Empire Apple

by CalmBreezes

Chapter 3: Center Stage

Morning had finally come, at least according to the clock on the wall. It was the fourth day after the disappearance of the Princesses and her friends. Applejack lay in her hospital bed and waited. Shining Armor arrived sometime after noon. All members of the emergency gathering had finally arrived. They could go see the first meeting if Applejack was feeling able. She was more than ready to leave after lying in bed for days. Applejack was now allowed to leave the hospital during the day, as long as she returned by the time night would have normally fallen. Shining Armor helped Applejack up on her wheeled chair, and together they rolled out of the hospital and to the streets of Canterlot.

The past few days of rest had done Applejack good. Her voice was back to normal and her shoulder had stopped aching. Even the singed hide and burned-off patches were starting to grow back, but for now, she preferred to keep a shawl over her shoulders to hide the worst damage. With her favorite hat back on her head she was ready to face the gathering. If the only thing she could do right now was to warn ponies of the coming danger and to assist the gathering in finding her friends, then that's what she would do.

The streets of Canterlot were the same color as her room at the hospital. All white surfaces glowed sickly orange, and all dark surfaces were painted deep crimson. Nothing cast a shadow in the twilight. The streets were empty and dreamlike. Only the occasional startled pony scurried past them, saddlebags filled with either food or day-to-day supplies. The unceasing twilight had scared the citizens of Canterlot into hiding away in their homes. The unicorns they saw, powerless and meek without their magic, were especially terrified by the cursed twilight. Applejack didn't blame them. The permanent glow was starting to get to her too. The headaches were not as bad as they had been a few days earlier, but she couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling in her brain.

Shining Armor and Applejack headed towards the Canterlot Magic School for Gifted Unicorns, where the first emergency gathering would be held. The school's lecture hall seemed fitting, considering one of the first topics of discussion would be the mysterious disappearance of all magic in Equestria. Although the rest of Canterlot was abandoned, a large number of ponies had crowded around the field at the entrance of the School. Shining Armor and Applejack pushed through, the ponies around them gasping and whispering as they noticed Applejack. I guess seeing me up and about was bound to cause a bit of stir, Applejack thought. Wonder what they were gabbing about me.

Two members of the Royal Guard stood stoically at the front doors of the school, spears in hoof. They stopped and checked all the comers for invitations. When Applejack and Shining Armor finally managed to push through the guards didn't stop them, but instead saluted them and stood aside to let them in. See, everyone knows who you are, Shining whispered. The duo walked through the main doors and into the grand foyer of the school. Opposite them was another set of doors, across the marble floor, beyond which was the lecture hall.

Although the benches of the lecture hall were only half full, the room was filled with the shouting and arguing of the ponies inside. The invitation to attend the gathering had been sent to every pony deemed important enough to have a say in the future of Equestria, but unlike the Grand Summit, the ponies in this meeting did not represent provincial or rural concerns. All were very important ponies from very important cities and organizations.

Shining Armor pointed some of them out to Applejack as he rolled her across the floor toward the front of the room. "See her? She's the premier of Vanhoover. And there's the president of the Gags Galore corporation. You might recognize the EEA representative. Grandmaster Flank from South Bronxo recordings. Silky Smooth, mayor of manehattan. Oh, and there's Fancy Pants, you know him. He's good friends with Rarity from what I've heard. All the most important ponies in Equestria are here."

"Hoo boy."

"Don't sweat it, Applejack. With ponies like this around we'll save Twily and the rest in no time."

Applejack wanted to believe him, but she wasn't convinced. The room was full of the stench of pomp and self-importance. Not even the rooster back at the farm acted this cocky. Already some of the ponies were arguing loudly about the seating arrangement, of all the inconsequential things.

The stench of elitism wasn't the only thing disturbing her. Applejack felt like she was being watched. Her chair suddenly wobbled as a large red unicorn in an expensive-looking pinstripe suit bumped into her. "Scuse me doll," he said as he kept pushing past them to the front row, not caring in the slightest who he banged into. A mare dressed in a long blue dress almost fell over as he barged into her. Even through the elegant face veil, Applejack could see that she considered almost walloping the crude behemoth for his behavior.

