Chapter 35-Liar
Applejack awoke with a jolt the moment she heard the scream.
At first she saw nothing, quickly feeling around with her hooves and noticing the soft mattress beneath her, the faint glow of the full moon dwindling behind the mirror. Letting her eyes adjust to the dark, letting her heart slow down, Applejack quickly noticed the familiar setting. Her own room.
Her soft pillow.
Her warm, comfy sheets.
Everything. But how?
She could’ve sworn she was with her friends the last she could remember. Everything seemed like such a blur, though. The last thing she could see before waking up in her bedroom was the woman in the shadows. Then nothing. Applejack did remember a bit, but it hurt to try and think about it.
Come to think of it, her head definitely felt as if it was splitting apart, especially the backside. Cautiously reaching back, Applejack placed a hoof on the back of her head, feeling deep into her mane and wincing as she hit the sore spot. She gently rubbed the wound, swiveling her eyes over to the window.
She stared into the full moon, taking notice of its shape, its glow, its power.
She stopped.
She squinted and stared again.
Hopping out of bed, Applejack pushed her window open, instantly met by a gust of cool, night air blowing into her face and pushing her scruffy mane back. Once more, she stared at the moon, tilting her head slightly, a confused and somewhat worried expression mixed within her facial features. It had to be a dream of some sort. There was no way Applejack could be back home, resting in her bed, and away from the friends that needed her.
How else could she be seeing the Mare in the Moon?
The cool, night air was replaced by a gentle—and somewhat startling—warm breeze. Breaking her eyes away from the moon for a split second, Applejack quickly took notice of the new source of warmth, emanating from the new source of light within Sweet Apple Acres. She brought her eyes down, gasping at the sight of it.
The apple orchard…covered in flames. Another scream. Same from before.
On pure, raw instinct, Applejack snatched her hat and raced out of her house and into the fields. Her hooves dug into the grass, tearing out several blades upon each impact before she finally arrived, planting her hooves into the dirt and skidding several feet before coming to a rest.
Back in her bedroom, the fire seemed so small, so far away. A gentle breeze of warmth. Up close and personal, she could almost feel the tearing of her coat and burning of her skin as the flames scorched the apple trees into pure cinder. The flames rose several feet above even the tallest of trees, spreading their light and ash and corroding the night sky a dark, horrible orange.
As the flames danced across her vision, Applejack ran from side-to-side, listening carefully, backing away as the fire drew near. Waiting for somepony to call out. Waiting for the screams to continue.
“Hello?!” she cried, squinting as the fire burned brighter, toppling a cluster of trees in front of her. She backed off, calling again. “Is anypony in there?! Hello!”
At last, somepony finally responded.
And it hurt her so, so much.
“Don’t look back, son! Take yer sister an’ get out!”
Having caught her breath, nearly coughing after inhaling the fire’s smoke, Applejack paid witness to a small colt barely escaping a toppling tree blocking his escape from the burning forest. The red colt, upon finally making it into the field where it was safe, collapsed in exhaustion, the crying filly on his back landing beside him.
Applejack took the short moment to study the two foals. The colt appeared no older than ten, having a red coat and orange mane. The filly was nearly covered in soot, but Applejack could clearly make out the orange coat, the blonde mane, and the six freckles. Three on each cheek.
She could clearly see her older brother, Big McIntosh, lying in front of her with a younger version of herself by his side.
Now it all made sense, or it didn’t. The Mare in the Moon, young Big Mac, young Applejack, the fires covering half of Sweet Apple Acres…
Applejack gasped, her eyes burning. “Oh, no…”
She didn’t want it to make sense anymore. She wanted to wake up next to her friends, get out of the cave, and go home as fast as Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee could push her. She hardly could deal with it before, pushing it into the darkest parts of her mind, hoping to be long forgotten but still there, still breathing.
Applejack didn't know why or how. She just wanted to wake up already.
“This is a dream. This is a dream. There’s no way, no how! This is jus’ one, big, awful…” she muttered to herself, her voice becoming more and more disheartened, weak even.
However, it completely broke after the screams came back. She remembered those screams, the painful cries tearing into her ears and assaulting her mind with vivid imagery, the kind she tried to trap so long ago. It was her parents. Trapped. Burning alive.
Never again.
She couldn’t sit there and wait ever again.
“Mom!” she cried, pushing past the weary foals, not caring if they noticed her or not. “Dad! Don’t ya worry! Ah’m comin’!”
Applejack quickly scanned the burning tree lines, finding what appeared to be the safest entry. Leaving nothing behind, Applejack pushed her hat down and dove straight into the flames…
Only to be pushed back by three Timberwolves.
Her head impacted the grass with a heavy thump, causing the blonde mare to yelp in pain. That pain only increased as she caught sight of her attackers. As if regular Timberwolves weren’t bad enough, the three slowly approaching the mare were covered in flames. Strangely enough, their bodies didn’t fall apart. They didn’t show any signs of pain. They just moved forward, the same killer instinct burning in their eyes. The growls emanating from their jaws.
The blood dripping from their teeth.
Applejack swiveled her head back, noticing little Mac with his sister on his back, slowly backpedaling away from the burning Timberwolves. Then suddenly, Mac spun around and took off to the safety of the barn, leaving her alone…
Facing them once more, Applejack watched as the three began to circle her, the flames trickling from their backs and necks. As they circled her, growing closer and closer with each pass, Applejack watched their movements with nearly every single one of her options lost to her. The screams from her parents assaulting her, breaking her down harder and harder with each painful cry forever implemented into her brain.
Like the ones she could never forget.
