Civilization: Beyond Equestria

by May I Cut In

3.e.) The apple's will (Applejack)

Author: Brother Malachai
Co-Author: May I Cut In

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”This new world is like a brand new patch of land, waiting for us to plant the seeds of civilization ”~Princess Applejack while planting the first saplings from Equestria

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Applejack waited in the stasis chamber. Waking the whole crew up before landing was the procedure that Twilight had written out for them. She was also particularly looking forward to meeting her whole family again. Save for the wizened elder, Granny Smith who had passed away while the ships were being built.

She walked to where Big MacIntosh and Apple Bloom were. They like most of the crew were just waking up from cryo-sleep. They were also disoriented as well from being frozen for so long. She levitated the two cups containing a hot drink from her back and passed it to Big Mac and Appleboom.

"Thanks big sis," Applebloom said as she gripped the cup in her hooves. Big Mac took the other cup without much word and the 2 recently awoken Apples spent the next minute warming themselves up.

“Think nothin’ of it,” Applejack replied with a tired smile, “Ah’ll be honest, my throat and lips are a bit dry mahself after being asleep fer ah don’t know how long. Ah’ll have t’ ask th’ technicians how long we’ve been out later. Ah, mean, if I’m thirsty as an Alicorn, ah can’t imagine how thristy you two are.” “Eeeyup,” Big MacIntosh agreed in turn with his usual Laconic manner-of-speaking.

While stretching out her wings and legs, The Element of Honesty heard a beeping noise coming from a nearby holo-projector.

“Oh, fer bucks sake,” she exclaimed at the noise, “Ah just got up an’ ahm getting a message! Well, it looks like ahm startin’ work early.”

While Applebloom and Big MacIntosh were sitting nearby eating some apple fritters and drinking some water; Applejack was reading a message that appeared on the Holoprojector.

“Dangit Twi, why ya go off an’ do a fool thing like that,” Applejack exclaimed some more as she continued to read the letter that was sent her.

“Sis, what happened,” Applebloom asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

“Well lil’ sis, it seems Twi let her curiosity get th’ better of her an’ she decided to land on th’ planet without tellin’ any of us,” Applejack said in a very grumpy tone.

Upon hearing this unfortunate news Applebloom replied, “Well Sis, th’ others ain’t gonna like this none. Not one bit. Ain’t that right Big Mac?”

“Eeeyup,” confirmed the large, red stallion.

“Ahm well aware of this,” Applejack replied as she took another sip, “but we don’t have much of a choice sis. Ahm already been told that Dash is goin’ after her. An’ well...Dash bein’ Dash she’s not gonna be happy with ‘er one bit. Ahm sure they’ll be exchanging words when Dash finally finds ‘er.”

After finishing their breakfast as quickly as they could; they got to work and went to check on the crew running the bridge and started the initial waking cycles for the remainder of the crew and colonists. While they needed to land as soon as possible, they couldn’t afford to cut corners or to sacrifice safety. They only had one shot at landing and the stakes were literally life and death.

While the crew was going about doing last minute checks on the bridge and other parts of the ship and made sure everything was locked-down and secure for landing, the Princess of Honesty was doing some last-minute checks on some dataslates given to her. They showed satellite and ship pics of various spots they could land and of maps based upon those pictures. She picked up one of her dataslates and tapped on it.

“This is th’ site. Site Twenty-One Beta, coordinates forty-ninety bah twenty-seventy-two. Site has a river an’ is mix of forest an’ plains land. This is th’ ideal site fer orchards and farms. We’ll land here,” she said with finality.

“Understood,” replied Sweetie Drops who was standing nearby, “What few troops and scouts we have will be parceled out gear and prepare for your further orders upon landing. For the future of the exiles of Equestria.” She then quickly readjusted her sunglasses, snapped to attention, did an about face and headed off to issue the updated intel reports to the Commanding Officers of the troops and scouts that were preparing for landfall. AJ was glad she appointed her as leader of the Scout Company. She was sharp, professional, and had no shortage of field experience.

After putting away the dataslates into a nearby bin on a wall that was locked shut, the orange alicorn looked over to cousin Braeburn who was operating the main piloting consoles. His co-pilot on a different terminal was Cherry Jubilee.

The Orange Princess asked Braeburn, “Braeburn, how long we have until we can launch?”

