7DSJ: The Apple Tree

by Shinzakura

March 28: Under the Shadow I Will Be

Cough cough “No, I’m okay, sweetheart,” Jade said, definitely not sounding okay. “I guess it was just a little colder last night than I thought.” Cough cough She sneezed. “I’m just gonna stay home today.”

“Ya sure there’s nothin’ ya need, darlin’?” Braeburn asked.

“That’s sweet of you, but no, I’m okay,” she said, sniffling. “Maybe you could come over tonight with some chicken soup?”

“Count on it, darlin’. Get some sleep. Love ya.”

“Love you too, Brae. Bye.” She sighed, hanging up. She hated lying to him, especially since she didn’t get sick as a human – she really wasn’t sure if it was due to the different viruses, her pony constitution or some other weird reason. She hadn’t been ill at all since the time she thought she’d had hoof palsy, but it had turned out to be a case of infection by poison joke. But that had been a long time ago.

Setting her phone back to recharge, she looked at a map of all the attacks lately, and where runestones had been found. It was an odd pattern, one that she struggled to put together. Would that Lord Starswirl would’ve taught me to recognize patterns in things other than magic. They formed an odd pattern, not quite a circle, not quite an oval, but in a jagged, ersatz shape that was completely confusing. The only thing that she could understand aside from the points where there had been runestone eruptions was where the glowing blast of Elemental magic had occurred on the farm.

But how did it happen? The tree was practically shimmering with energy, so much so that she was surprised it hadn’t radiated a visible aura. As it was, it glistened like a shining star from a single poin—

Wait.

She headed over to her phone, where she’d taken pictures of the tree at two in the morning. The tree looked like it had been hit with a hammer. A section of bark had been torn away, and the underlying wood looked as though it was in bad shape as well. Whoever hit the tree had done so with intent; this was no accident.

But why would any of them hit one of the trees with a hammer? The trees are their livelihood! It makes no sense at all, unless there was some sort of threat made against them. But that’s also impossible – the Elements would never be used to communicate a threat! She paced around the kitchen a little more, her breakfast continuing to grow cold (at least until she used a rewarming spell on it.) Unless….

A thought crept into her mind of a movie she and Skateaway had seen the last time she had a sleepover at her friend’s place. In it, two guys were fighting over the attention of a girl and at one point, one of the rivals had slammed the other against a wooden fence, and threatened to beat him up. Jade didn’t recall whether or not the guy had followed through on his threat, but it did put her on the right track.

A display! Why didn’t I think of that? When Lord Starswirl told me of his fight against that damnable Sabbatic Goat, he said that he’d demonstrated this might by using his power to burn a hole through solid rock. No threat, but a statement. Could someone have made a statement against someone else? Who?

The answer came all-too-easily and sadly in the case of the latter: it had to be Summerfree. She wasn’t sure why, but it had to be Braeburn’s little sister, someone that Jade herself had sororal feelings for herself. That worried her; if Summerfree was going up against the only pony who could bear the Elements, then….

An image filled her mind, of a powerful and strong young woman, fire in her eyes and confidence in her stance.

She gasped.

“Applejack?”

Applejack looked at her handwritten notes. After helping Mrs. Cobbler yesterday and finding that magical stone, she’d spent the morning digging through the affected apple fields and finding similar stones, though the magic in those was thankfully weaker; she’d freaked out a bit when one of them caught flame and caused fire to literally dance around her body for a second.

I can’t believe that I’m dealing with magic again, Applejack thought as she wrote down the information for the latest place she looked. Mr. and Mrs. Tortilla moved onto the old Breadbasket farm, a couple of nice folks who moved from Ponyville, of all places, wanting a farm of their own. She’d helped them out a bit while looking around at their tomato fields and chatting about life in Canterlot. During that, she found a stone just before it went off, which it did…in her hand.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sensation of being teleported to what I think was Antarctica, she thought, recalling the ice and the snow and the brief sensation she felt that she was freezing solid before ponying up and returning back to where she’d been. Something was protecting her, and she had a funny suspicion that it was the magic that Princess Twilight had instilled in her.