Ignoring the quarreling representatives, Shining wheeled Applejack to the end of the first row and sat on the bench next to her. The clamoring and ruckus continued until an auburn brown unicorn stallion dressed in the royal guard uniform appeared from the wings and walked up to the podium. He took off his helmet, revealing a military-trimmed, sand-colored mane.

"That's the captain of the Royal Guard, Stern Sentinel. He took over when I left for the Crystal Empire." Shining Armor whispered to Applejack. "Not my first choice, but he was the most experienced and he has been pleasant enough to work with. A bit overly formal though."

Captain Sentinel placed his helmet on the podium and stamped his armored hoof down for attention. His green eyes scanned the audience. When the noise had settled he cleared his throat and addressed the ponies in the hall. He spoke deep from his chest with a baritone voice.

"Fillies and gentle-colts, respectable members of the Equestrian society. You have been gathered here under the auspices of Princess Celestia herself, may she reign eternally. The Princess, in all her wisdom, foresaw that one-day tragedy might strike Equestria, and we would be left without her guidance. Per the Bull Solarum, dictated one thousand and six years ago, the Royal Guard has called forth the gathering of mares and colts of reputable character. You must guide Equestria through these trying times, with the assistance and patronage of the Royal Guard."

Murmur and chatter started spreading through the crowd. Sounds of uncertainty filled the room.

Captain Sentinel continued. "The gathering of reputable characters, or the emergency gathering, shall take control of Canterlot. The Gathering will be responsible for the making of new laws, and the execution of old laws, in their sacred duty to bring harmony and peace to Equestria, until the gathering is disbanded by consensus, or the princess, or other, returns to once again raise the sun. Princess Celestia be praised."

The crowd grew louder and more excited until the entire room was in uproar. Celestia had ruled for a thousand years. The arrival of Luna, Cadence, and Twilight had already been a major upheaval of the old order, but now even that had been thrown out. Talking and shouting filled the lecture hall. Ponies in the back row stands started hooting and hollering, declaring themselves kings of Equestria. Some ponies looked horrified out of their wits, other's had wide grins on their faces. The big, rude stallion Applejack had seen push other ponies around was laughing his head off as if he had heard the funniest joke of his entire life.

Applejack looked down the first row at the frantic attendees. Only one of them stayed calm and collected, and didn't participate in the commotion. She was the one Shining Armor had pointed out as the mayor of Manehattan, Silky Smooth. The mayor was an earth pony with a metal grey coat. Her straight pale green mane swayed back and forth as she took down notes with the pencil between her teeth. An elegant wide-brimmed hat hid most of her face. She leaned down to put her notebook away and stood up. Now visible, her eyes were dull amber, and her expression unreadable. She stamped her hoof down on her pulpit for attention.

Pinstripe suits, mysterious veils, and dramatic wide-brimmed hats. The whole spectacle was starting to feel like one of those late-night detective mystery parties Rarity had loved to throw. Applejack had never been a fan.

"Captain Sentinel! Fellow members of the gathering!" Silky Smooth spoke with poise and a calm demeanor, with a practiced air of authority. A tinge of Manehattan accent gave her words a hint of edge. "Are we to believe that is all there is to the Princess's orders? No rules on how the gathering will be arranged or how the order will be kept. How are we to administer without a set form of guidelines? Currently, we are not so much a ruling body as we are a formless mob."

"Miss Smooth, I have read what has been written. The archivists of the guard are currently searching for addendums, but for now, it seems, regrettably, that the Gathering is free to decide for themselves how to proceed."

With that, Captain Sentinel withdrew from the podium. A pony shouted that since he arrived first, he should get to speak next. Another pony rose and bellowed something about oat subsidies. Another pounded the table and demanded lower taxes for saddlebags. Others started rising from their seats as well, vying for the empty podium. Circles of scheming and conversation started forming around the shouters. The sharply dressed red stallion had disappeared from the seat next to them and appeared to now be sitting with Mayor Smooth. Applejack noticed they were engaged in lively conversation.

Shining Armor and Applejack stood on the sidelines and watched as the political power vacuum was beginning to be filled, not knowing what to make of it. They waited, but as the shouting slowly petered out and the gathering formed into small groups, they were forced to admit that today was not the day Applejack would get to tell her story. Until ultimate power in Equestria was brokered no one was in charge. Applejack no longer wanted to stay. The vulture-like wheeling and dealing of power made her head hurt. She and Shining Armor left dejected.