“Well, erm...Princess,” Braeburn started, “Th’ inspections should be done in about ten minutes an’ if everything checks out, we can launch in another five.”

Applejack then motioned for Fiddly Faddle to turn the communication system off.
After the comm system was turned back off, Braeburn said to AJ, “Princess, they’ve just finished th’ final inspections and checks. Everythin’ looks good, we’re just gettin’ everypony suited and buckled up right now fer jettisonin’ from th’ ship and landin’.” She nervously cracked her front hooves. It was now or never. They had to land the colony and somehow avoid getting burnt up or falling to their death in the process. She only hoped the landers would do their job and that the calculations on the newfangled computers were accurate.

“Right then,” the cowpony-turned-princess replied, “Let’s git this show on th’ road then. Start th’ countdown procedure fer landin’.”

……

After a approximately tense ten minute landing procedure, Applejack and the other colonists started to get to work on setting up the initial tent city around the lander that would end up becoming their future city. While not the most pleasant structures in the world, tents would have to make do for the time being. Alas, Twi’s attempt to figure out a means of mass-producing quick field assembly shelters had come to a standstill. The Princess of Honesty heard that as part of this project, both before and during the trip (between Hibernation Cycles) that Twi was using what little spare time she had doing research on crystals she took from the Tree and Palace of Harmony, as well as from the roots of her old tree library. She was hoping that by researching them that she could figure out means of growing buildings en masse for living in.

So far, her attempts to figure out how to speed-up the growth of the regular tree, let alone the crystals, have been unsuccessful. She did mention she could potentially research some of the writing of the infamous King Sombra, but she has tried to avoid it out of fear of potential “side effects.” Applejack had decided not to press Twilight on the matter of what the said “side effects” were; as she was afraid that even hearing of them might damage her very mind let alone her soul. Still, for the time being, they would have to make do with tents until they could gather enough materials to build more permanent shelters out of.

While leaving the tent that was assigned to her as her personal quarters and heading over to the HQ Tent for her initial status reports; she saw that Big MacIntosh was having problems pulling a cart loaded to bear with supply crates. “What’s th’ matter Big Bro? Ya usually have a much easier time movin’ heavy loads like these!”

Big Mac stopped for a moment, took a few deep breaths, and started to speak, “Ah don’ right now. Ah just feel a bit...weaker, ever since ah landed.”

“Hmmm...lemme take a stab at it,” Applejack replied. She quickly harnessed herself to the cart and gave it a few quick tugs. She noticed that even with her enhanced strength, it was much harder to pull it then it was on Equestria. She then tried to “pull” the cart with Alicorn Magic. Even that was a bit of a struggle. While she wasn’t nearly the prodigy as Twilight was; she learned enough to know that it shouldn’t be that hard for an Alicorn to push or pull such a cart with magic. She then shook her head and sighed, “Ah was afraid o’ this. Twi warned that when we land on a new planet, it may have very little or no magic on it, and it would force us t’ use the magic our bodies naturally produce instead. Applejack turned to Cherry Jubilee (who was standing nearby) and replied, “Put out a new announcement fer th’ citizens and troops. It seems our magic isn’t as powerful as it used to be now that we’re on a new planet. Tell them we’re goin’ t’ have t’ be more dependent on our vehicles and other machinery t’ git things done fer now on. Let’s just hope we can find a way t’ either produce more magic or an alternate power source to compensate for th’ lack of magic on this world.”

“Ahm on it now,” replied Ms. Jubilee as she tapped her hoof on a pad she was carrying with her. “If ah can contact Twi, ah’ll tell her mahself. Don’ worry about writin’ up a report fer me,” the Cowpony-turned-Princess replied.

“Ah understand, Princess,” Cherry acknowledged with a nod.

After another short walk with her guard and staff retinue, Applejack finally arrived at the tent that was their temporary HQ and Command Staff Center. “Attention,” yelled out the Guards that were inside when she trotted in.

“As ya where,” AJ replied with a hoof-waive. “Ahm just grateful ya lot ain’t givin’ me ‘sniper-check’ salutes when we’re outside,” she grumbled. Much like Dash, she didn’t care much for formalities, but knew they were a necessary evil in her line of work. “Any luck contactin’ Twi or th’ others?” Looking up from the communication station was two of her old foes turned into somewhat unwilling allies, Flim and Flam. But then again, politics and the desperation that came from survival situations and emergencies made for strange bedfellows.

