• Chapter Three: One Down, Five to Go •

…

The laugh echoed across the dark room, as Chrysalis stared exaltedly through her Magic Mirror. She watched as Cinderainbow cried, between sweeping the floor, with dainty brushes. The broom shivered slightly, because of the cyan filly's quivering hooves.

"Oh, I love it when I succeed you know! One down, five to go!" Chrysalis smirked. She lifted her hoof, and ran it down the side of the mirror obsessively.

"You won't get away with this!" Chrysalis turned around to see who had snapped that, and she saw Soarin and Scootaloo still in the cage she had put up. The cage was small, and the two were squeezed in the compacted area. They still stayed close to each other, huddling close to the other shivering body for protection,

"What are you two still doing here? You could listen to my evil plans, oh what a near miss, so near!" Chrysalis had forgotten she still had those to maggots locked up. She marched up to the two ponies, stopping right in front of the cage, a narrow gap between her and the two shuddering pegasi.

"I have plans for you two anyway; you both fell into my trap. Although you were not meant to come, I'll fix this darn mishap." Chrysalis's horn glowed and a highlighter-green aura lifted from it. The magic fizzled, and it swarmed gracefully around Scootaloo. The little orange pegasi squeaked as she was teleported outside of the cage, and before Chrysalis. The trembling little form cowered, keeping the fur from her belly brushed against the floor as she crouched down, terrified.

"My dear, little pony,

I am going to teleport you.

Just on the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Goodbye Scootaloo."

Chrysalis's magic opened up a portal, swirling dangerously, as Scootaloo was levitated into the air. The little pony screamed, and tried running out of the levitation, but it was useless, as she was lifted through the portal, which was now shrivelling down. The portal spiralled out of existence, and the only remains of Scootaloo was her smell, and the sound of her little voice lingering in the air.

"Don't forget to watch out for the Big Bad Wolf!" Chrysalis cackled, a smirk enfolding on her face. The evil queen turned to the remaining pegasi. "Oh poor, dear Soarin, did you think you'd go unseen? Well what I'm about to do to you, means you'll never see your queen!" A green aura from her horn wafted over Soarin, spiralling, suffocatingly around the little colt. She then teleported him before her. The pale blue colt with the darker blue mane was less anxious as Scootaloo was though, as he stood tall, only trembling slightly.

"You will not get away with this; I'll get Dashie back, just wait. Not even your magic can destroy our friendship, it cannot change our fate." The blue pegasi trotted toward the mirror and peered through it, staring at Cinderainbow in despair. She looked miserable, as she began cleaning the chimney, making her grey mane go even duller. Chrysalis trotted up behind him, and gave a fake-sympathetic glance. To her surprise, Chrysalis breathed in something... the aroma coming from Soarin... It tasted like... love! The power was immense, Chrysalis could barely handle it, and she ate it up hungrily.

"Is it just friendship you feel for her, or is it something much, much more? Being a changeling, I scent an aroma coming from your emotions, your. You love her, don't you? You love her from bottom to top. You'll do anything to get her back, you will keep going and never stop." She smirked, as Soarin turned to her in shock. His eyes clouded, and he looked down at the ground.

"So what if I love her, it doesn't change anything to this. It just means I'll push harder to find her, I'll win her, and I won't miss."

Chrysalis' grin broadened. "But what if Soarin, what if she doesn't love you back? What if you're so hideous she'll have a heart attack?"

Soarin peered up in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Poor Prince Soarin, poor Prince Charming,

I'm making you a dwarf.

Your personality is now sleepy.

You must be feeling awf'.

You will never meet Cinderainbow at the ball,

There'll be five others just like you.

You'll never have one, who'll love you back,

Your life is now askew!

Magic whizzed around Soarin, blazing down his skin. Chrysalis watched in glee as the pony began to shrink.

"What are you doing to me?" He was screaming in agony, as Chrysalis watched contentedly as he writhed around in pain. She changed his face, and made him look the opposite of himself. The magic gave a loud pop as it was finally finished and the dwarf stood before her in horror.

