I: Fog Soaked Mesmerism
Chapter 1
“Thank ya kindly, ma’am” Applejack said as the well dressed Canterlot mare paid for her apples and left. She had nearly sold all of her goods that she brought with her to Canterlot, all that remained was three red delicious apples and an apple fritter. She was in the town square, where many local farmers showed up to sell their crops. The sun was starting to set, signaling to Applejack that she would have to pack up and head back to her hotel room soon. ‘Ah’l stay another ten minutes, I reckin’, she thought to herself, starting to succumb to the fatigue of the previous week. After ten minutes, she sighed and started to pack up when a well dressed stallion with a white coat and blue mane walked up.
“Packing up for the day, I see”, the stallion said, startling Applejack and causing her to jump and yelp. Turning around, she recognized him as Fancypants, who she had met a few months ago when she and her friends had visited Canterlot. “Oh, I do so apologize, I had no intention of frightening you”, he said.
“Oh, it’s nuthin’, Ah’m just a bit tired, is all”, Applejack proclaimed, with a slight grin under her bloodshot eyes. She had dark rings under her eyes, brought on by exhaustion. “Can ah help you to anything, sir? Ah don’t have much left, just these few apples and a fritter”, she said and pointed at them.
“I think I shall take them all, they look delicious”, he said, while pulling some bits from his pocket and handing them over to Applejack.
“Thank ya kindly, sir”, Applejack said as she handed over the treats. She then noticed that Fancypants had paid her double what he owed. “Excuse me sir, here’s yer change”, she told him as she handed the coins back.
“Oh, I couldn’t take that back”, Fancypants exclaimed, refusing the bits. “After all, it’s the least I could do; consider it a donation to help rebuild Ponyville. Now, have a good evening, madam, and best of luck in your future endeavors”, he says as he takes his food and walks away, towards home.
“Thank ya very, very much, sir! Ah sure appreciate it!”, Applejack calls out to him before packing her few things up, and trotting back to her hotel. Tonight she would hopefully be able to get some sleep, and she definitely needed it; she hadn’t received a good night’s rest in a week.
As she turned the corner onto the street that her hotel was on, it occurred to her that the street was entirely deserted. ‘Well this is just plum strange’, Applejack was taken aback; the streets of Canterlot were usually packed at all times of the day, even the dead of night. As strange as it was, she only had a couple more blocks to go until she arrived at the Ponyday Inn.
When she was a block away from the hotel, Applejack noticed something strange in the distance. Farther down the block she saw what appeared to be a large stallion standing in the middle of the street. What struck her as odd was that in the distance, the stallion’s eyes looked as though they were glowing red, and he appeared to be smoking. Applejack blinked, and it was gone, although she could have swore that she saw some smoke lingering in the air in the distance.
“Must have just been a daydream, ah guess. Ah really need to get some sleep”, Applejack stumbled into the hotel, growing more weary with each second. She headed up the grand staircase in the lobby, going up towards the third floor.
The staircase in the lobby was gargantuan, upscale, and made of the finest mahogany wood available. The staircase was made of two parts, the first headed straight back towards the wall from the center of the lobby, to a platform that lead to two separate staircases, one to the east and one to the west, leading to the two wings of the hotel. The lobby itself was grand and regal, with off-white and golden vertical stripes on the walls. The walls were adorned with large paintings; the largest was a portrait of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, above the first leg of the grand staircase.
As Applejack walked towards the second floor staircase to head to the third floor, at the end of the west wing, the hotel suddenly changed. She blinked and opened her eyes, and the regal appearance of the hotel was now replaced with a run down, abandoned, and flooded hotel. The wallpaper was flaking off the walls, the floor had broken and fallen down in many areas, and the floor was drenched.
“What in the hay?! What’s going on here?!”, Applejack stumbled backwards in fear and confusion. Water was dripping down the halls, and she noticed that the temperature was dropping rapidly. Applejack noticed black smoke coming from a doorframe about twenty feet in front of her; she hobbled forward, still slowly succumbing to the effects of exhaustion. As she arrived at the door, every instinct was telling her to run, but something was compelling her to continue forward, and soon she was in front of the door to room 213, with smoke still piling out from the door.
“…-ill me”, Applejack heard a loud whisper come from behind the door. After a slight moment of hesitation, she began to slowly open to door to the room. Smoke poured into the hallway, causing her to cough constantly, and clouding her vision enough, that it took her a few seconds to notice the flames headed straight towards her. The orange pony screamed and closed her eyes, while raising up a leg to shield her face, but nothing came.
Applejack opened her eyes, and the hotel was as it normally was, and she was standing just outside the door to her room, room 312. Applejack blinked and looked around; there was nothing out of the ordinary now. It was simply as though nothing had happened; that she had dreamed it all, again. If there was ever a sign that the lack of sleep was getting to her, this was it.
Applejack went inside, and slipped her pack off. She headed over to the ice box in the room and took a bottle of hard apple cider. ‘Celestia known ah ain’t much of a drinker, but if there were a time and place for it, may as well be now’ she thought to herself as she opened the bottle before swiftly drinking the bottle in one go.
