AJ and the Dragon

by MiraculousDragonMaster

Applejack

AJ and the Dragon

Chapter 1

Applejack

Celestia's sun started to raise up over Ponyville, signifying the start of another day. As it shone onto Sweet Apple Acres, it shone in the bedroom window of Applejack. She was a pretty cowgirl of 19 years, with shining emerald eyes, long golden blonde hair reaching to her ankles, tan skin, and freckles on her cheeks.

When the dawn light hit her, she woke up and immediately got ready for the day. She got dressed in her favorite green and white polo shirt, a jean skirt, and her favorite brown cowgirl boots with red apples printed on them. She pulled her hair back into its low ponytail, and braided the end of it. She then positioned her favorite Stetson hat on top of her head, mindful of her pony ears.

She soon got out of the farmhouse to start her morning chores. First off, she delivers crates of fresh apples over to the town. As she carried the wagon full of crates into town behind her, Applejack started to sing as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

Applejack: Little town, it's been so quiet here now.
Everyday, like the one before.
Little town, full of little people,
Waking up to say,

Right on cue, the village started to get up for the day.

Townsfolk: Good morn!
Good morn!
Good morn!
Good morn!
Good morn!

Applejack: There goes the baker with his tray, like always,
With some new breads and rolls to sell,
Every morning, just the same,
Since last morning, dull 'n lame,
That's all now in this provincial town.

"Good morning, Applejack!" greeted Mr. Cake, one of the bakers who ran the local bakery, Sugarcube Corner.

"Howdy, Mr. Cake!" AJ greeted back with a wave. "Your weekly delivery!" She handed him a crate of apples.

"Thank you kindly, AJ." said Mr. Cake.

"Well, I'm off to continue on my deliveries. See ya!"

"See you soon, Applejack!" Mr. Cake waved her off.

As AJ continued on her errands, the townspeople watched her work with smiles, either glad or concerned. Lately, for the past few months, all she ever did was work, and didn't acknowledge anybody until one calls her.

Townsfolk: Look, there she goes, the girl is so hardworking,
But dazed and distracted, can't you tell?
Never part of any crowd,
'Cause her head's up on some cloud.
But still, we all love our Applejack.

Good morn! Good day! How's the family?
Good morn! Howdy! How's your brother?
I need some fruit!
That's too expensive.

Applejack: There must be more than this provincial life.

Then, AJ made it over to the Castle of Friendship, where one of her best friends, Princess Twilight Sparkle, lived until she got sent on a mission from Princess Celestia. But, she never came back.

She entered in through the back kitchen doors, carrying a crate of apples.

"Morning, AJ!" It was Flash Sentry, Twilight's personal guard before she vanished. Now, he runs the castle in her stead until she gets back. It gave her some personal reassurance that she and the others are okay and that they will come back.

"Howdy, Flash." Applejack greeted. She set the crate down on the counter. "How's the castle doing?"

"Still standing, if that counts." He joked.

AJ snickered. "Twilight would be proud of what you're doing."

"You really think so?" He asked with a hopeful glint in his blue eyes.

She smiled. "I know so." Secretly, she knew that the guard and her friend had been digging on each other since they met.

"Oh, I just remembered something. Wait here." Flash ran out of the kitchen, and came back a couple of minutes later. "I was cleaning out the library earlier this week, and I found this."

He handed Applejack a purple book with Twilight's star symbol on it. Different colored ribbons stuck out of the pages, serving as bookmarks.

"Our journal." She recognized. "I haven't seen that in a while."

"I thought that maybe you might want to hold onto it." Flash said.

Her eyes widened. "Flash, that's mighty kind of ya, but I couldn't."

"Twilight wouldn't mind." He assured her.

Oh, not Her Highness. She thought with an inward smirk. But, she smiled at him and took the book. "Thanks, Flash."

"Ah, don't mention it, AJ." he said as he took the crate of apples. Applejack began to leave, beginning to read the journal with one hand, and pulling the wagon with the other. "See you next week!" He called out to her.

"See ya!" Applejack called back. As she got back on the path, folks started to sing again.

Townsfolk: Look, there she goes, the girl is now so different.
I really hope she's feeling well.
With a dreamy, far-off look,
And her nose, stuck in that book.
What a puzzle! Well, that's our Applejack.

After a few more deliveries, AJ stopped by the pavilion for a quick break. Her eyes glistened as tears threatened to leak out. She remembered when they all became friends four years ago.

She remembered all of the adventures she had with her friends. She missed Rainbow Dash and her daring challenges. She missed Pinkie Pie and her parties. Fluttershy and her caring nature. Rarity and her prima donna fashions. And Twilight geeking out over a new book about whatever is interesting to her.

Applejack: Oh, isn't this amazing?
These stories here sure do bring back the times.
She said to us, Let the rainbow
Remind you that together, we will always shine.

AJ then wiped away a tear, and continued to her job, still reading the journal.

Townsfolk: Now, it's no wonder that she's such a beauty.
Her looks have got no parallel.
But behind that fair façade,
She's hurting deep inside,
Much more than the rest of us.
She feels it more than all of us,
But still, she smiles, our honest Applejack.