"Bye, bye Prince Charming! Or shall I say- Sleepy!" Chrysalis gave a nasty giggle, and waved her hoof goodbye to him, as he got sucked into a portal she had opened up behind him. She smirked, watching the flailing pony be tossed and turned around the closing wrath. She turned around, grinning, and her eyes widened, before narrowing. To her surprise, the draconequus was there.

"I have to say, that was a bit harsh- even for you. I stopped by, just to see how you're going, and now are you looking for number two?" The draconequus summoned a haystack, and pulled a needle out of Chrysalis's ear, sticking it right in the straw. Chrysalis, holding her ear in surprise, peered down at the haystack, trying to work out why the draconequus had summoned that, and then she remembered the poem Zecora had given her.

"One is as competitive as a race with not one lack."

"Two is as determined as a needle in a haystack."

"Hmm..." Chrysalis mumbled, staring at the haystack, trying to work out what she could do to find out who the most determined pony was. In the meantime, Discord was knitting out of the straw, into the form of an apple.

"Determined... A haystack... I got it!" Chrysalis hopped up and down, and the draconequus grinned, turning the apple into a lightbulb, and levitating it above her head. It buzzed a bright golden light, before it turned to vapour, whisking its way down from the sky, before forming a puddle on the ground. The water from the puddle sprouted up into an apple tree.

Chrysalis turned around, and paced up and down the room, with the draconequus scoffing behind her, watching in amusement.

"Determined ponies are ponies who always get their job done, but why would the poem say a haystack, for one? Where are most haystacks out there for two? In a farm! And this farm can't just be any farm out of a few. Most farms these days use magic to do everything, but the most determined race of ponies are earth ponies, are you listening? This needs to be a farm where the ponies do all the ploughing an apple bucking by themselves, they make food, they make, they are makers. You cannot get any more determined than that, and the most popular farm ran by earth ponies is... Sweet Apple Acres!" Chrysalis grinned, and the draconequus clapped his hands, and the sound that came sounded like a whole audience of ponies were clapping.

"Well see ya Chrysy! Now you have solved this mystery. I'll be back to annoy you, don't worry. Now I need to be gone, I'm sort of in a hurry!" The draconequus teleported away and Chrysalis sat down, thinking.

"I need to disguise myself... I'll say I'm inspecting the farm. Then I'll create some mysterious harm. Let's see who's the most determined to make things right, this will be the pony's very last night!" Chrysalis smirked, and yawned, ready to go to bed, but first she went up to the mirror, while she was still in her beautiful form.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall... Who is the fairest of them all?" She elegantly stepped backwards, as the gruff face appeared on the glass.

"Queen Chrysalis is of course, she has been for a while. The closest pony to her beauty is far behind- more than a mile." The dim face disappeared.

"Just as I thought, no need to be so distraught," she told herself. These 5.5 aren't going to beat me. So no need to be worried at all. She peered at the mirror, as she allowed a green flame to burn its way up her body. She turned into a lime-green earth pony, with a yellow mane. She spawned some glasses to put on and a clipboard with a pencil so she could pretend she was inspecting the farm.

"Time to find my number two, you cannot flee! It's time for you to show yourself so I can change your destiny!"

…

"Stampede!" The voice shrilled through the orange filly, with the yellow mane's head, she peered up to see who called it.

"The cows are off again! Help!" A young mare ran up. She was a creamy-yellow-brown, and had a grey mane. She wore classes to make her look older, and the filly recognised her as the Mayor Mare.

"Ya'll up for this, Winona?" The orange filly peered down at a little puppy, whose fur was patched brown and white. The Border Collie gave a high pitched yap, to conclude that it was ready.

"Applejack! Stop! Ya're too young to stop stampedes!" An older red colt with an orange mane came galloping up to Applejack, a stern expression on his face. Applejack smirked.