“Absolutely,” started Flim.

“Positively,” continued Flam.

“Confirmed,” finished Flim, “However, it’s really staticy and could break up at any time.” While she wasn’t thrilled about having them, the Princess of Honesty wanted to give them a second chance. Plus, she needed extra staff to give Fiddly Faddle time off from running the comm systems for the colony. “Very well. Put me on tha horn,” ordered Applejack as Flim handed over a earpiece. She took the earpiece and put it in her ear and tapped on it a bit. “Howdy...uhh...is anyone on,” she asked aloud.

A garbled and static-y hologram appeared on a nearby table of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash sitting at a folding table. “Yes-we are getting you jus-barely. You recivi-over,” asked the somewhat garbled up image of Twilight.

“Sorta,” replied Applejack, “Your image and messages are fadin’ n’ and out. Ahm afraid ah got some bad news. There seems t’ be ah lack of magic in the immediate area we’re in, if not th’ entire planet and it’s affectin’ our ability t’ work effectively. It’s not as bad as when Tirek drained everyone of th’ energy drain field Chrysalis made that one time, but it’s really bad.”

“Yes. Rainbow Dash here and the citizens at-*crackle*-colony have told me similar things,” the Hologram Twilight confirmed, “I can understand there being planets-lack-magic. But this planet has both an arid atmosphere and heavy gravity. The gravity-from being slightly closer orbit to its suns and- slightly bigger than Equestria. That shouldn’t-*bzzt!*-scientifically possible. Heavy gravity planets should-heavier-thicker atmosphere. Still, this planet is relatively young and the magnetic fields may not be fully-*crackle*-developed and/or stable. The twin suns of this system may have stripped off a bit of the atmosphere with their solar winds. Still, for-most part-magnetic-seems-holding and should strengthen and stabilize over time with age. Atmosphere still breathable and capable of supporting life. I’ll-examine more-later. To be on-safe side.”

Next to Twi’s hologram, the holo-Rainbow Dash made a slight yawn and covered her open muzzle with one of her hooves. AJ stifled a chuckle. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. While part of her wanted to be cross at Dashie for not fully paying attention to information about a potentially life-threatening situation; even she had to admit that Princess Sparkle could be pretty cut n’ dry at times. She knew Rainbow learned the hard way (from Rarity of all ponies!) the dangers of missing too many details about what was going on around her. The lesson she had learned from Rarity had actually saved her in combat several times.

The Orange Alicorn then asked, “Ya two think ya can give me th’ coordinates t’ yer colonies so I can attempt t’ find a means of reachin’ y’all?”

“Oh sure Ap-,” Twilight replied, “Sending coordinate for my and-*hiss!*-now. Closest-*hiss* Rarity’s. We will head over-meet you at her-village.”

“Flim. Flam. Did ya two get th’ infermation packets,” Applejack asked. The two nodded in confirmation. “Good,” she replied, “Twi, ahm gonna try t’ see if mah scouts can fin’ a way t’ git t’ Rarity’s colony. AJ out.”

“Look forward to- See ya then,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Please be careful Applejack. I hope to see you soon.” concluded the Purple Princess as the holograms fizzled out and disappeared.

…...

After heading to requisitions to acquire her armor, personal weapons and other supplies and scrounging together a squad of troops and a crew to operate and accompany a Scout Rover, AJ gave a brief report to them on the situation and headed out with them. After giving them the briefing and the bad news about their reduced abilities (although some already noticed due to the combination of higher gravity, less air, and the lack of magic upon the planet itself); they headed out to explore the immediate exterior of their planet. The planet was an odd mixture of the familiar and yet the alien. It had flora and fauna, and yet it looked nothing at all like the creatures they knew on Equestria. This was the case except for a gigantic Tatzlwurm-like entity they saw in the distance and a Manticore-esque being that took some shots at them with it’s tail stinger before they ran off.

Applejack wanted to stay and fight, but she figured discretion was the better part of valor. They may have accidentally stumbled onto the beings territory and they didn’t know if they were strong enough to defeat it. Not to mention she didn’t know how Fluttershy would react to this. They also learned early on the dangers of being exposed to the green fog in the area. They had to take a brief stop after fleeing from it to repair their gear and give the ponies and other beings with them medical treatment. Fortunately, the damage didn’t seem to be lasting (for the most part), but the gear and medical patients would have to be examined more closely when they got back.