The foyer of the Magic School was as prestigious as ever, even in the dim glow of the eternal twilight. Pushing Applejack through the doors of the hall, Shining Armor recounted some of his favorite memories of attending the school, spurred on by the nostalgia. Applejack listened to his stories half-heartedly. She had not had big expectations, but even those had been dashed. Saving her friends did not seem like a priority to these ponies.

"Guardian Applejack, Prince Shining Armor."

The two ponies stopped and looked up. It was Stern Sentinel, walking down the right side of the split staircase that encircled the foyer and framed the entrance to the main lecture hall. He held his captain's helmet under his hoof, respectfully bowing to them as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Howdy Mr. Sentinel."

"Captain Sentinel, glad we could speak." Shining Armor said. "How are you holding up?"

"Thank you, Prince. I am as fine as can be in the midst of this nightmare."

"Any news from the search parties?"

"Nothing. We expanded the search outside the valleys around the mountain, but without magic, it is an arduous task." Stern Sentinel lowered his head. "The Princess, her sister, your gracious wife and sister. The Royal Guard's failure to protect them has dishonored us all."

Shining Armor raised his hoof and placed it on Stern's shoulder. "Stern. You know as well as I do that it is not that simple. We may have guarded them from enemies outside our walls, but we could never protect them from themselves. All we could do was offer our best advice and support when their will took them to danger where we could not help them. Trust me, I would know."

Applejack couldn't help but smile at Shining Armor's words. "Yup, when Twilight got an idea in that big head of hers all you could do was grab on and hang on."

The expression on Stern's face did not change, but he did raise his head. "Thank you, Prince, Guardian Applejack."
Applejack tipped her hat. "No worries, partner. And just call me Applejack."

"Thank you, Applejack. But it does not lessen the shame. The reading of the Bull was a public acknowledgment of our failure."

"The Bull Solarum. All the captains knew about it, but by the time I was in charge it was nothing but ancient tradition."

"How I wish it had stayed as such, Prince. Reading that vile parchment to those ingrates was by far the lowest moment of my entire life. But it was the will of the Princess that I do so, and it is not my place to second guess her. I only hope those disgraceful commoners understand the gravity of the role the Princess has bestowed upon them."

Like a bunch of hungry pigs at the trough, Applejack thought. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the pain of being blown up, but she felt uncharacteristically bitter about the situation. "So, what do we do now? How can I help?"

"The wizards of the magic school began their investigation immediately after we found you at the site of the tragedy. They are preparing a report on the subject as we speak. Your description of the events has already been a big help. but we need you to give a detailed account of the entire gathering soon. That should motivate them to reauthorize the search effort again."

"What!?" Applejack was shocked. "You stopped searching for them?!"

"Yes, and I share your frustration. The guard was called back to Canterlot to keep the peace during the change in power, as was ordained in the bull."

"No, no, no, you can't stop the search! I know they're out there! They might need help! Twilight might have already come back badly hurt! You can't stop!"

Stern raised an eyebrow. "I assure you that the top priority of mine and the entire guard is to find the Princess, even the pretend ones, and your friends as soon as possible."

Applejack's cheeks turned red. "I wasn't trying to, I mean- Sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude. I just thought everyone would agree that's what we all should be focusing on." Applejack glanced towards the lecture hall doors. "But I guess not."

Stern Sentinel looked towards the lecture hall as well. His face remained unchanged. He took a deep breath and addressed her. "Guardian Applejack. I took a vow to protect the Princess with my life on the day I joined the Royal Guard. I assure you, I will do whatever it takes to return the Princess to her rightful place."

"Ah'm glad to see at least one pony in this crazy place still has their head on straight. I'd go out myself to search for them, but sleepin an eatin's about all I can do right now. Never felt so useless before."

Shining Armor interjected. "I keep telling you you're not useless. Just seeing you here alive in Canterlot is going to do wonders for everyone's spirits."

"Keeping folks keen is all nice and dandy, but I was never one to sit on my flank all day and just cheerlead sitting on the porch." She looked at Stern. "As soon as I'm back on my bucking hooves I'll be joining the search. You can bet on it."

"I am glad to hear that, Guardian Applejack."

