Where We May Lead

by Shadowmane PX-41

Applejack and Rockhoof: Cultural Gap

Applejack and Rockhoof soon found themselves on the shores of a quiet beach, with a series of small piers stretching out from it. Though it didn't look like much in itself, both of the earth ponies found it quite a comforting sight. They weren't big fans of flashy cities, large crowds, or any kind of modernization. Truly, this was a sight that pleased both of them.

"I still cannae believe how far this place has come since we left." Rockhoof stared out to a tiny speck of land in the distance.

"Yeah. And I ain't even seen half of it." Applejack trotted down to the beach towards the piers. "Normally 'cause I'm home with mah family or helping Twilight and the rest of her friends save Equestria." As she stopped on that thought, she turned towards Rockhoof, who clambered down onto the sands. "Actually, Rockhoof. You do know that it's been a thousand years since you were here, right?"

"Aye?" He turned his ears upward.

"Well, a heck of a lot happens in that time." Applejack rubbed the back of her head, unsure of how to approach Rockhoof with the truth. "Some ponies move on and others just stay behind. Heck, some of 'em even forget about you if—"

"Applejack, I know what you're about to say, and I already know how you're gonna break it down fer me." Rockhoof put one of his massive hooves over Applejack's muzzle. "It's great and all that ya care for me and my family, but Starswirl told me and the rest of the pillars before we sealed Stygian at Ponehenge that we'd never see any of our old friends and family again." His eyes formed a small tear, but it barely even left his eye. "The news hit us like boulders to the gut, and a few of us ended up crying like wee foals. But we all managed to pull through and let it all go."

"Ah'd hate to lose any of my family; even if it were to stop some big, bad monster from destroying Equestria." Applejack pulled her hat down over her face. "Just the idea of never seeing Big Mac, Applebloom, or Granny Smith again... it makes me feel sicker than a skunk with diarrhea."

"That's an... odd way to put it, Applejack." Rockhoof scratched his chin as the smell of the sea wafted around his nose. "Ah can tell yer not a normal Ponyville pony straight away."

"Well, I suppose you're a little right there." Applejack started walking forward towards the piers. "Most of the family hails from Appleoosa, out by Dodge Junction in the deserts. There's a ton more country ponies there, so I see where you're coming from with that."

"Well, I'm not sure I remember a place called Appleoosa, but from the way you describe it, it sounds much more like your kinda place than Ponyville." He stepped up to the first pier. "Not that it's bad to live there. You and your friends are quite heroic ponies, having saved the world countless times in our absence."

"I can't argue with that." Applejack shrugged and gave a coy smile. "Ah mean, not to brag, but when we've had to stop a night-obsessed alicorn, a chaos mongering draconequus, a queen of shape-shifting bug creatures, and a magic-hungry centaur, we kinda garnered a bit of a reputation for ourselves."

"True," said Rockhoof stoically as he felt the full effects of the wind in his hair. He trotted all the way to the end of the water and leaned his chest over the edge.

Applejack watched with interest as Rockhoof took himself more and more over the water's edge. She was convinced that he was going to overstretch and fall into the water, but it never came. She waited minutes upon minutes for a slip-up, but it just never came. Her eyes widened at the sight of her idol, one of the Pillars of Equestria, still holding steady over the waters.

"Applejack. Do you know why we're the Pillars of Equestria in the first place?" Rockhoof finally broke through the noise of the wind.

"Because of your tales of heroism and the virtues you told other ponies to look up to?" Applejack tilted her head to the side.

"Everyone has their own perceptions of us. Be we legendary heroes from a time long-past, campfire or bedtime stories parents tell their fillies and colts as a way to inspire confidence, or even just a really powerful group of ponies from all walks of life." Rockhoof's mane fluttered softly as he heard Applejack step closer. "And while those are all good answers, it's not how we would describe ourselves.

"The Pillars of Equestria. We chose that name because we are the foundations of life itself, and healthy ones at that." He turned back towards Applejack, coiling back onto the land. "Beauty, Hope, Healing, Bravery, Strength, and Sorcery. All six of these are traits of a true hero. It's not just one thing that a pony should look to in order to make themselves stronger. Instead, all of them are things everypony should take to heart and try to use to make themselves better." He took his shovel off of his back and pointed the tip down at the pier. "Mistmane, Somnambula, and even the other pillars might see it different ways, but I personally think that everypony could learn from all of us, not just from one of us. Even that Twilight Sparkle girl of yours could take some lessons from the other pillars, 'stead of gushing over Starswirl every second."

