Chapter 5: Applejack
"Hey, let me out of here!" One of the Storm King's troops demanded from within a cell. The other two standing outside just groaned in irritation.
"Nice try, changeling, but it won't work for the third time." they responded. The guard in the cell sighed in defeat as he morphed back into Thorax.
"Actually, it would have been the fourth, but close enough." he replied. He's been trying to escape from his captivity at the First Order's base in the Badlands for two days. While the guards fell for his shape-shifting trick the first three times, his cover was always blown before he could get back to the air balloon they left outside when they snuck in. He was running out of ideas.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie bounced in, humming a happy tune and carrying two boxes on her back, before stopping in front of the two guards.
"Commander Tempest sends these as a token of her appreciation for the great work you have been doing." she announced happily as she offered them the boxes. The guards gazed at the boxes before exchanging a confused look.
"Even though we let the prisoner escape two times?" One of them asked.
"Three times." Pinkie and Thorax corrected together.
"Just take it. Before the commander changes her mind." his colleague told him as he took the boxes off of Pinkie's hooves.
They opened them happily, only for their expressions to turn to terror when they saw what was inside them. Two giant boxing gloves sprung out of the boxes and hit them right in the middle of the face, knocking them out. Pinkie then took the key of Thorax's cell as the changeling king watched in confusion.
"Pinkie what was that?" he asked dumbfounded.
"Well, what do you think, silly? This is the part where the mole helps the captured hero escape. Haven't you read the script?" she answered as she opened the cell.
"The what?" Thorax asked before something else caught his attention. "Wait. You're a mole?!"
"Yuperooney!" she replied cheerfully. "Celestia sent me to find out what Tempest is up to. Sadly, I couldn't get her to trust me enough to reveal the Storm King part of her plan to me."
"The Storm King? That's the name of the weirdo these creeps work for?"
"I'll tell you more on the way back to Canterlot. We should hurry. Celestia needs us. And I'm sure she's worried about her suitor." she teased with a wink. Thorax blushed.
"Let's just go, alright? The balloon's on the edge of this base."
As expected, Princess Cadence was less than thrilled when Applejack showed up in the Crystal Palace. The alicorn was looking out the window at the horizon where the forces of the Storm King were closing in on the capital, refusing to even cast a glance at Applejack. Sunburst was standing nervously in the corner, dreading the result of the conversation. His attempt to convince Cadance to swallow her pride and stand with Equestria again was fruitless. All he managed to accomplish was angering Cadance further. He had a feeling that this meeting won't end well for Applejack.
"So Celestia wants us to fight her war for her?" she growled coldly before finally turning her gaze at her unwelcome guest. "Like when Twilight forced us to attack Canterlot?" Applejack hung her head in shame.
"We were both on the wrong side in dat war." she replied. "But dis is not de time to..." she started, but Cadance cut her off.
"The next time the Crystal Ponies will bleed, it will be for the Empire and not for anyone else's kingdom!" she yelled. "We have enough trouble as it is, trying to fend off the First Order's forces! Celestia's and Equestria's concerns are not mine!"
"Your highness." Cadance turned her head to see Sunburst approaching her nervously. "Maybe we should consider..." Cadance lit up her horn and Sunburst backed away, grabbing his head in pain.
"Speak when you're spoken to, Sunburst! You already failed to bring me the new Element bearers! You are in no position to question me!" she then turned back to Applejack. "Now leave! And remind Celestia, stay out of my empire!" she barked before turning back to the window. But Applejack wasn't having it.
"And when dat shows up on yer doorstep?!" Applejack asked harshly as she pointed at the Storm King's airship hoovering in the distance. "Wat den?!" Cadance just shrugged.
"The Crystal Empire will defend itself." she replied without looking back at her. Applejack couldn't believe how casual Cadance was about the fate of her homeland.
"Ye can't do dis Cadance..."