After stopping yet again for another rest in the four days journey, AJ took a brief look at a tablet she was taking with her and replied, “We should be gettin’ close now. Accordin’ t’ this, we should only a few klicks away from th’ initial colony Princess Sparkle set up. Rest time’s over everypony! Form up an’ move out!”

Upon hearing her orders the troops and other personnel with her got up and proceeded to follow her as she led them further south towards the colony.

While trotting along; the group’s Second-In-Command, Little Strongheart, replied, “Princess, do you sense what I’m sensing?”
“That whar bein’ followed,” The cowpony confirmed, “Yeah, ah do. I can hear th’ skitterin’ an’ I see the shadows in th’ nearby fog. Tell th’ others t’ prepare t’ engage if need be, but only act if whar attacked upon. We just landed here and I want t’ avoid goin’ t’ war wi’ Celestia knows wut so soon after arriving!”

“Understood Princess,” replied Strongheart with a nod.
Applejack looked nervously around at the shadows in the nearby fog following them. While it was hard to make out shapes and shadows in the fog, the creatures seemed chitinous. It was almost as if they were a unholy cross between a Changeling and a Timber Wolf, but with more legs.

It was then that AJ noticed that they were stuck on one tiny path surrounded by miasma; it was a trap!

She growled lowly, “Troops, turn off safeties an’ keep weaponry at low ready. Prepare t’ engage.”

“As you command, Princess,” replied Little Strongheart in turn quietly.

As the troops formed a small circle around the Princess and took a knee; the skittering around them came to a stop. The shadows could be slightly better made out now within the green fog. The creatures did truly look like something out a nightmare. Gigantic bugs with multiple legs and giant pincers on their mouths. Green ichor drooled from their mouths and they clamped their pincers together, as if anticipating what was to come. And then, there was deafening silence, for an ever so brief period of time. And finally, after that all too brief split second; all Tartarus broke loose and the monstrosities charged forward.

“Open fire,” yelled Applejack as the strange creatures charged forward...

“Just mah luck! It figures ah’d get assigned t’ th’ detail that had t’ engage in th’ first fight with th’ wildlife,” Troubleshoes grumbled as he fired off a few shots with the assault rifle he was equipped with.

If there was an upside to the situation, it was that the creatures were packed so close together even Troubleshoes couldn’t miss. But that was also the downside to this nightmare, they were outnumbered, if not necessarily outgunned. Despite their best efforts, the creatures kept coming. It didn’t matter how many times they fired at them or how many they mowed down; they kept swarming. It was almost as if they had knocked over a gigantic mound for ants or Changelings. That was how these strange creatures reacted.

“So this is it,” Applejack thought to herself as she bucked a few of the creatures away with her hooves.
She would’ve attempted to zap some of them with her horn, but she wasn’t nearly as good as Twi or Rarity with magic; let alone she was weakened when it came to magic use in this new world. She cursed herself for being so foolish to fall to such a simple trap, as she was so eager to get to Twi and Rainbow Dash that she ignored the risks around her. She had (ironically) made the same mistake Rainbow Dash used to so often make. She only hoped Applebloom could run things with her gone.

“Ma...Pa. Ah’ll be wit’ ya soon,” she said quietly to herself as she made her peace with what seemed to be her final moments. She then barked out the command, “Troops! Fix Chain Bayonets and prepare t’ engage up close! Commend our souls to the Twin Princesses!”
While she was fixing her how bayonet, she heard a slight rumbling in the distance. At first she thought it was mortar or rocket fire from her own troops, but the sound itself, let alone the direction and distance was off. But then the rumbling became louder and louder, and eventually became so loud; even the rabid bugs themselves finally started to notice. It was then that she saw it.

The ground burst open, announcing the presence of a different alien. It was what was best described as a gigantic Tatzlwurm with chitinous armor plating and spikes. From the earth-rattling screech it gave off it did not sound friendly. At least it seemed to do a good job with intimidating the now cowering giant bugs. Still, it did not seem like good news for the now obviously outmatched group of scouts.

