The last thing Applejack remembers, she was working in the fields. Suddenly, she finds herself transported ten years into the future, into an Equestria overrun by fearsome enemies. Now it's up to her and a small band of survivors to fight back!
The last thing Applejack could remember, she was happily working in the fields of Sweet Apple Acres. But between one breath and the next, she finds herself transported to a world she barely recognizes, and fleeing for her life from foes straight out of legend. When she discovers a small band of survivors, she is quick to learn that ten years have passed since anypony had seen or heard from her, and her once beautiful home had been reduced to a wasteland. The leader of these survivors turns out to be none other than her sister Apple Bloom, now grown and scarred from the long years of battle. Can Applejack find a way to turn the tide of war, and reclaim the world she remembers, and a sister who she barely knows?
The first thing Applejack felt as her consciousness began to return was a chill all over her body. Deep, piercing, it felt like she had fallen asleep in the orchard on a winter's day. She didn't open her eyes immediately, instead trying to wrap her legs around her for warmth, trying to keep away the cloying light around the corners of her eyelids. Curiously, and frustratingly, the very motion instantly sent lightning bolts of pain up her shoulders and spine.
The pain took her by surprise. It felt like she had slept on her legs wrong, pins and needles giving way to a dull ache that echoed the one building behind her temples. She clenched her eyes tightly closed, placing a hoof to her forehead and massaging it in calm, slow circles, while she waited for the feeling to return in her extremities.
Applejack tried to remember the previous night. The ache in her head and limbs, combined with the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach, made her feel like she had had a bit too much cider, but she couldn't remember having drunk even a single glass.
Beginning to be irked be her traitorous body, she tried opening her eyes. It felt like the light seeping through her eyelids was blinding, and she half expected the stabbing pain in her head to increase from the too-bright light. Thankfully, she was spared any further pain, as the light didn't grow any brighter. In fact, for a brief moment, she wasn’t even sure she had actually opened her eyes at all. But as her eyes adjusted she realized that what had seemed like an intense burning light was actually pale and dark, it was merely her sense that had been playing tricks on her. At first her surroundings were bleary and indistinct, but as she blinked and rubbed at the sleep that had built up in her eyes, she began to resolve the shadowy shapes of objects in the distance, lit by nothing more than the faint pinpoints of the Stars dancing far overhead.
She slowly twisted her head on her neck, testing her muscles. They feel a bit sore, but the migraine that woke her seemed to be receding quickly, so she was grateful for that at least.
Well... I ain't sure how I got here, but I better head home. It's a mite late, and I'll betcha dog collars t' donuts Apple Bloom is takin' advantage of me not bein' there t' put her asleep.
She slowly, gingerly, gritting her teeth against the dull ache that she felt in each joint as she began to put stress on them for the first time, rose to her feet. She took a few, shambling steps in a full circle, taking stock of her surroundings.
It was difficult to make out anything in the moonless night, but then, there wasn't much to see. It looked like she was in a huge plain, without any trees or hills that she could see, save for the black outline of distant mountains that blocked out the starry sky.
As she completed her circle, she felt something soft yet firm brush against her hoof. She bent down to examine it more closely, and she felt her muzzle graze the top of a familiar piece of fabric.
With the barest hint of a smile, she took the brim of her hat in her teeth, and, with a brief toss of her head that her muscles complained about afterward, flipped it atop her head.
There. Things are lookin' up already. Now... which way is home?
She looked around again, her eyes slowly starting to adjust to the darkness.
Huh. Applejack felt a sense of unease gnawing at the corner of her thoughts, but she shoved it back down. Coulda sworn she was full last night. I reckon she must've set already. Must be near time for Celestia to raise the sun.
That uneasiness started to return, as she pawed at the ground. It was hard and cracked, like it hadn't seen rain a some time. The air smelled odd too, dry and stale and somehow dead. Applejack gulped.
That must've been one barn raiser of a cider I drank. It almost feels like Appleloosa around here, but I ain't seen no cactuses.
She paused for a second, then mentally corrected herself.
Cacti.
She had to come to the conclusion that she didn't have the foggiest idea where she was. Hopefully it was just the darkness causing the area to look strange and unfamiliar to her, and not that she was well and truly lost. That just wouldn't do at all. The way she saw it, she had two choices. She could either set up camp, maybe build a fire, and huddle up until the light made everything clearer, or she could pick a random direction and start walking until things started to look more familiar.
She had almost settled on the former, something in the cold breeze set her hair on end, and she never was the kind of pony to stand still and let life happened.
She figured north was as good a direction as any, so she found the big plow, followed its limb to the north star, and headed off, keeping her eyes close tot he ground to avoid tripping over anything. Luckily, the ground seemed as smooth and free of debris as where she landed, so she was able to make good time without stumbling.
The unnatural smoothness only added to the uneasy feeling that had been biting at the back of her mind ever since she woke up.
---
She wasn't sure how long she had been walking, but the sky hadn't gotten any lighter. The thought had occurred to Applejack that perhaps she had been out longer than the few hours she felt like she had. She stared the notion and its nonsense down mentally. She wasn't sure how the moon could have gone from full to new in a single night, but thinking about it too hard gave her the heebie-jeebies, so she decided to concentrate as best she could on putting one hoof in front of the other. The menacing black shadows of the mountains drew nearer with each step.
After a long, silent, shivering while, the ground began to take on a diffuse gray quality. Applejack realized that she couldn't see her breath hanging in the air in front of her nose anymore, and, looking up, the stars began to wink out, one by one.
The sunrise couldn't have come soon enough for Applejack. The terrain was beginning to get rougher, the vast desert rising slowly up to meet the mountains ahead of her, which she could begin to make out in more detail under the growing light, their snow-capped peaks as barren as the ground around her.
She decided that she deserve a breather, but sitting on her hindquarters and idly chewing on a piece of tumbleweed she had come across shortly before only served to let her thoughts catch up with her.
She was now certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that she wasn't anywhere near Ponyville. She wasn't in Appleloosa country either, she was certain. The ground didn't have any of the same majestic red color that made Appleloosa look like it had been painted by Giants before pony reckoning. Instead, it looked grey, colorless, drained. As far as the eye could see, the only color she could make out was a dull green of sage fighting valiantly against the encroaching white of the snow on the rim of the mountains. Even the sunrise seemed pale and tired, and the sky, though cloudless, had barely a hint of blue in it.
Applejack shivered, even though the air had already warmed considerably, and weighed her options. In the growing daylight she could see the desert stretched on for as far as the eye could see, broken up only by the mountains that cut a swathe through the landscape. Looking closely, Applejack could make out the dark scar of a canyon cutting between two peaks, promising an easy passage to what lie beyond.
As good a path t' take as any, I reckon. Applejack spit out the tumbleweed, which had turned bitter in her mouth long ago. There's nothin' but desert on this side of the mountains, maybe it'll be greener on t'other.
Truth be told, she wasn't too sure of her own reasoning. But the notion gave her a small glimmer of hope, so she steeled her sore legs, and trotted off towards the ravine. If nothing else, she hoped to find a stream to quench her thirst.
---
At least she was right about the stream. Technically, in any case, though the slow trickle seemed more mud than water. Applejack's throat was parched from the dry air, but she knew better than to drink from water that dirty, lest she planned on spending the next day or so curled in a ball, clutching her stomach. Looking beyond where the stream spilled out into the rocks and dirt at the mouth of the canyon, she could see nothing but dark shadows and steep cliffs. Perhaps she'd have better luck upstream, maybe she'd even be able to find the source. Plus, the shade would be a welcome respite from the sun which, though barely over the horizon, was already beginning to beat down on her back and flank oppressively. At least she was glad to still have her hat, though she felt a bit naked in the wilderness without a strong lasso by her side.
She made her way up the dark ravine, between walls that started out gentle, but quickly gave way to steep, hard rock. At first the sound of her hoofsteps echoing off the canyon walls was the only sound she could hear, but as the walls narrowed and she found her hooves more and more falling in the damp of the stream, even that sound was muffled.
The silence was eerie. Applejack's ears were constantly swiveling as she walked, trying to make out the slightest sound of a bird, a fish, an insect. But the canyon was seemingly as dead as the desert beyond.
Rounding a corner in the ravine, she paused. In front of her the ground was littered bit boulders and debris. The going from here wouldn't be easy, and she was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake following the water, if she would have to turn back and try and find a different way through the mountains. She sat on her hindquarters and took her hat in her hoof, fanning the sweat off her brow, when she suddenly became aware that her ears with both pointing with intense focus in the same direction.
Her tail began to whip on its own accord, as her brain processes what her ears had already taken note of.
She had heard... something.
She tried to slow her own breathing, though her heart was beating so hard she was sure it was louder than the stream behind her. Without moving a muscle, she tried to peer into the deep shadows, to see if she could make out any movement, but the shadows were as still as ever.
There! She heard it again. Perhaps it was just a pebble giving way far down the ravine, but that voice that had been keeping quiet in the back of her head was screaming now. Hoofstep, it was screaming, and danger!
She gulped, and yelled right back at the voice. Then, she slowly, cautiously, her tail sweeping rapidly back and forth, rose to her feet.
Carefully, meticulously placing one hoof in front of the other, she inched down toward where she had heard the sound, just around the bend she had just passed. Her flanks itched at the absence of her rope, or anything that would give her some measure of defense around whatever had made the sound. She swallowed hard, and poked her head around a rock to look down the ravine.