As the tears boiled, Applejack shut her eyes tight, placing her hooves against her ears to block out the cries, the growls, the burning apple orchard. Everything. They only came to her stronger, more persistent, fully intending on showing the mare the horrors of the past in full, bloody detail. They grew louder with every second, closing in on her, threatening to crush whatever life was left in her heart.
And then it stopped. Just like that.
Everything was silent. Deathly, unnaturally silent. Slowly removing her hooves and opening her eyes, she stared at the grass, watching as it gently flowed against the breeze. And it was cold. So silent she could hear her own heartbeat.
The light from the burning orchard was no longer relevant. Bringing up her head, Applejack faced the orchard with growing confusion, only to flinch and fall onto her back. She crawled away backwards, never taking her eyes off the one standing where the Timberwolves once were.
Once she gathered a presumed safe distance, Applejack stared up—not quite fearfully, but curiously—into the glowing blue eyes of the withered, bipedal creature.
Its face was shattered, the back of its head completely gone from what Applejack could make out. All that remained, what she could presume were facial features was a twisted, manic grin forever scarred into its mouth. Even the deluded smile shimmered blue. As for its body, it was torn and broken, plain and simple. What appeared to be wires draped from any opening visible, its left arm (missing a hand) pressed against its abdomen.
Applejack didn’t know what to make of the strange creature. She remained still on her back, eyeing the creature’s movements carefully.
It stumbled forward just slightly, staring down at the startled mare.
When it spoke, it spoke in gentle rasps, as if the state of its body meant nothing.
“How unfortunate,” the creature stated, turning back to stare at the remains of the orchard, nothing more than a black forest of death and loss.
It twisted back to Applejack, stumbling a bit as it said, “You know…you could’ve saved them. Back then…so much potential, but unfortunately it all comes to an end at some point. Luckily for you…their end was your beginning. Had they not died, you would’ve never left the farm. You might have never discovered your true talent the same moment your friends had. Huh. Strange how fate works.”
Applejack recognized the voice even if she heard it just once before. It made an impact.
“Ultron…” she breathed.
Ultron nodded, saying, “In the flesh…”
Applejack watched as he reached behind him with his good hand, pulling forward something clumped in black clothing. As her eyes adjusted, Applejack gasped, placing both of her hooves to her mouth, the tears freely pouring from her eyes.
Ultron looked to the pony, then to the charred body of Applejack’s father in his palm.
He chuckled, gripping his fingers around the stallion’s head. “Well…more or less.”
Finishing in a cold, twisted tone, he crushed his palm, the blood and brain matter spewing across the grass, even onto Applejack’s coat. She flinched, slowly opening her eyes and staring at her blood-soaked hooves with greater quivers, with more frequent whimpers.
“Poor, little Applejack never quite got over it, did she?”
She looked up at him. Her tears fell from her eyes, mixing with the red on her cheeks.
Ultron appeared to shrug, his neck twisting to her and her alone.
“Well, as I always say…” he began, dropping what remained of Applejack’s father by her hooves. Applejack finally released the scream that was building up inside of her, waiting so long to be free, her cries mixing with her father’s name shouted over and over again.
And Ultron just watched her. Motionless. Emotionless. Lifeless.
“…fathers are overrated.”
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Applejack reliving her parents' death with an echo of Ultron there in his first body mocking her about their deaths, breaking her heart and soul with a twisted sense of deja-vu.
Oh these nightmares are just getting worse and worse!
I have one thing to say to Ultron....
... Mind Magic, or just information on the cast's histories and dreaded ideas of their futures?
Step aside Discord. The Scarlet Witch has taken over the role of breaking the Elements of Harmony.
Ultron you Robotic MotherF###er
Scarlet Witch is getting more and more savage. I like it...
You gotta feel for Applejack here. Her nightmare is just simply brutal.
There are some lines you just don't cross. This is one of them. AJ, you should not have seen this. God help Rainbow Dash with what she sees. Im almost afraid to know.
JESUS CHRIST!
Holy Shit! That was BRUTAL!!
Ultron WINS: BRUTALITY
7030610 True, true, bloody tale.
7030616 I don't think he's got the idea yet.
7030696 Bit of both.
7030784 And she succeeds far better.
7031206 Hells yeah.
7032541 Very brutal indeed.
7033243 It's gonna be rough...
7033437 RIGHT?!
7033725 Ultron always wins.
By the throne... Poor Applejack!
i4.ytimg.com/vi/SouLHEHnP5U/hqdefault.jpg
And of course it's the Ultron from the beginning of the movie that does this the body that was actually pretty creepy.
Oh my freaking heck, this is twisted and gory and terrible to read. Oh my gosh...holy heck... I...I don't know what to say.
That was a little to grimdark for me... just a little.
I thought Rarity’s was bad. At this rate and how things are going, things can only get worse from here.
The fate of Applejack's parents has been a difficult subject to tackle. In seasons past shortly after this story, we 'saw' how her parents first met (Though they came from rival families) and how they 'lived'. But we never got to see how it happened... How they 'died' as Lauren Faust originally intended? Some say they died of old age, others say the Timberwolves were involved, and others say it was something else like a trot through the rain gone wrong. Whatever the circumstances may be, Applejack's parents were gone and deep down she blames herself for what happened. Perhaps one day, during the events of the final season, we will finally discover the truth as to what happened...
But until then, I can't imagine how these 'visions' could horribly scar the ponies right now.
...okay, you succeeded in making me hate the Scarlet Witch. I hope you're happy.
What the hell!? My god that is dark, witness her parents die all over again.
That is the line!