Falling Pressure
They fell to talking about less serious matters after that, dreams and thoughts and wishes. As it turned out, Platinum shared Rainbow Dash's love for sports, and had applied for an athletic scholarship to Crystal City University, though her goal there was to develop her coaching and, surprisingly, teaching skills as opposed to her athletic ability. "I know I'm not gonna be able to play football for forever," she said. "I'm not going to say no to training or playing while I'm there, but it's not going to be all I focus on."
As for AJ, she was planning to attend the same college, though focusing more on business and agriculture. She would have applied to Grandwood University to focus on agriculture, but her brother had convinced her to mind the business side of the farm as well. "He's not gonna be around to help me with fancy mathematics forever, after all," she mumbled.
"You don't need him to be," Platinum put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're not stupid, AJ. And even if it does take you a bit longer to do math or read, you can bring that time down, just like I brought my track times down."
"With magic?" she snorted good-naturedly.
"With practice and training," Platinum replied. "The magic came later."
AJ smiled at her in thanks. She didn't quite believe Platinum's words, but she didn't quite doubt them, either, and even a potential boost to her confidence was appreciated in this area. Her difficulties with reading and math were a sore spot for her, one that the world after graduation would poke relentlessly. Big Mac had protected her from the worst of it by handling the farm's finances, but after graduation she'd lose that shield; she was growing up, coming into her own, needing to learn to stand on her own two feet.
"Why's everyone act like you're gonna take over Sweet Apple Acres, anyway?" Platinum asked. "I mean, Big Mac's older, right?"
"Tradition," AJ sighed. "Ever since Jane came outta the west, Arbor like us've planted the girls an' scattered the boys. Big Mac's the eldest, yeah, so he's gonna get most'f the stuff when..." She swallowed. "... when Granny passes..."
Platinum gently rubbed her shoulder; all of the Rainbooms knew that losing more of her family was something AJ didn't like to think about.
"... though Bloom's gonna get some of it, 'course," AJ pushed on through the pain. "But he's not s'posed to stay there with it; trees, even family trees, are supposed to spread their roots, not let them get all tangled up in the same patch of soil. He's gonna find someplace to start his own family, though I'm not sure just how far away that's gonna be: I've seen him make goo-goo eyes at Cheerilee enough times for Bloom to start askin' when her teacher's gonna become her sister."
While Platinum laughed, AJ continued, "But Sweet Apple Acres is s'posed to go to the eldest girl, me, so that way she can keep the family tree alive. Trees ain't s'posed to let their roots get all tangled up, but that don' mean they just keep stretchin''m out. They spread their roots to find good soil, not just for spreadin''s sake. It's gonna be my job to make use of the soil Granny leaves, Sweet Apple Acres, an' keep the family tree's trunk from keelin' over."
"What about Apple Bloom?" Platinum frowned. "And what if you don't want to stay, or what if Big Mac wants to?"
"Then we wouldn't have to," AJ reassured her. "It's our choice, don' worry 'bout that. We wanna do this, nobody's makin' us. As for Bloom, she can do whatever she wants, just like us, but it's usual for younger girls to stick around with the eldest, give the family tree as many shots at stayin' alive as it can get. It's up to her, though." Her face fell. "An' Sweet Apple Acres is up to me," she sadly murmured.
Platinum's gaze softened, and she gently cupped AJ's face. "AJ," she whispered reassuringly. "trust me. You've got this. Sweet Apple Acres is gonna do fine with you in charge, even better than it does now. You put your heart into it, and you're smart enough to know that that means you need to put your head into it as well. You love Sweet Apple Acres, just like you love your family, and I know that there's nothing you won't do for your family. Yeah, running it's gonna be hard, just like helping your family is. But you know something else? Just like with helping your family, I know that there's nothing you're not going to do to help Sweet Apple Acres. You've got this, AJ. You've got this."
"Platinum, I," she stammered. "I-I-"
"I know," Platinum reassured her. "You don't have to say anything, I understand."
AJ nodded, choked up with gratitude, then embraced Platinum with a bear hug of thanks.