Stern Sentinel bowed again and went back inside the lecture hall. Applejack and Shining Armor went the opposite way and exited the school. They didn't see a single other pony on their way back to the hospital. The red glow continued to permeate everything.

On the morning of the fifth day, the Apple family arrived in Canterlot. Applebloom burst through the door of Applejack's hospital room and launched herself towards her big sister. Applejack winced from the impact as she hugged her hard enough to dislocate her other shoulder. Granny Smith entered not far behind, steaming furious. She almost started pummeling Applejack with the apple basket they had brought her, shouting at her for making them worry so much, before joining the hug and crying torrentially. Even Big Mac got emotional when he came through the door and saw her. He rushed over and pulled them all in a great big bear hug.

Thanks to Shining Armor they had received special passes to come visit Canterlot, even though the capital was still closed off. The Apples would stay in Canterlot for one night, even though the sun never sets, and leave on the first-morning train. The day went by quickly as Applejack talked, laughed, and gossiped with her family. Applejack desperately wanted to know how her apple orchards were holding up without sunlight. She was especially worried about the newly planted trees on the north side groves since those could only last for a few weeks without sunlight.

It did not come as a surprise to her that the never-ending twilight and news of the disappearance of the Princesses had almost caused mass panic in Ponyville. The town's unicorn artificers were out of work as they realized they no longer possessed magic. No pony was sleeping well and what little sleep they got was plagued by nightmares. Granny Smith had a theory that the eternal twilight was messing with ponies' minds, making them act stranger than usual. Applejack admitted she had been feeling on edge ever since the tragedy, but she thought that was caused by all the nightmares. Princess Luna was no longer safeguarding their dreams after all.

The clock struck ten, and Granny, Applebloom, and Big Mac had to leave. Their train would leave early in the morning. Applejack felt newly reinvigorated after they had said their goodbyes and left. The rest of the week she focused fully on recovering, focusing all her discipline and willpower trained during years of hard farm work. She slept when the clock in her hospital room pointed to nine and woke up when it pointed to five. She asked for seconds when the food cart came by and spent the days trotting briskly around the ward and doing stretches and working out in her room.

The nurses tried at first to calm her down and get her to stay in bed but to no avail. A nurse pony she had not seen before, with a dark blue mane tightly wound in a bun, was especially adamant about trying to keep Applejack resting. The stubborn filly wasn't going to have any of it though. Applejack was on a mission and this wasn't her first time when it came to recovering from injuries. She always made sure to never strain any of the stitches or her dislocated shoulder enough to hurt herself. By the time a week had passed, Applejack was back in her old form, more or less. Some bald patches remained on her coat, but otherwise, she looked and felt as good as ever.

Applejack wasn't the only one reconstituted. During the week Applejack spent recuperating in the hospital the Gathering had finally agreed on how to conduct their business. Shining Armor explained the new code of conduct to her when he visited on the night before her full release. The rules were simple. A chairpony led the Gathering. Committees had been arranged to focus on specific issues affecting Equestria. All decisions required the full consensus of the Gathering, meaning everyone had to vote unanimously for whatever they were voting for. Experts and eyewitnesses were to be called whenever the decision concerned matters of Equestria's safety.

The Gathering would decide tomorrow whether or not the guard would continue the search. It was horrifying how long it had taken them to continue the search for the Princesses, Applejack thought. She had been invited to appear as an eyewitness to the disappearance. Her testimony would be vital in their decision on how to proceed with the rescue of the Princesses. She was determined to make sure that they'd put every single quartet of hooves on the ground and search all across Equestria for her friends. There was nothing else she could do.

The next morning Applejack and Shining Armor entered the great lecture hall through the main foyer. The members of the Gathering were there, some looking disheveled as if they had spent the last few nights there. The piles of blankets under the seats reinforced that theory. They found places to sit, again at the front and to the side. The chairpony banged his gavel on the podium signaling the start of an official Gathering session. Next to Applejack and Shining Armor sat other ponies who seemed to be preparing for a presentation. Applejack suddenly felt school trauma emerging deep from her mind. Should she have prepared a presentation? No pony had told her to prepare a presentation!