She couldn't see anything. She suppressed a shudder from a cold breeze that wound it's way up the canyon, it's walls blocking out the oppressive sun and any measure of warmth it provided.
Applejack's nostrils flared, and her tail began swishing from side to side again.
Something in the air, something in the wind, smelled wrong.
She felt it in her bones, though she couldn't say why the wind should unnerve her so. The Voice in the back of her head was jumping up and down now, flailing its hooves.
Run! it said. Danger, run!
For once, she felt like listening to the voice.
She felt more than saw the movement in the corner of her eye. No, that's not right, not movement. Lack of movement. Her nostrils flared again and her eyes went wide, but she still didn't move a muscle. Even her tail was holding still and stiff, too afraid to work out its agitation.
There.
The stream.
The trickle of ice cold water was slowing down, then stopping. Spiderwebs of pale, dark, impossible ice began to cover its surface., radiating from the banks and rocks.
Looking up, she saw flowers of frost beginning to blossom on the rocks and cliff sides. Her breath caught in her lungs, chilling her to the core. Even the little voice didn't dare to speak up as icy fingers of terror climbed down her spine.
The hoofsteps drew closer.
Applejack ran.
She bolted up the ravine, away from the wind and the hooves winding their way up the canyon, away from the cold and the frost. At first she almost lost her footing on the hard, suddenly slick ground beneath her. Then her hooves gained purchase, and she bolted.
She left over rocks and boulder, leaping this way and that, from the top of one to another as she scaled the debris-strewn canyon. Every instinct in her shouted to get away. Her legs and lungs were already burning, but she couldn't stop, not even for an instant.
It was then she heard the cry.
It sounded dry and raspy, like the wind over a field of dead, dry leaves. And it was close. Close enough she could swear she could feel its cold, fetid breath on the back of her neck. Close enough that she couldn't help herself but twist her head to look behind her.
It wasn't close, but it was there. And it had spotted her. She wasn't sure what it was, it looked like mist and wind and ice, more vapor than solid matter. But it had a horse's head, and hooves. It was bearing down on her like a Winter's storm, but Applejack was fast.
She bolted up the hill, rubble crashing to the canyon floor below her as she dashed up it. She had almost made it. The lip of the canyon was a hair's breadth away.
Then the ground turned to solid ice beneath her hooves.
She slipped.
She lost her footing.
She began to slide back down the hill.
Her legs scrambled for purchase , but only succeeded in freeing more rubble that skidded downhill with her.
The creature was at the bottom, its pale, lidless eyes watching her hungrily, a cold ice storm wrapped around it like a cloak. Its maw wide open, icicles for teeth gnashing hungrily.
She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and prepared her hind legs to give out one, swift, desperate buck.
Suddenly, the world around her exploded.
Heat. Intense heat. So close she felt like her cheeks were scorched and her sides burning. She felt something warm splash against her face, smelling like the bottom of a neglected well. Then, as suddenly as it came, the heat dissapated. The wind died down. The world was silent again.
Silent, that is, except for her beating heart. And the trickle of water as the ice melted and the stream began to flow again.
And the sound of hooves far, far overhead.
Applejack struggled to catch her breath, and opened her eyes, looking frantically overhead at the source of the hoofbeats, ready to bolt again if they turned out to be more of those... things. But the air was warm again, the sunlight peeking over the ridge above her spreading it's warmth to the ground below Applejack's hooves. And, in the light of the sun, she could see three silhouettes.
Three pony-sized silhouettes. Squinting, two of them looked odd, unusually bulky. But the one in the center was unmistakably a pony. And, judging by the clear shape of a horn outlined on top of its head, a unicorn. As she looked up at them, she could see them looking down on her. The two shapes on either side of the unicorn pointed their forelegs toward her and, with them, some strange kind of tube with a flared end.
Their body language was cautious, but not aggressive. The unicorn, on the other hoof, looked more puzzled than anything else.
Their stances echoed Applejack's own feelings.
Easy now cowgirl. Applejack finally began to feel like air was actually reaching her lungs again, and her heart had finally stopped its do-si-do. They did jus' save yer life. Least you can do is show them some good ol' fashioned Ponyville gratitude.
She gave them a wave, and while the two bulky shapes seemed to tense up, the unicorn waved back. Applejack could see the glow of a horn, and before long the end of a rope was levitated down to her. Applejack stood back up, her legs only slightly shaking, and watched as the rope coiled itself around her midsection, and tied itself off in a bowline. Then, with a bark that Applejack could almost make out, the two ponies dropped their guard, and as one began to tug on the rope, hoisting Applejack up the steep hill. Though Applejack had earlier almost run up the steep hill under her own power, now it was all she could do to keep her legs beneath her as they pulled her out of the ravine.
As they drew nearer, the sun no longer blinded her, and she could make out details. The two bulky shapes turned out to be a gray earth pony mare and pale blue Pegasus stallion, their profiles distorted by what looked like oversized water tanks strapped to their backs. Connected to them by a series of hoses and valves were the tubes she had seen before, strapped to their forelegs, their trumpet ends singed and blackened and slightly smoking.
They were dirty and ragged, wearing patched-up and well-worn coveralls of an olive drab. The unicorn, a pink mare, didn't carry a weapon other than what looked like a machete in a sheath at her side.
After Applejack had been hoisted fully up, and she was able to regain her composure somewhat, the two ponies with tanks on their backs deferred to the unicorn, who seemed to be in charge. The unicorn looked at her with equal measure confusion and annoyance, holding the gaze for a good while before speaking in a low, soft rasp.
"Been a long time since we found a survivor. Even one without the good sense to move silently during the daylight." She shrugged. "Well, today's your lucky day. We're taking you back to HQ."
Applejack just stared, not entirely sure what she had just said. Turning her head, she saw the gray earth pony glaring at her, a wicked scar that crossed half her face marring one eye. Applejack just blinked.
There was something familiar about the pony, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. The other pegasus, she could see, was scanning their surroundings alertly.
"I, uh..." Applejack swallowed hard. Somehow her throat had turned to parchment, but she pressed. "Where are we?"
"In deep horseapples if we don't hurry." She turned to the pegasus, who snapped to attention.
"Nothing yet, ma'am." His eyes were still betraying a hint of anxiety, though the rest of his body was still and alert. The unicorn nodded.
"We may be lucky, it may have been a straggler. Bolt, you take point. You need a tip-off?"
The Pegasus, Bolt, nodded, and the unicorn walked around behind him. Her horn glowed momentarily, then she touched it to a metal plate, slightly protruding from the back of the tank. For a brief moment, the blue glow spread to envelop the tank, then dimmed. Bolt nodded in thanks, turned around to give a brief salute, and then spread his wings and leaped to the sky.
The Unicorn turned to Applejack and, with a shake of her head, gestured for her to follow. She did, and the earth pony took up the rear.
Finally feeling moisture return to her throat, she spoke up one more time.
The going was slow over the rough terrain, made even worse by the need to double back twice to avoid herds of those... things. Applejack had tried to ask what they were, only to be met by a stern glare and a shushing noise from the lead unicorn. Applejack looked back at the earth pony, who shook her said, and uttered a single word.
"Windigoes"
A thousand questions bubbled up in Applejack's throat, but the unicorn's glare made her swallow them all down, and they moved on in silence, save for the regular updates from the pegasus scout.
She didn't even learn the names of her rescuers - captors? The closest she learned were their ranks - the others addressed the unicorn as "Captain."
They continued this way in silence as they crested the pass and started down the other side, into a long and sheltered valley. At the bottom was a swiftly flowing river, and the four of them regrouped, drinking deeply from the ice-cold flow. Each of the three ponies gave up a portion of their rations to Applejack, and she ate them gratefully. She hadn't even realized how hungry she had been, and the food did little to fill he belly, but it helped return some of her energy and keep her spirits up for the long trek ahead.
At least during their respite they ponies spoke a bit, though always in hushed tones and cautiously watching the skies and ground around them.
"So, where are we goin'?" Applejack tried once again to broach the subject of the many questions she wanted to raise, but again the Captain glared at her. The pegasus leaned over and whispered into the earth pond's ear. The earth pony nodded and shrugged, but didn't say anything. Both of them just stared at her, and she stared right back, but the conversation never moved passed that point.
They broke camp and contained to walk. The valley had some greenery in it, though it was far from lush. Thick, brambly bushes and wiry trees lined the river, while short, tough grasses covered the valley floor. The ground here was softer, which was easier on their hooves, and they were able to make good time as they trudged up the valley, the pegasus again scouting ahead by air.
The sun was swollen and red, hovering above the wall of the valley, when they reached the river's source. An immense waterfall crashed down the side of an enormous mountain, the sound deafening in the narrow canyon. The Captain once again paused just within range of the waterfall's spray, and just waited. Applejack could tell they were looking for something, but she had no idea what for. As far as she could tell there was no way out of the canyon other than where they had just come from. After a few minutes, the pegasus rejoined them, and they sat, waiting.
The sun had finally dipped below the horizon before the trio made any motion again. The Captain stood up, her eyes fixed at a point on the mountainside. Applejack followed her gaze, and was surprised to see a small, barely visible green light. She had had plenty of time to study the mountain while they had been waiting, and she was certain that hadn't been there before. The pegasus leaped to the sky and disappeared in the growing dusk, and Applejack found herself having to stare at her hooves to avoid stumbling as she followed the ponies further up the canyon.
