MLP: The Next Generation

by The Grimm Reaper

Chapter 4: Freedom And Responsibility

Applejuice opened the door to greet a Unicorn stallion and a Pegasus mare in Royal Guard armour. She began to wonder what would bring two Guards to her family’s farm.

“Howdy folks! What can Ah do ya for?” she asked, addressing the two ponies before her. The Unicorn leaned in closer to her and seemed to eye her all over. Before anything else could be said, the cowpony cringed at the sound of her father’s voice.

“AJ, get back here an’ get your daddy another drink!” he called. Applejuice whimpered.

“Ah’m answerin’ the door, daddy!” she called back. The distinct sound of a chair’s springs rising could be heard and a green Earth pony opened the door further to address the two guests.

“Can Ah help you two?” he asked. Even from behind Grimoire, Hawkeye could smell the cider on the stallion. She pushed her comrade aside and addressed the father.

“Good evening, sir. My associate and I are here on official Canterlot business. We have reason to believe that one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony are here.” she said, keeping her tone formal.

The green stallion just huffed. “Ya’ll are a couple generations too late. My Auntie Applejack was the Element of Honesty. An Ah sure as apples ain’t been honest mah whole life, Ah’m sad to say.” Hawkeye wandered where to go from here, when Grimoire spoke up.

“It’s the girl. Your daughter’s the next Element of Honesty.” he said. Applejuice looked at her father with seemingly nervous eyes. The father seemed unhappy with the news.

“Excellent. What’s your name, miss?” Hawkeye asked. Applejuice reiterated her name. “Excellent, Applejuice. We’d like to ask you if you would mind coming with us for a while. We’re searching for the other Elements of Harmony, and we’d like your help.”

Before Applejuice could reply, her father spoke up. “No. My daughter ain’t goin’ nowhere. She’s got duties to fulfil here at the farm.” he said. Applejuice’s ears drooped and she seemed defeated. Grimoire groaned and lowered his head towards the ground in front of Applejuice.

“Duties not involving the farm itself. You poor girl, to have such a father as him who would abuse the gift of a child by abusing the child directly.” As difficult as Hawkeye found his words to be, she caught on quickly to what he was saying. So did the father, it seemed.

“How dare you assume Ah’d hurt my girl!” he roared at the unicorn.

“Not hurt physically, but emotionally. Such acts can scar a filly.” The father prepared to challenge the insinuations when the young mare ducked out of the house and hid behind Grimoire.

“It’s true. Everything you said is true; my daddy’s the worst daddy in Equestria.” she said, burying her head into Grimoir’s coat. The stallion seemed uncomfortable with the physical contact, but did nothing to push her away.

“We’re taking your daughter into protective custody, sir. Try to take her back and I’ll see to it you never see her again.” Hawkeye stuck a hoof to the green stallion’s chest. Grimoire turned to Applejuice and faced her.

“Now, the choice is yours. You can come with us, or you can make your own way from here. But given the laws we all stand by, for safety reasons, your father cannot take you back until he is deemed fit to do so.”

Applejuice nodded and said nothing as she buried herself into what she thought to be her saviour. Grimoire looked to Hawkeye, unsure what to do about the young mare cutting off his blood flow. Hawkeye smiled at the display before drawing the farm pony’s attention.

“Come on, AJ. Let’s get you back to Canterlot for some dinner and a good night’s rest.” The orange mare released Grimoire and entrusted herself to Hawkeye.

“Ah ain’t lettin’ you take my daughter from me.” Applejuice’s father began to follow after them, but Grimoire kicked one of his legs up and made contact with his face.

“If you ever want to be a good father, then let her go.” the tone of voice Grimoire used silenced the earth pony as he looked to his daughter one last time. A ring of dust blew around Grimoire, Hawkeye and Applejuice and in an instant; they were hovering in the air.

“Woah now!” Applejuice yelped as she was unused to the feeling. Hawkeye chuckled and nodded to Grimoire who exhaled heavily before forcing the trio forward. Applejuice held onto her hat as well as Grimoire.

