The Might of a Quill

by derpyland

Chapter 4: “Twilight, what have you done?”

Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle reappeared in Twilight's basement. “Woah,” Rainbow exclaimed. “How do you keep yanking both of us out of the comic like that?”

“It's really not a big deal. I'll explain it later, though, when we have more time. I don't want to leave Applejack in there any longer than I have to. We've got a lot of work to do, and she's waiting on us.”

Rainbow stared at the comic book that was lying open on the desk. “So Applejack is in there,” she said, with wonder in her voice. “That is so awesome. Is she, like, waiting on us right now?”

Twilight nodded. “That's one of the changes I had to make to the way the comics worked. From the moment these books are first enchanted, time begins passing in them at the same rate that time passes in this world. Applejack is still standing there. She is fully conscious of the passage of time.”

“Then I guess you're right – we need to get moving on this. So what's next?”

Twilight glanced at the coffin, and then looked back at Rainbow Dash. “Applejack won't be whole again until we restore her memories, which are stored in her brain. We need to get them out.”

Rainbow Dash slowly backed away from Twilight. “I don't like where this is going. How were you planning on doing that, exactly?”

“Well, you saw what I did with her blood. We had to put the blood sample in that vial, then enchant it, and then merge it with the book. Since her complete genetic code is in every drop of her blood, we only needed to get a little bit of it. Her mind, though, is different. We need all of her brain in order to do this. Which means–”

“Absolutely not!” Rainbow protested. “There is absolutely no way I am doing that. Do you have any idea what I'd have to do to get her brain out of her head? There has got to be some other way. Your plan is waaaaaay too gross.”

“I know,” Twilight sighed. “It's just that the blood spell worked so well! But you're right. If we do that with her brain and something goes wrong, there's no backup plan. We could always take more blood – up to a point, anyway – but she only has one brain. Let me think about this.”

Twilight stared at the desk in front of her. Time passed. She picked up a book and read through it, then set it down and picked up a different one.

“How long is this going to take?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Applejack is waiting on us, you know.”

“This isn't easy. You do realize that nopony has ever done this before, right? It's not like there is a how-to guide for this!”

“Maybe not for raising the dead, sure. But all you want to do is move her memories from one place to a different place. Aren't there any memory copying spells? Surely that has been done before. Hasn't anypony ever wanted to save their memories?”

“That's it!” Twilight shouted. “You're a genius. Wait here – I'll be right back!”

Twilight raced out of the room, leaving Rainbow Dash alone in the basement.

“Sure, sure, just take your time,” Rainbow Dash called after her. “It's not like I'm alone in a creepy basement or anything.”

Twilight did not respond. She was already out of earshot.

Rainbow Dash glanced at the bubbling pool of utter darkness that was in the center of the floor. “And you can't tell me there's no dark magic going on here either,” Rainbow muttered. “Dark magic is green, right? Green and black. This room has 'forbidden magic' written all over it. You really owe me one this time, Applejack. The things that I do for my friends.”

Ten minutes later, Twilight raced back into the room. “Isn't this great? I actually had one after all! Oh, this is going to be fabulous!”

The purple alicorn was levitating two objects in front of her – a heavy black book, and a spherical crystal stone that was about three inches in diameter.

“What's that?” Rainbow asked.

“It's a first-edition copy of Enchanted Memories,” Twilight said enthusiastically. “There are only six copies of it in existence. I got this book about a month ago, and let me tell you it has been fascinating. You see, about four hundred years ago–”

Rainbow Dash interrupted her. “Not the book, the stone. I know what books are, you know! Is there something special about that rock?”

“Oh – right.” Twilight gently set the book down on the table and opened it to page 834. “This object is called a memory stone. It's used to contain memories. Technically it isn't actually a stone at all. It's more of a complicated magical repository that was carefully engineered to hold memories for an indefinite period of time. This one happens to be industrial strength. It was meant to hold an entire mind.”

“So who's mind is in it?” Rainbow asked.

“It's empty right now,” Twilight replied. “The nice thing about this is that although these stones are incredibly difficult to make, they are very easy to use. All it takes is a simple spell to copy a pony's memories into this stone. Once they are in here I should be able to merge them with the comic. Then Applejack should be her old self again!”