"Of course. Just mah luck t’ have mah good ol’ friend, Murphy's Law to show up," Troubleshoes mumbled.

The small scout group all gazed on in sheer shock and horror as the titanic monstrosity roared its defiance at the nearby group of giant bugs. Upon seeing what they were facing off against, the creatures slowly started to back away and disappeared into the fog. The troops would’ve aimed their rifles and other assorted weaponry upon the gigantic beast, but they were still in shock over the strange and recent turn of events. What happened next was even more confounding. The creature slowly lowered its head and the upraised parts of its body back to the ground. After it did so, a familiar face proceeded to fly down from the top of it and was accompanied by friendly troops and scientists from another colony. This familiar face just happened to be an Alicorn Princess who specialized in dealing with various types of fauna.

“Fluttershy! You made it,” Applejack exclaimed in relief as she galloped towards her, “Ah wasn’t sure if you safely landed or not!”

Fluttershy in turn “eeped” slightly as Applejack more or less crashed into her and gave her a gigantic bear hug.

Fluttershy then replied, “Uhhh...I’m happy...t-to see you too. But, I kinda like...breathing? Even in this suit and as an Alicorn you’re still crushing me just a tad.”

Applejack then quickly let go and stammered, “Oh! Uhhh...sorry ‘bout that.”

“It’s quite all right,” Fluttershy commented as she put her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder, “The main thing is that you and your troops are okay. They-they are okay, aren’t they?”

That was when Applejack made the horrid realization that she didn’t know the status of her troops after the fierce fighting.

“Swiftheart, ah need a status report,” Applejack quickly barked out, “Did anypony get hurt? Did...we lose anyone?”

“I’ll find out right now,” Strongheart replied as she did a quick inspection of the troops and tried to impose some sort of order upon the dying chaos that was the aftermath of battle. The xenos may have been chased away, but there was still a great deal of confusion in the recent battlefield. She quickly grabbed what commanding officers she could and medical personnel to do a quick status check upon the personnel.

After spending some time talking with the various officers and medical experts, she quickly replied, “About five compound fractures, twelve lacerations and gashes from the bugs, and one grazed shoulder from friendly fire, but no casualties. We’re still going to need a medivac though.”

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy replied, “Zecora, gather what medical personnel we have with us and have them help out.”

Zecora the nodded and said, “Of course Princess. We will leave no medical task unfinished.”

As Zecora trotted off with some other medics to check on the injured troops, Applejack replied to Fluttershy, “This is problematic, we need t’ get immediate treatment for mah injured ponies an’ other folks, but ah think we’re closer t’ Rarity’s village than we are to our own. Not t’ mention, wherever we go, it’ll take us a long time t’ move them on hoof.”

“Well, I think I know a way,” Fluttershy replied in a rather hushed tone.

“Yer not serious,” Applejack replied as she raised an eyebrow, slightly incredulous that Fluttershy was was proposing what she thought she was proposing.

“Now now,” Fluttershy scolded, “I’ll have you know that Mr. Cthulud is very sweet once you get to know him. He is the friendliest creature I’ve met on this planet and really helpful.”

Upon hearing this, the gigantic worm gently nuzzled its beak against Fluttershy. While she knew the beast wouldn’t harm her friend, Applejack couldn’t help but shudder a bit on the inside. Still, she remembered being taught not to judge by looks and that she should reserve judgement until she got to know a pony or other being better. The mishap from Zecora’s early days in Ponyville should’ve taught her that ages ago.

"Well, ah' guess we don't have much of a choice huh," Applejack said as she looked up at the cyclopean monstrosity. While she was still uncomfortable with the idea, she knew she had to let practicality win the day, and she trusted Fluttershy’s judgement in the matter. She was the expert on handling wildlife; not her. “Alright Flutters, you lead the way.”

…...

True to Fluttershy’s word the worm (or “Mr. Cthulud”) had carried them to a break in the fog bank. After the worm stopped and they climbed off the group climbed over the final hill. Over the horizon they could see a small city. There was no doubt as to who’s city it was. The sense of “style” and fine art. The “frou frou” (as AJ would call it) decor and such-it all practically had Rarity’s signature touch on it. With the journey’s end in sight, they went forward with renewed vigour. It was then they saw flashes of light heading towards them in an arc. “Get down!” Swiftheart yelled as the lights got close enough to be identified as missiles. Applejack yelled into the comms attached to her earbud, “If anyone’s recivin’ this, hold yer fire! We’re friendly!”

