power."

"I suppose… guess I've got to figure it out that's all… should be fun!" the Doctor said stretching out his front arms before shaking them out and placing his hooves on the control panel. He stared at the button and began to mumble to himself. "…Makes a wormhole, not very helpful, perhaps over here…" he pushed a few button and suddenly automated voice Doohickey knew so well came on.

"Good morning. Please set your destination."

"Oh well would you look at that! Has it always been able to do that? fantastic!" the Doctor said, smiling like a little kid. "All right, well I don't need a destination… what's this button do again?" he pushed it.

"Cloaking device broken. Please repair damage in sector 12, section 4, floor 3."

"Oh this is just Wonderful!" the Doctor said. "Now all I need is a map of the Tardis… not likely." The Doctor said pushing a few button's at random. By now several of the ponies were yawning a bit tired of the show. At last the voice rang out, after many requests for the Doctor to go into the depths of the Tardis to repair some several thousand-year-old damage.

"Emergency power activated." The lights flickered on and the door's opened.

"Alright! Best get going then, we've probably already gained the dear apple rancher's attention. Those of you who feel up to it, go on, the rest of you, I suggest you clean up any messes you find… their might be a bit more than a few."

"I'm going!" Ditzy said, flying up to Doohickey. Truth is she wanted to make sure the little filly didn't get hurt.

"I have to go." Applebloom said determinedly.

"Oh, well, Pinkie and I have to go to, so you won't be alone." Fluttershy said showcasing some of her true bravery. Doohickey smiled at that.

"Yep! You'll never be alone when we're with you! Now let's go! Twitchy left back hoof means some pony is looking for us! And I think I know who!" Pinkie Pie said before Galloping out of the Tardis. Doohickey stared after the outrageous mare before turning to Fluttershy

"Floppy ear? Twitchy left hoof? What does that even mean?" Doohickey asked

"Pinkie has a sixth sense, which she calls her pinkie sense… it lets her… know, things."

"Like what?" Doohickey asked as the group began to follow Pinkie Pie.

"Well a twitchy tail means something is going to fall from the sky… I am quite familiar with that one." Ditzy said blushing a bit.

"Why's that?" Doohickey asked.

"Let's just say there's a reason why everyone calls me 'Derpy Whooves'." Ditzy said. Flying a bit ahead of everypony. She came back with a flattened ears "Applejack found Pinkie Pie." The group galloped in the direction that Pinkie had dash of to.

"…Care if ya'll want me to be the queen of Equestria! Just go away AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Applejack shouted at Pinkie Pie. Her hair was flat as a pancake and she was not happy.

"WELL, EXCUSE ME FOR TRYING TO BE A GOOD FRIEND! Humph, I don't care anymore, stay here and rot!" Pinkie Pie said in anger.

"Hey! Don't say that bout ma sister!" Applebloom shouted at Pinkie

"YA? WELL I HOPE YOU ROT!" Applejack retorted

"Stop yelling!" Ditzy said to Pinkie Pie, but Pinkie Pie wouldn't listen. So Doohickey and Fluttershy stared as the four ponies began yelling at one another and all the while Pinkie and Applejack were still arguing.

"NO YOU!"

"NAW YOU!"

"NO YOU!"

"NAW YOU!"

"QUIET!" Fluttershy shouted. Everyone went silent. Doohickey stared at the shy pegasus in shock. "Can we please start talking like ponies do, instead of being a bunch of big mean bullying diamond dogs."

"Ya can start by leaving!" Applejack said angrily.

"We can't leave, the Tardis is broken, and the Doctor will need a few hours to fix it… I'm terribly sorry for our intrusion, but we're just going to have to stay until the Tardis is fixed." Fluttershy said talking to Applejack like she was a particularly rude animal.

"I could report ya'll to the queen! That'll teach ya!" Applejack threatened. The core ponies looked at the mare with fear. Doohickey stared at the orange mare.