---

With Canterlot in sights, Grimoire slowed the magic platform down and began looking around. He spotted something that was of great interest to him. Without warning, he jumped back and flipped over the edge of the disk, falling to the ground. Hawkeye spread her wings in anticipation for the platform to disappear beneath their hooves and grabbed Applejuice accordingly. But the platform never vanished. They watched as Grimoire, only visible through the light his horn radiated slowed his descent and landed in the middle of the plains.

“Grimoire, what’s up?!” Hawkeye called out to the unicorn. Grimoire didn’t reply immediately, but chose to examine what appeared to the others to be thin air.

“A disturbance in one of the energy veins!” he called back, examining it thoroughly. Hawkeye groaned in annoyance.

“Energy vein this, energy vein that, he’s obsessed with the bloody things.” she said to Applejuice who just giggled. “Is it really important?!” the guard called again.

“They’re all important! Every one of them is connected and if one goes bad, it can spread!” he replied. He knew Hawkeye wouldn’t grasp the full importance of the veins until something terrible happened to one of them. But he felt that it was better for her to know ignorance than experience the consequences personally.

“How do ya fix it?!” Applejuice asked.

“Alter the future for the better. Sadly, I can’t fix this one because it’s naturally occurring. A forest fire will start because of a stray lightning bolt tomorrow night!” Hawkeye sighed in annoyance as she waited for the insane unicorn to finish his little side-project.

“So what’s up with him anyway? Is he a few crumbs short of the biscuit?” Applejuice asked the Pegasus.

Hawkeye chuckled. “More like a few biscuits short of the jar.” she replied, tapping her head with her hoof. Applejuice reciprocated the chuckle and looked down at the strange white stallion. It was then that Hawkeye noticed something interesting.

“Say, you didn’t get a sense of…danger when you saw him the first time, did you?”

Applejuice just shook her head, careful not to shake her Stetson loose. “Nope, but then again, Ah already felt like Ah was in danger. Actually, Ah feel free more than anything else.”

“What about the gravity, did you feel heavy at all?” Hawkeye pressed. AJ shook her head once more, looking Hawkeye in the eye.

“Why? Did y’all feel those things when you met him?” she asked. Hawkeye nodded and shuddered at the memory.

“It’s difficult to tell what sort of pony he truly is. The princesses themselves fear him more than anything, and yet he seems so innocent right now, despite our first encounter.”

“Ah’ve been meanin’ to ask about those restraints around his body. Where’d you meet him?”

“Canterlot Asylum.” Hawkeye replied. Applejuice went dead silent as her ears pinned themselves back.

“You mean the one where all the d-d-dangerous ponies go?” she asked, losing her sense of safety. Hawkeye wasn’t sure where to go from there. She knew it was too late to turn back from the conversation. Instead, she settled for just nodding.

Grimoire rose again, joining the two mares. He was about to resume the trek when he noticed the strange looks he was being given.

“Something wrong?” he asked, sitting down to make himself look less threatening, were that the problem. Applejuice spoke up, wanting confirmation.

“Are you really from Canterlot As-s-sylum?” Grimoire’s eyes shot over to Hawkeye who had the guiltiest look Grimoire had seen so far. Realising the situation, he replied.

“Yes, I am. Because I’m so highly attuned to magic, I was considered a potential threat to Equestria, should my allegiance to the Princesses shift. As a result, I grew up socially awkward compared to the general populace. So I’m stronger and smarter, and clinically insane.” there was a pregnant pause. “Is that alright?” he asked.

“Yeah.” AJ replied rather quickly.

“Good.” Grimoire tried smiling at the filly and it seemed to do the trick. As Grimoire started up the ride again, Hawkeye was left wondering what in Celestia’s name just happened.

---

"I see you've found the first of the Elements. Well done, Grimoire, Hawkeye. It's a shame that she's just a filly, even if she is a member of the Apple Family. Still, I'd rather not put her in danger, and I suspect this journey will be very dangerous." said Celestia as Grimoire and Hawkeye entered the throne room with Applejuice in tow.