The chairpony announced that the Gathering would now hear experts on the cases of the "nullification", aka disappearance of magic, its effects on Equestria, and the eternal twilight. The experts were the three unicorns sitting next to Applejack and Shining Armor. By the look of their impressive beards and wizard hats Applejack assumed they were professors from the magic school.

The chairpony called the first expert on the stage, a frail-looking elderly wizard and the oldest one of the trio. He had nothing but bad news to present. Magic was well and truly gone from the world of Equestria. Magical creatures had been seen crossing over the borders of Equestria, obviously fleeing the magical drought. Not even the most skilled and powerful magicians in Equestria could produce even a spark from their horns. There also did not seem to be any way to reverse it that they knew of. It wasn't that magic was being pulled away somewhere else, or that it had turned into an unusable form. There just simply was nothing left of it, which is why the occurrence had been dubbed "The Nullification" by the academia.

Unicorn members of the gathering seemed to be especially devastated by the presentation. The large red unicorn in a suit chortled at their reaction and muttered to himself, right behind Applejack and Shining Armor. "Nice to see these pompous jerks get taken down a notch." While Applejack wasn't particularly empathetic to unicorns over losing their magic, she still thought there was no reason to rub it in. And wasn't he a unicorn too? What strange ponies had been dragged into this mess?

The chairpony had to bang his gavel multiple times to quiet the crowd. The disappearance of magic was catastrophic, but the wizards had still more to say. The second wizard in seniority lifted a presentation stand and placed a full-scale diagram of a pegasus skeleton on it as the older one stepped down. His curly red beard bounced as he spoke. The loss of magic, or "the Nullification" wasn't just a unicorn tragedy. It had also practically crippled the flying ability of pegasi. It had always been known that a very minor and basic magical force had played an integral part in the ability of pegasi to fly. This was obvious when compared to non-magical flying creatures. Pegasi would have required much bigger wings or frailer bodies to be able to fly without assistance. This passive and minor amount of magic had helped generate enough lift for their winged brethren that even the weakest pegasus could fly. The magic seemed to have been somehow connected to cutie marks.

The disappearance of magic had thus essentially grounded all except the most athletic fliers. Pegasi with exceptional flying ability and stamina, such as the Wonderbolts, could attain enough altitude by themselves to then glide along air currents for long distances. Other pegasi required some kind of a boost to attain enough altitude for gliding, so flight was not completely impossible. All pegasi could still glide from an elevation, which is how the pegasi of Cloudsdale had been evacuated to the ground.

The implication of no pegasi weather wranglers or access to Cloudsdale's weather factory was, of course, terrifying to a farmer like Applejack. The lack of rain would be just as deadly to her apple trees as the lack of sunlight. The bad news brought by the second wizard had an even larger impact on the crowd. Without pegasi, there would be no weather, no rain, no winter, and no crops. The ensuing food scarcity, drought, and ecological disaster. It all affected everypony. The disappearance of magic was going to be the end of Equestria.

The crowd had completely forgotten their own rules of conduct as panic started spreading. The third wizard, a younger unicorn with a short and smart black beard and a lavender-blue coat, tried to give a presentation on the research he had done on fixing the eternal twilight.

He began by explaining how Princess Celestia had not left any written or verbal instructions on how ponies could move the sun and the moon without her or the other Princesses. The researchers had been looking for any references to the historical sun-raising ritual used before the time of Celestia and had some good leads on magical parchments and artifacts concerning the matter, but so far they had found nothing concrete. Now, as the black bearded wizard began there was one very good lead on...

Applejack had a hard time listening to what he was trying to say over the racket. "Excuse me!" The black-bearded wizard tried to continue. "If you could please stop talking. As I said, a very good lead on the existence of... Excuse me! An artifact that could potentially be, excuse me, sir, if you could let me finish speaking, on how to raise the sun, but this requires that the school allows for— Augh!'

After interruption after interruption, the young wizard finally gave up. It was clear no pony was listening. Dejected, he rolled up his presentation posters and exited stage left. The Gathering had decided the eternal twilight was not a contender in the race for the end of Equestria.

Finally, it was Applejack's turn. She climbed up on the stage without any visual guides. Had they expected her to make some? Was she supposed to? Applejack wasn't prone to stage fright, but standing on the stage she did feel completely out of place and awkward. She'd probably mess up somehow, but it didn't matter. If a small bit of humiliation was what it took to save her friends, then she'd gladly pay it a thousand times.