“What happens if it fails?” Rainbow asked. “Will her mind just be gone?”

Twilight shook her head. “All we're doing is making a copy. If things go wrong then we can just try again. No harm done.”

“And her brain can stay inside her skull?”

“Of course! It's a simple, painless procedure.”

“Wonderful.” Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. “I knew there had to be some other way. Not that I was scared or anything but – well, you know.”

“Give me just a minute to set this up,” Twilight said. The alicorn then carefully reread the page three times, and then nodded. “Ok. I think I know what to do. Let's give this a try.”

Twilight walked over to the coffin and opened it. She glanced inside, turned pale, and quickly turned her head away. She then forced herself to look back into the coffin and gently placed the memory stone next to Applejack's head.

“All right,” she said, a bit queasy and more than a touch nervous. “Here goes.”

Twilight lit up her horn, and the memory stone turned purple. She then amped up the power. As the stone began to glow more intensely, a weak beam of light shot out of the stone and connected with Applejack's head. Twilight poured even more magic into the spell, and the beam of light strengthened. Slowly, ever so slowly, the stone began to change. Specs of light began appearing within it and swirling about.

“Now I just have to hold the connection,” Twilight muttered.

“For how long?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Not now,” Twilight hissed. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

As the moments passed, the sphere filled with tiny points of light. Rainbow Dash was utterly fascinated. The points of light somehow looked alive. Are those individual memories, or are they moments of her life? This is actually pretty cool. Magic users can do some pretty neat tricks.

After five agonizing minutes the link began to fade. “That's all of it,” Twilight said wearily. She cut the connection and collapsed onto the floor. Sweat poured off of her body. The spell had left her weak, and she found it difficult to move. Twilight gently sat up, grabbed a cloth off the table, and wiped her forehead. “Now I just need to breathe – in, then out. Woah, but am I ever woozy. I am really getting a workout today!”

Rainbow walked over to the coffin and stared closely at the memory stone. “So Applejack is in there? All of her?”

“I think so. At least, that's all of her I could get,” Twilight replied. She was still panting. “I'm pretty sure that I got it all. The preservation spell kept her mind from decaying, and I don't think she had any brain damage from the accident. I guess we'll find out when we talk to her.”

“So what now? How do you get the memories out of that rock and into our friend?”

“Give me a minute,” Twilight pleaded. “Spells are hard work. Intense magic – like what we've been doing here – is really draining. I already have a headache, and I still have to transfer that stone into the comic. I need a moment to rest.”

“Fine, fine,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “Just remember that our friend is waiting for us in that terrible place you created! That has to be the most boring world I've ever seen. Couldn't you have at least given her an apple or something? Even a tree would have been a huge improvement! She could have looked at it or something.”

“Didn't a tree just kill her?” Twilight asked wearily. “And you want me to put a tree in the comic? For all I know she hates trees now. Applejack probably thinks they're death traps or something.”

“Good point – so no trees. But still, couldn't you have at least created some grass? Grass is pretty harmless, isn't it?”

“I guess, but she wasn't supposed to live there, you know. She won't be in there for very long, and once she's out she will never have to go back into the comic again. But I guess I could have given her a book to read while she waited.”

“Because if there's one thing we all know about Applejack, it's that she's a big reader,” Rainbow said sarcastically.

Twilight ignored her friend. She lied back down onto the floor and tried to catch her breath. Minutes ticked by. Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to reach out and touch the memory sphere. She considered walking around the room, but decided against it. This just doesn't look like a good place to go around touching things. So she sat down by her friend and waited – impatiently.

“You're not going to fall asleep on me, are you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Not after that nightmare last night,” Twilight replied.

“Nightmare? What nightmare? When did you have a nightmare? And hey – when did you fall asleep?”

“It was nothing. Just, you know, the usual.”

“So, your books were trying to eat you again?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, not this time. In this dream all of Equestria was, well, empty. All of the buildings were ruined, and all of the ponies were gone, and I was the only pony left. Well, wait. I think Celestia was there. She was really angry with me about something, and we got in a big fight–”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “By 'big fight' you mean she scolded you, right?”

“Not this time. Celestia actually tried to kill me! I'd never seen her so angry.”

