Pain. That was what Rarity felt upon waking up. The aches coursing throughout her body could best be described as feeling as if multiple persons were inside her, using her bones and muscles as makeshift drums. She remembered what happened to warrant such pain, and the realization that she was still alive amazed her. Rarity opened her eyes to find herself prone on her barrel with her fore legs stretched out in front of her, covered in bruises. With great effort, she glanced over her shoulder to see that her hind legs were in the same condition. The majority of her pain, however, was concentrated in the area around her barrel.
Rarity struggled to get up, the pain working to impede her attempts with every twitch of her legs. She slowly stood up on all four hooves and tested them out. She found that she could walk at a reasonable pace without hurting herself, but the aches in her barrel refused to cease. For a brief moment Rarity was afraid she was suffering from internal bleeding, but then she realized if she were there'd be the telltale sign of a purple blood sack forming around her stomach.
Rarity hadn't taken but a step forward when she heard faint hoofsteps approaching from behind her up the cliff. Turning around, she caught sight of Sin standing up at the top of the cliff. It didn't take long for the rogue robot to get a fix on her and begin charging its horn up for another Mind Crush spell. Rarity wasted no time in trotting away as fast as her aching body would allow, only to be forced to self-inflict pain when dodging Sin's spell. She groaned in agony before resuming her trot through the canyon, glancing back every few seconds to check on Sin's position. The robot continued with its assault until Rarity managed to disappear around a bend in the canyon, at which point it continued down the trail leading to the airship docks, intending to intercept its target in the Dodgeworld desert.
Rarity, meanwhile, was being forced to push her body beyond what should've been its limits. Every step she took sent a sliver of pain throughout her legs as she trudged through the canyon. Further adding to her misery was the sun's rays beaming full force down on her, making her sweat profusely and ruining her pristine white coat. Thankfully, the adrenaline rush of running from Sin was helping her to push through all the agony, and by the time she exited the canyon she no longer felt pain anywhere but around her barrel.
Unfortunately, the sun's rays only intensified with no canyon walls to provide spots of shade, and Rarity's already exhausted and sweaty body felt like it would burst with each feeble step she took. Glancing around as she walked, Rarity was repulsed by the barrenness of Dodgeworld's desert, though she knew it was to be expected. Rarity was never one for desert travel; all the times she had visited some settlement out in the desert wastelands of Equestria had been utterly miserable for her, and it always took a lot of restraint to keep from complaining to her friends about her discomfort.
As Rarity gaited through the desert she pondered what had happened to Sin. The masked robot had acted weird the previous day when it woke her from bed prematurely, which Rarity had dismissed as either part of its villain act gone extreme or a bug in its programming. Now, however, it was clear that the danger was the result of more than a simple bug, and there was no way what had happened at the dining hall was part of its act as Magicworld's villain. Then again, what Sin had said to her yesterday called the latter into question.
A world devoid of innocence . . .
Rarity was pulled from her thoughts when the image of multiple structures manifested beyond the brush in front of her. Focusing, she could make out two parallel rows of buildings situated within a wide open plain of barren, brushless land. It was Dodgeworld. Rarity's face split into a wide grin as she picked her pace up from a gait to a canter, ignoring the path around the brush and instead opting to cut straight across. By the time she made it across, everything from her barrel down was covered in scrapes and cuts. She was bleeding in several places but for once in her life she didn't care. She could fix herself right up once she entered town.
Civilization! Thank Celestia I've made it. Oh dear me, Applejack will undoubtedly get a kick out of seeing me sweaty and covered with filth. Oh, what does it matter? Let's see her run for dear life from a rogue robot unicorn and keep perfectly clean all the while. Yes, in fact, I ought to ha-
Rarity was pulled once again from her thoughts, this time by the ever familiar sound of a spell fired off from somewhere behind her to the left. Instinctively, Rarity leapt to the side as a blast of transparent magic energy slammed into the ground just a few yards in front of her, sending a cloud of dry dirt up into the air that was quickly carried away by a gust of wind. She dared a glance behind her to see that Sin was indeed there and still bent on eliminating her. How it managed to find her again so soon after their last encounter was shoved aside in Rarity's mind as she sprang into a hard gallop towards town.