A bear hug that, thanks to her geode, caused Platinum to choke up, too. "Air, AJ!" she gasped. "Air!"
"Sorry, sugarcube," she sniffled, slacking though not releasing her hold. "Forgot my own strength there for a second."
"S'alright," Platinum wheezed. "After Pinkie, I'm kinda used to that. Heh," she rasped a chuckle. "I wonder if she's already planning the party for after we get back?"
"Probably," AJ chuckled, though inwardly she grimaced. They were going to war, no two ways about it, and she knew what that meant; Pinkie's party wouldn't be for when they came back, but if they did. There was always that fear in the back of their minds whenever they confronted someone like Gloriosa or Juniper, but here it was different, more concrete; something in her gut told her that this time, her and the others' magic alone wouldn't be enough, that ponying up and firing the Rainbow Laser of Friendship (as Platinum put it) wasn't going to open the path home so easily. It would be hard, she thought as she set her jaw, but, like Platinum'd said, that wouldn't stop her. She loved her friends, and even if beating whatever those creatures were meant climbing Mount Everstep on one foot, she would do so.
"You'll find out what she's got planned, sugarcube," AJ murmured in promise, too low for Platinum to hear. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Eventually, they separated and fell to making small talk again, though this time, inspired by AJ's mention of the mythical Arbor founder Jane Appleseed, they found themselves discussing legends and stories, the tales they'd grown up hearing. Though AJ held back on mentioning the Battle of the Pass (she didn't want to find out if the rumors of Cloudsdale's prickly pride still hurting were true), Granny, Ma, and Pa had given her plenty of other stories about Jane to tell: her test at the Pillars of the West, the planting of Grandwood, hunting the dragon Onyx.
And Platinum had plenty of stories of her own, from the history of Rainbow Vale's name (they were infamous for changing standards and allegiances over time) to the death of Brave Hollow in the High North. There was one thread that connected several of her stories, though, a series of numbers that she mentioned again and again; three, four, five.
"Three great houses of the Leonidas, the heirs of Lion Heart," she said, tapping three of her fingers. "Warriors, builders, and miners. Four great houses of the Pansingas, the heirs of Private Pansy," she tapped four more. "Farmers, ranchers, scholars, and healers. And five great houses of the Hurricanias, the heirs of Commander Hurricane," she clenched her fist. "Warriors, knights, and leaders."
"An' the governor's one of the Hurricanias, right?" AJ asked. "Di'n't he say some'n' 'bout bein' the 'blood of Hurricane the Great?'"
Platinum nodded. "House Rider's Hurricane's closest descendant, like Blaze is for Lion Heart and Showers is for Pansy. Lion Heart helped build Storm's Deep, yeah, but the Commander was the one who ruled it. He never stayed there for long, though; he spent most of his time at the Spear Gate or Firehall, near where the actual fighting was."
"What about Private Pansy?" AJ asked. "Did she try to stop'm?"
"Sometimes," Platinum shrugged. "Sometimes, though, even she saw that they needed to fight, and other times she was too busy keeping the peace in Rainbow Vale to come. Boulderhead's been trouble forever, and before Zap settled Storm Valley there were the Wolf-Men to deal with, too."
"Wolf-Men?" AJ curled her lip. "I don' like the sound of that."
"Then you're smart," Platinum smiled. "They were bad, like worse than old Sunset bad. They seemed more like wolves than Men, most of the time, attacking and raiding their neighbors. They lived off of whatever they could forage out of White-tail Woods or steal from whoever was nearby." She looked around, leaned in, and whispered, "Some say that they lived off of whoever was nearby. They were as bad as the wolves, worse even, because they could think, and almost as bad as the nameless things they worshipped."
AJ licked her lips, even her stomach roiling at the thought on the edge of her tongue. "I'm guessin' those nameless things," she hesitantly gave voice to the horrible thought. "di'n't just ask for a coupla coins or an apple or two?"
Platinum shook her head. "And not just birds, either," she replied. Looking away nervously, she added, "Legend says that almost every tree on Sentinel Hill grew from the bones of a Cloudsdaler."
AJ clapped a hand over her mouth in disgust, bile rising in her throat.
