Always connected- Aftermath

by The-rogue-shadow

Chapter 6

Applejack and Twilight walked towards the unicorn command tent, with Applejack hoping that one of Twilight's magic books could help her gain control of her powers. Twilight walked happily along, happy to have her friend with her to do research, while Applejack was just more interested with finding the answer she wanted. They entered the tent and found Princess Luna and another pony Applejack didn't recognise. She was a Pegasus with a pale black coat and her mane and tail were the same colour as Luna's. Her cutie mark was a dark blue star and she also had one on her face, right in between her eyes. Luna looked up at them both and smiled.
"Oh Twilight, what wonderful timing, I'd like you to meet DuskDrift. She is to be my apprentice." Said Luna. Applejack looked at Twilight, whose face had changed from a look of friendliness to one of utter shock.
"Your apprentice Luna? How is that even possible? She is a Pegasus, she can't even use magic." Said Twilight, her voice had the slightest undertones of outrage. Luna smiled, and Applejack could sense that Luna had anticipated Twilight's reaction.
"Twilight, there is no need to feel threatened. Celestia asked me to take on an apprentice and there are magic's I can teach DuskDrift that I can't teach you." Luna told her, and Twilight seemed to calm down slightly. DuskDrift walked over and shook hooves with Twilight.

"It's nice to meet you; I understand that we will be learning together. I can't wait." Said DuskDrift happily. Twilight took a deep breath and smiled, nodding her head. Applejack could tell that she was feeling a bit unnerved by the Pegasus.
"It's great to meet you too, I'm sure we will be great friends." Said Twilight, walking over to her personal bookshelf. Applejack nods to DuskDrift in greeting, as she follows Twilight. Applejack sat down on a chair as Twilight searched her enormous bookshelf, hundreds of old leather bound books lined the shelves, each one in perfect order, despite being read thousands of times. Applejack soon became irritated at Twilights lack of speed, her book organising skills needing serious work. She began to fall asleep when Twilight suddenly exclaimed;
"Eureka! I found the book we are looking for. It's actually one of my favourites; The foals guide to releasing your hidden magic." Twilight said, placing the book on the table in front of Applejack. She paled as the massively thick book stared at her.
"This is it? It's huge Twi, how am ah meant to find what ah'm looking for." Said Applejack and Twilight giggled.
"You don't have to read the whole thing silly, just a specific section, here." Twilight told her, using her magic to open the book to the spot Applejack needed. Applejack began to read, but found it difficult to understand, as it was written with unicorns in mind. Applejack got about halfway through when she gave up.
"Twilight, this isn't helping me at all, it's all about unicorns and I don't know if you'd noticed, but ah don't have a horn." Said Applejack mockingly. Twilight's expression grew sour, as she realised that Applejack was right.
"Well what do you suggest then AJ?" asked Twilight. Applejack shrugged, and was beginning to feel downtrodden.
"Maybe I could help?" said a voice behind them. Applejack turned to see DuskDrift approaching, her face alight with a nervous smile.
"I know a fair bit about non-unicorn magic and I'm certain I could be of some assistance." She said, and Applejack nodded, just happy to have some help.
"I don't think so, you are too inexperienced and besides, we have absolutely no clue what Applejack's magic involves." Twilight told her, and Applejack could hear the disapproval in her voice. Applejack gave her a puzzled look.

"What do you mean Twilight? Ah'm happy to have any help I can get. And if DuskDrift here is offering, ah'm sure going to accept that offer." Applejack said, slightly annoyed at her friend for not understanding. Twilight sighed angrily and stormed out of the tent. Applejack watched her go and was puzzled as to the reason Twilight was acting so strange. She turned to DuskDrift, who grinned.
"Okay, well let's sit down and you can tell me how you first came about your powers." Said DuskDrift. Applejack told her of how Rainbow's loyalty and courage had shown her how to harness emotions as manifested abilities. DuskDrift seemed very interested to know which emotions set off the abilities.
"Well, when I feel sad, like really deep sadness, ah get incredibly strong. Anger gives me a strange voice that can knock ponies down. Fear lets me teleport out of harm's way. When ah feel hate, my body get filled with lightening and ah can run at super speed when ah'm happy." Applejack explained. DuskDrift nodded, before standing up and facing Applejack.
"Show me." She said, and Applejack shook her head.
"Ah can't. The only powers ah've be able to access in the real world are the super strength and the lightening." Applejack told her. DuskDrift said nothing for a while, as though contemplating the best course of action. Much to Applejack's surprise, she punched Applejack in the face. Applejack fell to the ground.

"What in the hay was that for?" Applejack asked angrily.
"Show me." Said DuskDrift, poking Applejack in the chest as she lay on the ground. Applejack pushed her away, but DuskDrift punched Applejack again. Applejack kicked her, sending her sprawling. They both stood themselves up, and DuskDrift rushed at Applejack again, knocking her down. Applejack stared at her and opened her mouth instinctively. She let out a piercing screech that to DuskDrift was like a wall, throwing her upwards and out of the roof of the tent. Applejack stood, shocked at what she had done. A few minutes passed before DuskDrift returned, she had an enormous smile on her face despite what had happened.
"Oh DuskDrift ah am so sorry, ah didn't mean to hurt you, are you okay?" Applejack said, panicking. DuskDrift just giggled.
"That worked perfectly! I figured it out; your powers are manifestations of your emotions right? Well then I think that you will only be able to use them when you are feeling that emotion. I don't think there are shortcuts to your powers, you just have to learn to adapt to the situation and use the power you have." DuskDrift explained, much to Applejack's puzzlement.
"You could have just said that." Applejack said dryly. DuskDrift giggled.
"Yeah, but this was more fun for me, I was curious to see what the voice power was to be honest." She said and Applejack smiled, before laughing hysterically.
"Thank you DuskDrift. That is actually a load off my mind, knowing that I don't have to train myself to the point of exhaustion just for my powers." Said Applejack, hugging DuskDrift.
"I was happy to help, but I do have one favour to ask; would you mind talking to Twilight for me. It's just I really want to be friends with her, I mean I heard all about your exploits as the elements of harmony and it just seemed like amazing times. But it was because of Twilight that I decided to study magic and that's what caught Princess Luna's eye. Luna said that I would one day replace her as the moon and that Twilight would be the sun. I can't wait." Said DuskDrift, and Applejack nodded, happy to return the favour of a good deed.