“At least ah get to go back home tomorrow.”, Applejack headed over to the bed and got in. Tomorrow she would finally be heading back to Ponyville, and she could hopefully get some decent rest. She solemnly thought of home, family, and her friends, as she slowly fell into what would be a uneasy sleep.
The fire was spreading through the orchard around her. Applejack was sprinting towards the Apple Acres house; she had to beat the spreading fire, had to warn her family to get out. She ran over the hill, and her heart sank at the sight before her: Apple Acres manor was ablaze.
She ran to the front door, only to find it locked. She reared back to kick the door in, but then she heard the terrible creaking noise. She looked up, and saw that the roof was starting to cave in as the flames burned and weakened the wood. Applejack cried out as the building crumbled in on itself, but quickly turned and ran towards town. She would have time for mourning later.
She ran to town, seeing no end to the fire, trees burning all around her as she ran along the path. She ran into town only to find it lit up in flames.
“Ah need to help as many people get out of town as I can”, Applejack began running into buildings, helping to escort ponies out and tell them to get to safety or help more ponies. After clearing out a few houses, and starting to feel the effects of smoke inhalation, she ran towards the hospital to try and aid in the evacuation of the sick. When she was a few blocks away, she noticed something odd about the hospital. The hospital seemed to be covered in ice, which was starting to spread across the ground.
The ice met the fire, which caused it to melt, and put out the fire at the same time. Applejack found herself stuck in the growing pool of water, with the raging wildfire on one side of her, and a sea of ice and snow on the other.
She had to get out of this spot, so she ran towards the ice, hoping to get away from the water and fire. As she ran across the ice, it began to crack under her feet, and soon went out under her, dropping her into an abyss, as she yelled out in fright.
After falling for what seemed like an eternity Applejack slammed into the ground. Disoriented and injured, though nowhere near as much as she should have been from such a fall, she began to take in her surroundings. She was standing in a large, open area, with only the light of the stars and moon up above to light her world. She floor she was standing on was crystalline, as though she were standing on a floor of diamond floating in space.
Applejack saw a large emerald lying off in the distance, so she walked towards it. As she neared the dazzling green gem, a wall of diamond dropped down in front of her, blocking off the path, and causing her to jump. She heard a familiar, refined voice behind her. She turned around and saw…
“NO!” Applejack woke suddenly, heart racing from the nightmare she had awoken from. She looked around and realized it had just been a dream, and that she was still in the Ponyday Inn. Light poured in from the window, signaling to her she had finally slept a whole night. It had been a restless and uneasy night of sleep, but it was sleep she desperately needed.
Applejack sighed as she got up out of bed and began packing her things. It had been the same nightmare that had kept her from getting any good sleep for the past week, but it felt different this time. It was more vivid; it felt real, almost like a vision. It had been getting more intense each night, with the dream progressing to a farther moment each time.
Applejack packed her things in her bag, and then headed downstairs. In the second floor hallway of the west wing, she headed towards the grand staircase when she felt a chill and thought she heard a whispering. She stopped, feeling the temperature dropping, and looked at the door she stopped in front of. The room number was 213, and from the top of the doorframe, she saw smoke coming out of the room. She stood there, glued to the door, her mind becoming blank with fear. The whispering was becoming louder, though she couldn’t make out the words.
“Excuse me, are you alright?” a voice called out beside Applejack, causing her to jump. she looked at where the voice originated from and saw a yellow mare with a horn and a blue mane. She had a symbol of a paintbrush on her flank, indicating that she must surely be a painter. “Oh, I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Aw, it’s no trouble, really. Ah’m just tired is all, haven’t got much sleep these past few days” , Applejack smiled, showing that all was fine to the yellow unicorn before her. “Ah just thought I heard something comin’ from inside that there room”, Applejack said as she pointed towards room 213.
“OK, well I hope I didn’t cause you any bother”, the unicorn stated. “I was just coming back from a showcase of my work, and saw you staring at the door, and I thought I should just make sure you were alright”, she explained.
“Ah appreciate it, ah shouldn’t be wastin’ mah time staring a door anyhow”, applejack said, smiling again to show the sincerity of what she was saying. “Ah need to head back home today, and ah got a long ways tah go.”
As Applejack started walking towards the lobby, the unicorn noticed her apple cutie mark. “Hey, do you happen to work at that apple farm in Ponyville? I used to live there as a fillie before my family moved to Manehattan”, the unicorn explained.
“Yup, ah sure do”, Applejack beamed at the unicorn before her. “Matter a’ fact, ah was up here sellin’ some apples in town square the past few days”, she frowned momentarily, not wanting to talk about the reason she was selling her apples up in the city of Canterlot. “Speakin’ a’which, I oughtta be headin’ back home soon, ah got a ways tah go, heh.”
“Alright, well it was nice to meet you. If I ever end up back in Ponyville, I’ll stop by and say ‘hi’”, the yellow unicorn smiled as she watched Applejack walk to the staircase for a few seconds before turning back around and heading to her hotel room.
Applejack went downstairs and checked out of her room, paying what she owed for her stay, before heading off to her complimentary breakfast in the buffet. She noticed, and grinned with some pride as she noticed, that the apples from the buffet had come from Sweet Apple Acres.