"I see..." Applejack took Rockhoof's explanation and started to reflect on everything she and her friends had done. Her mind raced through the memories that she and her friends had made over the years and then took what he had said into account. "Maybe I should tell that to the rest of my friends when we get back home. Heck, even I can learn a thing or to from the rest of the girls."

"Well, I'm sure you and your kin 'ave learned plenty already," Rockhoof said. "I see the Tree of Harmony chose some good ponies after all."

"Thank ya for that, Rockhoof." Applejack too grew a small tear, only she wasn't strong enough to hold it in as it dribbled down her cheeks.

"No problem," he smiled. "Now then, let's head on out and see just how my home's held up after all this time, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me." Applejack nodded. "But, uh, where are we gonna get one?"

"That's not a problem, Applejack." Rockhoof headed back off the pier towards a shack by the trees. Around that shack were a series of boats, some long and others short. "Unless you've never been sailing before, that is."

"Oh, I've been sailing, alright." Applejack followed after Rockhoof, stamping tiny craters in the sand with every step that she took.

---

"But I ain't never been sailing like this!" She found herself on a tiny raft with no sail, and a long oar. She watched as Rockhoof was in a similar-looking boat, but he was having no problems sailing out. "What in tarnation are ya doing?!"

"I'm sailing, aren't I?" Rockhoof paddled his way out, making a large watery gap between him and Applejack. "Isn't this how ponies sailed back in the day?"

"Yeah. Back in the day." Applejack groaned and tried her hardest to paddle through the water, only to end up spinning around on the spot. "Now, we got all kinds of fancy whatchamacallits like rudders and sails to help us out. Plus, they ain't all that unreliable like this stupid thing..." Applejack gritted her teeth and frantically paddled, but ended up turning herself around completely.

Rockhoof turned around and immediately came back for Applejack, alternating his strokes between sides. Left, right, left, right. This pattern continued until he finally caught up with Applejack and stabilized her ship.

"You can't sail?" Rockhoof offered his hooves to Applejack.

"Ah can sail. Just not like this!" Applejack threw her legs out, unintentionally throwing away the oar itself. "How in the hay were ya'll in the Mighty Helm able to do this kinda stuff without all the other parts?"

"Well, a lot has changed since the whole Pony of Shadows thing." Rockhoof laid himself down and fished the plank out for her. "And while it would be nice to see all the little changes Equestria's gone through, I prefer to keep the old ways."

"Well, that's fine, but some ponies are actually glad to have this stuff these days." Applejack clambered off of the raft and back on to the shores. "I'm just gonna get a real boat and head out. I'll see you at your island."

"Oh, come on, Applejack. Don't be a greenhorn." Rockhoof watched Applejack walk across the beach. "It's good for the muscles, sailing out like this."

"Yeah. But I'm not really one fer all them big feats of strength myself." Applejack glanced out at Rockhoof, looking at his technique especially. While she was a tad curious on how to do it, she still didn't want any more hassle on her part. "I mean, I am strong, don't get me wrong, but this is just a little bit out of my comfort zone."

"Strength is all about pushing yerself to the limit and breaking that comfort zone down into little tiny-bitesize pieces." Rockhoof skimmed across the shallow shores. "When you have no fear, no worries, and no problems, then you truly are a powerful pony. That's something I learned once I found my way into the Helm."

"Life ain't all about strength, though." Applejack took a boat and started to drag it out towards the beach. "Ya gotta have a little bit of honesty in there too. And I honestly can't raft like you do, Rockhoof, so I'm gonna do the only thing that's right and take a boat out to your island."

"Well, suit yourself, Applejack." Rockhoof turned around towards the sea and began sailing out for his home. "If you need anymore help, just give me a shout and I'll turn round. The Mighty Helm have a golden rule: Help those who can't help themselves."

As Applejack finally planted her boat in the water and lead it to the edge of one of the piers, she could immediately see Rockhoof a fair bit away from her, paddling away with no difficulty whatsoever. A few things rose up inside of her, mostly being jealousy at Rockhoof for doing something she couldn't, and then anger for the fact that he was able to do it easily. She almost missed her boat entirely, and quickly snapped out of her fantasies to leap into it, making a huge splash around her.