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Rainbow Dash felt extremely uncomfortable as she put on the Pegasus armour she had been given. Applejack's cousin Applethunder was going to be teaching her how to be a combat flier. The last thing Rainbow put on was the helmet, which just made her scalp itchy. Once she was finished, Rainbow stretched her wings, rotating them at the joint to limber them up. Applethunder walked over, dressed in similar armour, except for the fact that hers was crafted to fit her body, unlike Rainbow's which was just a spare armour set.
"Okay Rainbow, well your already halfway there from what cousin AJ told me about you and your flying speed." Applethunder Said, smiling at Rainbow. Rainbow smirked, proud that legends of her awesomeness had made it into the near future.
"Yes, Yes, it's all true." Said Rainbow arrogantly. Applethunder smacked her on the back of the head.

"First rule, never ever get cocky. Always remember that every time you go out there, you have a fifty-fifty chance of never going home." Applethunder told her, and Rainbow could see the seriousness in the eyes. Rainbow knew than that Applethunder had lost somepony special because of the war. Rainbow nodded, becoming stoic and upright.
"Now we won't be working with blades today. Instead, a wanted you to fly to the town of Maneflow springs and back as fast as possible without being recognised or fighting." Applethunder said, "just follow the directions Ah'm about to give you". Rainbow sped out of the tent she was in so fast that she accidentally knocked some ponies down on her way out. The round trip took her around two hours, Rainbow collapsed in front of Applethunder, exhausted. There had been a really strong headwind on her way there, impeding her progress. Applethunder looked down on her smiled.
"I think you did the best out of everypony that I know of." Said Applethunder. Rainbow smiled, feeling proud of the accomplishment. Applethunder helped her up and gave her some water.
"Well, now I know that you have the endurance for something like a battle. So what we have to work on now is the aerial combat side of things." Applethunder explained, as Rainbow slowly got her breath back. Together they flew into the air and headed towards a cloud formation that hung above the training grounds. The cloud formation was carefully crafted by pegasi to simulate situations that they would have to deal with in battle. Rainbow lined up at the beginning of the obstacle course and got ready.
"Okay. So all you have to do is complete this in less than five minutes. Every cloud you hit will incur a ten second penalty. At the end you will see a sword; you are to pick it up at attack the dummies at the end of the range. The dummies are protected by hard clouds that will criss-cross the range, simulating other ponies and griffins that will be in your flight path. On my mark…. Three…. Two…. One… go." Shouted Applethunder. Rainbow shot off the line, weaving in and out of cloud pillars and ducking under things. Rainbow took one turn too wide and hit the cloud barrier.
'Come on Rainbow, that's ten seconds you just wasted, get your head in the game." Rainbow thought, scolding herself. She finally reached the end and picked up the sword. She made her way to the end of a long thin range, carefully watching for the clouds that were going to shoot out at any moment. But Rainbow was surprised to find that none did, and she finished the course with no hindrances. Rainbow flew back to Applethunder, who was sitting on the cloud, looking bored.

"How did I do?" Asked Rainbow, certain that she had gotten the best time out of anyone, despite hitting the wall. Applethunder looked at her and sighed irritably.
"You failed." She said and Rainbow's mouth dropped open.
"How could I have failed, I did everything you asked." Said Rainbow outraged. "And I didn't even have to deal with the clouds on the range."
"That's because I didn't set them off Rainbow. You were going so slow and searching for them so much so that you forgot the target. Rainbow, you have to trust instinct, let your natural abilities guide you. How do you think the Wonderbolts do the things they do? Yes they train hard and practice, but they also know that the search for perfection paralyses. They let themselves enjoy it and adapt to the situation at hoof." Applethunder explained, and Rainbow realised what she meant. That Rainbow had stopped enjoying herself to some degree and that the actual fact of enjoying herself makes her a better flier.
"I understand Applethunder. Can I try again?" Rainbow asked. Applethunder nodded and Rainbow stood back on the starting line. As soon as Applethunder said "Go" Rainbow let her mind wander; only concentrating on how the air flowed over her wings, each hypersensitive feather picking up the slightest change in currant and changing her course accordingly. Without realising, Rainbow had reached the sword, she picked it up and sped down the range, her ears pricked for the miniscule sounds of clouds as they move. Every time she heard such a noise, Rainbow let herself move at the last second, letting her instincts take over. She finished the course and flew back to Applethunder, who was smiling this time.

"Much better, do you see what I mean? A Pegasus's instincts in the air are remarkable. I once knew a pony that could fall asleep as he flew and he would just keep going. I need you to trust your wings Rainbow and that way you can focus your attentions on the actual attacking enemies." Applethunder explained. Rainbow nodded, smiling.
"I suppose that even in war you need to enjoy your time in the air." Said Rainbow, looking down at the ground below.
"It makes killing easier if you can let your mind wander away from what you've done." Applethunder replied and Rainbow looked at her. She had forgotten all about the killing aspect of things, and then her mind clicked.
"Forgetting about the killing makes it easier to sleep at night doesn't it?" said Rainbow. Applethunder said nothing, just nodded once.