"Princess Cadance!" Cadance corrected sharply, but Applejack ignored her.
"Yer one of us too! Yer from..."
"I'm from Equestria! I am well aware of that! But my duty is to the Crystal Empire! Don't try to sweet talk me into this, Applejack! I don't trust you! You or any Equestrian! Now for the last time, begone! I do not need your distractions!"
Applejack felt something snap inside her. She narrowed her eyes at the princess as they lit up with rage. Cadance actually found herself backing away nervously as she felt the dark energy radiating from the farmmare.
"You've got some guts talkin' to me like dat! Where was all dis patriotic talk when ye sold out the empire to Twilight, huh?!" she yelled accusingly. Cadance suddenly felt all of her nervousness go away as she returned Applejack:s glare.
"Leave. Now!" She snarled through her teeth. Applejack stomped with her front hoof.
"NO!" she yelled, making the room echo. "Ah will not leave!" Cadance had had it. She flapped her wings and rose into the air above Applejack.
"Need I remind you whose empire this is?!" Cadance roared, trying to intimidate the other mare, but Applejack didn't even flinch. In the blink of an eye, Applejack pulled out a lasso and threw it at the alicorn floating in front of her. Cadance was so shocked by this that she didn't even have time to react. The lasso wrapped around her forelegs and Applejack gave it an almighty pull, causing the alicorn to crash into the floor.
Applejack then started pulling the downed towards herself, but Cadance managed to pull herself together enough to blast a spell at Applejack. To her surprise, the spell barely made her stumble. All it did was make her madder. She dropped the lasso on the ground and charged at Cadance like a raging bull. Cadance didn't even have to cast another spell. She and Applejack became engaged in a rapid exchange of blows with their forelegs.
Cadance may have been an alicorn, she had nothing on Applejack in terms of physical strength. Applejack tackled Cadance and the ground and raised a hoof to bring it down hard into Cadance's muzzle, but she was interrupted by Sunburst who placed a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a pleading look.
"Applejack, stop! This is not you! I don't know what possessed you into acting this way, but you have to snap out of it! This is not the time to turn on each other!" Applejack was about to buck Sunburst back, but his words reached a part of her that was still struggling against the dark urges consuming her. She closed her eyes in an attempt to regain her senses and after a few moments, managed to calm down enough to let Cadance go.
"Ahm... ahm sorry." she said in shame as she backed away from the alicorn. "Ah did not come'ere to fight ye. Ah'll be leavin'" Applejack turned away to leave, but before she even reached the door, the palace was shaken by an explosion.
"What was that?" Sunburst asked in alarm. Cadance's eyes widened.
"Damn! They managed to infiltrate the castle! And with all our guards on the front, we're defenseless!" she cursed.
"The Crystal Heart!" Sunburst yelled. "We have to make sure it's still full! Without it, the Empire is done for! Not only our civilians, but our soldiers would also lose their will to go on!"
"Refilling the Crystal Heart would take both of us!" Cadance reminded him. "We would be defenseless against the attackers!"
"Leave dat to me!" Applejack offered. Sunburst shot Cadance a pleading look. This was not to time to let their pride blind them. Cadance looked back at Applejack and eventually let out a defeated sigh.
"Me and Sunburst will go up to the balcony to make sure the Crystal Heart is still functioning. Make sure no one is interrupting us!" she ordered. Applejack nodded affirmative.
"Ye got it!" Cadance and Sunburst left through the door leading to the balcony and closed the door behind them. They got out just in time, as when the door slammed, a group of griffons and pegasus ponies broke into the throne room through the windows. They immediately turned their attention towards Applejack, obviously surprised to find her there instead of the princess. Applejack shot them a smirk and raised her lasso.
"Sorry, fellas. Princess Cadance is busy at de moment. Yall have to settle for little ol' me." she didn't even wait for their response before attacking. She threw the lasso at one of the pegasi and swung him around the room before crashing him into one of the griffons still in the air and making the pair crash through the wall.
