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Simply Signal SOS

by englishwitch

Chapter 1: Prologue

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Simply Signal SOS
Fanfic by englishwitch
Disclaimer: The following is an entirely fan-created parody. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, it’s characters and all other affiliated merchandise are the intellectual property of Lauren Faust and Hasbro. Please support the official MLP: FiM show.
I make no profit, or money at all, for the production and distribution of this fanfiction.

Prologue.

The young filly Applejack chewed idly on her pencil as she stared out of the window. The sun was warm, the birds were singing and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was a perfect day for playing outside. But did she have that privilege? No. Did she even have the option of being outdoors and working the orchard with her family and the few hired helpers? Nope. All because of the homework she’d been putting off for far too long. Now she had an essay on cutie-marks to write, a stack of math problems and a piece of creative writing to get through, all by tomorrow.

The filly Applejack glanced at her blank flank and turned her attention back to the equally blank page before her. What did she know about Cutie-Marks? She didn’t have hers yet. A lot of the fillies and colts in her class had got theirs but not her, not yet.

“Darn it.” She spat out the pencil and stared out of the window again. “Ain’t right I gotta stay indoors when it’s so nice out.” She looked left and right, around the empty living room. Her parents and older brother were out in the orchard and Granny Smith was asleep on the parch, she could hear the old mare’s snores.
“Maybe ah’ll just take a quick walk.” Applejack reasoned to herself. “Get some fresh air and clear ma head. Then ah’ll get back to this work.”

Quiet as a mouse wearing fluffy slippers, Applejack poked her head out of the door, looking up at the rocking chair. As she thought, Granny Smith was asleep. Looking further out to the orchard she scanned the treeline carefully. She would be in big trouble if she was caught now. Luckily nopony was in sight. An honest little filly she was, but she was still a filly and she wanted, more than anything, to play outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine.

With a leap of her powerful back legs Applejack was across the porch and onto the dirt road without a sound. She took off at a sprint, heading for the west orchard. Nopony was going to be anywhere near there today, so there was less chance of being caught.

The filly laughed heartily as she raced through the long grass, between the trees, leaping over roots and stones without even seeing them. Her earth pony instincts had never steered her wrong. The dappled sun poured through the leaves and branches, warming her body, making her heart race. The freedom and exhilaration of the outdoors made her feel truly alive. Being indoors, doing boring homework, might suit some ponies but not her. She was a true outdoor earth pony and she needed to be outside.

Applejack slowed from her run to a trot. A huge smile was plastered on her face she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, the burn of adrenaline reached down to the tips of her hooves. The sweat on her flank was refreshing in the gentle breeze. She breathed rapidly and deeply, trying to catch her breath. “Hoo...” She panted. “Good run.”

To any ordinary pony one part of the orchard looked like any other and it would be easy to get lost if not for landmarks like the apple shaped weathervane which stood atop the barn, standing tall above all the trees.
Applejack on the other hoof, had been born and raised on the farm and every tree was like an individual signpost. She knew them all and she never got lost. More than sights though, she knew the sounds and smells of the different parts of the orchards. She could find her way around blindfolded if she had to. Right now she was walking under blossom-forth, an old tree with a scarred trunk left after being burnt in a grass fire. The tenacious tree had lived, thrived and grown, producing bigger and bigger crops of apples every year. There was a smell of moss in the air and the faint sound of rushing water. Applejack knew exactly where she was, near the river that ran by the edge of the west orchard, which wound its way down to the main river of Ponyville.
If she crossed this river she’d be in the north orchard where she could circle around and reach home again via the back way.

“I reckon ah should get back before I’m missed an’ get in trouble.” She said grudgingly to herself. As much as she hated the school work her whole family insisted she get a good education. It was her chore to do whether she liked it or not. If she didn’t do it now she wouldn’t get any dessert at dinner and Granny had made apple fritters. Applejack loved apple fritters more than anything. She would eat nothing else for the rest of her life if she could.

The water of the river looked cool and refreshing but it was rushing by quickly. The summer sun must have melted a lot of snow in the mountains to cause such a rush. Applejack thought she could handle it. She was a tough earth pony, no river current was going to be a problem for her. Not that she intended to swim, she would cross the bridge.

“Whoa.”
Applejack knew the bridge was here, she had known it was neglected but she’d never guessed it was quite this bad. For a few seconds, she felt afraid to cross.
The old rope bridge had probably been built when Granny Smith was a filly. The boards were warped, rotten or completely broken away, leaving huge gaps. The ropes were faded and frayed, some of the supporting ropes had already broken, and many of them showed signs of being chewed by rats.
In short, the bridge had been neglected for far too long. No pony had used it to cross from the west to the north orchard in Applejack’s memory. If they wanted to go from one area to the other they would gladly take the slightly longer but more scenic route.

It was a fear that passed quickly. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. “C’mon Applejack. You gonna let some little pile of wood an’ rope get the better of you? No way missy. You ain’t afraid of nothin and nopony.”

She stepped off the solid ground and onto the first board of the bridge. It creaked slightly but held strong. Applejack laughed and tried to make her heart settle in her chest. It was fluttering around like a frightened bird. “Ain’t nothin to be scared of sugarcube.” She said to herself. “Jus a hop skip and jump an’ you’ll be across in no time.”

She jumped to the next board. It sagged under her weight but held. There was a foot wide gap in front of her where a board had broken away but she knew she could leap that easily.

With a spring in her step the filly AJ sailed the gap that was almost as big as she was. Effortlessly she landed on the solid wooden board. “An’ that’s how Apples get ‘er dun.” She laughed.