Out on a nearby field, an arrow hit a target, right in the bulls-eye. Snips and Snails went over to get it. They are now a couple of years older, but they can still be naive.

"Wow, you didn't miss a shot, Brandy!" said Snips as they went back to the man.

"Yeah, you're the greatest hunter in the whole world!" Snails praised.

"I know." replied Brandy Bar. He came to Ponyville a few months before, and he soon had the whole town in awe of his talent and good looks; with his golden brown hair, hazel eyes, and his well toned body. He wore a blue hunting jacket, brown travel pants, and black boots. He tightened the sheath of arrows around his waist.

"No monster alive stands a chance against you." Snips continued. "And no girl, for that matter."

"It's true, boys." Brandy said. "And I got my sights set on that one." He pointed with his bow. Snips and Snails followed the pointing and saw AJ dropping off her last crate of apples.

"Applejack?" Snails asked. Everyone in town knew that she and her friends were the only girls not swayed by Brandy's charms.

"She's the one. The lucky girl I'm going to marry." Brandy proclaimed.

The two pre-teens were shocked. Even they know that the tough yet pretty cowgirl would rather face off monsters than even think of marriage, much less to him. "But she's-" Snips started to say, but Brandy still had his focus on Applejack.

"The most beautiful girl in town." He said, still eyeing her and her rustic beauty and grace. Her long blonde hair, her emerald eyes, her strong yet feminine body. "That makes her the best. And, don't I deserve the best?" He asked Snips and Snails.

"Of course you do," Snails began, "but-"

But Brandy started singing, still looking at Applejack, then over at his reflection in a pond.

Brandy Bar: Right from the moment when I met her, saw her,
I said, "She's gorgeous," and I fell.
Here in town, it's only she who is beautiful as me,
So I'm making plans to woo and marry Applejack.

When he was about to go over there to her, he saw that she left and was tugging an empty wagon back to Sweet Apple Acres. He started to follow her. As he walked by, there were three girls, dressed in blue, pink, and green, matching their hair. They swooned when they saw Brandy.

Girls: Look, there he goes. Isn't he dreamy?
Sir Brandy Bar, oh, he's so cute!
Be still, my heart. I'm hardly breathing.
He's such a tall, dark, strong, and handsome brute!

All of a sudden, the whole town seemed to crowd the paths, doing their own things, but blocking Brandy from Applejack. As for AJ, she simply dodged the incoming people, still reading the journal as she was walking back home.

Townsfolk: Good morn!
Hey sir, you call these biscuits? (What lovely grapes!)
Some cakes! (Ten yards!)
Excuse me! (I'll get the knife.)

Please let me through!
This bread. (Those fruit!)
It's stale! (They smell!)
Madame's mistaken.

Applejack: There must be more than this provincial life.

Brandy Bar: Just watch. I'll make Applejack my wife!

Townsfolk: Look, there she goes, the girl is just so special.
Very honest, can't you tell?
It's a pity and a sin,
How she's feeling deep within,
'Cause she really is a special girl,
A beauty and a special girl,
We all really love our Applejack.

AJ turned around for a second to see what was going on, but everyone immediately went back to what they were doing. It was no use anyway to get under her skin ever since the other girls went missing. It was hard on everyone, but more so for AJ.

When she saw everyone just doing their daily activities, Applejack just went back to reading and pulling her wagon along to the outskirts of town, unaware that someone was getting ready to cut her off.

Author's Note:

A/N: Before you ask why Applejack is the Beauty in this story, here's three reasons.

One, there are a lot of other AUs that have either Twilight, Rarity, or Fluttershy as the Beauty character. Not that they don't fit the role one way or another. They do, but I wanted to try something different.

Two is because I saw some YouTube videos where Applejack was the Beauty character, and they were pretty good. They were part of the inspiration for this story.

Three is that AJ is one of my favorite characters in the series.

All right! Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this first official chapter of the story. It took a while to get the song around, even though I know it by heart.

If you are confused about what everyone looks like, just imagine everyone's human counterparts all ponied-up. It will be easier to picture. Hopefully.

One more thing, I knew that I could've used Trenderhoof as the Gaston role, but I didn't know exactly how to turn him all dark as the story goes along. So, that's why I put in an original character. Maybe in another story, I could try Trenderhoof in a similar scenario.

I'll see you guys in Chapter 2, then! Don't forget to please let me know what you guys think so far!

Got to fly! ;)

Comments

[Godslittleprincess]

Nice job altering the lyrics. Also, yay! Flash exists. My Flashlight-loving heart is thanking you a thousand times.

[Silent Echo]

What i think hmmmm......i Love it you have a talent for this and i Love applejack to.

[MiraculousDragonMaster]

8534164
Aw, thank you. I love hearing support from others; it means a lot to me.

[Fluffy-Boi]

Love the chapter. Also Applejack is one of my faves as well

[Phantom Dragon]

I'm glad that Trenderhoof isn't Gaston , I'm not sure why Trenderhoof seems to be the bad guy most stories I read. He's not my most favorite pony or anything but still. And really did we need a carbon copy of Gaston how can he be a hunter? Ponies eat aren't meat eaters.

[LunaJack]

Have you tried reading DisneyFanatic's "Precious Blood"? Trenderhoof appears there as an excellent villain.