“C'mon, Twilight, that's never going to happen! You're her favorite student, remember? There is nothing you could possibly do that would make her that angry. We're the heroes of this world, remember?”

“I guess you're right,” Twilight said. “Maybe I was just tired.”

The alicorn struggled to her hooves. “All right, all right. I think I can do this – but this is positively the last spell I'm going to cast before getting some rest. I've had all I can take.”

Rainbow nodded. “So – what now?”

“Just sit down and be still. And don't touch anything. I don't want to accidentally infect you with Applejack's memories.”

Twilight gently lifted the memory stone out of the coffin and carried it over to the table. She then placed the stone into a small metal tripod. Once she was satisfied the stone was secure, she picked up the tripod and placed it directly on top of the open comic book.

The alicorn then glanced back to Enchanted Memories and read the page one more time. She then turned to her friend. “Are you ready?”

“Do you have to ask?” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight smiled in spite of her weariness. She looked back at the memory stone and stared at it intently. She then lit up her horn and struck the stone with an intense beam of light. The light refracted off the stone and bounced down into the comic. Twilight continued to hold the connection for about thirty seconds, and then she shut it down.

Rainbow Dash looked at the stone. It was still filled with small points of swirling light. “Did something go wrong?”

Twilight moved the tripod off the comic and flipped through its pages. “No, it worked,” she replied. “It looks like everything is here. Why?”

“Because I'm still seeing lights in that rock. If you moved them into the comic then shouldn't they be gone?”

Twilight shook her head. “I copied them into the comic. I didn't have to move them. Now Applejacks' memories are in three different places: in her brain in her old body, in the memory stone, and in the comic book.”

“Weird! So, um, that was fast. I kind of expected it to take longer.”

“The hard part is getting the memories into the stone,” Twilight explained. “Once they are there, the stone itself will help you copy them. That's the whole point of the stone in the first place.”

“So what now? Are we done?”

Twilight nodded. She turned the comic back to its front page and placed it on the table. “Are you ready to meet her again?”

“Are you kidding?” Rainbow Dash replied. She quickly leaped over to the comic book and placed a hoof on the glowing panel. As soon as she disappeared, Twilight followed behind her.

* * * * *

Rainbow Dash once again found herself in the blank world that Twilight had created. A quick look around revealed that Applejack had not moved from where she had been before. She was still there, sitting quietly on the ground, staring out at the horizon.

“So, hey there,” Rainbow Dash called out. She flew over to Applejack and landed in front of her. “How do you feel?”

Applejack glared at her. “So you're the queen of Equestria, are you? Just how dumb do you think I am?”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Oh, c'mon, it was funny! You were believing everything that I told you, and I just couldn't pass up an opportunity like that. It sounds like you have your memory back now.”

“I most certainly do,” Applejack replied. “As I recall, Celestia is the princess who raises the sun, and her sister Luna raises the moon. All you do is loaf around and take naps.”

“I do not,” Rainbow Dash said defensively. “I happen to have been very busy lately.”

“She actually has,” Twilight called out. She had entered the world a moment after Rainbow Dash and was slowly walking over to them. Twilight was completely worn out, but she was doing her best to keep walking. “In fact, I couldn't have gotten this far without her. She has been a true friend through this whole ordeal.”

“See?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Told you!”

Twilight walked up to Applejack. “What is the last thing that you remember?”

“Rainbow Dash trying to tell me she's in charge of the whole world.”

Twilight facehoofed. “No – before that. What is your last memory before you found yourself here?”

“That would be gettin' killed by that blasted tree. I had just finished breakfast with the family, then went outside to get started on the day. I shoulda known that storm had weakened the tree, but I just didn't think about it. Too much goin' on, you know? So, like a fool, I gave it a good hard buckin'. When I heard the tree crack I knew I was in trouble. I tried to get away but I just wasn't fast enough. It caught me good – killed me instantly, I reckon'. There's just one thing I don't understand.”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Just one thing? 'cause I can think of a whole lot more than just one question you should be asking right now.”

“Hush,” Twilight said. “What's that, Applejack?”