So far, Sunset had been of no help whatsoever, mainly because she wasn’t returning Applejack’s calls. So much for that “If you really need me, just call” shit. Though maybe she’s busy with something. That would be just her luck, Applejack mused. The one person she knew who had a complete grasp on magic, and she was otherwise unavailable.

As she biked away from their home, she was just glad neither of them had seen her blink out or blink back in. The discussion on that would’ve been interesting in that Chinese curse sort of way. But the daylight was burning and that meant that at some point or another she was going to have to check out several more fields.

And then what? AJ, you’re not exactly a rocket scientist. There was a reason that amongst her friends, she was in the “lower tier” of the brains department. It wasn’t that she was stupid – she had solid As in all her classes – but rather that when put against Sunset, Twilight, Octavia and Pinkie, she was just on the lower end of their group. Her mind worked in different ways, simply put. And right now I could really use Twily’s analytical brain.

She continued her thoughts as she continued to bike down Conser Road…

…at least until she came to a sudden crash against the wall of what looked like a barn. She tumbled off the bike, but rolled out of the fall safely, kippuping back to her feet.

She looked around to see Jade, standing there on the other side of the barn. “Jade?”

The other girl looked genuinely sad. “Sorry about this, but I have to!” She called a ball of violet flame to her hand, and before Applejack could say anything, Jade threw the blast at the blonde.

Applejack didn’t have time to panic or duck. Instinct took over and she blocked the blow, which only a second later her mind reminded her that it was a fireball, and she wasn’t likely to survive tanking a blast of flame coming after her. That was stopped a second later as a golden glow enveloped her body and her block shattered the fireball, harmlessly dissipating it.

“What the hell’s going on, Jade?” Applejack asked, feeling the power pour through her body. She hadn’t ponied up yet, but she could feel the magic flowing through her the same as when Princess Twilight told her she had power.

Jade looked at her friend, slackjawed. “You…you’re really an Element? But how?”

Applejack flexed her hand, magic coursing around it. “How do you know about that?” she asked. “And Ah thought you were sick today! Brae and Ah were gonna come over to see how you were doing! Guess that was a lie.”

Jade looked away, ashamed. “Yes. And you have no idea how horrible I feel for lying to Brae.”

“And now you got magic? How do Ah know you’re not behind all this shit with the stones!”

“You know about the stones?” Jade gasped.

“You’ve got seconds to explain or Ah’m gonna get nasty about things!” Applejack threatened.

“Were you sent by her Divine Majesty to assist me?” Jade asked, calling up another fireball. “Or were you sent by the Witch?”

“Ah have no idea what you’re talking about! But you’d better answer me! Are you behind the attacks on the farmlands around here with these damn stones?”

“No! Of course not! This is my home! I would never do that!” Jade insisted.

To her surprise, Applejack relaxed, and her aura went away. “You’re telling the truth, Ah can tell,” the blonde said.

Jade caught that instantly. “Honesty. You wield Honesty. It makes sense – the golden aura was from the citrine gem.” To Applejack’s surprise, Jade got down to one knee, supplicating herself before the blonde. “It is good to see you again, your Divine Majesty.”

“Your what?” Applejack asked. “Uh…what’s going on, Jade?”

Jade looked up. “You’re not the Queen?”

“The who?”

“My liegelady, Queen Faust, ruler of all ponydom. The most powerful of all magic casters, even outstripping my own master, Lord Starswirl.”

“Dawhowhat?” Applejack continued to look at the other girl with confusion. “Look, Ah have no idea what’s going on, so please, take it from the top.”

“You’re not a pony?”

“No, though Ah do know a couple. Princess Twilight, for one.”

Now it was Jade’s turn to ask. “Who?”

“One of the rulers of Equestria, if I recall right, why?”

“‘One of the’?” Jade suddenly looked as sick as she had claimed to be. “What happened?” She suddenly started to feel faint, and Applejack rushed over to catch her.

“Who are you?” Applejack asked.

“Court Magus Jade Lily, apprenticed to Lord Starswirl, the Grandmagus and Right Hoof to Her Divine Majesty, Queen Faust,” the other girl said. “At your service.”