The crowd quieted down as they realized who was standing on stage. It was the pony who had survived the event where the Princesses disappeared. Fiddling with her hat and swallowing nervously Applejack began telling them all she could remember of the tragedy. Twilight summoning them to her castle, the road to the mountain, the strange centaur ritual on the summit, the appearance and disappearance of the Princesses, Twilight saving her from the vortex, Twilight's last words, and finally her sacrifice jumping inside the bright light to save everyone, followed by the explosion. She decided not to mention anything about the information from Discord. She did not want to take any more attention away from saving her friends. The time for that was later.

The lecture hall hummed with whispering and talking as the members digested Applejack's story. She was the element of honesty, of course, everyone knew that, but she did admit to not remembering entirely what happened. And the explosion. It had vaporized half the mountain. How could anyone, even a Princess, survive that? Applejack answered a few questions, but largely she had not said anything new that wasn't included in Shining Armor's summaries.

The question of assigning more guards and resources to search for the princesses and the rest was not that simple. All hooves were needed to keep the peace in Equestria, especially if the magic and weather situation was going to be as catastrophic as it seemed. A sinking feeling started clawing at Applejack's stomach. What were these ponies talking about? Of course, the rescue was a top priority. Everything else would be fixed the moment her friends came back. Not saving them had never even crossed her mind. What the hay were these ponies thinking?

Applejack, not sure what to do, sat back down at the behest of the chairpony. The fifth and final guest speaker was the professor of magical transportation, Whisker Wind. Tall and skinny, she had been brought in to comment on the magical portal Applejack had described. She was also expected to make an educated guess on if the Princesses had survived.

The old mare wizard, dressed similarly to the other, was cold and analytical when she spoke. "It is my professional opinion that any scenario involving a magic portal releasing explosive energy of this magnitude would annihilate everything between and around both ends of the portal." She adjusted her glasses. "It would not matter if it was a portal through space, time, or dimensions. Instability events go through them all, vaporizing everything." She stopped for a second. "I am afraid nopony could have survived a duplex system implosion like that."

Applejack shot up, angry beyond all belief. "No! Twilight said she could save them! She knew what she was jumping into! She knew-, knows everything there is to know about magic!"

Whisker Wind was startled by the sudden shouting. She cast a dirty look at her. "Miss Applejack, control yourself. I will not speculate on the capabilities of the late Princess, but there simply is no other possibility. She may have miscalculated the exact timing of-"

Applejack finally lost it. The trauma, the frustration, the pain of getting blown up, and the fear of never seeing her best friends ever again burst like a dam and was unleashed in one profanity-riddled shouting rant.

"You hack! You fraud! You miserable old goat! How dare you!" She peppered every insult with a heavy step toward the wizard.

"She is the greatest magic user there ever was! She's worth a thousand of you cob-web slinging, parchment-huffing, dust bunny-wrangling nincompoops! If she said she'll come back SHE. WILL. COME. BACK!" Applejack stomped both of her hooves down, the floorboards underneath creaking under the abuse.

The crowd was in shock at her display. Professor Windy Whisker's jaw had dropped. Silence fell in the lecture hall. Only the red stallion, already well known for his crude behavior, was doubled over and trying to stifle his giggling. Silky Smooth was sitting next to him, furiously taking down notes. Applejack finally snapped out of her trance and bolted towards the side door of the lecture hall with tears in her eyes. She rammed through the door, kicked it closed, and ran down the hall and around a corner. She slumped against the wall and slid down. She covered her face with her hat, not wanting anyone to see her red face and tears. What an idiot she had been, losing control like that. What an absolute donkey. Now they would never send anyone to save them. All seemed lost.

It was Stern Sentinel who first came searching for her. Looming over her, the brown military pony offered her his hoof. Applejack took it and he helped her up. Applejack wiped any remaining tears off her face and looked at Stern. His face was as stoic as ever.

"Guardian Applejack. These disgraceful ponies do not deserve your rage, nor will they save your friends. They are corrupted by greed, blind to the light of the Princess. They can no longer be allowed to gimp our efforts to bring Princess Celestia back. The Gathering must be disbanded, by force if necessary, and I would need your help to do so."

Applejack stood silent, shocked by the sudden proposition. He wasn't joking. Not this rebar in the concrete.