When the unicorn in front of her suddenly stopped again, Applejack looked up. As far as she could tell, they had stopped in a small indentation in the canyon wall, right in front of a sheer cliff wall. Again, they waited, and Applejack was about to break the silence by asking what in the hay was going on, when she felt a small vibration under her hooves.
She turned back to look ahead of her, and her jaw dropped. Where once there had been nothing but a featureless cliff face, now there was a slowly retracting, heavy, and impossibly thick stone door. Applejack gaped. The door was easily large enough for a half dozen ponies to fit through shoulder-to-shoulder, but it fit flush with the canyon wall, and a moment ago Applejack could have sworn there was nothing but solid rock there.
The trio of ponies trotted past the open door, and Applejack could see now that it was set on hinges of thick wrought iron bolted to the roof of the cave beyond. It was pulled open by heavy chains, powered by a turnstile of sort. A pair of heavyset earth ponies were even now lowering the door back down to the ground, concealing their hideaway completely from the outside world.
As the stone door settled back into place, the cavern was momentarily covered in a thick, black darkness. The pale blue of a unicorns magic was the only light, until the shutters in front of a pair of lanterns were removed, and Applejack was bathed in a warm, orange light.
The cavern they were in was small, a few pony lengths deep at most, and just tall enough to hold the door. On either side Applejack could make out bulky, elaborate metal shapes, similar in construction to the weapons her escorts had worn, but much larger, their outlets fixed and pointed at the door. Other than her escorts and the ponies manning the turnstiles, there were a pair of unicorns on a scaffolding along the walls, just under the ceiling. They were peering intently out of tiny peepholes, which were just as invisible from outside the cavern as the door had been.
The escorts themselves looked visibly relieved. The earth pony leaned in close to the unicorn, and they exchanged a few words. Applejack turned her ears to try to make out what they were saying, but the resonant echoes of the cavern made it nearly impossible.
After a few moments, they turned to look at her, then both their gazes drifted down to her cutie mark.
Applejack felt suddenly exposed, and blushed, her tail involuntarily moving to cover her flank. The unicorn nodded at the earth pony, who saluted in turn. Then the Captain turned and walked to a second, much smaller metal door set in the back of the canyon, and disappeared through it.
The earth pony moved back to where Applejack stood, and sat down, staring at her. That tiny voice was speaking up again, jumping up and down, seething in rage at the way Applejack had been treated by these ponies. She had been ordered around, spoken about behind her back, and treated like a foal ever since they had found her, and she was getting fed up!
Applejack swallowed, took a deep breath, and calmly reminded the little voice that these same ponies had saved her life, shared their meal, and kept her safe until they brought her into their hideaway, and that it wouldn't do to be ungrateful just because their manners were a bit lacking.
The earth pony continued to stare at her, and Applejack just stared back. There was an odd look on the earth pony's face, and Applejack couldn't quite understand what it signified. But she sure tried, as she locked eyes on the pony, barely blinking.
The door in the back of the room slammed open, and the Captain walked through again, followed by two burly stallions, one earth pony and one unicorn, who quickly overtook her and surround Applejack.
The look in their eyes was menacing, and Applejack was beginning to wonder whether she shouldn't have listened more closely to the tiny voice.
"Come with us." The Captain's tone made it clear it was not a suggestion. The two burly ponies took up a position on either side of Applejack, and she complied, following the Captain through the door and into a long, dark tunnel.
There was barely enough room for the three of them abreast They passed several branching and intersecting tunnels, and with each one Applejack had to revise her mental image of just how big this hideout was. Some of the tunnels ended in a door or cavern after a few paces, but many of them stretched into the deep darkness. After a few minutes they took one of these, the stone floor tilting and curving downward, a Dank breeze blowing against them. It wasn't long before they met another mental door, and the Captain knocked against it three times.
A few seconds passed, then a small metal window in the door slid open, and a pair of blue eyes peered through it. Seeing the Captain, the window slid closed, and the mechanical sound of heavy bolts retracting resounded through the tunnel.
When the door finally opened, the tiny voice sat back on its haunches and said told you so.
On the other side of the door was a small guard station, and beyond that a pair of jail cells, the thick iron bars barely visible in the gloom.
One look at the bodyguards on either side of her quelled any notion she had of escape, and she marched, her head hung low, through the open door of one of the cells. The burly ponies stripped her of her hair ties and her hat, which were her only possessions. Then the door was slammed shut and locked behind her.
Applejack took a seat on the hard cold stone in one corner, head and haunches slumped, and held back the tears that were trying to force their way out of her tired eyes.
---
She woke up on the cold stone floor, unaware that she had even fallen asleep. Someone had left a tray of food and a glass of water on the ground of her cell while she was asleep. The grass looked fresh and the water was cool and refreshing, which surprised her, but she didn't question the small comfort she had been granted. Across from her, the guard was watching her disinterestedly, almost looking bored, tapping his hoof on the ground in an irregular tattoo.
"Thank'ee kindly." Applejack may have been a prisoner, but that was no excuse for bad manners.
The guard looked slightly taken aback, but Applejack saw that he couldn't help the hint of a smile that crept onto his face.
Applejack was surprised at how weak and raspy her voice sounded to her ears. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone that long without talking. Around the farm, she could barely go five minutes without telling a farmhand what to do or yell at Apple Bloom for whatever mischief she had gotten herself into or sharing a nice cup of cider with Big Macintosh.
The thought of the farm brought a wave of homesickness over her, and she curled up into the corner again, clutching her stomach. The tears really did come this time, but only two or three.
Cryin' over it ain't gonna get you home any faster. You'll jus' have to tough it out, figure out what's goin' on here. Maybe talk to who's in charge, convince him t' let me go.
The tiny voice in her head tried to tell her how ridiculous her plan was, but she missed her family too much to pay it any mind.
I bet they're wonderin' where you are right now. Why, Big Mac's probably got a search party together already. Probably got the whole town workin' on it.
That made her feel better somehow. She knew her family, and she knew her friends. They would stop at nothing until they found her, and with Twilight and Rainbow Dash in the air, not to mention Fluttershy and her critter friends and Pinkie Pie and her... Pinkie-ness, she was sure they'd find her in two shakes of a lamb's tail, secret mountain hideout or none.
And Rarity would make sure they look fabulous doin' it, I'm sure.
Applejack's spirits had just begun to lift, when the door to the jail - or was it a brig? - Rang out with a knock.
Applejack stood back up, facing the door. She hoped she didn't look too bad with her hair all disheveled and dirty, and her tail a tangled mess from having dragged openly along the cavern floor.
The brig door opened, and the same bodyguards from earlier stepped in. Following them was the Captain and...
Applejack jaw dropped. She rubbed her eyes. She did a double take and rubbed her eyes again, this time to clear the film of tears that had suddenly filled them.
Her mind had a hard time comprehending the image in front of her eyes, and the tiny voice in her head just stared open-mouthed as well.
The fully-grown yellow mare took a few steps towards the jail cell, and looked Applejack over head to tail, before finally speaking up in a thick, deep alto drawl, with just a tiny note of suspicion.
Applejack admitted to herself that the last 24 hours had taken their toll on her.
She had woken up in the middle of nowhere with no memory of how she had arrived there, been chased by a being out of a foal's story, been rescued and then imprisoned by a trio of hardened and stoic ponies in a hidden underground lair.
Her skin was covered in bruises and scrapes, her tail and mane disheveled beyond repair. Her stomach was aching from the meager rations she had been fed.
Considering the circumstances, she thought to herself, she was surprised she hadn't started hallucinating sooner.
The yellow mare, dressed in the same green fatigues as every other pony she had met so far, stared at her inscrutably. The burly ponies on either side of her looked ready to leap into action at the slightest provocation, so Applejack stood as still as she could.
Belatedly, her sense of good manners kicked in.
"Howdy, stranger." No she would not give in to the hallucination no way no how. "Nice, um, jail y'all got here."
The strange mare didn't look amused. The captain stepped forward and spoke up.
"What's your name, pony?"
Applejack blinked, not expecting an interrogation. "Name's Applejack. I'm jus' tryin' to find my way back home to Ponyville so it's y'all could be so kind..." She trailed off, watching the two mares exchange an odd glance. There was a hint of I told you so on the unicorn's face.
They turned back to her, and then the yellow mare spoke up again.
"So, you say your name's Applejack? From Ponyville?" From the tone of her voice, she could have asked if she was the Cheese Princess of the Moon, but Applejack just nodded.
"That's right. I don't rightly know where I am, but if y'all let me out I'll be outta your hair..."
Hair tied back in a big red ribbon and a smile on her face No stop thinking that that's not possible
"So, if you say you're Applejack, then y'all must know about Sweet Apple Corners, right?" The yellow mare not her couldn't be her continued to glare at her.
"Acres. And yeah, what about them?" She's grown up all grown up that's impossible I don't care if that's her voice or her big orange eyes that ain't her
The yellow mare nodded slightly, as if confirming something to herself. "And y'all must know when the Zap Apples start growin'?"
"When the timber wolves start howlin', of course!" Applejack shifted on her hooves slightly, the line of questioning making her slightly uneasy. More than she would have expected.
The yellow mare took a step forward, her face just behind the bars so close I could kiss it I've missed it so much. "And what was the last thing Ma and Pop said to you before they died.?"
The question hit Applejack like a sledgehammer to the gut. She winced, feeling the tears come on again.