Suddenly the board snapped in two. Appleack found herself comically hanging in mid-air for a fraction of a second, which felt like a lot longer – long enough for her to look down realise she was going to fall, then gravity grabbed her in its cruel hand and dragged her down. She screamed, her legs waving manically, trying to grab onto a hold that obviously didn’t exist. All the while the rushing water rose up to meet her in its terrible cold grasp.

With a huge splash Applejack was thrown under the surface of the river. The sudden coldness took her breath away, tightening her chest. She kicked her hooves, trying to swim, but her strength failed her. The strong current dragged her down like a stone. Spinning, tumbling through the river she couldn’t tell up from down for a second. Her lungs burned, her heart raced. The frightened filly fought but was powerless against the unforgiving force of the water pressing down on her.

“Shoop-bee-doo!”

A shadow moved in the edge of her greying vision. Applejack pressed her hooves to her mouth, fighting to the last against the urge to release her burning lungs.

“Shoop-shoop-bee-doo!”

Something thick and strong like a vine grabbed her around the middle. Applejack glanced upwards and saw the silhouette of a pony head against the sunlight shining down into her eyes.

Air! Blessed air. Applejack filled her lungs. Emptied then filled them again and again. No drink, no sweet treat, nothing she had ever experienced before was as beautiful, as sweet or as satisfying, as a lungful of fresh air.

The strong vine around her middle lifted her clear of the water and placed her on the solid bank of the river, clear of the edge so she had no risk of falling back in. Applejack lay still, face down in the grass. Feeling the warm sun on her back and the cool water running off her body. She panted, trying to fill herself with air, catch the breath she had almost lost under the surface.

“Shoop-bee-doo! Shoop-shoop-bee-doo!”

Applejack finally found the strength to lift her head and look to the source of the sing-song voice.
Her jaw dropped almost to the floor.

The creature had the head of a pony, with a pink coat and long royal blue hair and bright purple eyes that shone like amethyst stones. Her coat was smooth and slick as seal skin, her body was long and serpent-like, with a round middle and a long tail she kept curled up underneath her in a spiral shape. Instead of legs she had two large fins on her sides, they were pink like the rest of her but the tips of the fins shone with the same blue as her hair. Around her neck was a pendant, a large white scallop shell tied onto a thick black cord.

She smiled and laughed lightly at Applejack, as though the filly’s surprise amused her.
“You are safe now little one.” She said in a voice as sweet as a bell.

Applejack said nothing, she continued to stare. Her mind raced in a desperate attempt to understand what she was looking at. All she could think of was one story Granny Smith had read to her at bedtime.

The creature continued to smile and laugh. “Now, you be careful around the water in future, okay?”

Applejack nodded. “I will.” She said in a quiet, shy, voice. “Ma’am, can I ask a question?”

The pony nodded. “Of course.”

“Is you a sea-pony?”

The pony threw her head back and let out a loud and joyful “Shoop-Bee-Doo!” She splashed, jumped and flipped around in the water for a few seconds before coming to rest and smiling at Applejack again. “Yes little one.” She said with a laugh in her sweet bell-like voice. “I am a sea-pony. I did not think land-ponies knew about us any more.”

“We do.” Applejack climbed to her hooves and stood as close to the waters edge as she dared. “Stories of sea-ponies is some of ma’ favourite.” She suddenly frowned and looked up and down the river. “What is you doin’ here ma’am? Not that ah’m complanin or nothin’.”

The sea-pony laughed a little more. “We sea-ponies don’t just live in the oceans little one. We live in rivers and lakes too. I’m going to my home, deep in the mountain lakes where this river is born.”

“Wow.” It was all Applejack could think to say.

The Sea-pony smiled even more. “What is your name little one?”

“Applejack ma’am.”

“Applejack, a sweet name.” The Sea-pony bowed her head. “I am Wave Dancer. It has been a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure is mine ma’am.” Applejack responded.

“I must leave now.” Wave Dancer said with a bow of her head. “I have a long journey ahead. Will you be safe? No more playing on unsafe bridges and dangerous waters?”

“I will ma’am.” AJ nodded. “Be safe, I mean.”

Wave Dancer laughed lightly. “Good. A sea-pony will not always be there to help you.” She flipped into the air, curled and splashed into the river. Applejack looked left and right for her. Wave Dancer’s head reappeared ten feet up stream.

“Farewell Applejack.” She jumped in the air again. “Shoop-bee-doo! Shoop-shoop-bee-doo!” She dived below the surface and vanished from sight.

Applejack watched the flowing waters of the river for some time but the sea-pony didn’t resurface.

Suddenly becoming aware of the time Applejack turned from the waters and raced across the orchard toward her family home. “Ma, Pa, Mac, Granny!” She shouted their names in turn as she raced back toward the homestead. She had to tell them, tell them all. They had to know. She was saved, by a sea-pony.

Author's Notes:

Sharp eyed fans might notice I borrowed heavily from the original My Little Pony movie regarding Applejack's meeting of, and rescue by, the sea-ponies.
It was deliberate, it was a good scene, a nice introduction and since a G4 pony is meeting a G1 creature and they're both linked via Applejack I thought "Why not?"

And yes, Applejack's parents are mentioned in this prologue. Though they won't feature in the rest of the story. I know some fans tend to believe they're dead since they're never seen. Logically though, if Applejack is at least ten years older than Applebloom, and Applbloom was born after AJ got her cutie mark - the evidence I'm going on there is that a foal Applebloom wasn't seen in the episode Cutie Mark Chronicles - then the Apple parents had to be alive at any point before AJ got her cutie mark.
I know AJ's parents didn't feature in that episode either but I only have so much to work with. Maybe they were away helping the family in Appleoosa.

Next Chapter: Chapter 1 Estimated time remaining: 26 Minutes
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