A few minutes later, Jade sat up. She felt weak, and it didn’t help a second later when she was handed some food and orange juice.

“Eat up,” Applejack said. “You need to get your blood sugar up.”

“Thanks,” Jade replied, grateful to finally eat. “I…I’ve been pushing my luck as of late, admittedly. Haven’t eaten or slept much, been using refresher spells to keep myself at peak, but sooner or later, it takes a toll on a body, especially this human one.”

“You’re a pony, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question, nor did her tone imply that she was referring to a common farm animal.

Jade nodded. “Yes. I was tasked by my master to keep the Wonderstones from falling into the wrong hooves. Her Divine Majesty originally created them to be a boon for ponykind, so that each of the tribes would have access to magic outside their balliwick. I had truthfully enjoyed flying with the flight stone, and one of the soldiers, Trebuchet, enjoyed levitating her foal up, so that the young lad would touch the very clouds.” The girl smiled the kind of expression that one had when lost in nostalgia. “It was a beautiful gesture by Her Divine Majesty, and even if I didn’t serve the Queen such gestures towards her peoples would have ensured my vow.” She then sighed. “Alas, it was not to be.”

“What happened?”

“The Witch, of course.” Applejack had a look on her face filled with a lack of comprehension, and Jade sighed. “I guess she’s not as infamous as she is back in Castle Everfree. Lady Frostburn is a calculating, cunning mare who has plotted the downfall of both Her Divine Majesty and my master since the day she was passed up from becoming The Queen’s Grandmage due to her impetuousness, so my master said.” Jade smiled. “Lord Starswirl is a patient saint, I swear – all the times she’s attacked him, and he merely tries to convince her to change her ways. It is no wonder that the Queen chose him for her right-hoof stallion. If anything – and it is not my place to say, admittedly, but I think I can confide in you – I only wonder why Her Divine Majesty continues to suffer that damnable nag’s presence.

“In any case, it was the Witch that Lord Starswirl said burnt down the abbey in Gamboling Plains. Fourscore of her Divine Majesty’s most ardent clerics, all killed because of the Witch and the flamestone she used.” A serious look came over her face as she said, “I can still recall the day Lord Starswirl told me about what had occurred. He was livid to the point that I thought he would lash out at me! Fortunately, I have always been his favored apprentice, he told me then.”

A sad look then came over her face as she added, “And then I failed my master in the worst way possible. When the Queen had discovered what the Witch had done, she ordered all the Wonderstones rounded up and destroyed. At the time, I was assisting my master into looking into other realms – other realities, such as this one – and as a sign of his confidence in me, he tasked me with the direct destruction of the stones.”

“What happened?”

“Hubris. I quickly discovered that destroying the stones was impossible; they were highly volatile and thus were crafted to be resistant to all forms of damage. The only way to render them inert was time – the charge had to die out, like a battery. With that in mind, I thought I could place them in a relatively unpopulated portion of a mostly-magicless planet. And to ensure that I did so, I made signs in both Runic and the local language, warning them to stay away. And lastly, as a precaution, I summoned a wolf spirit and charged it to guard the stones.”

“You summoned a wolf spirit?”

Jade nodded. “Although I’m versed in all the standard magical disciplines, my true calling is animism.” Daintily, she reached out into the air, and plucked a mote of light from it. The light immediately formed into a bird. “Sometimes spirits get lost on the way to the Great Pasture, and those are ripe for resuscitating, if their body’s still living; or turned into a servant spirit, if not.” Jade looked sober as a judge as she said, “And at the time, I thought it wouldn’t be a problem; after all, there are countless worlds out there, and given the portion of humanity we looked at through the looking-glass, we didn’t assume your people would be, ahem, ‘intellectual enough’ to operate the Wonderstones.”

Applejack looked at the pony-as-human, not saying a thing.