"Ah can do this! Go get em' Winona! Eat mah dust Big Mac!" Applejack went galloping down the valley, her dog as her heels, as she cantered at top speed towards the cows which were causing the ground to rattle. "Ye ha!" Applejack cried, eyeing the cow leading the herd. She noticed the stampede was approaching a small town called Ponyville. The earth shook under Applejack's hooves, as she began flanking the cows. Winona shrilled another bark, as the puppy hopped atop one of the cows, and bounced to another. Applejack ran harder, feeling the quaking earth begin to rattle heavier, as she galloped aside the middle of the herd of cows. Winona gave a pitiful yap, as the puppy fell of one of the cows back. The dog went crashing to the earth, but regained its footing, and began nipping at the heels of some of the cows. Applejack gave the Border collie a grateful glance, before she finally gave one last burst of her galloping, and was in the lead of the herd of cows. She galloped ahead of them, Ponyville becoming all too close... Applejack could smell the fear of the ponies lingering the air. The taste wasn't good. Sweat dribbled its way through Applejack's orange fur, as she pushed one last leap, and slid a lasso out of a belt she had put on, when she was just about to start chasing the cows.

Applejack tied a knot to make a hoop around the end of the lasso restlessly, before swirling it around in the air. The cows were getting dangerously close, and Applejack gulped, before she finally flicked the end of the lasso towards the leading cow. She clenched her teeth, letting out a silent prayer that it would all go correctly. To her pleasure, the rope latched around the cow's neck.

"That twas' a close one, eh' Winona!" Applejack cried, and she began running the opposite direction of Ponyville, leading the cows in a safe direction. The dog yapped, and dashed up to Applejack, as the two of them lead the herd of cows into a meadow, where they wouldn't disrupt any ponies. The cows began to slow into a trot, before they all completely stopped. Some began grazing on the grass, while others collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"What was all 'at about?" Applejack approached one of the cows in the lead- a female one which was white and brown.

"Sorry Applejack! I and the cows got spooked by an unusual pony, which snuck up on us!" She squabbled.

Applejack sighed. "Foals these days. Always bein' disrespectful, eh? Just don't let it happen again, ok?"

"Oh course!" The cow nodded respectfully, before trotting off towards another cow in the herd.

"Winona!" Applejack whistled, and the dog obediently scampered up, jumping into the filly, and licking her face, though and though.

"Uh! Stop it Winona! Haha! It tickles! Stop!" Applejack pushed the dog off her gently, and got up, a huge grin on her face. "Let's get back to Sweet Apple Acres now!" Applejack got up on her two back legs, "ye ha!" She then galloped off, flanked by the excited, yapping dog. They finally reached the orchid again, and a very angry Big Macintosh was waiting at the fence.

"Applejack! Ah told ya to stay ere'! And what'd ya do? Ya just ran off! Do ya know what terrible things could've happened?" The red colt stepped forward furiously, and Applejack just laughed.

"Big Mac! Ah is no foal anymore! I'm perfectly capable of stoppin' a stampede!"

"But ya still too young!" Big Mac glared at the filly.

"But brother! When ya were just this age... Maybe a bit younger, ya stopped yer first stampede!" Applejack insisted; trotting passed her brother, smugly. "Ya need ta have some more faith in mah, Big Macintosh."

A little cream-yellow filly, which was even younger than Applejack trotted up. She had a red-pink mane which had an adorable little bow perched between the ears. She had golden eyes, which glistened with excitement. "Does that mean ah can stop a stampede when ah am Applejack's age?"

Applejack and Big Mac glared at her, "no!"

"Ah, lighten up you three!" They turned around to see a tea-green elderly mare stumbling up to them. Her skin was wrinkled with age, and her legs shook dangerously, with each step. "What's done is done."

"But Granny Smith!" Big Mac began, but the elderly mare just shushed him.

"No buts. Now come with mah, we need to make our barn spotless. Ah just got mail from that Derpy pony, saying that an inspector is coming tomorrow."

Applejack's eyes widened. "Weren't we meant to have an inspector come for another three months?"

