Applejack surfaced, gasping for air, since she was forced to rely on her lungs after breathing all the oxygen stored in the tanks of her Hazard Suit. She looked around, but her airboat was nowhere to be found.

"Dagnabit..." she muttered before swimming toward an abandoned factory nearby. "Now how am Ah gonna get to New Ponyville? Guess Ah could swim all the way there, but the CPs would easily spot me, and Ah can't swim fast enough to escape!" she looked around one more time and noticed an open gate. "Well, who knows? Ah might find some supplies in there, maybe a radio..."

She walked toward the open gate, which closed behind her right after that, almost holding her tail in the process. There was another closed gate in front of her, so she turned around and proceeded to knock on the big metal door. "Hey, this ain't funny! Open the gate!"

"We've got something in the airlock." said a female and familiar voice coming from speakers. Suddenly two cameras came down from the ceiling, pointing at her. "Oh, it's a pony. Hello?"

"Howdy!" Applejack said, waving at the camera. "Please, let me out of here!"

"Don't worry, you're safe here." the voice said. A metal shield was lowered, revealing a window. Behind that window was a dark blue winged unicorn with a flowing mane looking at her. Applejack couldn't keep her jaw in place. "Please, forgive us for locking you like that, but we can't take any chances." the former co-ruler of Equestria said, apparently not recognizing the mare she was looking at. But then she blinked a couple of times. "Fair Applejack? Is... Is that really you? You have no idea how relieved we are now that you're here!"

"Prin-- Ah mean, Luna! Ah'm really in New Ponyville already? Well, those are good news, considerin' Ah just lost the airboat. Sorry 'bout that!"

"Fret not, fair Applejack. You're here, safe and sound and, for now, it's all that matters." she pressed a button on a panel Applejack couldn't see from her position and the second gate opened. "Welcome to New Ponyville!"

Applejack walked with caution, fearing this time the door would not fail in grabbing her tail. A few seconds after that, Luna joined her. She was a little taller than she remembered.

"Please, come with me! Dr. Rarity would be upset if I kept you waiting."

Applejack nodded and silently followed former Princess Luna down a corridor that led to an elevator. Once they were in the elevator, it started to go down. It was a very slow one, so it took around a minute to go to the wanted floor.

When the doors opened, Applejack was tackle-hugged by a white unicorn mare with curly, purple mane.

"Applejack, darling!" she said, nuzzling the earth pony. "We missed you sooooo much! And look at you, you haven't changed a bit since the last time I saw you! The years weren't as gentle with me." she said, chuckling while caressing the few, but noticeable wrinkles under her eyes.

"Howdy, Rarity. It's good to see ya again!"

"Last time we saw you was when we sent you to the Aperture Laboratories to find something to help us fight the Combine. I never tought it would take this long for you to get back to us!"

"Sorry 'bout that, I ran into some... Complications!"

"Oh, you have to tell what sort of experiences you had in there once we have some free time."

"You bet Ah will!"

"Welcome to New Ponyville, anyway. Not as big or cozy as the old one, but it's one of the few places we can still call 'home' during these terrible times."

Applejack got up and helped her old friend up. The three ponies got out of the elevator and into the room where Rarity came from. It wasn't a very big one, but almost every inch of it was covered with machines or wires.

"Ah see you changed your line of work."

Rarity chuckled before levitating a small gadget and connecting it to a big machine. "Yes, we need to adapt. And since only unicorns can operate those machines with ease, most of us "turned into scientists". I didn't knew much when I started, but practice makes perfect, right? Since when ponies started calling me Doctor Rarity, even though I never went to college."

A door opened and Sweetie Belle walked in. "Applejack, you're already here? How did you managed to get here so fast? Even Spike and I aren't that fast!"

"Spike? Oh, so the lil' fella is here too? That's good, Ah was kind of gettin' worried, since Ah haven't heard news about him since Ah arrived!" Rarity and Sweetie Belle exchanged worried glances. Applejack noticed that. "Why are y'all lookin' at each other like that? Did somethin' happened to the lil' guy?"

"We... We'll explain that in due time." Rarity said. "But first, Sweetie Belle, can you take Applejack and show her the Gravity Gun? I'm pretty sure it will be very useful information."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Let's go have some fun, Applejack."

"Be careful with the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, young Belle." Luna said. "It is not a toy, therefore it shouldn't be treated like one!"

"Alright, alright, I got it! I'm sorry, Luna." Sweetie Belle said, frowning and sighing. "Let's go, Applejack."

Sweetie Belle left the room, soon followed by Applejack.

"Ya don't seem to have the best fo relationships with Prin-- Luna." Applejack said.

"It's just..." she sighed again. "I was still a small filly when the Combine invaded, so I never had the chance of living my foalhood properly. All the foals were forced to mature before time. I just want to do as a mare the only thing I haven't had the chance to do during my last years as a filly: have fun! But when Luna is nearby, fun is not allowed! 'You're a grown mare so, please, act like one' she always says."

"Ah understand!" Applejack said. "Mah folks died when Ah was really young, so Ah had to start working on the farm very early. Never had the chance of going to town to meet ponies of mah age and have an afternoon of fun! This is why Ah always gave Apple Bloom the smaller chores, so she could be what Ah never was: a true foal."

Sweetie Belle smiled. "You're a good pony, Applejack."