“Well, if I'm dead, then this must be the afterlife. I've gotta say I really expected it to be more, um, involved. This has got to be the most boring place I've ever seen. I don't really think I want to spend eternity here. But, anyway, my question is this: if I'm dead and this is – well, whatever this is – then what are you two doing here?”

“Easy,” Rainbow Dash replied. “You see–”

Applejack raised a hoof. “Now hold on a minute. I don't have any trouble believing that Twilight knows how to visit the world of the dead. She's an alicorn, after all. There's no tellin' what kind of spooky magic she's learned up in Canterlot. But I refuse to believe that Rainbow Dash has magical powers and can talk to ghosts. That just ain't possible.”

Rainbow Dash grinned. “You know, it could be possible. You don't necessarily know all my secrets! I am a pretty awesome pony.”

Twilight immediately reached over and whacked Rainbow Dash on the back of her head. “Stop it! I don't know what's gotten into you. You have been acting super weird lately.”

“I'm just glad to have Applejack back, that's all,” Rainbow replied.

Applejack spoke up. “You still haven't told me what you're doin' here. And I don't think I'm 'back'. Whatever this place is, it sure ain't Equestria.”

“I guess I should start at the beginning,” Twilight said slowly. “First of all, it's true that the tree, um, fell on you. You were injured pretty badly. I raced out to the farm, but–”

“'Pretty badly'?” echoed Rainbow Dash. “Are you serious? The tree totally–”

“Quiet! Let me finish. As I was saying, the tree injured you pretty badly. Since the doctors couldn't do anything to help you, I had you carried to my home. Rainbow Dash and I spent the past week inventing a way to, um, heal your injuries. It has been a real challenge but I think we've been successful. How do you feel?”

“Um, ok, I guess,” Applejack replied. “So how is it you were able to help me when the doctors couldn't?”

“Magic!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Twilight nodded. “I can use my magic to do things that are beyond the reach of ordinary medicine. If you're feeling all right then I think it's time to bring you out of this place and get you back home.”

“So this isn't the afterlife?” Applejack asked.

Twilight shook her head. “Nope. It's not. It's just a place I created to assist in the healing process. Now that you're well, I can bring you out of it.”

“Am I in a coma? Is all this inside my mind?”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, but Twilight quickly silenced her. “I think it would be easier to just show you. Are you ready to go?”

Applejack nodded. “I reckon' anyplace would beat this.”

Twilight nodded. A moment later all three of them vanished.

* * * * *

The three friends reappeared in Twilight's basement. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak. “You just gotta show me how you keep doing that.”

“I'll be sure to make a note of it when I publish my findings,” Twilight replied.

Applejack looked around the room in amazement. She quickly looked down at herself to make sure that she was really there, and then back at her friends. The farmer then glanced at the bewildering items that filled the room. “We're in the castle basement, aren't we?”

Twilight nodded. “That's right. This room used to be empty. I've decorated it a bit.”

“It looks like you've been workin' real hard,” Applejack commented. She looked at the long table, which was covered with papers and books, and she stared at the walls that were laced with magical runes. That was when she noticed the coffin.

The coffin that was still open.

Which contained her corpse.

Applejack screamed. “What in tarnation is that?”

Twilight quickly used her magic to close the coffin. “I am so sorry about that. I really meant to close that before we left, but I've just been so exhausted. It kinda slipped my mind.”

“Was that what I think it was? Because it looked an awful lot like my head was in there.”

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “After the accident that's all that was left of your body. When that tree fell it pretty much obliterated you. That's why Twilight had to use a comic book to recreate your body. Then she used this neato spell to copy your memories from your brain into your new body, and there you are! Good as new.”

Applejack turned pale. She walked over to the table and pointed at the comic book that was lying face open. “Are you saying Twilight used that book to bring me back?”

Twilight nodded. “It was the only way.”

“But I don't understand. How is that even possible? You're not making any sense.”

“It's actually kind of simple. Do you remember that one time we were sucked into that comic book and became Power Ponies? Do you remember how real that world was?”

“Sure I do.”

“Well, this is the same thing. You see, I used that comic to write you into existence again. I used a sample of your blood to recreate your physical form, and I copied your memories from your old body into your new body. It was the only way to bring you back.”