Applejack was then suddenly yanked up from the ground by another griffon-pegasus duo holding her by her forelegs. She managed to raise her backlegs enough to buck the pegasus holding her left hoof away. The griffon couldn't hold her on his own and they ended up crashing into Cadance's throne.
Applejack stood up with a groan, holding her head before looking up and see two more griffons throwing themselves at her. She jumped to the right and kicked one of them into the other, knocking them both out. There were only two pegasi left in the room. They flew up into the air, but not before Applejack threw her lasso around the leg of one of them. She then pulled that pegasus towards herself with a mighty pull and bucked her towards the other one. She crashed into her partner with such a force that they both cashed through the castle wall.
Applejack wrapped up her lasso and scanned the room for any further threats. Not finding any, she was about to savor her victory, but before she could, she felt a sharp pain stabbing into her backlegs. Applejack collapsed on the ground with a scream. Turning around, she saw Gilda and Lightning Dust descending down from above. Gilda's claws were red with blood. Applejack's no doubt.
"Well, well. Applejack, what a pleasant surprise!" Lightning mused with a smirk.
"Indeed." Gilda added, wiping her claws clean. "We thought the only regimer to torture in the Crystal Empire would be Cadance. We might go easy on you if you tell us where your friend, Rainbow Dash is."
"Ah don' think so!" Applejack snapped back, still rubbing her backlegs to ease the pain. "First, ah unfriended Rainbow a long time ago. So did most of Equestria for dat matter. Second, even ah didn', ah'd still wouldn' tell ye spit." Lightning and Gilda were obviously unamused with that answer.
"Go break down the door to the balcony. I will handle her. She will talk." Gilda told Lightning, raising her claws. "One way or another. But remember, we need Cadance alive!"
"Yeah, whatever." Lightning grumbled as she left for the door. She didn't like being told what to do, but even she knew better than to piss off her new employer. Gilda approached Applejack.
"Let's see how long until I claw the truth out of you!" Gilda once again unleashed her claws and was about to dig them into the flesh of the earth pony, but Applejack still had enough strength kick her in the face before backing away and getting back on her hooves. She then grabbed her lasso and threw it at the griffon, but she flew away before it could touch her.
She then flew at Applejack at full force and the earth pony could only block her attack, locking the two of them in a struggle against the the other.
"Don' make me call Celestia!"
"You'll bleed before that happens."
Gilda was much stronger than the average griffon. She managed to push her claws towards Applejack's face and slashed her across the eyes. Applejack screamed as she backed away and covered her eyes and Gilda took full advantage of the situation. She grabbed Applejack by the shoulders and carried her off into the air, before throwing her down towards the ground and flying down to deliver a drop kick into the apple farmer's stomach.
Gilda then grabbed Applejack's neck and squeezed it tightly with her claws slowly penetrating the skin. Applejack tried to punch the griffon in the face to make her back off but it was too far. In the end, she grabbed her arm but she couldn't wrestle it off with the claws inside her neck. She had to get Gilda to let go of her.
KRCK!
"AAAAAAAH!" Gilda screamed in pain as Applejack twisted her arm and the pain forced her to abandon the grip on Applejack's neck. Applejack then collected all of her strength and delivered an almighty kick to the griffon's head, sending her into unconsciousness.
Gilda's body crashed into the door that Lightning Dust was vehemently trying to break down, much to the surprise of the pegasus. It took her a few seconds to figure out that this meant that Gilda had been defeated, but when she did, she sighed.
"Never send another creature to a pony's job." she said before turning to face Applejack. "I'm surprised to see you here Applejack. You're family decided you were trustworthy enough again to let you off the leash?" she mocked.
"Yes. And so did Celestia " Applejack replied without without hesitation or shame. "It's nice to be back where ye belong. Kinda like ye and a prison cell. Where we will be puttin' ye back to!"