Applejack sniffed. "I might've made an absolute rodeo clown out of mahself just now, but I ain't no lawbreaker. The law says those fools are in charge." She dusted herself off. The halls of the magic school had not been swept for weeks. "We just have to work harder, make em see that they are alive. That finding them's the only way to save Equestria."

Stern looked at Applejack and then took a few steps toward the window next to them. The eternal twilight glowed on his face and reflected off his golden armor. What he said next sent a shiver down Applejack's spine.

"I know about the Centaur invasion. Shining Armor briefed me on the intelligence you provided. How you came into possession of something like it, I cannot even imagine." He turned back towards Applejack. "You know as well as I do that these degenerates will not be able to protect Equestria once the enemy arrives. Please reconsider my proposition, Guardian Applejack. You need to choose right, for the sake of all Equestria." Stern bowed to her and left, rounding the corner and walking back towards the lecture hall.

Applejack did not reply. She silently watched as Stern walked away. His words had hit their mark and planted a seed of doubt deep in her heart. Maybe the Captain was right. Maybe the gathering had been a bad idea. It was all decided a thousand years ago. How could Celestia have known what would happen to them and what they would need in a thousand years? Maybe ponies just were less selfish and scared back then.

Applejack stepped over to the window Stern had stared out of and slumped on the windowsill. From this point of view, you could see Castle Canterlot, beautiful and imposing in the setting sun.

Twilight. She thought. How could you do this to me? Asking me to protect Equestria and then abandoning me. Why did it have to be me, I'm just a dumb farm pony, all I know is growing apples. How could you place such a burden on me? The pain in her heart made it hard to breathe.

Shining armor finally found her. He had done his best to smooth things out with the Gathering to the best of his abilities. The pair left the magic school in an awkward silence. Now that she was out of the hospital Shining Armor had arranged for Applejack to stay at his and Twilight's parents' house for the time being. The large house was not far away from the Castle, standing at the corner of a busy street interjection. Twilight Velvet and Night Light welcomed her with smiles and open hooves, but she could tell they were just as devastated as she was by the disappearance of their daughter and daughter-in-law. Applejack had always thought having an alicorn for a daughter would be the most reassuring feeling in the world, but it seems parents will always fret for their children, even if she's one of the most powerful beings in the world.

After a fantastic dinner of baked stuffed potatoes and homemade carrot juice, Applejack headed upstairs to the guest room and plopped down on her ready-made bed. She was tired and her muscles ached. She closed her eyes and just lay on the bed unmoving. The burden of it all was starting to get too heavy. Protecting Equestria had always felt much easier with her friends by her side. She forced herself back up and went to sit on the lazy boy by the window. He rested her cheek on her hoof, propped up on the armrest, and once again stared out at the window towards the castle. What luck, she could admire the tallest tower standing defiant in the red radiance. It made her sick.

Applejack sat in silence and thought about her friends. They had always known what to do when Applejack felt ignorant and weak. Rarity would have never in her life lost her cool like she had, at least not until she was well and clear out of earshot. Not when the pressure was on and everyone was counting on her. Most of the time.

It was probably for the best Rainbow Dash hadn't been there, Applejack smirked. She would have started kicking all kinds of flank until the entire room agreed to get the search going. Pinkie's compulsive need to throw parties probably would have ended with the entire Gathering covered in cake. Applejack snorted half-heartedly. Now that would have been funny.

Fluttershy. Kindness doesn't come easy to no pony except you. Aside from Twilight, she might have been the one Applejack missed the most. What would you have said? That everyone in that room was afraid, that they all needed a little kindness and hope. Maybe then they wouldn't have been so afraid to help.

Twilight. Twilight... What would you have done? Read the rules a million times and then played the game perfectly by them? Of course, that's what you would do. Read the rules a trillion times and then figure out a way to outsmart them all. Know the rules, that's how you win a game. The rules...

The rules!

Applejack's eyes flew wide open. A bolt of lightning had hit her brain. She jumped out of the chair. It was so simple! At that moment she knew exactly how to get rid of the Gathering.

Comments

[Jinxed]

Boosting the Appul fic.
It's a neat little thing you got going on.

[AlsoSprachOdin]

He rested her cheek on her hoof

She