"She said..." She choked, blinking. Through the blurry haze of tears she could suddenly see more clearly the truth of who was standing in front of her. "We fought." She knew it was impossible, but today was a day for impossible things. "I yelled at her." So strong so proud so... old. "She yelled back, sayin'..." Oh sweet Celestia it's her I don't know how but it's her! "...sayin' 'I wish you could be more like your brother'."
Applejack suddenly felt warm forelegs around her, a muzzle brushing up against hers. She hugged back.
I never told nopony that story, not even Big Mac. Only one other pony was there that night, before th'accident. It's HER I know it is
"I missed ya, Applejack." The yellow mare's voice had a ragged edge to it, like she was holding back tears of her own.
"I missed you too, Apple Bloom."
---
Applejack was seated at a table, slowly spooning warm mushroom chowder. It felt good going down her throat, warming her belly. It didn't quite wash away the day's events. But it helped.
Opposite her the yellow mare - her sister, Apple Bloom - sat, watching her in silence.
These ponies sure don't talk much, do they?
As soon as Applejack recognized her sister, she had a million questions bubble up. But the glare she got from the other ponies in the room, seemingly still not trusting her to be who she said she was, made her decide to wait until a more private moment to ask them.
Now, here they were, in Apple Bloom 's private office. It was a large office, including a large desk and a conference table, at which Applejack was now seated.
The nameplate on the desk read "General Bloom". That had taken Applejack aback when she first heard it. When the unicorn from the jail turned and saluted Applejack and called her "General“, Applejack had to refrain herself from laughing out loud. Apparently she hadn't been entirely successful, and one glare from the unicorn wiped the smirk that had crept on her face right off.
General. Last she remembered, Equestria didn't even have an army, let alone one that was run by her baby sister. The world really had gone insane.
Applejack had barely finished her chowder when Apple Bloom opened the door to her office and rejoined her.
She looked tired, but lean and muscular. Now that they didn't have bars between them, Applejack could see the stars sewn on to the shoulders of her uniform, as well as onto the cap. As she stepped through the door, she tossed the cap onto a hook in the stone wall, revealing her hair. The last Applejack had seen it, it was tied in a bow nearly as large as her head. But now it was cut short, businesslike, military.
"Sorry." Apple Bloom set a stack of folders on her desk, then turned to her sister with a smile. "Had to take care of a few things to make sure we had some time t' chat."
Applejack stood up and gave her sister another warm hug, which Apple Bloom returned in kind.
"I reckon y'all got a few questions, Applejack. I know I do." Apple Bloom took a seat opposite the conference table from Applejack, who sat down as well.
"Well, let's start with 'what in tarnation is goin' on here?' and go from there, shall we? I gather I been away a while and don't remember nothin'..." Applejack trailed off, inviting her sister to fill her in.
"Yeah... just a little while." Apple Bloom looked a little sheepish. "We reckon about ten year, give or take a few weeks."
Applejack 's jaw dropped, but Apple Bloom continued. "Now, if y'all had shown up outta the blue, that would've been one thing. I'm y'all had been hidin' out while we'd been fightin' them icicles, y'all might have found yourself not exactly welcome around here." Applejack couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of something between regret and fear in her stomach.
"But you... you look exactly the way you did when I saw you last. Exactly. Y'all ain't got a gray hair, not a wrinkle, not an ounce of gristle on you." Applejack wasn't sure, but she thought her sister just called her fat.
"In short - and I can't say I quite understand it myself, but Sargent Belle says it's happened afore, so I believe her - the closest explanation we can muster is y'all time travelled."
Applejack held silent for a beat, and then guffawed at the absurdity of the notion.
"Time travel, sis? Y'all been readin' too many of those Science-y Fiction comics!" She nearly doubled over with laughter, but after a glance at the look on her sister's face, the laughter died in her throat.
"Applejack." The use of her full name was unnerving, she wished she would call her “AJ” or “sis’” or anything else. "We been fightin' monsters outta a children's fairy tale for almost a decade now. We use heat rays right outta Flash Garden." She sighed. "And I trust Belle. If'n she says "time travel," then that's what I run with."
It took Applejack a second to catch her breath, but when she reflected, it did make a certain amount of sense. After all, it seemed to her like she had gotten here in the blink of an eye. And the evidence that time had passed was literally staring her in the face, waiting for a reaction.
Still... time travel? Seriously!?
She supposed Twi had done it once before, but still. The thought of Twilight suddenly made her realize she hadn't thought of her friends since she woke up here.
"Wait one cotton pickin' minute, where's Twilight? Or Rainbow Dash, for that matter? Or Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie." As a realization struck her, her breath caught in her throat. "Or Big Mac." It was barely a whisper, and she could feel the blood drain from her cheeks. "Granny?"
Apple Bloom shook her head slowly, but her face betrayed not a hint of emotion. "We don't know about your friends. We had assumed they fell when the icicles first attacked." The mask cracked, only so slightly. "Big Mac... he sacrificed himself to save countless ponies in that attack. Granny, she..." Apple Bloom stopped short here, the end of the sentence hanging uncomfortably in the air between them.
Ten years ten years ago ain't got time to mourn ain't got time to cry there'll be time for that later...
"The attack came out of nowhere." Apple Bloom was looking at the table top, not meeting Applejack 's eyes. "There was no warnin', no hint it was comin'. One day, the fields frosted over in mid-July. The next, horses made of ice and snow were rampaging through Equestria, not stoppin' for nothin'."
Applejack took a moment to digest this. "Are they really Windigoes? Like in the Hearth’s Warmin' story?"
Apple Bloom shrugged. "Maybe. The description fits close 'nuff. 'ceptin' they don't seem to care two links about the 'power'a Friendship.'" She smiled. "They do seem to care 'bout the 'power'a concentrated sub-light beams generated by stored magical energy,' though. Or whatever it is that Belle calls it."
Applejack 's ears perked up, a connection suddenly made in her mind. "Belle? As in Sweetie Belle?"
Apple Bloom nodded. "She just goes by Belle now. Well, technically 'Sergeant Belle'. She... she never was the same after losin' her sister. I guess I know what that's like."
Applejack looked up again and into Apple Bloom 's eyes. For the first time, the depth of all those years was reflected in them. Applejack felt like she could lose herself in the pools of sadness and regret and loss she saw there. But a blink, and they were gone. Apple Bloom continued.
"Ponyville was hit early. We reckon we happened to be in the way between them and Canterlot. Or maybe they hit Canterlot first, and saw us as easy pickin’s. Heavens know we would've been wiped out completely if it hadn't been for Mac and Cheerilee." Apple Bloom stood up and walked to a sideboard, pouring two glasses of water. She took the tray with the glasses in her mouth and walked over to Applejack. She gratefully accepted, and took a sip, waiting for Apple Bloom to continue.
"It was jus' us foals for a while. It wasn't easy, but the school basement was safe enough until we figured out the icicles don't move at night. It was Scootaloo who found these caves, and we've been doin' our best to survive ever since." She took a sip of her own glass, pausing to collect her thoughts.
"We found other survivors. We sent out rescue parties all over Equestria in the early days. We still patrol regularly, though we haven't found any survivors in..." Apple Bloom looked briefly at the ceiling, concentrating. "Well, a good long time. ‘Till you, that is."
Applejack leaned back for a moment, and tried to picture the world her sister must have grown up in. Struggling to survive, to build up some semblance of normality after the terrible tragedy. Her own family dead or missing... Applejack would have given anything for the ability to take all the pain and suffering she had to endure from her. Her every muscle screamed at her to rush around the table and wrap her sister in a warm embrace, but the cold, distant look in Apple Bloom's eyes held her off somehow. Instead, she stirred at her soup again, lading a spoonful into her mouth in silence.
After what seemed like far too long, Applejack broke the silence. "Jus' how many of y'all are left?"
This made Apple Bloom's ears sag slightly. "Two thousand, one hundred, and twelve. Well, thirteen now."
Applejack was slightly amazed at the number. "Well that don't sound too bad. They all live here?"
Apple Bloom seemed to ignore her question. "Two thousand. Outta nearly two million ponies in Equestria, we're all that's left. 'Cept those that could flee across the borders, of course. We have no way a'knowin' how many ponies that might be. We can't even be sure any of the other nations survived."
Applejack could only nod, trying to grasp the enormity of the situation. Apple Bloom continued, and it was a comfort to Applejack just to hear her talk.
"We haven't heard from any of the other kingdoms since after the war broke out, and what emissaries and scouts we have sent to the borders never returned. The sad truth is, though, that if we haven't heard from them in all the years we been fightin', it probably means there ain't no one there left to fight."
All this talk of emissaries and kingdoms made a sudden, staggering thought come to Applejack's mind. "Wait a sec, what about the princesses? Celestia, and Luna! Why couldn' they stop the invasion?"
Apple Bloom shook her head, dourly. "They vanished, soon as the Windies appeared. Y'don't think that was our first instinct? Run to Canterlot and get the 'almighty princesses' t' save us?" Apple Bloom spit on the ground, barely hiding a grimace.
"We got there, and found the castle abandoned, Windies everywhere. We don't know whether they Princesses were overpowered and killed, or just vanished t' wherever it is alicorn princesses come from, but there weren't hide nor hair of them t' be found anywhere in the castle once we were able to search it."
"And Twilight? She's a princess too, y'know. Or her sister-in-law, Cadance?"
"Twilight vanished right in front'a our eyes, jus' like you did, jus' like the other princesses probably did in their castle walls. Jus' like the other former Elements'a Harmony. And if the Crystal Empire survived, they sure ain't made themselves known."