"Fortunately," Platinum sighed. "they fought each other as much as the outside world, so Cloudsdale only had to deal with more than a few of them a couple of times. And when we did, they discovered that a few scavenged weapons mixed with stone and wood were nothing to storm-iron and gemsteel. Three times rose the Wolf Pack, and three times Cloudsdale put it down, the last time for good."
AJ swallowed. "There ain't no Wolf-Men anymore, are there?"
"Some of them reformed," Platinum replied. "White Tail helped Zap win the Battle of Storm Lake, for one, and there were some who were willing to try at least the Nocturne way of life after that, but most of them..."
She closed her eyes. "... most of them met the Nameless Ones a lot earlier than they'd thought. And the worst part? I can't blame whoever introduced them. After Storm Lake, someone told Zap that 300 Cloudsdalers had died, and he told them, 'Yes, but 300 more will live thanks to their sacrifices.' The Wolf-Men were horrible, and the Nameless Ones..."
She shivered, then turned a horrified gaze on AJ. "Zap, White Tail, and some others almost burned White-tail down trying to purge the ritual places White Tail told them about," she said. "If they had, even if it had never regrown, it would still have been worth it."
"Shucks," AJ shivered. "They weren't just worse than the ol' Sunset, they were worse than her after she put on Twi's crown."
"Yeah," Platinum nodded. "I like killing as much as you do, but I'm still glad Zap managed to beat them at Storm Lake as badly as he did."
"You've just called'm 'Zap' whenever you've talked 'bout him," AJ asked. "Does he have a first name?"
"Most of the great houses' founders are like Commander Hurricane," Platinum shrugged. "Whatever first name they had's been lost to time. For all we know, they could've just had the one name, like you."
AJ blushed. "You're not the only one with secrets, actually," she said, taking off her hat and hiding her face behind it. "My full name's Jacqueline Apple. Applejack's just a nickname. I wasn' tryna hide it from you girls, not like-I wasn' tryna hide it, I just... don' like usin' my full name, that's all."
While Platinum winced a bit at the barely-avoided reminder of her actions, she otherwise managed to keep her face calm. "Is it because of your parents?" she asked quietly, carefully. "I know you don't like being called Jackie 'cause that's what your dad called you, is it like that for this, too?"
"It's just too pretty for me, that's all," she shook her head. "I tried to be a Jacqueline after Ma an' Pa... passed, up with Aunt Clementine an' Uncle Moseley, but it wasn' me. Jacqueline's a fancy name, a pretty name, an' I'm neither. I'm not 'Princess Jacqueline,' no matter how much Ma called me that; I'm just regular, plain ol' Applejack."
"Pfft," Platinum snorted. "Please. 'Plain old Applejack?' If by 'plain' you mean 'simple,' sure, but if you mean something else, like 'boring' or 'ugly,' then I'm going to have to ask you to turn in your Element of Honesty."
"It's true, though," she protested. "Look at people you know're pretty--Rares, Shy, Sunset--then look at me. How can I compete with them?"
Platinum rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Okay," she grumbled. "Thought I was gonna have to use this on Scoots, but you leave me no choice. AJ, beauty's not a contest; just because you're not beautiful the same way Flutters or Sunset are doesn't mean anything. You know Bulk, right?"
Frowning in thought, AJ nodded.
"I'm not that big a fan of 'so muscular I can crush walnuts with one hand,'" Platinum continued. "but apparently he and Octavia have been going steady for a couple of weeks now. Does that mean she's wrong for liking him, or that I'm wrong for not?"
"No," AJ rolled her eyes, realizing where Platinum was going. "Everyone's beautiful in their own special way, I've heard it before, Platinum."
"But did you think about it this way?" Platinum pointed an accusing finger at her. "If everybody's beautiful in a different way, then it's impossible to have just one standard of beauty. You can't say you're not beautiful anymore than you can say you're not facing right; if I look at you like this," she craned her head. "you are, just like if someone with a certain standard of beauty looks at you you're beautiful to them.