“Applejack is that you?” came a slightly formal reply.

“No, it’s buckin’ Tirek! Of course it’s me dangit,” Applejack yelled back. She was going to yell she was Chrysalis, but she decided not to as Chrysalis was a shapeshifter and they may have took her comment literally and sent another salvo.

Meanwhile, the missiles struck the worm on it’s side. Luckily, the worm’s natural armour managed to stop most of the shrapnel from the missile from hurting it. Still, it was obvious the worm was hurt from the hit due to the heat and concussive force of the blast.

Having seen Mr. Cthulhud being hurt Fluttershy became outraged. She made a grab for AJ’s comms and shouted into it “Rarity! Stop shooting Mr. Cthulud!”

“Fluttershy,” came the surprised reply, “Is that you?”

“Yes it’s me! Stop firing your guns at us,” Fluttershy replied angrily.

“Sorry for that Flutters. My guards were a little edgy after the recent alien intrusions,” Rarity replied.

Fluttershy after finishing her outburst dropped the comms onto the ground before flying over to check on her friend. Meanwhile, AJ picked up her dropped comms and place it back on her head.
After readjusting it, Applejack then dusted herself off and replied, “Well, if whar done bickerin’ ah got some injured troops on th’ back o’ that thing-”

“Mr. Cthulhud,” corrected Fluttershy.

“Mr….Cthulhud,” Applejack continued after the correction, “and they need medical treatment. Rarity, if ya don’ mind, ah need some of yer personnel t’ transfer them t’ one of yer medical facilities fer treatment.”

“Of course,” Rarity agreed, “Sweetie Belle! Grab some troops for us and transfer those injured ponies off of Mr….Mr....Cthulhud and get them to the clinic; will you?”

“Sure thing sis,” Sweeite Belle replied as she motioned for some nearby soldier to follow her and slowly approach the strange creature.

As they slowly approached, the creature started to grumble slightly. Fluttershy flew up to the creature and gently patted it.

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy gently cooed as she patted it’s beak, “I got them to stop. You have to realize you’re very big compared to them and they’re scared of you. Still, I do think they should give you an apology.”

She then glared back at them very angrily. It wasn’t her full-force and infamous “stare,” but as an Alicorn who had more or less become a living force of nature (albeit one that fortunately tended to be a bit more shy and reserved most of the time) she was still a frightening being to behold when enraged. Sweetie Belle, a bit perplexed about this situation and knowing she didn’t really have much time for debating decided to conceed this point. After all, her sister had obviously taught her a thing or two about decorum and diplomacy.

“Uhm...sure? We’re quite sorry about that Mr….err, Cthulud. No offense, but we do find you a bit intimidating due to your size and strength,” Sweetie Belle said.

The creature merely made some slight grumbling noises and then looked away and laid its head upon the ground. It almost appeared as it was about to take a nap and do some sunbathing. Sweetie Belle was certain that if Twi was out here she’d take notes upon this behaviour and wonder if this was merely the creature doing it because it liked the heat or if it was cold-blooded. Still, from what she remembered from Twi’s lessons she doubted that a creature that was that large and could move that fast was exothermic.

Taking advantage of the quiet time that had finally shown up, Applejack typed up a quick report and a map of the terrain the explored so far. She made sure to put upon the map a line showing a way through the miasma and a side note warning of the strange creatures she ran into there.
She then trotted up to Rarity and replied, “Say, Rarity? Ah was able to draw up a map of th’ terrain ah’ve been explorin’ an’ ah got a file an’ some notes fer ya. Ah also need t’ forward this t’ Twi’s colony. Ya think ah can’ use yer comm room t’ send it?”

“Oh, sure thing darling. Also, I do appreciate you sharing this information with me,” Rarity said in turn, “Follow me.”

After Applejack and her guards followed Rarity and her own guard detail through a series of dirt paths that passed for streets in her new colony, they arrived at a nearby tent.
After entering and going through the proper decorum for the entry of high-ranking officers and royalty, Rarity then walked up to Octavia.

“Yes Princess,” Octavia asked.