Granny Smith shrugged, and began tottering back towards her barn. The three fillies reluctantly followed. Applejack's green eyes specked with confusion. Oh well. We may as well clean up, if this is for the sake of our farm.

"We have a lot on our hooves, ya know, Big Mac. Bein' harvest season and all. Couldn't've the inspector have just waited for us ta be ready?" Applejack trotted closer to her brother, giving him a flustered look.

"Eeyup," the colt simply replied, before trotting up to a tipped over wheelbarrow and picking it back up.

"Applejack! Is there any way ah can help?" The younger cream-yellow filly trotted up, a spark of hope glimmering in her eyes. Applejack knew there was no way of saying 'no' to this youngster.

Applejack shrugged. "Ah dunno Apple Bloom. How 'bout you rake some of the fallen leaves up? That could help."

Apple Bloom hopped up excitedly. "Right on it big sister!"

After the filly had trotted off, Applejack cantered after Granny Smith, and trotted by the elder's side.

"Do you think you could cook something for the inspector?" Applejack offered the elderly mare, who was hobbling her way to the main house.

"Ah already know what ah am goin' ta bake Applejack. Ah know you're good at organizing and all. Just go clean the house, dearie," Granny Smith replied. Applejack nodded to the mare, before trotting up to Big Mac, and ordered him to go tend to the backyard. The harvesting trees could wait. Finally, Applejack approached the chicken pen, and tossed the seeds all over the barn. The squabbling chickens hungrily ate the seeds up, while Applejack searched for eggs in their nests. Returning to the house, she gathered the eggs together and put them in the fridge.

"Alrighty! Time ta get cleanin'!" Applejack firstly tidied up the bedrooms. They were all pretty clean. The dirtiest one was Apple Bloom's bedroom, because sheets all on the ground. She had been playing Hide and Seek under them. Next, Applejack approached the bathroom. By the name of Chrysalis, it reeked in there! Applejack retrieved some apple-perfumes from under a bench, and began spraying all over the room, until finally; the room smelt at least half the amount better. Applejack wasn't sure what else she could do, and she simply wiped down some of the items made of metal and the shower. She then went to the living room, where Granny Smith kept most of her old scrapbooks, and Applejack dusted them, before rearranging them into alphabetical order. Applejack finally went to the kitchen, where Granny Smith had just put an apple pie into the oven. Applejack cleaned up after her, wiping down any last bits of debris and flour.

"Done!" Applejack panted, turning to Granny Smith. "Finally the house is all spick and span!" Granny Smith narrowed her eyes, trudging through the kitchen, before giving Applejack an approving nod. Applejack gave a relieved sigh, and hopped outside.

"Applejack! Just in time! Ah finished raking the leaves!" Apple Bloom hopped out of nowhere, making Applejack jump.

"That's great Apple Bloom! Would you now like to put all the leaves into the bin now?" The orange filly tilted her head, and the foal gave an excited nod, trotting away.

"Ok. Ah can finally begin the harvest," Applejack sighed, trotting passed Big Mac, who was reassembling some garden pots. "After ya're finished with that, would ya like to help mah with the apples?" Applejack questioned.

"Eeyup," the red colt replied, before continuing with what he was doing. There were heaps of trees in the orchid, but Applejack was hardworking, and she was able to kick down a good amount of apples, before Big Mac arrived, and the two of them, working together, managed to collect so much apples, that they were put back on schedule with what day it was for apple bucking.

"Ah knew we could do it!" Applejack panted, staring admiringly at all of the bare trees, with the apples spread neatly in the crates below. Big Mac nodded, before the two siblings galloped back to the barn.

"All the stray leaves are gone!" Apple Bloom reported, trotting up to her siblings.

"Great job Apple Bloom. We all did well today. It just proves that whatever you can do alone, is no match for what you can do as a family!" Applejack smiled, ruffling her sister's mane before trotting up to one of the baskets below an apple tree, and taking three apples, passing one to each of her siblings.

"To the Apple Family!"

"Hip, hip… Hooray!"