“Oh,” Applejack replied. She didn't say anything. She just stared at the comic, lost in thought.

“Do you want me to go into more detail?” Twilight asked nervously. “I'd be more than happy to explain the exact spells that I used.”

Applejack shook her head. “Nope, that ain't necessary. So let me see if I have this straight. The real Applejack was crushed by a tree. Since she was dead, you created a copy of her in a comic book and used magic to bring that copy to life. You then gave that comic book character Applejack's memories so that it would think it was her. Then you brought that copy here. Is that about it?”

“You are not a comic book character! You are the real Applejack. You have her body and her memories. You aren't a magical construct; you're a flesh and blood pony. It's true that I used magic to bring you back, but that doesn't make you any less real. You really are you.”

“But you didn't bring Applejack back,” Applejack replied. “Isn't her corpse still in that coffin over there? What's left of it, anyway. That is Applejack. I'm just a copy that you made.”

“You are real,” Twilight insisted. “If I pricked you, you would bleed. If I poisoned you, you would die. You have senses, emotions, and desires. You can get hungry and sleep and apparently quite irritable. You are every bit as real as every other pony in this world. You could even have foals if you wanted.”

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Only your life does depend on that comic book. If something ever happened to it you would kinda disappear.”

“I knew it! I just knew this was all wrong. Twilight, what have you done?”

“Look, it's just temporary!” Twilight said hastily. “I didn't have a lot of time, so I skipped the part where I freed you from the comic. My main concern was bringing you back to life. I'm sure there's a way to sever the connection between you and the comic so that you don't depend on it anymore. Would that make you feel better?”

“This ain't about feelings! Don't you get it? I'm not Applejack. I'm just a comic book character that you brought to life. The real Applejack is dead. You didn't do a thing for her.”

Twilight was taken aback. Tears began to form in her eyes. She had worked so hard to save her friend, and was certain Applejack would be delighted and grateful. She never imagined her friend would react this way. She was deeply hurt – but Applejack didn't seem to notice or care.

“You are completely wrong,” Twilight said angrily. “I think you're focusing too much on the magic that I used to bring you back to life. You really are real – honest.”

“Then answer me this. Couldn't you use the same magic to make another copy of me? Couldn't you make five Applejacks, or ten, or twenty?”

“I suppose. I'm sure at least one of them would be grateful about being alive again.”

“Oh, I bet,” Applejack replied angrily. “After all, you could make them however you wanted, couldn't you? You could make an Applejack with a green coat, or with a pair of boots for a cutie mark. You could give her any memories or attitudes or thoughts that you wanted her to have. That's because it's all just stuff in books. You write the words and it comes to life. That's it, isn't it?”

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Hey – that gives me an idea! Twilight, couldn't you give Applejack a pair of wings? You could make her a pegasus, couldn't you? It would be so awesome if she could fly!”

Applejack stared at Twilight angrily. Twilight was beyond hurt; she was now getting angry herself. “Sure, I could probably do that – not that she'd be grateful for it or anything. Some ponies wouldn't know gratitude if it kicked them in the head. But you're both missing the point. You were dead, Applejack – dead! And now you're alive again. There is no difference between who you were before the accident and who you are now. There's no problem here!”

“I'm a character from a comic book,” Applejack said with emphasis. “How can you not see that?”

“This is ridiculous! I'm sure Fluttershy wouldn't have had any problem with any of this. Some ponies would have been glad to have been raised from the dead.”

“Fluttershy ain't the element of honesty. This may be a clever trick and all, but it ain't honest. That I know for sure.”

“What are you talking about? I never asked you to lie about where you came from! You're more than welcome to tell everypony you know. In fact, I plan on publishing my findings for further use and research. Besides, I was honest with you, wasn't I? I could have hidden all this from you, you know. I could have had you be asleep when you came back to life and got your memories back, and had you wake up in a nice comfy bed somewhere in Ponyville Hospital. I could easily have told you a comforting lie that you would have believed. I didn't have to tell you what I actually did, but I did because I am not a bad pony. I care about you – even if you don't care very much about us.”

“I know,” Applejack said hurriedly. “I don't mean it like that. I'm sure you and Rainbow have worked real hard to make all this happen, and I don't mean to sound ungrateful. This is just – well, it's wrong. It bothers me. I can't get past the fact that I'm not actually real. This is an awful lot to deal with.”