Applejack ate her breakfast in silence, looking at the other ponies. She had a couple of apples, a carrot, and a strawberry and tulip salad. Nobody else there was from Ponyville, at least as far as she could tell. She finished her breakfast and then headed out of the hotel and began walking home.
Normally she would have taken the train, but it wasn’t an option today, because of how badly the train station in Ponyville was damaged. The walk back to Ponyville would take all day at the shortest, though most likely a day and a half. Applejack sighed as she thought of the train station and the trek that lay before her. On the other hand, the hike would hopefully be a relaxing one, and would give her some much needed time to herself.
Her trek had turned out to be as peaceful as she could have hoped for. There weren’t very many ponies on the road that connected Canterlot and Ponyville. Most of the ponies she saw were pegasi flying high in the sky, seemingly free of any care in the world. There were times when Applejack envied pegasi; she had always wondered what it would be like to fly, creating a near infinite amount of places to go, adding a huge sense of verticality to the world. Rainbow Dash constantly made it seem like one of the best gifts you could be born with, being able to travel almost anywhere you wanted, quickly, with no need for trains.
After a few hours, she couldn’t see anypony on the road or in the sky. It was sunny, somewhat cloudy, and cool. It was around lunch time, Applejack guessed, judging by her growling stomach. She stopped, and sat by the side of the road, under a tree, and got a couple of apples out from her bag. While she ate, she enjoyed the tranquility; the only sounds that could be heard were the chirping of birds and the wind rustling the branches and leaves of the trees.
She finished her apples, but instead of getting up and continuing her trek towards Ponyville, she just sat there under the tree and enjoyed the serenity of the nature surrounding her. Her eyelids were beginning to feel heavy, and she knew she’d be asleep soon, and she was thankful. A place as peaceful as this would surely lead to some good rest. She noticed it was becoming cloudier, and thought of how nice the birdsong sounded as she drifted off to sleep.
Applejack knocked on the door to Rarity’s boutique, feeling anxious about the conversation that was about to take place. It was a weekend, so the boutique was closed.
“Yes? Who is it?”, Rarity opened the door to the boutique, and saw Applejack standing at the door, smiling nervously. “Oh, uh, hello Applejack, umm, come on in”, Rarity returned the nervous smile with one of her own. “What brings you here today, darling?”
“Well, uh, ah wanted to talk to you about last night, Rarity”, Applejack gave Rarity a serious look.
“Oh, umm, yes. Well, there is no need to mention it, heh. We simply had a little too much cider”, Rarity smiled nervously again, her heart beginning to race. “We can simply continue on as if nothing at all had happened, darling” rarity paced around anxiously, not sure of what she expected, or wanted for that matter, from this conversation.
“Well, um …oh boy, ahm not quite sure how t’say this”, Applejack stumbled on her words, looking for the right thing to say.”Well, the simplest way to put it is, it wasn’t just the cider. Ah guess what ah mean is, ahd like that kiss to be more than just a drunken mistake, ya know?”, she blushed, looking at Rarity, who was also beginning to blush.
Rarity was silent for a moment, intensely thinking the situation through, before finally responding, “Yes, I know what you mean. It’s just, what will we tell our families, our friends? How will they react? I mean, my mother always goes on about me finding a nice stallion to settle down with and having foals.”
“They’ll understand, sugarpie, they love us for who we are. This won’t affect anythin’”, Applejack placed a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Besides, Ah’ve noticed the way ya look at me”, she said winking at Rarity, easing the tension between the two of them somewhat.
“Oh alright, I’ll give it a shot”, Rarity smiled at Applejack, who returned her smile with a small peck on the cheek, causing Rarity to blush yet again. “If you’re not busy today, perhaps we could go to the park, darling?”
“That’d be mighty wonderful, sugarcube”, Applejack beamed at Rarity. The two of them turned to the door, and left the boutique, and headed to the park, as the world filled with light and became colder.
Applejack woke from her dream, shivering, her eyes still closed. Despite the sudden cold, she felt wonderful. It had been a nice deep rest, and she dreamed of one of her fondest memories at that. Applejack opened her eyes, and noticed it was overcast now. ‘That’s strange. Them pegasi usually keep the roads clear, ‘specially during the day. Somepony must be slacking’, she thought as she got her things and started heading towards Ponyville again.
She continued walking towards Ponyville for the next couple of hours. And hour into her walk something dawned on her. ‘Ah haven’t seen anypony for hours, and ah haven’t heard any birds or animals of any kind since ah woke up. Mighty odd’, yet she continued walking to Ponyville.
About an hour later, the weather changed from merely overcast to foggy. The fog was light at first, but grew more intense as time grew on, seemingly confirming her suspicion that some pegasi were slacking off. Eventually, Applejack finally arrived to a sign on the side of the road, somewhat rusted, and covered in plant growth, which again, struck her as highly odd. The sign said ‘Welcome to Ponyville’, and Applejack felt a bit of relief. She was finally back home, and could hopefully get some rest, which she certainly deserved. She walked to the bridge, and headed into the fog filled town.