“Sorry, I know that was a prejudicial comment. But that was the sort of mare I was back then, I guess: naïve and quick to judge, blindly listening to my master to the point that I didn’t see the dangers around us. It also didn’t help that I’m a unicorn and we tend to be nobility; we’re practically raised to hold our muzzles in the air. It wasn’t until I had my eyes opened, living as a black girl, to understand what it’s like being hated for something you can’t control. And that’s one of the reasons why I love your cousin so much.”

“But we’re not talking about him right now,” Applejack said. “One subject at a time.”

“Right. Anyway, I don’t know how, but Lord Starswirl found out. He told me that I’d erred badly, that not only did I not destroy them as commanded, but that I risked the Queen’s wrath because the Witch could find a way to gain those stones and weaponize the others, just as she had the flamestone. But then he took me aside and told me that I was not entirely at fault, that some blame had to go to him for burdening me with such a heavy responsibility.” She gave another fond smile. “I will always adore him for that.

“He gave me a new assignment, one that I eagerly agreed to. I would need to go to this strange world and ensure the stones were destroyed. I was also to capture the wolf spirit and bring it back to Equestria, because such a potentially dangerous creature left uncontrolled could be disastrous for the young world. Worst of all, due to the experimental stage of the spell, the portal could only be opened once every sixty-eight moons. It would mean I would have to leave my home and settle in this new world. I could take what I needed, but until then I would be on my own. I would have to leave behind my mother, my father, my master, my queen and my husband.”

Applejack gasped. “YOUR HUSBAND?!”

“Well, I suppose he wasn’t truly my husband, as we never consummated our marriage. Besides, I know Blazing Lance was only interested in me was for my title and my position within the court, not for me. I knew he had mares on the side, and as a wife, my duty was to bear it and bear him foals in time.” She smiled again. “Honestly? I’d rather have kids with Brae. Now there’s a guy who treats me right.”

“You’re sidetracking, Jade.”

“Sorry. Anyway, I gathered as many magic materials as I could, and then came through the looking-glass. When I arrived, I found out things weren’t quite what I thought they were. For starters, I’m a lot younger than I was back home.” Applejack was about to ask, when Jade waved it off. “I guess I should be honest with the one who holds Honesty: I’m actually thirty-seven.” Seeing the non-plussed look on Applejack’s face, she stated, “You’re taking this pretty well.”

“Long story, sugarcube. So now Ah want the truth: Does Brae know?”

For the first time during what must have been a very personal conversation, Jade’s face became truly crestfallen. “How could I tell him, AJ? I’ve lived here on Earth for five years, and one of those years I had to play catchup. I’ve had to spy on my human counterpart – she does live in Arizona and her father works for the Bureau of Land Management, while her mother’s a state senator. My ‘parents’, Burnished Copper and Humble Daisy?” Jade snapped her fingers and two older people, a man and a woman, appeared. “They’re as close as I could make them to the other Jade’s parents, Mountain Glade and Petal Meadow, but they’re not perfect.” Jade snapped her fingers and they disappeared; Jade held her hand open and two gems sat in them. “Magical constructs are like robots: they’re capable of learning, but they’re not real people. I’ve heard people call my ‘parents’ weird, and that’s part of the reason why.”

“So you’ve been living alone all this time?”

“Yeah. I’ve adjusted, why?”

“Just surprised you’re not living in an abandoned factory.”

“Of course not, AJ. My parents were simple, but I was the apprentice of Lord Starswirl and I wanted for nothing. I had more than enough resources to purchase this farm, the van, and all the things in the house. Why would I live in a run-down building?”

“Just a thought. Mah only other question is, do you really love my cousin?”

Jade was quiet for a long time, looking down at the ground. “I had no choice but to marry Blazing Lance. It was a…fortuitous marriage, and it ensured my parents would be cared for should something happen to me. But I had no love for him, none at all. I didn’t even know what the word really meant until the day Braeburn popped Chainlink right in the face for what he’d said to me. And the day Vanilla Milkshake said to him that no girl would ever kiss him? To me, that was my invitation to love him. It was as if her Divine Majesty understood my suffering and loneliness and said, ‘this is the man that will truly be your stallion.’ And that’s what he is to me.”