---

Applejack and Rockhoof finally made it to an island out in the middle of nowhere. They both tied their vessels to the single pier and climbed out of it, making their way back onto land.

"So, this is the state of my home..." Rockhoof trotted forward, seeing an excavation site beneath the volcano. He thought that he had wandered into a ghost town with how lifeless and hollow the place seemed. "Time worked a wicked spell here."

"You said it. I don't think the Mighty Helm have been here for centuries..." Applejack looked up to the tops of the cliffs, but found nothing but rocky walls in her way. "Let alone anypony else."

"So it would appear my home's the only one in tatters." Rockhoof walked forward, feeling pangs of sorrow well up in his belly as his face loosened up and a small puff of air flew out of his nose. With every hoofstep he took on the barren and forgotten island, he found nothing but silence and rocks.

"I'm terribly sorry, Rockhoof." Applejack came over and gave Rockhoof a small hug, patting his back tenderly. "I thought for sure the ponies would come here more often, had they known your shovel was here."

"It's quite alright, Applejack." Rockhoof turned away, the tears in his eyes now fully visible. "I'm... I'm fine." He choked on his own words.

"Rockhoof, I know that this is a bit of a harsh wake-up call for you, but you must've predicted this too." Applejack pulled him closer to her. "I can't do anything more than say that I'm sorry."

"My kin, my home, the Helm, it's all gone." Rockhoof patted the ground, feeling drained of all his energy. "Everything I've believed in is up in flames."

"There was nothing you could've done, Rockhoof," said Applejack. "You had to keep the Pony of Shadows in limbo for a thousand years. I'd say that's a much higher calling; keeping someone evil chained up like that instead of letting it run free and destroy your home."

"Aye. But that still doesn't ease the pain I feel." Rockhoof broke out of Applejack's hug and looked up at the dormant volcano. "What is the Pillar of Strength when he cannae defend his family and friends? I know there was an evil shadow pony involved in my disappearance, but I didnae think all this would've happened after that. I thought for sure that some of my greater ancestors or some newer batch of Mighty Helm recruits would've stayed behind." He walked up to the cliff and gave it a solid punch. "At least something, even a singular pony would've done. But no. All I'm met with after a thousand years is nothing! Nothing at all!"

Applejack watched as Rockhoof pummeled the wall in front of him into pieces. Every punch had a lot of force and weight behind it, and every one of them struck Applejack as well. As she and the rest of the girls had been freeing the Pillars and stopping Stygian from destroying the world, she hadn't thought about the truth when the pillars found out that everything about their old lives; including their homes, would be gone.

With one final punch, Rockhoof blasted a large hole into the wall, then turned back to face Applejack again. "Listen. I... My entire world's gone, Applejack," he said. "You, your friends, and the Pillars are all I have left."

"Rockhoof. Surely, there's a way we can fix this, right?" Applejack gave a big frown.

"Applejack. No matter what ye say to me now, whether it be fixing this town, restarting the Mighty Helm, or even opening some weird kinda spell that'll let me say goodbye ta everyone, it's not gonna work." He shoved his shovel into the dirt beneath him. "This massive cultural gap between my world and this one is like a chasm with no bridge. I can never get to the other side, so I've gotta do my best to protect what's important on the one I'm stuck on."

Applejack promptly gave Rockhoof a big buck on the face. "Wake up, Rockhoof! Quit your blubbering and moping for a few seconds and listen!" She held onto his cheeks as hard as she could. "Don't let yourself down just because of what's happened here. Whatever happened to the strong, brave, and dependable pony I used to tell Applebloom about?"

"Lass, I appreciate it, but d'ye really think this is—"

"Not just that. You're one of the Pillars of Equestria, for Celestia's sake! You yourself told me that you and the other Pillars had sucked all this up and moved on! So why are just caving in now?" She felt tension building up in her forehead, then gave a massive sigh to dispel it. "Look. Even though it looks like the place is a wreck, that's no reason to just give up like that! I'm sure that the other Pillars wouldn't have, and neither should you!"

"Applejack..." Rockhoof tried to speak, but Applejack held his muzzle closed.