"Even back in the Regime you never showed me the proper respect!" Lightning roared. "Now I will show you a little taste of what's to come for your family, friends and everyone else who opposes us!"
Lightning flew at Applejack with one of her forelegs raised. The earth pony knew that Lightning's biggest strength was speed, but she couldn't match her strength. So she merely stood her ground and countered Lightning's strike with her shoulder. Lightning staggered back from the impact and Applejack took advantage of her momentary stupor by kicking her back against the closed door and then charged at her, but Lightning got out of the way in time and Applejack's hoof connected the crystal wall.
Lightning landed behind her and bucked her in the flank, crashing her into the door again. Applejack became so disoriented that she couldn't even buck back properly. But she had to try. But before her back legs could even contact anything, Lightning grabbed them and carried her up into the air.
Using the same move Gilda used before, she threw Applejack down towards the ground, but Applejack was lucky this time. She landed next to her lasso which she lost during the previous fight and before Lightning could finish the drop kick, she threw it up and managed to wrap it around the pegasus' neck. She then yanked on it and pulled Lightning down, causing her to crash into the ground.
The pegasus was still conscious and upon seeing this, Applejack tightened the loose around her neck and pulled on it until Lightning started passing out from the lack of oxygen. But somehow, Applejack didn't feel that this was enough. She pulled on it harder and harder until Lightning started choking. All it would take now is one hard yank. One hard yank to put this mad dog out of her misery.
"Go ahead, Applejack. Do it." a voice in her head said. Applejack looked down at the struggling pegasus with contempt in her eyes. "She deserves it. You know she does. It would be so easy. Just pull on the loose and snap her treacherous neck."
Applejack gripped her lasso even tighter and was about to do just that, but suddenly something stopped her. One last spark in her soul was still struggling. The darkness inside her was close to taking control of her several times in the past, but nowhere near as much as in that moment. Not when she fought a hated enemy.
"Oh, don't tell me you still believe. That your family and friends would forgive you and take you back like nothing ever happened. They will never trust you again Applejack. They will never really forgive you."
Applejack let go of the lasso and grabbed her head, trying to resist. But it was more difficult than ever before.
"But what is it? I sense something else." the voice inside her head mused. "Ah, I see. It's not them you're worried about. It's yourself. Yes, I see how that would trouble you so. You have betrayed and turned your back on everything and everyone that ever mattered to you. Even if they forgive you, how could you ever forgive yourself?"
Applejack struggled. She wanted to argue. To yell back her defiance with all her might. But for the first time since this began, she couldn't find the answer she wanted.
"Ah... Ah... AH CAN'T!" she yelled. She could almost feel the darkness in her mind smirk.
"THEN BURN!" it screamed. Applejack felt the darkness consume her mind. She fell on the ground and screamed in agony as a dark, mystical aura appeared around her, looking like it was about to consume her.
"Give in! Accept me!" the voice commanded. "Become Nightmare Apple!"
Applejack felt like she was loosing the fight. Every part of her was ready to give up and succumb to the Nightmare. But one thing inside her still remained defiant. There was something inside her that the Nightmare simply couldn't consume. Applejack desperately tried crawling towards this thing to see what it was and when she got there, she saw...
"A... Apple Bloom?"
Applejack's little sister was the one who still unconditionally loved and believed in her sister. When everypony else treated her with suspicion and contempt, Apple Bloom still remained the adoring little sister she always was. She sneaked Applejack treats into the room she was confined to, had secret sleepovers with her and tried to smooth things over between her and the rest of the family.
Applejack closed her eyes. She concentrated on all the love she had for her sister and all the good time thez shared together. And suddenly, she felt like she found the strength to resist the Nightmare again.
'Ah will never let ye down again, lil' sis.'
Applejack suddenly found the strength she needed. She slowly got back up on her hooves and managed to completely calm herself and banish all negative feelings from inside her mind.