"Princess, I assure you; Grimoire and I will do the best we can to keep her safe should you decide if she must join us or not." said Hawkeye, bowing low as she addressed her Princess.

"I've no doubt in my mind that you will do everything in your power to protect her, Lieutenant. It's him I worry about." Celestia replied, nudging her head over to Grimoire.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing, Princess." commented the stallion.

"No doubt." Celestia retorted. "Nevertheless, she must accompany you. The fact is; the Elements of Harmony rely on the power of their hosts' friendship with each other, it's the proverbial chain that binds them together. As such, your friendship with Applejuice as well as her friendship with the others affects the Elements' performance and therefore, it is important that she strengthen the bonds she makes along the journey, much like your Great Grandmother did, Grimoire."

"My Great-Aunt too Princess? Applejuice asked.

"Yes, my little pony. Your Great-Aunt too. Applejack was a very truthful and understanding pony She liked to see the best in all of us. When my sister first began to reach out to our subjects, Applejack was among the first to give her a chance. I believe she even introduced Luna to the games traditionally played on Nightmare Night." The Princess turned to Luna who nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, Applejack introduced me to 'fun'." Luna mused. "Anyway, our sources tell us of another Element of Harmony beyond Equestria's borders. A pony living in the Dead Zone."

"A descendant of Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash's number one fan, successor to her Wonderbolts Captaincy and eventually, adopted daughter." Grimoire pointed out. Looks were shared between the royal sisters.

"How could you know that?" Celestia asked.

"Luna's words literally said it all for me. The filly's history is etched in the spoken words." he replied. Hawkeye began to rub her head in confusion and fatigue.

"Will I ever get the hang of talking to you?" she asked.

"That depends on whether or not you hit your head three years from now." he replied simply.

"Grimoire. take your new friends and search for this pony. If what you said is true then she too would be a filly, little older than Applejuice here. The Dead Zone is no place for anypony, let alone a foal." Celestia ordered.

Grimoire bowed low. "As you wish, Princess." He then turned with Hawkeye, leaving Applejuice to hesitate, bow and scurry off after them.

"Well if you know who the pony is, do you have a name?" Hawkeye asked as they passed the Main gate out of the castle.

"Yes, we're looking for Skyfall." he replied simply, lifting the three ponies up on the magical disk.

Comments

[reader of the night]

Its not dead.
FInally, it has returned.
You took a pretty long time for this one, guess you were busy, very busy.
Then again so are most people, always busy.
Anyway, the quality of this chapter is pretty much the same of your older chapters of this story, great job and i'm looking forward towards the next.

[Fayte]

*Insert snowflake here* Its lives and I am so excited I feel like Twilight with a kindle for the first time!

[SoulboundAlchemist]

"I find your lack of faith disturbing, Princess." commented the stallion

Love the story, and the Star Wars reference here. Wheres Darth Vader when you need him?

[The Grimm Reaper]

2697000 He's out.
s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/imagebuzz/web04/2010/7/27/17/gay-vader-20313-1280266896-92.jpg

[Sergiovan]

I had already forgotten about this story :/ Nice to see it's still going on

[Ew No Hooves]

You didn't go BB on us?

I absolutely love Grimoire's witty sense of sarcasm and humor.
Hawkeye's die-hard sense of duty.
Grimoire's cryptic omniscience.
Applejuice's potential for d'awws and finding Grimoire's soft spot.

[The Grimm Reaper]

2705573 your profile pic fits that statement perfectly.

[dbanksischillin]

.... Its back...... IT IS FINALLY BACK. YYYYYYEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[eclipse_shadowblood]

question? does grimoire have the power to break the fourth wall?

[The Grimm Reaper]

5623188 no. that's always been a pinkie pie thing.

[eclipse_shadowblood]

true but if grim is aware of the 4th wall then atleast he and laughter will have a subject to talk about and bond over

[eclipse_shadowblood]

oh and before i forget how do make a link i mean i can see the add link button and everything i'm kinda new here

[The Grimm Reaper]

5623244 If you highlight the text you want to link it to, then click on the link button, the *Link Text* will be filled out. All you need to do then is put the URL address in and click *Add Link*