"Wait... Twilight vanished, jus' like me?"
Apple Bloom nodded. "So did Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. We figured the Windies knew that, even with the Elements locked away in the Tree, y'all might pose a threat to their plans, and somehow found a way to make y'all disappear."
"By sendin' us ten years into the future? What sense does that make?"
Apple Bloom's eyes narrowed, her lips forming a thin line. "I'm jus' sayin' what we were workin' off of at the time. We don't know whether it was the Windies or the Princesses or somethin' else entirely that made y'all disappear, all we know is y'all were gone. And yes," she held up a hoof, fending off any further statement from Applejack. "A'course we tried to find the Tree and use th'Elements ourselves. It was no use, Windies got there a'fore we did, chopped the thing down n'hauled it off, near as we can tell."
"So you're sayin' a bunch'a horses made of ice'n'snow, not only planned an invasion, but made the only threat to their conquest disappear? Somethin' the Changelings and Discord and King Sombra couldn't do, these old mare's tale creatures managed without any problem."
Apple Bloom just stood there, watching as Applejack let out her frustrations. After Applejack had a chance to catch her breath, Apple Bloom continued.
"We don't know for sure, not even after all these years, whether or not they had help. For all we know, Discord was on their side. Tartarus knows we ain't seen him since the invasion. But the truth is, we jus' don't know. We figure they must've had spies watching us for a while, but that's about as far as we can reckon. We're fightin' here every day jus' to survive, so y'all can imagine a history textbook ain't been our top priority."
Apple Bloom scowled, most of the kindness drained from her face. In that moment, Applejack could see the years of battle and strife reflected in her visage, the scars and lines that accumulated in the years making her look even older than she already was.
Again, the urge to run around the table and hold Apple Bloom close cam over her, but at the same time, the pony sitting across from her felt more like a stranger than her sister. To keep her hooves busy, Applejack reached for another spoonful of soup, only to find the bowl empty.
"If y'all finished your supper, y'all can come with me. I'll show y'all where you can sleep." Apple Bloom's face softened a little at her offer, but Applejack still thought she detected a hint of irritation in the General's voice.
She prob'ly ain't used t’ showin' ponies around like a applebuckin’ tour guide. She prob'ly has more important things t' be attendin' to.
Applejack felt her own irritation grow, but she tried to keep it from entering her face as she followed Apple Bloom wordlessly out the door. The two ponies walked in silence through the darkened tunnels. The stone walls were smooth, worn away by what looked like years of use. It soon became clear to Applejack, by the sheer number of branching corridors, staircases, and doors, that the underground complex must be massive. Once or twice they passed another pony, and each time the other party stepped aside to let them pass, offering a smart salute to the General.
The deference caught Applejack by surprise. She wouldn't have stood for such silliness had it been directed at her, and it took her slightly aback that her sister allowed them to carry on like that.
Finally, they came to a steeply-slanting corridor that opened up into a small chamber lined with doors. Apple Bloom trotted to one and gave the latch a tug, revealing a small room behind.
"Here y'are. Lav's are up the hall and to the right. Mess is at eight hundred hours sharp. If'n y'all need anythin' else, ask somepony to show y'all to the quartermaster's. But don't expect much. We mostly make do with what we got 'round here."
Applejack barely registered anything the General was saying. The room was small, barely larger than the broom closet she used to have in her old farmhouse. There was a cot with a thin blanket, a bare light bulb mounted to the opposite wall, and a short shelf.
Guess I better make the most of it. What would Granny Smith think if I started bellyachin' now.
She belatedly realized that Granny Smith was gone. As was anyone she knew or loved. Except her sister, and even her she barely recognized.
Apple Bloom took her silence to mean she had no questions, and turned to leave. Applejack just stared after her, watching her hindquarters as she climbed the steep corridor.
In that moment, it occurred to Applejack that Apple Bloom must have gotten her cutie marks by now, but her flank was covered by the dull green fatigues.
She almost wanted to call out, to ask her to come back, to show her them and tell her all about what she had missed. But it was too late. The General had disappeared around the corner. Applejack turned to her small cell - though, actually, her jail cell had been larger - and closed the door. It latched closed, though there was no lock. Left with barely enough room to turn around, she set her hat on the edge of the shelf, curled up on the cot, and turned out the light.
She had no sooner closed her eyes than she had fallen into a restless, dreamless sleep.
The summer sun shone down on her in slanted beams through the tree tops. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she swiped it off with a motion of her hoof. She lined up the shot, her powerful back legs aimed directly at the tree trunk. She tensed her muscles, then let fly. A single, intense, incredibly skilled buck landed square on the tree trunk. She could feel the vibrations in the tree trunk, watched them in slow motion as they traveled up the trunk and into the branches, setting loose the ripest of apples to land in her waiting baskets.
She was about to toss the baskets onto her back, to carry them to the apple cart where Big Mac would be waiting for her, when suddenly the sky changed colors.
She felt a chilling wind surround her, icicles forming on every surface. She wrapped her legs around herself to keep warm. She called out for Big Mac, but the gale swallowed her words. She tried to press forward, to Big Mac, to safety, but the wind held her in place. It swirled around her in a white vortex, a tornado of ice and snow with her at the center. Beneath her, blackness as the earth opened up to swallow her whole.
Applejack awoke with a start. Absolute darkness surrounded her, and for a moment she thought she was still in the dream.
It wasn't long before she heard the distant sound of muffled voices, and the much closer sound of a pony snoring in a nearby alcove.
Applejack stretched out a hoof and found the light switch, flicking it on. The single bulb dispelled the darkness, but did little to lift the gloomy atmosphere. Applejack tried not to think of the tons of earth and stone that must lie between her and fresh air and open skies.
She found her hat, setting it atop her head, and ran a hoof through her long tresses. They had already begun to snarl and tangle, and could use a good brushing, not to mention a wash. She thought back to the way Apple Bloom had cut her mane, short and boyish, and saw a certain amount of sense to that, given the circumstances.
Once she felt more or less presentable, her body presented her with... other urgent issues that wanted attending to.
Now, where did AB say th' "lavs" were?
She couldn't recall, the previous day had already faded into a gray, dull haze. She supposed she was still coming down off the adrenaline rush, and her brain hadn't quite caught the right gear yet.
She poked her head out the door and headed up the steep corridor. At the top, the tunnel ran perpendicular in both directions, the ends shrouded in darkness. Mentally flipping a coin, she turned right, and began trotting down the tunnel.
It wasn't long before she found the lavatories. They weren't much, little more than a hole in the ground, but they seemed to be fed by a trickle of water that kept them clean. There was even a washbasin filled with the same, ice-cold mountain water, and Applejack splashed some of it on her face and back. It felt good, bracing, but it also made her realize how thirsty she was. She considered drinking the water from the basin - it looked fresh and clean enough - but decided against it. After all, who knew how many hooves had been washed in that basin.
Her thirst was undeniable though, she she decided to set out in search of some sort of kitchen or grocery store or something.
The corridor beyond the lavatory was as devoid of ponies as it had been when she walked through it the first time. It occurred to Applejack that she had no idea what time of day - or night - it was. For all she knew, it was the middle of the night, or just past noon.
She missed the sun overhead. She missed the green grass beneath her hooves, and the fresh, unprocessed air.
She wasn't sure she could ever adjust to living in cramped tunnel like some kind of burrowing critter.
T'ain't like I got much of a choice though. It's this, or try my luck with th' Icicles outside, I reckon.
She gave the air a sniff, and thought - or, perhaps, imagined - that she smelled something cooking coming from the tunnel on her left. She trotted in that direction, taking random turns as she did so until she was hopelessly lost.
After a few minutes of this aimless walking, she stumbled into a small cavern. It smelled of stale sweat, and seemed to be outfitted to be a gym of some kind. Barbells and weights lined one wall, while the other had a series of ropes and pulleys designed to exercise different muscle groups. Additionally, the room contained a pony, straining on her back as she lifted what looked to be her own weight above her head.
It took a moment, but Applejack recognized the pony as the one who had escorted her to the hideout - the "Captain" - partially due to the fact that she wasn't wearing her olive drab uniform. In fact, the only thing she was wearing now was a faded yellow headband to keep the sweat out of her sea-green eyes.
Applejack sized her up for a moment. The pony was all muscle, but not grotesquely so. Her toned, pale pink body was glistening with sweat. Her cutie mark, a wagon wheel, seemed to shimmer under the moisture.
Applejack cleared her throat. "Beggin' your pardon, but I was wonderin' if y'all could tell me where I might be able to rustle up some grub?"
The unicorn's concentration faltered momentarily, as she cast an eye and flicked an ear in Applejack's direction. She continued to pumping the weights though, her impressive biceps shimmering with sweat from the strain.
Applejack waited patiently. Had she been back home, she might have been growing impatient by now. But, given the circumstances, she felt it might be best to keep a low profile, let her frustrations stay beneath the surface.
If she let them show now, that might only open the floodgates, and there was a lot of emotion waiting to well up. No, better to keep it under control. Wait, watch the Captain as she completed her set.
Waitin'. Seems t' be all I ever do these days. That'n run for my life
The unicorn finished her set and fixed Applejack with a level gaze.
"Can I help 'ya?" The unicorn levitated a towel to her forehead as she spoke.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to bother y'all. I was jus' wonderin' if I might y'all might have somewhere I could get some grub, and maybe some water?"