"Thanks, Sweetie Belle!"

Applejack heard a distant moan coming from the tunnel to their right. She stopped and looked at it.

"What in tarnation was that?"

"Don't think about it." Sweetie Belle said, not stopping like Applejack did. "That's the old passage to Old Ponyville. We don't go there anymore!"

After a minute or so of walking through the hallways of New Ponyville, Applejack and Sweetie Belle arrived in a room full of... Trash! She looked up and noticed that this area had no ceiling. It was already getting dark, but there were no stars on the sky yet.

"Question!" Applejack said. "Is Luna still in charge of moving the moon?"

"Unfortunately, no. And fortunately, neither is Celestia. The Combine created some sort of machine that makes the sun and the moon move on their own around the world."

Applejack just nodded, still looking at the dark sky. Suddenly some sort of metal glove with a peculiar orange glow floated in front of her eyes.

"This is the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, but most of us call it just Gravity Gun. It was designed by my big sis, it allows earth ponies and pegasi to do a very limited amount of magic only unicorns can perform!"

"Really? That's a very convenient equipment." Applejack said, sticking her right foreleg in it. "It fits me... Like a glove!" to Applejack's relief, Sweetie Belle giggled at her terrible joke.

"Anyway, it allows you to perform two kinds of magic: levitation and a not very powerful magic beam. But you can combine both and use the Gravity Gun as a powerful projectile thrower!"

"Ah'll keep that in mind."

"Now pick up some stuff and toss it! You need to practice if you want to master it."

Applejack pointed the Gravity Gun at a nearby crate. The glow of the magic glove got a little brighter and the same orange glow enveloped the crate, which got off the ground.

"Impressive!" Sweetie Belle said, looking at the floating wooden box. "You did it on your first try! Even the pony who handles it more easily took a few days before levitating it a single inch.

"And who is the pony who handles it more easily?"

"Apple Bloom!"

The crate fell to the ground the moment Applejack heard that name. "A-Ah almost forgot mah family is here! Where are they? Please, take me to them!"

"Of course, I'll--" she stopped talking when the ground started shaking lightly. Sweetie Belle smiled. "Here he comes!"

"Who's comin'?"

In the distance, Applejack could see a large metal creature approaching. It was a large, purple and green robot pony with the metal forelegs much bigger than the hind ones. It had a dark sphere on its chest area and the head looked like a flower with three metallic petals with a big green "eye" in the middle "Paint it yellow and it's exactly like... Her eye!" Applejack thought, remembering her time spent in the Aperture Laboratories.

"Applejack, do you remember our old buddy, Spike?"

"That's Spike?!" she shouted, surprised.

"Yup!" she looked at the dark sphere in his chest with a concerned smile, then pressed a button near it. The dark sphere turned around, revealing a small baby dragon curled up inside it, floating in a green liquid. She proceeded to pet the glass ball.

"What... What happened to him?"

"The Combine recognized dragons as a threat, so they released some sort of gas in the atmosphere. It's harmless to most of the creatures but, to dragons, it's a powerful poison. It can kill even the biggest one in a matter of minutes. We were all desperate when he started to cough blood. Twilight put him into induced comatose inside this sphere, then Rarity and her built this robot that can be controlled by his brain." she hugged the glass sphere and pressed the button again, hiding the baby dragon once again. "Don't worry, pal." she whispered nuzzling and rubbing the dark side of the sphere. "Soon we'll be able to get you out of there."

Spike looked up and a whimper came from deep within the machine.

"What's wrong, Spike?" she looked up too and gasped. "Dropships! We've been discovered!"

"Luna damn it!" Applejack cursed. "Did they followed me?"

"I don't know, but we need to get back to laboratory!"

Sweetie Belle and Applejack returned to the gate and into the airlock, Spike right behind them. Sweetie Belle pressed a few buttons and the gate was closed. She pressed another button and Rarity's face appeared on a screen.

"Sis, they found us!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. We need to clear the area! You take Applejack and get out of here. I will--" suddenly the ground shook again and the image and audio were replaced by static and interference.

"Sis? SIS! RARITY!" she shouted, then sighed and pressed more buttons. The other gate opened and they ran back through the hallways. The ground shook again and part of the ceiling fell apart, blocking the path and keeping Applejack and Sweetie Belle apart.

"Applejack, are you ok?" she asked.

"Yes! Spike is too! What do Ah do?"

"You find a way out of here. I can't leave my sister! Spike, please, help her!"

"Ah'll see ya later, then!"

"Be careful, Applejack!"

"You too!"

Spike turned around and dashed toward the tunnel that led to Old Ponyville. Applejack followed him.

"Are ya sure it's safe to go that way, sugarcube?" the robot controlled by Spike shook his head. Applejack chuckled. "Of course. Ah can never have the easy route!"

Spike lifted the metal gate but since he couldn't lift it entirely, only Applejack was able to crawl through the opening. "Be careful now, sugarcube. Ah can see that Sweetie Belle really cares about ya, so don't go and get yerself killed."

The robot nodded and let go of the gate, closing it. Applejack ran down the corridor.

"I'm sorry, family." she thought. "Sadly our reunion was delayed, but I promise we'll meet again really soon!" Next Chapter: Part 1: Chapter 06 Estimated time remaining: 11 Minutes