"Now, you can just sit around moping about the place, or—" Applejack ripped the shovel out of the ground and started digging a ring around the pit, almost as the same speed he had done when he plowed the way for a lava diversion "—You can grow up and help me rebuild this place. It's your choice." She threw the tool back to his hooves.

As Rockhoof finally let the pain of loss melt away in Applejack's inferno of a glare, he felt his energy come back to him. Slowly but surely, he stood back up and picked up his shovel once again. He stared at Applejack's work, the open temple doors, and the rest of the island above him. With one final breath, he pushed his metal blade down into the earth.

"Applejack. You're one strong-hearted pony." Rockhoof slowly hobbled forward. "Even though me and the other Pillars accepted the fate of Equestria, when we see the damage for ourselves, we cannae help but feel like crying," he said. "But you? You're different. You understand our pain and are trying your hardest to see others through it. Here's me going on about being the Pillar of Strength, yet my own heart was weak at the sight of this."

"It's quite alright, Rockhoof." Applejack looked down at her own hooves. "I know I don't know much about the Helm or this village, but it seems like you must have had a lot of memories here. Even I'd cry if I saw one of my friends or family go away forever like this." She gave him another pat on the back. "But you've got me to help you out. I'm sure that, together, the two of us would be able to fix this place up and get ponies livin' here again."

"Are you sure about that?" Rockhoof was never a doubtful pony, but not even he was immune from insecurity and non-conviction. "I mean, I appreciate the effort and all, but we're just a couple of earth ponies. What can we do about this place?"

"You're forgetting two big things, Rockhoof." Applejack smirked and took the shovel back, digging her Cutie Mark and Rockhoof's side-by-side. "I'm Equestria's Element of Honesty, and you're the Pillar of Strength and the last surviving member of the Mighty Helm. Ponies would pay anything to live with a couple of living legends!"

"I suppose we do have that going for us..." He tipped his hoof forward.

"Trust me on this. Just the mere mention that you're alive and well is sure to get ponies running over here." Applejack puffed out her chest and came back over. "Plus, we might be a couple of earth ponies, but we're both strong, capable, and hard-working, so I'm sure that we could make all the houses and everything."

"Applejack. Are you sure that you're not setting your ambitions a little too high?" Rockhoof cocked a brow at the mare.

"I know that it ain't gonna be able to replace your family, friends, and other villagers, but it's a start." Applejack looked up into his eyes and took her hat off. "And if I've learned anything, it's that once you start something, you've gotta make sure you see it through 'til the end. So what do you say, big guy?" This time, it was Applejack's turn to hold her hoof out for Rockhoof. "You wanna help me rebuild your home, the Helm, and your life as we know it?"

Rockhoof hesitated at first, given the daunting scale of the job at hand and how time-consuming it would all be for him and Applejack to fix everything up. But after he had considered everything, including the end result and how it would break him out of this slump, he decided to shake her hoof in the end. "Alright then, Applejack. You've got yourself a deal..."

Author's Note:

The way that I perceived Rockhoof in this chapter was very much playing on two key factors.

1: His strength, willpower, and determination.
2: His scottish accent. (I know he's more like a nordic pony, but scottish and nordic people are almost the same, really. Accent and all.)

Anyways. So now, AJ and Rockhoof's story will be about them trying to attract people to Rockhoof's island and try to rebuild everything. I'll try my hardest to make it interesting for all of you, but if I manage to screw up somewhere along the way, please let me know so that I can make it better for you.

The next chapter in this story is going to be Rainbow Dash and Flash Magnus, so expect some daredevil-like stuff, some high-risk adventuring, and a lot of cocky, wily, and competitive talk. Then after that, it's gonna be Twilight, Starlight, Sunburst, Starswirl, and Stygian.

Until those come out, I hope that you've enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one...

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

8678708 Considering the ponies of Southern Equestria didn't get A. K. Yearling's books, I'm willing to bet they're not officially under Celestia's jursidiction, they're probably annexed territories like the Crystal Empire. Because technically, Cadence is ruler of the empire, she just happens to have a family connection to Celestia. We don't see a lot of crystal ponies in other parts of Equestria.

[MagicLover2128]

I kinda want to see a pairing with Rockhoof and Applejack together from all this.

[MixMassBasher]

This is a good chapter especially in hindsight to the latest episodes of mlp