The unicorn stared at her for half a second, then reached out with her hoof and tossed Applejack a small canteen. Applejack caught it in her teeth, trying to smile gratefully as she did so. She was afraid it might have come across as more of a deranged smirk, but the unicorn didn't seem to notice.
Taking a sip from the tepid water inside, Applejack felt instantly relieved. "So... I never did catch your name, sugarcube?"
The unicorn shook out her mane, beads of sweat flying through the air. "You're Applejack, right?" The unicorn levitated the canteen back to her own lips, not bothering to wipe the rim first. "Boss' old mare?"
Applejack wasn't quite sure how to respond to this pointed non-answer of her question, so she simply nodded.
The unicorn gave a smirk. "I must say, your family ages gracefully."
Again, Applejack was at a loss for a response, but there was a twinkle in the unicorn's eye that made her feel more at ease.
"Thank'ee kindly, miss..." Again, she tried to fish for a name.
This time, the unicorn held out a hoof. "Name's Spokes. Pleasure to meet you."
Applejack shook the offered hoof, the other's mare's flesh clammy from the workout.
"A pleasure t' meet you, Spokes. Now, if I ain't a bother, could y'all point me in the direction of the mess? I'd be much obliged."
"Sure." Spokes began storing the weights, her back turned to Applejack. "Was headed there myself. Give me a few, and I'll show you the way."
Applejack was about to offer to lend a hoof, but Spokes had the equipment stowed before she even had a chance to speak up. Without a word, Spokes trotted past her and down the tunnel Applejack had just entered from.
Applejack wasn't sure if it was hunger, lack of sleep, or just plain disorientation, but she realized how light-headed she felt as she followed the mare. Her tail, a cherry-red hue, bobbed in front of her hypnotically as she followed. Spokes kept it short, boyish, though not nearly as short as Apple Bloom kept it.
Something that Spokes had said earlier set her ear twitching. "Hold up a sec, did y'all just ask if I was AB's mom?"
Spokes cast a glance over her shoulder, but kept up the pace. "Yeah, ain't ya?"
Applejack shook her head vehemently. "Older sister. I may be in the wrong time, but I ain't that old!"
Spokes looked straight ahead and continued on. "Sorry, my mistake ma'am." It was hard to tell with her coat the color it was, but Applejack thought she could detect a hint of color in her cheeks. "Got my wires crossed."
"No harm done. I thought y'all meant older sister earlier." Applejack said, as way of clarification. Spokes seemed not to hear her as she turned a corner and down a set of stairs.
Sensing the conversation falter, Applejack instead tried to commit to memory the route they were taking. She was truly impressed at the expanse of the base. There were doors and passages meeting the tunnel just about every few paces, and the two of them passed ponies going the opposite direction on multiple occasions. None of them really paid them any mind, though, too focused on their own activities to notice that one of the ponies hadn't been with them for even a full day.
The air was think with the scent of the ponies living in the cramped, airless conditions. Applejack tried to picture what it must have been like, living underground and out of the sun for almost a decade. Her mind balked at the very notion. She couldn't imagine being apart from the green grass, blue sky, and brown apple tree trunks.
The musk of two thousand ponies slowly gave way to cooking smells as Spokes led her up one final set of stairs.
As Applejack reached the top of the stairs, what she had at first taken to be a slightly larger room bit by bit revealed itself to be a truly massive cavern. The ceiling receded away into the darkness, lit by an array of fluorescent bulbs around its nearly circular perimiter. The only way Applejack could even make out the top of the dome-shaped void was through the flickering light of a large cooking fire set in the center of the room. Ponies were huddled around it, engaged in conversation and watching the flames dance under the metal grille, on top of which were an array of pots and pans slowly simmering away. The smoke rose nearly straight up before disappearing through a hole in the pinnacle of the dome. A pair of pegasus ponies darted around near where the chimney started, hanging vegetables and long strands of grass to be smoked in long rows hanging from the ceiling.
Just below that, a trio of wooden shelves were mounted into the walls all around the perimeter, and Applejack could just make out a number of pegasi, and even a flightless pony or two, sitting there with their legs dangling and chattering among each other.
The floor was laid out with benches and tables, all horribly mismatched as though they had been scavenged from homes all over Equestria. Most of the seats were empty, though what seemed to be a lively game of cards was happening at one circular table, tucked into an alcove along the wall.
All in all, with the shelves and ladders leading to them, the cavern looked like it could easily hold the full two thousand some ponies that made up the settlement, and still have room for a small dragon or two.
It wasn't until Spokes made a clicking noise from halfway to the center of the cavern that Applejack realized she had been standing at the top of the stairs, gaping. She quickly took Spoke's jerk of the head as a hint, and cantered hurriedly to catch up with her.
An earth pony in a tattered apron appeared from a set of stairs hidden in the floor that circled the cooking fire. She was carrying a tray piled high with wooden bowls that glinted dimly with the moisture of having been recently washed. The mare spoke a muffled greeting to Spokes as she set the tray on a once-ornate sideboard next to and assortment of spoons and cups, before returning down the stairs to what Applejack assumed must have been the kitchens.
Spokes didn't hesitate in picking up a pair of bowls in her dull red magic, glancing at Applejack for approval. Applejack gave a slight nod, and watched as Spokes ladled a thin broth soup from one of the pots into each of them.
Applejack followed Spokes to a table near the fire, and sat down opposite her. Spokes wasted little time in carefully lifting a spoon to her mouth, blowing across it to help cool the boiling liquid.
Applejack would have lifted the entire bowl to her mouth, but given steam rising from it to mix with the smoke that hung in the air, she felt it would be best to let it cool for a while first.
"So..." A laugh rose from one end of the cavern, interrupting Applejack's attempt to make conversation, but it quickly bubbled away. "Where y'all from, Spokes?"
Spokes slurped the soup loudly from her spoon before replying. "You're new here." She stated it as a fact, though it almost sounded like an accusation. "So you don't know yet, but I'll tell you now. We... don't really talk about before." Spokes slurped another spoonful, and Applejack suddenly found the contents of her own bowl extremely fascinating.
"But," Spokes continued, her tone softening some. "If you must know, I came from Detrot, by the way of Appleloosa." There was something in the way she spoke the name of the town that made it sound less like a place, and more like an event. Applejack realized with a mild shock that she had almost forgotten they were in the middle of a war.
I sure hope Braeburn didn't get himself tangled in nuthin' serious.
She knew it was a vain hope.
Spokes had taken the opportunity to feed herself another three spoonfuls, and Applejack felt it was worth risking a sip herself.
"I was twelve when the Icicles attacked." Spokes stared at the wall behind Applejack as she spoke, her eyes glazing over. "They didn't hit the North until nearly a month after the invasion started. I remember hearing the news reports, seeing the ponies mustering in the middle of town, getting ready to march and fly against the Frosties." Spokes took another sip, slowly savoring the taste. Applejack tried to sip quietly. The soup was thin, but warmed her belly quite nicely.
"Canterlot had already fallen by then, but we still hoped - prayed - that they would turn back, be satisfied with what they had already conquered. But there was no stopping them. They were going to take back the land that once belonged to them, one way or another."
Spokes shook her head, then looked into Applejack's eyes over the rim of the soup bowl she had held in her hooves. "I enlisted at the age of fifteen. Far too young. I wasn't home when Detrot was evacuated. I don't even know what happened to my family. I only hope they made it to the Griffon Empire."
Spokes lifted her hoof to her eye, the held it out in front of her, staring at it as though in amazement. "Huh." She set her hoof back down. "Guess you do run out of tears eventually." She went to spoon another portion of soup, only to find her bowl empty.
"Anyway, like I said, I was in Appleloosa, and when that went to Tartarus, Bloom found me." A hint of a smile crossed her face, and she even let out a faint chuckle. "General Bloom, thought she wasn't a general then, and you didn't here me call her nuthin' else, we clear?" She even winked at Applejack, who was currently pouring the last drops of soup down her throat. "You're welcome to help yourself to seconds, by the way."
"You sure?" Applejack felt extremely hungry, but she didn't think food could be too plentiful, and didn't want to take more than her fair share.
Spokes just waved a hoof in midair. "Normally, it might be frowned on, but we take care of our own. You've been through a lot, it's the least we can do to help. Besides," Spokes leaned slightly over the table, lowering her voice. "The faster you're back to full strength, the faster we can put ya to work!" As she grinned, her horn began to glow, and Applejack's bowl began to lift itself off the table and hover in the general direction of the fire.
Not wanting to be rude, Applejack let her host fill up a second bowl of the soup, even though at the same time she felt like a freeloader for not fetching her own food.
"'Put me to work' how, do ya reckon? I ain't much of a fighter."
"Well, we don't all fight, at least not all the time. Sure, we're all prepared to defend ourselves should the Icicles get too near, but a good number of us here are just like you. Farmers, tailors, cooks, cobblers... I used to make carts, myself, and I still do when the need arises." Spokes set the bowl back down in front of her guest, who blew over it in an effort to quicken its cooling. "But I think you may be of more use out there than you think. Bloom, well... Let's just say, I've heard a few stories. Discord, the Changelings, Nightmare Moon... is it true you took on a red dragon single-hoofed?"
Applejack tilted her head down, ostensibly to blow over the soup bowl, but having the nice side effect of the brim of her hat hiding her cheeks. "T'wasn't single-hoofed. Each of those times you mentioned, I had my girls with me."
Applejack had to take a deep breath at the thought of her best friends from before all this happened.
Can't let myself think about what must've happened to them. RD and Twi, they got bite in'em, but Rarity? 'Shy? Best not to dwell...