"And you are beautiful, AJ," Platinum reassured her. "and I'm not just saying that to make you feel better. Yeah, you're not as glitzy as Rarity, or supermodel-shaped like Flutters, or got Sunset's aura of coolness, but you've still got game. Your hair's nice, skin's clear, and you've got enough muscle to look strong without being Bulk, but more than that..." She bit her lip, clearly trying to figure out what to say next.
Eventually, she settled on, "... you never really have to do anything to look like you do, right? You can roll out of bed and, after a quick brush at most, you look great. It's like," she gestured with her hands. "it's like you don't have to do anything to look special, like it's all you. Rares needs her makeup, Flutters has her fake eyelashes, and Sunset at least needs a comb, but you, you don't need any of that. All you've got is yours, and yours alone. You're... authentic, that's the word I was looking for. You're authentic, AJ; a guy can look at you and know exactly what he's gonna get."
"Yeah," AJ snorted. "A workhorse."
"Hard work," Platinum replied. "Determination. Commitment. Faith. Honesty." She smirked. "A pair of green eyes that Thunderbass loves."
AJ blushed, fiddling with her ponytail; her eyes were nothing special, why would someone like Thunderbass even notice them?
"The thing is," Platinum dragged her out of her embarrassment. "yeah, you're not Rarity, Flutters, or Sunset. So what? You're still pretty, still beautiful, in your own way, in a way totally different than them. But even if they were more beautiful than you in the same way, that wouldn't change the fact that you still are beautiful. Beauty's not a contest, AJ; it's not about looking prettier than everyone else, or passing certain goalposts so that you can be considered beautiful. It's about showing the world the good in you, and on that count you are beautiful, as much as if not more than Rarity, Flutters, and Sunset."
"Platinum, I," AJ stammered, blushing. "I dunno what to say. Do you-do you really mean all that?"
"Every word," she nodded. "If I was a guy, I'd've stolen your first kiss a long time ago."
AJ turned as red as Big Mac at that.
"Wow," Platinum chuckled. "Never thought Mom would be able to embarrass someone worse than me."
"Those were your mom's words?" AJ flailed for a chance to regain her composure. "I thought you said you meant'm?"
"I do," Platinum nodded. "and they weren't my mom's words exactly. She did teach me the core of them, though, back when I was a little kid. I... well, I was jealous of how pretty Flutters was, and one day Mom found me scheming about how to bring her down to my level." She sighed wistfully. "I wish we could have swung by Rainbow Vale, dropped in and said hi. You and her would get along like a house on fire."
"We'll go after this is all over," AJ assured her.
Platinum softly smiled back, then turned to the door as a knock came. Clear Sky poked her head in and said, "Pardon me, but dinner's almost ready." As AJ's stomach growled, Clear Sky giggled, "And it sounds like you're ready for it. Come," she opened the door. "I'll take you there."
"So who'll else'll be there?" AJ asked as their guide led them through the halls. "I know Shy." (Their friend had gone ahead of them at the request of Soarin, according to Clear Sky.)
"Lord Skies," Clear Sky answered. "as well as me and Wind Sprint. Speaking of," she turned to Platinum. "thank you for talking to her. She finished proofreading for me early, something she's never done before, and she asked if there was anything else I needed her to do. I almost fell out of my chair in shock at that. Whatever you did, whatever you told her, thank you."
"No problem," Platinum smiled. "It was really easy, once I realized what her goals were. She wants to be in the Guard, so make editing Guard training, and there she goes!" Her gaze softened. "You've done a great job raising her, Clear Sky. I know it can't have been easy, but you've still done a great job with her. I was only able to help because of that; if I hadn't had your base to build off of, I wouldn't have been able to talk to her. For all you've done for her, for raising an amazing kid, I thank you."
Clear Sky sniffled, then wiped her eye. "Thank you," she croaked. "Thank you, Platinum Brilliance. Come on," she cleared her throat. "I've already cried in front of you once today, I'd prefer not to repeat that."
The Rainbooms nodded, then followed her renewed lead, though AJ didn't miss the newfound twinkle in her eyes.
"What 'bout the staff 'side from you?" she asked, trying to distract their guide from her tears. "Will they be joinin' us?"