“Your stallion? You realize Ah’m trying very hard not to laugh at that statement.”

“I know,” she giggled. “I said that out loud around Skate once. She then told several of our friends that I wanted me a ride on Brae’s baloney pony. It was…well, awkward, to say the least.”

“Do you ever plan to go back?”

“No, not even if Lord Starswirl demands it. He’s right: these stones must be protected so that the Witch never gets her hooves on them. And even if that day comes that the last stone loses its charge, I found the man I want to truly be at my side. I’d say Blazing Lance can go get fucked, but given that I’m not around, he’s probably making his way through the female members of the court. Pretty literally, I’d guess.”

“Fair enough. Your turn to ask questions.”

“You mentioned a Princess Twilight. Is she the ruler of the Crystal Empire? I recall that the ruler there, Princess Galaxia, was not well at the time I left. Did her daughter succeed her?”

“Ah don’t really know, to be honest. If Ah remember correctly, Twi—”

“Twi?”

“Princess Twilight. She’s a friend of mine.”

“You two must be close. It would be scandalous of me if I were to ever refer to even my master without his honorific.”

Applejack shrugged. “Anyway, as far as Ah know, Twi’s the personal student of Princess Celestia, if I recall right.”

“Wait – Princess Celestia?” Jade asked, completely confused. “That’s not possible. The Infant Princess was only two years old when I departed on my mission.”

“Ah’m pretty sure she’s gotta be older than that, if Ms. Celestia – that’s her counterpart, my high school principal back in Canterlot – is anything to go by.”

“Okay, now I’m confused. Are you sure we’re talking about the same pony? Alicorns aren’t too common, and Celestia’s a pretty common name back where I’m from.”

Applejack was about to comment, when she heard a car approach. “You expecting company?”

Jade’s ears practically seemed to flicker. “Shit – that’s your uncle’s truck, which mean’s that’s Brae! Quick, follow me!”

“Ah’m not gonna lie to him, Jade. That ain’t me.”

“I know. You’re Honesty – you can’t lie worth a damn. And I don’t expect you to. Let me deal with that.” She saw the frown on the blonde’s face and she sighed. “Someday I will tell him, when we’re at that point. But not now, AJ. Please.”

“Fine,” Applejack huffed.

Applejack was amazed at how a little deception could go a long way. Jade now lay in bed, looking like death warmed over. She knew that it was a magic spell; even if she hadn’t seen Jade cast it, she knew about it from Sunset’s own admission to using the spell more than a few times to get out of school early during her less behaved years. And yet it looked so authentic.

“Now you just rest, darlin’,” Braeburn said to Jade, practically hovering over her like a mother hen. Applejack smiled at that; she could practically feel the love between the two: a true and honest love. Jade’s marital and personal statuses notwithstanding, the former farmgirl could easily see that Braeburn was the love of Jade’s life and vice versa. She honestly felt a tiny bit envious of that.

“Of cour—” cough cough “Of course,” Jade wheezed. “Just a day or two of rest, honey, that’s all I need.”

“Well, given that yer by yerself, if’n ya want, Ah can ask Ma if you can stay—”

Applejack shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Ah’ll stay here and take care of her.”

“Ya sure, cuz? That’s above an’ beyond.”

Applejack looked at Jade, then back to Braeburn. “You two are tied at the hip already, you know that?” Both of the other two teens blushed, and Applejack laughed. “See? She’s practically an Apple already. And Apples always take care of family.”

“Yeah, well, Ah got t’ get going, so y’ take care, okay?” He bent down and kissed her on the forehead. “Ah’ll be back t’morrow. AJ, can Ah talk t’ ya for a sec?”

“Sure thing, sugarcube. Ah’ll be right back, Jade. Don’t go anywhere.” The two headed toward the front door before Applejack asked, “Okay, what’s wrong?”

Brae sighed. “Y’ don’t go tellin’ Jade any o’ what Ah’m about to say,” he said in a stern tone, which meant something was very wrong. “Ah don’t want her t’ feel guilty. She loves Summer like a li’l sister, and Ah don’t want Jade blamin’ herself at all, understood?” Applejack nodded. “Summer’s missin’. Ah think she’s run away. Someone said they saw her an’ she vanished,” he said, as if not believing it. “Just up and vanished, as weird as it sounds. Personally, Ah think he was on somethin’.”