She barely noticed Spokes' wide-eyed, slack-jawed stare. "What?"
"I... I was just teasing. I mean, sure, Bloom told us some tall tales, but... are you saying that all really happened?!"
Applejack tilted her head slightly, then began ticking off with her hoof in midair. "Changelings, check. Discord, double check - though 'Shy has to take most of the credit there. Nightmare Moon? That was the first night Twi came into our lives." She found herself smiling at the memory. "We five had such quiet lives before she came to town, but I wouldn't trade it, not for all the apples in Equestria!"
Applejack blinked, realizing with a start that, for a moment, she was miles away, and ages ago. Twilight, Fluttershy... they were all gone now. Equestria was a very different place now, and it didn't belong to the ponies anymore.
Spokes didn't seem to notice. She seemed to be hanging on Applejack's every word. "Wow... I can't imagine having been friends with the Princess... and a bearer of the Elements, before you had to give them up. And now, here you are, drinking soup with a nopony wainwright's apprentice from Detrot..."
"Yeah..." Applejack forced a chuckle. "The world sure is funny sometimes."
She tried to ignore the lump in her throat as she spoke the words, chasing it down with a sip of soup.
"Kinda makes ya wonder what happened to the other five Elements. Y'know, after they disappeared."
Applejack's hoof froze in mid-air, lips pursed to take another sip from the bowl. Slowly, evenly, she set it back on the table.
"What did y'all just say, sugarcube?"
"Hmm?" Spokes was using her magic to toy with her tail and mane. "You mean about the other five elements? Well, everypony knows they disappeared when the Icicles attacked. Just like you did."
Applejack's eyes narrowed. "They weren't captured or killed or got outta Equestria? You absolutely sure?"
"Well, nopony knows for sure." Spokes caught on to the intensity in Applejack's voice. She began to chew on her lower lip, thoughtfully. "Bloom would know the best, but yeah, after the invasion, we hadn't seen hide nor hair of any of the bearers. Until you showed up, that is." Spokes' gaze locked with Applejack's. "Out of nowhere... With no memory of the past ten years..."
Applejack nodded slowly as she watched Spokes reach the same notion she had.
"So what y'all are sayin'" Applejack completed the thought for the both of them. "Is that if I got flung forward in time, and the other five disappeared the same time I did..."
"...then it stands to reason that the same thing might have happened to them!"
Spokes stood up suddenly, nearly flipping their table, and sending the soup sloshing in the bowl. "We have to inform the General immediately!" All hint of 'Bloom' had left her voice, and she was back in full-on solider mode. Applejack stood up in turn, and found herself jogging to catch up with Spokes, who was making a beeline for a door in the back of the cavern.
Well, don't that beat all. Applejack couldn't help but smile as she chased after the Captain. Maybe everythin' will work out after all.
She tried to ignore the voice that reminded her, things almost never do.
The room Spokes brought Apple jack too was well-protected. A pair of guard ponies armed with sharp-looking spears stood by a heavy iron door, only to step aside with a salute once the recognized the Captain.
Inside the door was a large room, dominated by an oval wooden table in the center. Every last inch of wall space seemed to be taken up by maps, charts, graphs and images.
For all its size, the room was barely occupied. Apple Bloom was standing in one corner, having a conversation in mildly hushed tones with a pair of ponies, also in dark uniforms.
The Captain stood near the door, barely moving a muscle, waiting for the conference to come to an end. Applejack tried to take her example, but found her hooves began to itch with impatience. She may have cleared her throat once, unconsciously. Twice, at the very most.
Eventually, Apple Bloom looked their way, and brought the discussion to a close. The ponies broke away, and trotted past them to the door.
Apple Bloom barely acknowledged their existence, instead moving to where a large map covered part of the table.
"Ma'am, your mo- Applejack here has something she'd like to report."
Apple Bloom spared them the briefest of glances. "Not now, Captain. You are dismissed."
"Ma'am." Spokes saluted the General smartly, then turned on her heels to walk back out.
"Now wait jus' a cotton pickin' moment!" Applejack felt heat rise to her cheeks. "I got somethin' important to say, y'all jus' can't ignore me like that! I'm your sister, for Celestia's sake!"
Apple Bloom turned to give Applejack her full attention. Applejack felt herself digging her hooves in, not backing down an inch as her sister fixed her with a level, stern glare.
"What is it, sister?" The stress on the title made it sound like part insult, partly dismissive.
"Well," Applejack swallowed. "You see, I was thinkin'... you know how I jus' appeared here after I disappeared all those years ago? And, y'all know how Twi, RD, an' the rest disappeared th' same time I did?" She had to force her feet to stay on the ground, not to scratch the itch that was crawling up her leg. "Well... what if th' same thing happened to them what happened to me? Y'know... the 'time travel'... thingamajig?"
Apple Bloom stared at her, her eyes half-lidded. "Really?" Her tone was almost as though she was speaking to a five-year old. "You came up with that notion all by your lonesome, did ya?"
Applejack glanced at Spokes, still standing at attention beside her. "Well... Spokes here helped."
Spokes didn't move a muscle, yet somehow managed to seem like she was retreating just the same.
Apple Bloom's eyes made the tiniest of rolling motions. "And it took you all of, what, twelve hours?" Applejack really did feel heat in her cheeks, but not from anger this time.
Apple Bloom turned to the table and pointed at a few markers on the map. "I've already sent out three pegasus platoons to scour the skies for new arrivals, as well as sent out earth pony couriers to our various outposts to inform them to be on the lookout. What's more, Belle is already hard at work tryin' to narrow down the search field, with what little we know of the magic involved." She turned around to look Applejack square in the eye. Applejack was struck by how strange it was to be at eye level with the pony who, only a few days ago, barely came up to her knee. "But, thank you for rushin' up here with your thoughts. They were very helpful."
Applejack held very still, though she could feel her body trembling. Her eyes felt hot and moist. She could hear the blood pumping in her ears.
Apple Bloom turned to Spokes. "I believe I dismissed you, Captain." It was spoken as a statement of fact, and Spokes saluted wordlessly, and head towards the door. Applejack turned to follow her.
"Applejack, can I have a word with you?" Applejack turned to look at Apple Bloom, whose position and expression hadn't changed.
Apple Bloom waited for the metal door to close behind Spokes before taking a few steps toward Applejack.
"I know you're new here, and you're the closest thin' I have to fam'ly."
Closest thing!?
Applejack clamped her mouth shut to keep from screaming in Apple Bloom's face.
Apple Bloom continued without a pause. "But I will not have you diprespectin' me in front of my subordinates."
Apple Bloom's face was mere inches from Applejack's muzzle now. "You have somethin' you want to say to me, y'all can go through the channels everypony else does, but I ain't got time for y'all to be comin'
up here, talkin' to me like I'm eight years old still. Do y'understand me?"
Applejack nodded, feebly. "Good. Then y'all are dismissed." Apple Bloom turned on her heels and stalked away. Applejack swallowed, and slowly made her way back to the door.
Well. That went well.
Spokes was waiting for her just outside the heavy metal door. She didn't say a word, giving Applejack a chance to come down as they trotted together silently through the maze of tunnels.
Only after Applejack felt she could trust herself to open her mouth again without spewing words that she really didn't want to be caught saying in mixed company, did she realize that she hadn't the foggiest idea where the two of them were going.
"Um," she began, looking over at the pink mare.
Spokes continued to look forward, but a crooked smile formed on the half of the face Applejack could see. "Feel better?"
Applejack nodded dully. Spokes trotted on, turning a sharp corner. "Bloom has that effect on ponies. It's part of what makes her such a great leader. If I had to guess," Spokes winked. "She probably got that from her sister."
Applejack hung her head, the barest of blushes forming on her cheeks.
"She really ain't the filly I remember, is she?"
Applejack hadn't even noticed they stopped, on an intersection of four hallways that smelled faintly of axle grease and ozone. When she felt a hoof on her shoulder, she returned to the present once more.
"It's been, what, ten years?" Spoke's tone was gentle. soothing. "And they haven't exactly been the easiest on any of us."
"Yeah." Applejack looked up, into Spokes' green eyes. "I suppose they ain't."
"Once you get to know her, you'll see she's not so bad. You just got to... give her a chance to get used to the situation, that's all."
Applejack nodded again, chewing her lower lip.
Spokes retracted her hoof and gave Applejack a gentle punch on the shoulder.
"C'mon, I think I know something that will make you feel better." With a swish of her cropped tail, Spokes turned around and headed down one of the corridors. Applejack followed as the smell and sounds of machinery grew more prominent.
The corridor ended not in a door, but rather onto a ledge overlooking another large cavern, though not nearly as huge as the mess hall. And, unlike the mess hall, this chamber was brightly lit by fluorescents and spotlights, a mismatched array that was bolted to the walls and ceilings.
The ledge led to a catwalk, which in turn led to a set of stairs that led into the pit below. From their vantage point, Applejack could see at least a dozen ponies, mostly unicorns, milling about with a sense of quiet urgency.
The conversations and discussions of the ponies below were masked by the whine and whir of the machinery that took up the majority of the floor below. Applejack couldn't wrap her head around what all the machines were for, but the ponies working them looked to very proficient at using them.
As the two of them descended the stairs, Applejack could see that many of them were wearing white lab coats, if slightly grimy and grey from use. None of them seemed to pay the two visitors any mind as they went around their various businesses.