"Git. Out." she whispered softly. Suddenly, the dark energy whirling around her stopped and dissipated like it was never there. Applejack could feel the Nightmare's surprise in her mind, but it was short lived as it let out an amused chuckle.
"You won't be able to resist me forever. I'm part of you now. Equestria is burning and once everything and everyone you ever loved have perished with it, you will be begging for vengeance!" the Nightmare retreated inside the head of the farmmare who shook her head to regain composure.
"Thank Faust it's gone. At least for now." she then turned around only to see a wide eyed Cadance staring at her in horror. 'Ah, horseapples.' Applejack moaned in her head.
"How much did ye see?" she asked.
"Enough." she replied once she got over her shock. "Since when?"
"Ah spent a lot of time around Luna durin' mah time in the Regime. When the Regime went down and Luna was thrown into Tartarus, it needed a new host. Guess since ah was around it so much, it thought ah was the best pick."
"And you managed to resist it until now?" Cadance asked in amazement. "That's incredible, Applejack! You must be very strong willed!" Applejack smiled at the praise.
"It's easy when ye have somethin' to be strong for." she replied, thinking of her family. "But enough about me, how's de Crystal Heart?"
"It's stable for now." Cadance replied. "I left Sunburst with it just in case it goes haywire again. And I'm gonna have to call back a few guards from the frontlines to stabilize the castle."
"So where does dis leave us?" Applejack asked. Cadance looked unsure how to answer.
"You put yourself at risk to protect the castle. To protect me. Maybe you can be trusted." hope rose in Applejack when she heard that...
"So... are ye in?"... only to come crashing down when Cadance shook her head.
"I can't. I belong here. Defending the empire." Applejack groaned.
"Ah knew ah was just wastin' mah time here." she snapped as she turned to leave, escorted by Cadance's apologetic gaze. But before she left, she threw back one more thing at the alicorn. "We need each other, Cadance. Ye won't last long without us."
Tempest Shadow entered the bridge of the Storm King's airship. Her master was looking out the window, marveling in his work.
"Phase one is complete. Equestria's defense is irreversibly compromised. What little was left of it anyway." she reported. The Storm King smirked.
"Good. Then it is time to begin phase 2." he then summoned several columns from the floor of his ship which all held orbs on them. He walked to the middle of the room and pressed his staff into the floor. It began glowing with black light as black beams shot out from beneath his airship towards the land below. The staff began emitting black beams of energy towards the orbs in the room, filing them up with the stolen magic.
"The countdown has begun."
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I think that you're improving in the action scenes, as this chapter was very action-packed. I don't know if you've noticed, but I think you're getting better at writing fights.
So next chapter will be with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, right? After Rarity's death, I think that Sweetie Belle will be more bitter and cynical here, since she won't be happy staying around her sister's murderer.
REALLY good job on this chapter. Admittedly, Green Lantern's chapter was one of many I haven't seen on YouTube, so I can't really compare it to the actual game, but the action, exchanges and future chapter set-up are all quite well done. I have to say it WAS a logical, in-universe reason for the Nightmare to pick Applejack. And also liked Pinkie's fourth-wall break as she was busting out Thorax.
Certainly looking forward to more of this.
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Thank you for the compliment. I've been actually writing fanfics before these ones and there were some fight scenes I've been very proud of.
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Thank you for the comment. Stay tuned for more.
What the status on Luna, since Night Mare Moon no longer in her, how does she handle the actions she taken which were ten no hundred times worst then she did as Night Mare Moon.
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I'll go into some of that in the next chapter.
Who plays Atrocitus?
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The Nightmare. The entity that corrupted Luna into Nightmare Moon. With Luna imprisoned, now she's trying to corrupt AJ.
Who is AJ supposed to be from injustice? I have to remember this is devastated universe cause I was like why is Cadance so angry lol. Cool Pinkie twist. Interesting chapter, reading on...
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She is playing the role of Green Lantern.