"No," Clear Sky shook her head, a few diamond droplets scattering as she did so. "You're visitors, and at Windy Hill visitors dine in the diplomats' chambers. If you were other residents of Windy Hill, they would be joining you in the main hall. They're not not joining us because they're not interested or because they don't like you, it's just a matter of protocol: the fewer ears listening in, the less the chance that something meant to be kept secret will be overheard, after all."
"How many other residents of Windy Hill even are there?" AJ frowned. "When we were out on the streets, they were pretty much empty."
Clear Sky's face fell. "They are, currently," she replied. "Lord Rider evacuated most of them, back when the current crisis began. He even evacuated the legislature, those who'd bothered to come. He didn't give any directions for where they were to evacuate to, though; he wanted them to escape, run, not seeming to care where they went."
She looked around cautiously, then whispered, "The captain of the guards here and I worked together to try to organize them, send them where they could potentially do some good. For the legislators that meant to wherever elected them, but for most of the civilians and some of the Guards it meant sending them up to Storm's Deep. They're safer there than pretty much anywhere, no matter how many of the invaders there are."
"Storm's Deep," AJ guessed. "That somewhere in Storm Valley?"
"No," Clear Sky shook her head. "but good guess. Storm Valley's along the southern border, while Storm's Deep is just a few hours west of here. It's an old stronghold, older and more defensible than Castellot; Lion Heart may have fortified it, but it stood for centuries before him, most notably under the person who gave it its name, Storm Stemund, though she's more popularly known as Storm Stonewall or Storm the Last.
"She ruled a large group of Rune-Men along the western edge of Cloudsdale during the Cold Age, succeeding her father Jarel in its last years. Her realm was centered on Hurricane Peak, focused especially on the stronghold her family had built in the Southern Cleft, what they called Stemund's Hall and we know as Storm's Deep. It would earn that name in the last year of the Cold Age, when some enemy attacked, driving Storm and her people into the hold. We don't know if it was other Rune-Men, some other tribe, or," her voice faltered. "if the stories about the 'Toad-Men' were true; all we know is that Storm was attacked by someone, someone rendered as monstrous in the stories of the period. Some think that the creatures that attacked Thunderlane, that have been haunting us for weeks, are descendants of those enemies, living proof of the truth of the tales, but we don't know for sure.
"Anyway," she shook her head. "whoever or whatever her enemies, they proceeded to besiege Storm, a siege that wouldn't lift for a year. While she was outnumbered, Storm's Deep's natural defenses made it almost impossible for the enemy to bring those numbers to bear, preventing them from simply sweeping Storm away as they might've been able to do to Flatmarch or even Firehall. Storm held the line, forcing the enemy to pay dearly for every scrap of territory, though she lacked the numbers to launch a full sortie.
"Eventually, the enemy tired of the siege, and their leader challenged Storm to single combat for control of the stronghold. She accepted, and fought Gorrangar on the plains before the keep's walls. There, her family's ancestral sword broke, shattering into four shards beneath Gorrangar's weapon. She knelt down over the shards as if in grief, and Gorrangar raised his weapon to deal the final blow.
"It never landed; she picked up one of the shards and slashed it through a gap in his armor, killing Gorrangar even as his weapon had begun to fall. Sadly, Storm shortly followed him, dying of her wounds. With her death, her family's line was broken along with their sword; she had no husband and no children.
"And many probably thought that she would have no people when Gorrangar's captain announced that he wouldn't honor his master's agreement, seeing as both parties to it were dead. However, before he could lead his attack, one of the shards of Storm's sword flew up and hit him right where she'd hit his master, though all her people were behind the walls. Now some doubt the story, or think there was a logical explanation for what happened, but for those present its meaning was clear; Storm would defend her people, even beyond death.