Applejack was grateful at least that Spokes seemed to know where she was going. They weaved around machines and piles of parts, long workbenches littered with parts and tools, and ponies running from one workstation to the next with little regard for anything going on around them.
As they rounded one particularly complex machine that rose twice as high as Applejack herself, she saw a small area that seemed to be separated from the rest of the workshop. Benches were arranged in a semi circle around a set of three large blackboards. Each one of the blackboards was scribbled full of indecipherable symbols and complex equations, with space only left for large, complex diagrams.
Standing in front of one of the boards with her back turned to the mares was a white unicorn. Her lab coat was, almost paradoxically, spotlessly white, and covered her cutie mark and the base of her tail. Her mane and tail were both bi-colored pink and purple, and both long and disheveled.
The mare seemed to be muttering something to herself, tapping a stick of chalk to her mouth absently.
Spokes stood and cleared her throat, but the mare didn't seem to notice.
"But if the coefficient is negative, that would mean..." she levitated the stick of chalk to an equation high on the board, then erased a notation with her hoof closer to the bottom. "But then that would mean that this would have to be a function of the sine, not the cosine..."
Spokes cleared her throat even more loudly, to the point where it was almost a cough. The mare tossed her hair over her shoulder, and spared them the briefest of glances, then went right back to her board. The chalk was staining her lips white to match her coat, but the mare didn't seem to notice or, if she did, to care.
Spokes rolled her eyes, and moved over to give the mare a tap on the flank.
The mare let out a "squeak," and turned around to see who had interrupted her concentration.
As she saw her face, Applejack's jaw dropped. For the briefest of moments, she saw her friend Rarity standing in front of her, plain as day. It was only when she blinked, and registered the color of her mane, did she remember where she was.
"Sweetie Belle?" Applejack could barely believe her eyes.
The mare across from her cringed slightly at the sound of her name. She seemed to ignore Applejack as she turned to Spokes.
"I told you, I'm working as fast as we can, but we really don't have anything to go off of." Sweetie Belle's eyes darted toward Applejack for a fraction of a second before returning to Spokes. "One data point might as well be none. Tell the General that, unless another pony materializes out of thin air anytime soon, any results I give her will be little better than guesswork."
Sweetie Belle's eyes seemed to glaze over, as she stared past Spokes into the middle distance. "Unless we can figure out what spell was used... hmm, maybe if I could take some readings where the pony appeared..."
Applejack was about to interject, when Spokes spoke up. "You know Bloom won't let you out there. You're far to valuable to us for field work. You know that."
Sweetie Belle's ear flicked, the only acknowledgement that she made that she had heard the mare.
Applejack cleared her throat, though it had about as much effect as it had when Spokes did so. "Sweetie Belle, don't y'all remember me? It's me, Applejack!"
Sweetie Belle turned and fixed her gaze on Applejack. Her eyes seemed to scan her, as though working out a complex puzzle in her mind with most of the pieces missing. The unicorn took a half step forward.
"Applejack. Of the Apple family. Bearer of the Element of Honesty, last seen 4 April, 1005 A.B." She took another half step forward, her voice nearly lifeless, as though reading from a file. "Sister to General Bloom, companion of Princess Sparkle. Yes. I know who you are. Now, if you excuse me, I've already performed my readings on you while you were alseep. You have nothing more you can help me with, and I have a lot of work to do..."
With that, she pressed past the two ponies and rounded one of the tall machines, out of sight.
"Well..." Applejack wasn't sure what had happened, or how she felt about having been "measured" whil she was asleep. She scratched a forehoof, wordlessly.
Spokes turned to face her. "Well... that kinda backfired."
"She... did she even remember me?"
"The thing you have to remember about Belle," Spokes looked in the direction she had disappeared in, and lowered her voice. "From what Bloom says, she was never really the same after her sister disappeared."
Applejack nodded, her hoof still scratching her foreleg. Spokes continued, "Bloom says she threw her whole energy into finding out where she went. And, when that failed, she became obsessed with science, hoping to find a way to end this war."
Applejack gulped back the tears that once again threatened to overwhelm her face. "I see... Poor thin'."
"Yeah." Spokes sighed. "Sorry, thought it might do you good to see a familiar face."
Applejack placed a hoof on Spokes', only to have her flinch back in response. "Sorry... I really do appreciate it though. It was... nice to see Sweetie Belle again. Jus' wish it coulda been under better circumstances."
Applejack let out a loud laugh, in spite of herself. She was fairly certain she had just heard the biggest understatement ever uttered by ponykind.
Applejack wasn't sure what to do with herself after the ill-fated meeting with the pony from her past. Spokes had to excuse herself, as her duties as squadron leader called to her.
Applejack was sorry to lose the company of a familiar face, but she supposed there was no reason she should cause any more disruption to daily life in the fortress than she already had.
Before she left, Spokes offered to show her the way back to her tiny living quarters. Applejack gave it some thought, and politely declined, though she would be much obliged if she could show her back to the mess.
Spokes was all too happy to comply, though the path was actually much shorter than Applejack had anticipated.
She felt like she was getting a little better at keeping her bearings in the dark and twisting passages. She at least felt she had a handle on how high - how deep? - they were, if she sometimes got a bit confused about which way was north. A few intersections and doorways even seemed familiar by now, though she couldn't say how they all fit together.
Conversation with Spokes was light as she led her back to the massive cavern. Applejack asked her about her squadron, and Spokes replied that it really just consisted of the three ponies that had found her. They were usually assigned patrol duty, spending five or six days out in the wastelands, tracking enemy movement and the like. They were also officially to look out for survivors, though it wasn't a duty any of the ponies expected to have to exercise this far into the war.
Patrol squads were always arranged in threes, one pony of each type. Pegasi served as advance scouts, and could warn of Windigoes in the area. Earth ponies usually carried the bulk of the supplies, and unicorns provided the magical charge needed for their weapons.
The weapons, which Spokes called simply "heat rays," were apparently one of Sweetie Belle's inventions, and the one that finally turned the tide of war in the ponies' favor.
Applejack didn't have time for much more exploration of recent history, since she was deposited rather unceremoniously at the entrance to the mess hall, which was even emptier than it had been the first time Applejack was in it.
One thing she hadn't quite gotten a handle on was telling what time of day it was. Without the sun overhead, she was fairly lost in that regards, especially since she had hardly seen a clock since she had arrived.
The cooking fire was low now, burned down to little more than coal and ashes. The looks of the ponies scurrying about, collecting dishes from the various tables littering the hall, gave Applejack the impression she had just missed meal time. Her stomach was still full from the soup, so she didn't bemoan that fact one bit.
She did notice, however, that her sense of smell seemed to have dulled since she first arrived. In the hours she spent here, she somehow managed to become accustomed to the smell of sweat and musk and food and, in a word, ponies, that permeated the underground fortress. There was one smell that managed to permeate the combined odor of over two thousand ponies - that of freshly brewed, very dark, coffee.
Applejack never had been much of a coffee drinker in her time. She preferred a nice, hot cider on those days when the chill cut through her coat and down to the bone. But the smell had a quality of familiarity to it, and she found herself drawn towards it as if by a subtle magic.
She found the pot, just to the other side of the cooking fire, being maintained by an elderly-looking stallion with kind eyes. It was only after she had let herself be hoofed a cup of the black, oily brew, that she realized that the pony serving it was probably no older than herself. Or rather, that he was most likely born around the same time. She squinted at him briefly to see if she could recognize him, but if he had been from Ponyville, the toll the war took on him left him unrecognizable to Applejack's eyes.
"Thank'ee kindly" she said, doffing her hat, and carefully carried the mug in her teeth to set it down on a nearby table. The mug had an image of a smiling yellow sunflower, with the words "Sunshine Cafe, The Finest Coffee in Manehattan" written in faded black lettering circling it. Not for the first time that day, Applejack had to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation she found herself in.
She sipped the coffee, carefully. It was thin, so weak as to more resemble hot water with a hint of coffee flavor, but it was hot and welcome just the same.
As she sat there, gingerly sipping the near-coffee, she allowed - for perhaps the first time since she had arrived - her mind to wander.
She thought of Sweetie Belle, of her sister. Of what she had learned about Big Mac and Granny and everypony she ever knew or held dear.
She thought of this terrible war she woke up in the middle of. About the Hearthswarming stories about Windigoes and the power of cooperation that banished them from the land.
Was it really magic that drove them away? Or did we fight them for this land once, long ago, before any pony's memory? Even before Luna and Celestia arrived. Maybe we're still fighting that same war, just from opposite sides?
She thought about her friends, Fluttershy and Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie. Were they really out there, somewhere in the wastes? Or had the Windigoes found them already, and... She refused to let her mind wander down that path. Twilight and RD could take care of themselves, she was sure, but Fluttershy? And Rarity, though she loved her, these weren't Diamond Dogs they were dealing with. And Pinkie... well, Celestia only knew what Pinkie Pie would do.
Probably throw the Windies a "Welcome to your new occupied nation" party.
Applejack smirked at the thought. She hoped they were all right. Her hooves itched the more she thought about it, from being trapped underground while her friends were in a dark and dangerous future. The coffee turned bitter in her mouth as she downed the last drop.
She slammed the cup on the table as she finished the drink, adding to the multitude of chips and fractures in the cheap plaster.
I'll be dag-gummed if I'm gonna sit here doin' nothin'.
With a determined look on her face, she stormed out of the mess hall.
Moments later, she found herself completely, and hopelessly, lost.