“Well, Ah won’t let her know, Ah can assure you.” Especially since she’s a pony, so she can probably hear us from her bedroom. “But Ah’ll look after your gal, you got mah word.”

“Thanks, AJ.” He hugged her, and she could feel him shudder in the embrace. “Ah’m worried about Summer, so much.”

“Ah’d feel the same if it was Bloomie.”

“Thanks, AJ. Ah’ll call if there’s an update.” He let go and hustled back to his truck, then rushed off.

Applejack hadn’t so much as taken a breath, when Jade appeared, back to normal. “Fuck! How could I have been so blind? Faustdamn me, I’m an idiot!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve smelled something unusual on her the past couple of days. At first I discounted it as magic because your aunt has so many inert Wonderstones in the house, the aura tends to get everywhere. But what Brae said? Invisibility? If it’s true, then….”

Applejack then noticed the map on the kitchen table. “What’s this?”

“I’ve been mapping the incidents around the area where rogue Wonderstones have gone off. Destruction of property, ruined crops, the works. I’m worried some families might not be able to recover,” Jade mused. “The most recent incident was over at Mrs. Cobbler’s place.”

“Yeah. I found the damn thing,” Applejack said, then covered all of all her investigations.

“And those are all places that Summer’s been helping around. It was Summer that helped Mrs. Cobbler plant her rhubarb field, since her husband’s in the hospital. And she helped the Tortillas with their tomato field, since tomatoes tend to be delicate crops.” Jade looked at Applejack with horror. “Summer’s behind all this,” she said, shock in her voice. “We have to find her,” Jade said, heading over to the garage door. “We have to find her before it’s too late.”

“No kidding,” Applejack replied. “She’s already a loose cannon – giving her magic is only going to make things worse.”

“No, you don’t understand!” Jade replied. “The reason Queen Faust tasked my master and I to get rid of the Wonderstones was for two reasons: the first was the obvious one: they could be weaponized, and her Divine Majesty couldn’t bear to see her gifts to ponykind abused. But it wasn’t until I got here that I realized the even bigger reason,” she said as opened the door to the van and climbed in.

“Which is?” Applejack asked, clambering into the passenger seat.

“Those things are made of pure alicorn magic, and that’s a pretty potent thing for magical species to deal with…but what about non-magical species, like mules or polar bears?”

“Or humans?”

“Right,” Jade said as she started the ignition and hit the remote control for the garage door. “Or in short: what happens if you give a mortal the power of God?”

The wolf spirit whined, his tone one of worry.

“Oh, Rascal,” Summerfree said, an unnatural smile on her face. “I was so blind, my pet, but now I see.” She placed a stone against her skin and it slowly began to sink in, leaving only a burning rune on her body where it had once been. She was naked and her hair flowed as if carried by an unnatural wind. Her body radiated a technicolor aura, the force carrying her a foot off the ground. “I see so much, and I see what I should’ve seen before.”

She moved over to where a group of boys were. She’d had fun with them tonight in this cave that they found, and more than one cave had been explored. And as she reached ecstasy, she placed her hands on two stones that just happened to be there. They became a part of her. They became her. And she became one with eternity.

They screamed when she touched the godhead. But now they would scream no more. She’d given them what they wanted, and in their minds the eternal orgy would forever continue, their pleasure unabating. It was the least she could do for the boys who had given her so much.

And now she had to repay that, to the world, in kind. She would get all she wanted. And the world would get what it deserved.

Her eyes were a solid black, and around the edges, light of all sorts of colors danced. “I can see so perfectly now.”

Author's Note:

The conclusion's coming!

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Comments

[namar13766]

I ain't surprised, yet I'm not even mad.

[Nealend86]

... So basically Gaia, but probably a whole lot worse.

[Spiritus Arcane]

Yeah it's official...Starswirl was an ASS. And I don't mean donkey.