"Applejack!" Sunset said suddenly, "what are you doing here?" The other pony turned and gave her a curious look. There was a look in her eyes that Sunset couldn't quite place. She couldn't tell if Applejack was there to be friendly, or there to kill them all on behalf of Rainbow Dash. Her smile at the recognition of just who this was quickly faded as she realized the apparent danger that they could all be in.
"Um, sorry," Applejack said, "but…do I know ya? I mean, I don't think I've ever seen ya before…and I've seen a lot of ponies."
Sunset saw an opportunity to capitalize on Applejack's apparent neutrality, so she spoke with care, yet made sure to add determination and a little defiance in her tone. "My name is Sunset Shimmer," she said, "and Princess Celestia sent for me to help fix this friendship problem that's destroying all Equestria."
"Oh," Applejack said, "you're Twilight's friend from the human world!"
"Yep, that's me," Sunset said.
Applejack smiled. "Well, it's mighty nice to meet ya, Sunset!" She stepped forward and Sunset offered a hoof. She shook it, and Sunset realized just how strong Applejack was. If she was there to kill them, it would be a very painful experience. Then again, if she was there to kill them, she was doing a great job of hiding it. So Sunset decided to probe a bit and see if she would tip off that she had an ulterior motive for being there.
"So…Applejack," Sunset said, "I'm a little surprised to hear you speak so well of Twilight. Celestia told me that you were on Rainbow Dash's side."
Applejack's smile faded and she sat back on her haunches. The look in her eyes went from joy to pain in a split second. The palpability of the emotional change was so huge that it nearly knocked Sunset right off her hooves. It felt as if she were moving within the depths of Applejack's soul, only to have that soul break down and disintegrate in front of her.
Applejack sighed. "I was on Dash's side," she said, "in fact, I was one of the generals in her army. I led the attack on Canterlot. I imprisoned Princess Luna. I remember killing pony after pony in Canterlot." She stopped and shivered. "They all begged me for their lives, but my mind wasn't in the right place. I was angrier than a pack of hornets on apple buckin' day. I had no mercy for them."
Sunset's mouth fell open as she imagined her human friend Applejack killing the people she knew. Thankfully, she couldn't picture her doing something so terrible. The orange pony took a deep breath and continued, "I'll never forget the sound of the bones in their faces crunching under the weight of my hooves. It haunts my days and it plagues my nights. I have constant nightmares about that attack, and about how innocent Canterlot ponies were killed in the midst of our fight with Twilight's army."
She stopped and shed some tears. "They say I cry on the inside," she said, "but that ain't always true. I remember the day of that shoutin' match between the six of us. I don't even remember what we were shoutin' about, but what I do remember is what I said to Twilight. I thought Rainbow Dash had the best idea of whatever it was we were fightin' about, so I told Twilight that she was nothin' more than a Canterlot prissy rich horse princess wannabe who had terrible ideas. She nearly tore my face off. I found out that day that Twilight is excellent at hoof-to-hoof combat."
She paused and collected her thoughts then continued, "I just came from Dashopolis. I'm no longer in favor of Rainbow Dash bein' the Queen of Equestria. Matter of fact, I'd give anything for things to go back to the way they were with Celestia and Luna in charge. I just can't take Dash's arrogance and disloyalty anymore."
"Wait a minute," Sunset said, "Rainbow Dash is disloyal? My human friend Rainbow Dash is the most loyal person I know!"
"Seems totally ironic, don't it?" Applejack asked as a thoughtful smile returned to her face, "yeah, when the chips are down, Dash will throw anypony under the cart just to advance her causes and her agenda. I got tired of that, and I got tired of her constantly sendin' me out to kill the ponies who disagreed with her. They weren't doin' anything wrong. They just had a different outlook on things. Oh, why did I kill them?! WHY?! CELESTIA SHOULD THROW ME IN TARTARUS! I'M AN AWFUL PONY!"
Here, Applejack broke down crying and wouldn't stop. She held her face in her hooves and cried about how awful she was and about how Celestia should punish her forever and about how Equestria would be better off if she were dead and this and that and the other thing. Cadance stepped forward and ran a comforting hoof through her mane. "Applejack," she said softly, "Equestria would not be better off without you. Yes, you did some horrible things on Rainbow Dash's behalf, and I do not condone them at all. Yes, I think it would be proper for Celestia to give you a punishment. But, in the end, who sent you to do them? Rainbow Dash did. She probably would have killed you if you hadn't done those things."
Applejack nodded, "she did threaten me…a lot. But all the same, I should've stood up for what was right. I should've been…well…me! I'm no killer! I'm just an apple farmer!"
"Sometimes even apple farmers can become killers," Shining Armor said. Cadance gave him a look. "Shining Armor, we're trying to cheer her up, not make her feel worse!"
"Sorry, baby, but it's the truth," Shining Armor said, "she did awful things. I'm just glad she's showing some type of remorse."
Applejack looked up at the prince and nodded. "I hate what I did. I hate it more than anything. What I did was despicable and completely unforgivable. If y'all just wanna toss me in the woods for the timber wolves to devour, I wouldn't blame ya one bit."
Sunset shook her head. "No, Applejack," she said, "we're not gonna leave you here in the woods. If you'll come with us, we may need you in Dashopolis."
"I can't go back there!" Applejack shouted, "Rainbow Dash would kill me on sight!"
"You're not going back alone," Cadance said, "you'll have us."
"And we'll protect you if need be," Shining Armor said, smiling. Applejack gave him a funny look. "I thought you hated me," she said. "I don't," Shining Armor replied, "I hate what you did, but I can tell that you understand that what you did was wrong and now you're willing to do whatever it takes to make up for it. I also love how honest you are with yourself and with us. You aren't hiding anything. To me, that's what friendship is."
When Shining Armor said that, Sunset thought she saw magic emanate from somewhere and blow a hole in one of the black clouds, revealing the bluest sky overhead. Wait a minute, she said to herself, and then suddenly yelled, "the Elements of Harmony!"
"What was that, Sunset?" Cadance asked.
"The Elements of Harmony! I think that, in order to reform friendship in Equestria, we need to find all six of the representatives of the Elements of Harmony and make them see how important their friendship is to each other! Shining Armor, when you were talking about how honest and remorseful Applejack was, something happened. There was this magic burst that I saw that blew a hole in the dark clouds. Now, look!"
They all turned and saw the sky and the sun shining through. It warmed their coats and their hearts, and they suddenly had renewed strength for the journey ahead. Sunset turned to Applejack. "Now I know we'll need you in Dashopolis. Please come with us, Applejack," she said, smiling. Her eyes practically begged the honest pony to come with them. Applejack fretted around a bit before turning back to Sunset. "Alright," she said, "I'll go."
"Thank you," Sunset said simply, "someday, all of Equestria may be in your debt. Now, we have to get to Dashopolis and find Rainbow Dash. Maybe we can talk her out of this. But, first," she stopped and yawned, "I need some sleep."
The other ponies agreed and they all went to bed. Applejack shared Sunset's tent, grateful for the covering after sleeping in caves since she left Dashopolis. However, she just couldn't sleep. She was so nervous about returning to Dash's court. Dash was the ruler of Dashopolis and she let everypony know it with her words and with her violent actions. Her tomboyish nature only added to her unnerving ways and it scared the living daylights out of Applejack. Oh, please, she said in a silent plea to no one in particular, please don't let her kill me.