"The enemy, understandably, withdrew, and after a year of cold and death the siege was lifted. Storm's people remained in the keep for a while longer, not having the numbers to pursue the enemy, but eventually they left, and found the enemy gone, along with the worst of the cold weather. Stemund's Hall became Storm's Deep, the queen herself buried in the rear of the citadel, her sword's four shards carefully laid upon her tomb. To this day, some say, she still protects her people, and Storm's Deep has never been taken. Those few times it's been threatened, some have said that Storm's sword reforges itself and guards the walls, cutting down any intruders, while others say that a stranger occasionally relieved them of guard duty, a shard of jagged storm-iron glinting in her hands as she stood vigilant." She pursed her lips. "Storm's Deep's natural defenses are the main reason I thought it best to send most of the civilians there," she murmured. "but, with all the... extraordinary activity happening here lately, its supposed supernatural defenses also endeared themselves to me."
"I can see why," AJ whistled. "Even if it is just a story, it's a pretty good one."
Clear Sky looked at her thoughtfully. "Between the weather, the invaders' resemblance to the 'Toad-Men,' and now your magic?" she whispered. "I'm not sure there is such a thing as 'just a story' in Cloudsdale anymore."
Stats
Page generated in 0.016 seconds
Total duration
768 users online
704,372 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
How many stories are going to be in this series?
10913101
Hard to say. I'd estimate we're about 1/3 of the way through the series, but it's not set in stone.
Truer words have never been spoken within these halls.
Also, your story of Storm almost reminds me of a cross between Helm Hammerhand and King Elendil. Hmm, "Helmendil"?
10913380
Hm, Helm was a heavy inspiration for Storm's story (originally, she would've just been a Hammerhand copy), but I can see where you got Elendil out of it.
Very nice stuff exploring Applejack's traditions and insecurities.
"Ain't that only three roles?"
"Well, it's more like warriors, warriors, warriors, knights, and leaders."
"Oh."
Ah. I get the feeling that we're already familiar with the forces behind the Wolf-Men.
Bulk and Octavia? There's a novel pairing.
Yeah, probably best to send everyone to the mystically protected fortress given the nature of the enemy. Of course, that does little good against Governor Doom-and-Gloom. This is going to be an exceedingly awkward dinner...
10915105
This made me smile.
I remember there being something about it in one of the later episodes, and in my headcanon I could see it working, so why not?
Amusing, isn't it? The biggest threat isn't the magic monsters at the door, it's the mundane foot-draggers who don't want to make the sacrifices needed to prepare for them.
I don’t see why.
She needs to think about taking off that geode before she kills someone.
Damn, it’s finally sinking in. I remember mentioning this, but hearing them say it makes it worse.
Oh god. Something tells me that promise is gonna be broken.
Are they actual wolf-men?
She likes killing?
Why is everybody hiding their names? Who’s next?
I’m gonna be honest, all y’all need to turn in y’all elements.
Wait really?
Who?
What was she planning on doing to fluttershy?
That’s a bad evacuation.
Why is she trying to keep it a secret?
Rune-men?
Now that’s a crazy ghost story.
I’m starting to have the feeling that there was already magic in the human world before it was exposed to equestrian magic.
10950233
Why what?
Yeah
, or at least try to restrain herself.
They'll still fight, though. Death threatens them, just as it threatens their friends and family, and they won't bow to it.
Yeah, I have a feeling of impending doom about it, too.
No, they were just called that because of their wolfish behavior.
She's saying that she likes killing as much as Applejack, and since Applejack doesn't like killing that means Platinum doesn't, either.
Applejack just said why she kept her name secret, and Platinum had her own reasons for trying to keep her name secret. As for who's next... I don't know if there will be a next, actually.
None of them are looking that good in this, yeah.
There was some mention of them on a date in one of the S9 episodes (IIRC), and I can see it working in my headcanon, so I decided 'why not' and put them together.
Random background character on one of CHS' sports teams.
Nothing too bad. Kids are petty, not malicious.
Almost like he didn't have a plan for it...
To prevent the governor from discovering it, accusing her of 'usurping his power,' and shutting it down, potentially putting more people in the invaders' line of fire.
An old ethnic group in Cloudsdale, sort of like the ancient Gauls in Europe.
Yes, though whether it's just a story or not we shall have to wait and see.
The Gifts of Gaea established that there was, yes. It's long-faded, but still around, and with the arrival of Equestrian magic it's making a comeback.