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Well, I think you're real. I told Twilight that she could bring you back, and that is exactly what she did. I think you're just thinking too hard. Give it a rest! Enjoy life or something.”

“Answer me this,” Twilight said. By now tears were running down her face. It never occurred to her that things might go this badly. “Do you really want Apple Bloom to grow up without her big sister?”

“Of course not,” Applejack said quickly.

“What about Big Mac and Granny Smith? Do you want them to live the rest of their lives without you? Do you think they'll be able to manage Sweet Apple Acres just fine on their own, without your help?”

“It'd be mighty difficult,” Applejack admitted.

“Now, I understand that you have hangups over where you came from. I don't agree with them in the slightest, but I'll table that for now. But tell me this: don't you think your family misses you? Don't you think they want you back? Do you honestly believe that Apple Bloom is going to be as upset over the metaphysical aspects of this as you are? Isn't it more likely that what she really wants is to get her big sister back? Are you going to deny her that?”

“Of course not! She needs me to watch over her. I'm sure she's plum torn up over what happened. I just – I dunno. Maybe you're right. Maybe I just need to go home.”

“I totally agree with that,” Rainbow Dash said. “I have no idea what time it is, but I don't think they'll mind waking up – not when they see who's knocking at their door.”

“It's three in the afternoon,” Twilight replied. “I highly doubt they're in bed. So are we through with this? Are you ready to go home, or do you want to yell at me some more for trying to help you?”

“I'm sorry,” Applejack said. “I didn't mean it that way. I know you're just tryin' to help me. I'm sure this must have been hard on everypony.”

Applejack walked over to Twilight and tried to give her a hug, but to her surprise Twilight pushed her away. “Let's just get you home,” Twilight said. “I have had enough of this.”

“Um, ok,” Applejack replied. “This basement of yours is kinda giving me the creeps anyway. It will be real good to see my family again.”

Applejack reached out to take the comic book, but Twilight grabbed it before she could lay a hoof on it. “Don't touch that!” Twilight hissed. “You have no idea what you're doing. Your continued existence depends upon that comic. It has got to be taken care of, and there's no way I'm trusting you with it. I'm going to put it in a safe place where nothing can happen to it. You'd probably lose it or feed it to a cow or something.”

“I ain't stupid,” Applejack said. “Don't you think I know how important that comic is?”

“You don't even know how important you are. So, no. I don't.”

Applejack sighed. “I sure put my hoof in it this time. Well, ok then. I reckon it'll be safer here anyway.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She hugged Applejack, then raced out of the room. “C'mon – they're waiting on us!”

After Rainbow Dash disappeared, Twilight slowly began to follow her out of the room. Applejack noticed for the first time how tired and worn she was. Every step she made seemed to be painful for her.

“Hold on just a minute,” Applejack said. “Look. I can see that I hurt you, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I know you did all this because you care about me, and that means a lot.”

“Stop patronizing me!” Twilight said angrily. “You don't believe that you're real, and you're angry that I did this. Don't pretend otherwise.”

“I'm sorry, Twilight. I know my honesty can be hard to take sometimes, but I'm not one to hide things from ponies – especially not ponies that I care about. Even if I've got reservations, I'm sure this will all work out in the end. After all, this is safe, right? It's not like there's anything dangerous going on here.”

Twilight shrugged. “I guess. It might be safe. Does it really matter?”

“Yes, it matters. Is there some danger that you haven't told me about yet?”

“Nope,” Twilight replied firmly. “There is no way any of this could go wrong. I'm certain we're not opening some kind of Pandora's box that will destroy the whole world.”

“Really?” Applejack asked. “Then why even bring that up as a possibility?”

Twilight remembered the dream she had the night before. “Um, no reason,” she replied.

Rainbow Dash yelled down the stairs. “Are you two coming or what?”

Comments

[Awesometacular]

We'll, Applejack sure took the truth of being a clone of a dead pony pretty well, and she's right. She looks like Applejack, sounds like Applejack, acts like Applejack, but she isn't Applejack. She's pretty much just a back up of Applejack.