"But you won't." she said. The core ponies looked at the filly in shock. Applejack faltered and turned to the filly.

"Say what now?"

"You're not going to report us to Celestia… I know you're not." Doohickey said before walking towards the farmhouse. The core ponies blinked at the filly before turning to the apple rancher and putting on strained smiles, squeaking for effect. Applejack huffed and picked up her hat, which she had thrown to the ground in her argument with Pinkie Pie. She dusted it off and placed it on her head.

"Fine. Yer welcome here, as long as ya don't touch anythin'. I have a very important organisation at work here an I don't need crazy core ponies messin' it up, so paws off." Applejack said looking at Pinkie Pie particularly strongly.

"okie dokie lokie!" she said before whipping down the path to the farmhouse in a streak of pink. Applejack sighed and shook her head. Applebloom was staring at some of the dead trees in dismay a ways off the path.

"Doesn't anythin' grow here anymore?"

"Naw, not much has grown in a while now." Applejack said string at the barren wasteland that was once a sprawling orchard. "It's hard without Big Mac here to help with the harvest, that an all of the apple family is working fer Celestia on the lines."

"Not all of em." Applebloom said sadly. Applejack looked at the filly in confusion. She walked back to the farmhouse with the little filly. Applebloom looked at it, with it's bared and broken windows and dull paint and felt a bit sorry for Applejack. " Where's Granny Smith?"

"She's dead…" Applejack said around the lump that had formed in her throat. She swallowed it away though. "She died a week after the war started, when Apple Strudel's body came back… it was too much of a shock fer her old heart." She turned back to the filly beside her and was shocked. The filly was crying, tears streaming down her face, eye screwed shut with pain. "Why are ya," Applejack was cut off by Applebloom lunging at her and wrapping herself around the older mare in a hug. Applejack looked down at the crying filly as her coat was wetted with tears. "It's alright their sugar cube…" she blinked at her words, as they brought back feeling and images she just didn't understand. "Alright Applebloom, let go." Applejack said pushing the filly away. Applebloom looked at the mare.

"Ya said ma name," she said. Applejack looked at her in confusion.

"What're ya talkin' 'bout?"

"Ya said Applebloom!" the filly said excitedly.

"I…I did? I…I did." Applejack said before she held her head in her hooves. "Ah, my head… that hurts like a goose egg." The mare cried out. The ponies inside the farmhouse came out to see what the commotion was all about

"Applejack!" Pinkie Pie shouted running up to the mare as she began to sway. She held the orange apple rancher up as the mare began to droop. There was a bright flash of orange light as applejack opened her eyes. Just as quickly as the flash arrived it left. Applejack stood a bit stronger as Pinkie Pie withdrew. Fluttershy stepped forward timidly

"Applejack?" the mare called out. The bearer of the Element of honesty opened her eyes.

"When I get my hooves on Celestia, not all of the Imperial army is gonna be able to hold me back." She said angrily. Applebloom whooped loudly and threw herself at Applejack's neck.

"Applejack! Oh I missed ya so much!" the filly said rubbing her face into her sister's coat, crying once more.

"I'm here, sugar cube… I can't believe Celestia would do something like this… it don't seem like the princess I knew." Applejack said staring at the sun in the sky.

"We better get moving… I don't know how long it'll take for Celestia to realize she's not controlling Applejack anymore…" Doohickey said worriedly.

"It's nice ta see that ya doing alright… I'm sorry fer the way I acted… ta all a yawl… I hope ya can forgive me.' Applejack said covering her face with her hat as tears began to fall from her eyes. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie wrapped the mare in a tight hug.

"All is forgiven." Fluttershy said.

"Yeah! What sorta friends would we be if we didn't forgive you silly!" Pinkie pie shouted happily. Applejack pulled them in tight.

"Yawl are the bestest friends anypony could ever ask for…" Applejack said as happy tears began replacing the sad.