“Darling, it’s rather important,” Rarity started, “I need you to send this information to Twilight’s Colony.” She then handed over to Octavia a small information stick that had the files on it.

“The unusual atmospheric conditions have been making communication a bit more difficult than expected, but I am sure we can get this through your Highness,” Octavia said.

“Good. I’m glad to hear that,” Rarity replied with a slight grin, “Now, if you will excuse me, I must show Applejack where our Clinic is located. I know she will want to check on her troops and I heard that Zecora and Fluttershy were all ready sent over there.”

“Of course Princess,” Octavia nodded as she got to work downloading the files for transmission.

As she was being escorted to go check up on her assigned detail, Applejack had time to think to herself. She did not like how things were going at the moment. While she knew setting up a new life for the Equestrian refugees was going to be rough on a new planet, she did not like how relations were already getting a bit strained from the start. While she tended to agree more with Rarity about the need to defend themselves from the creatures native to this planet; she knew Fluttershy would not go along with this. Alas, that was always one of the kind pony’s few personal blind spots; even as an alicorn!

She had a tendency to forget that she was often the only pony that could actually get wild animals to back down and peacefully leave an area. Even after all the times she has been asked to speak to creatures ranging from the smallest snake to largest dragon. Sure, every once in a while she wouldn’t succeed (such as the girls’ first trip to the Grand Galloping Gala), but most of the time she could get animals to listen to her. Still, she remembered what Twi said to Discord during their first big battle with him, “Friendships are hard at times, but they are worth keeping!” It was something along those lines anyway. She just hoped that those friendships would remain intact as they tried to figure out how to survive upon a new, alien world.

Author's Note:

1.) Can't write countrism … Turns out AJ is really hard to write, especially her southerner accent and stuff (Thank you Malachai for writing those). Whelp, time to hit all the AJ fanfics out there. Writing Pinkie's chapter is much more easier, though I could feel my sanity slipping away, slowly being replaced by a much more 'happier' personality
Jk, I am still sane. I guess *shrugs

2.) Hello people. Brother Malachai here. As I was the main author for this Chapter, I was asked to write some comments in the “Author’s Notes” Section. There’s not really much to say other than I was told to cut back a tad on the countryisms by our editors to make AJ and several of the other characters easier to understand. As I’m sure you can also tell from past Author Notes that we have had our past disagreements on various parts of the story. If there’s one thing you learn in life is that sometimes you have to agree to disagree and move forward and that some things are not worth losing friendships over (let alone work relationships, etc….). It can be a delicate balancing act deciding what issues to take a stand on and what issues are more minor and not worth the arguing over. That is something I believe the show itself has covered on several occasions. The most recent example of this would be one of the most recent episodes where Rarity had to work out differences with a new employee.

On a unrelated note, I am sure some are wondering how I came up w/ the name “Mr. Cthulhud” for the Siege Worm. Contrary to what many will think, it’s not a Cthulhu reference (even though it is close). Instead it is a combination of the word “Cthonian” (from Brian Lumley’s tales of the Lovecraft Mythos) and “Shai-Hulud” (from Frank Herbert’s “Dune” Series). I’m not sure if people can notice this or not, but I like to make nods to other fictional settings when I write. I will live it up to the individual whether they are fans of such things or not; let alone if it’s subtle enough or too blatant. Another example of me putting in a reference to other works of fiction would be recaf (the Warhammer 40K version of coffee). Anywho, that’s enough for now dear readers. Take care and look forward to hearing from you soon.

3.) Applejack Colony

Sponsor: Sweet Apples Cooperative
Leader: Princess Applejack
Ability: Apple Family Spirit
All tiles with a food tile mprovement yelds one additional food.
Energy and Production gain a 2% increase per citizen in city
All Covert op chance of sucess increase when target is a different affinity of the player.
Short BIo: The fifth of the 6 new princesses to ascend, Princess Applejack was initially the least recognized among the 6. However through her down to earth approach and leadership qualities, managed to revamp Equestria's economy, gathering all the unions and mordenised their industries. While Twilight may have been the brains, Applejack is the engine that made it possible.

Comments

[hiphop4eva]

I AWAIT YOU, PINKIE PIE!

[clubbzz]

The Element of Loyalty

Wrong element for Applejack.

[May I Cut In]

6538350
Woops... Fixed it. Thanks for pointing it out