The first thing that she noticed upon entering the town was its . . . emptiness. She could not see a single pony anywhere in sight as she ran down the only street in town. This would've registered in her mind that the situation at hoof was greater than she thought, if not for the fact that it was preoccupied with dodging the spells Sin fired every ten seconds or so. Suddenly, she spotted a couple of heads poking around the front doorway of one of the buildings. Squinting to see better, Rarity gasped once she realized it was Applejack and Prickly Pear. She instantly changed course towards them.
"Rarity!" Applejack exclaimed. "What in tarnation is goin' on?"
Rarity ignored her friend and skirted past them into the building, skidding to a halt in front of the unconscious mare in the hallway. Seeing that was all the proof Rarity needed to conclude that Sin had already been to Dodgeworld and gotten . . . most of the guests.
"Rarity!"
Rarity turned around to see Applejack and Prickly had turned back into the hotel and were eyeing her with looks of concern mixed with anxiety. Before she could warn them, Sin appeared behind the pair out in the street. Its horn was glowing yet again and ready to fire another shot.
"BEHIND YOU!!!"
It was too late. Sin fired its shot before the two of them had a chance to process Rarity's words. The spell struck Applejack dead center in the back of her head. Prickly, however, was not targeted and flinched upon hearing the spell strike no more than a meter to his right. AJ froze for a half second before her legs buckled and she fell stomach first to the hallway's floor. Rarity screamed internally as she slumped to her knees, unable to comprehend what she had just witnessed. The idea that Applejack, the stubborn, hard-working, tough-as-nails mare that she knew for the past few years could fall victim to that masked bucket of bolts called Sin had difficulty registering in Rarity's mind. Seeing Applejack fall to it, even if taken by surprise, only helped reinforce her fear that the situation at hoof was hopeless.
While Rarity wallowed in sorrow, Prickly took the initiative to get the two of them to safety. He turned to face the masked robot and charged. Just as Sin was about to fire off another shot Prickly stopped in front of it and, turning around quicker than one could blink, bucked his hind legs straight into Sin's metallic chest. Its spell was redirected into the air as Sin flew back a couple dozen meters from the force of Prickly's buck. It landed at the far side of the dirt street on its side where it flailed its robotic limbs around like a cow tipped over. Prickly didn't wait for it to right itself; he quickly ran down the hallway to Rarity and hooked his forelegs under hers'. He lifted the shell-shocked mare to her hooves and started to run down the hallway towards the backdoor when he realized Rarity wasn't following him. Panicking, he gave her a good shake with his hooves in a vain attempt to snap the unicorn to her senses.
As Prickly tiredly looked up, he saw Sin had righted itself across the street outside and was now making its way back towards them, horn already charging its next spell. Knowing their time was almost up, Prickly prayed forgiveness as he raised his hoof high above his head and struck Rarity hard across her face. Finally snapped to her senses, Rarity screamed a single word.
"RUUUUUUN!!!"
And run they did.
-----
Walking protocol initiated . . . . . . *Error .5/4* . . . . . . . . . . . . Error Resolved.
Walking protocol initiated . . .
The barren scenery flew past Prickly and Rarity as they galloped through Dodgeworld's desert with speed that would make Rainbow Dash blush. They hadn't said anything to each other after Rarity snapped to her senses, knowing there'd be plenty of time to talk once their safety wasn't compromised. The two of them kicked up dirt and snagged bushels on their coats as they ran. In contrast to Prickly who started the chase relatively clean, Rarity's already grimy coat and dirty mane were further soiled by the clinging dirt and plants she picked up while running. In a tiny corner in the back of her mind, a little voice kept screaming at how absolutely horrid she must look and that no amount of soap and water would be enough to clean out all the crud sticking to her. For once in Rarity's life, however, she had her priorities straight and this little voice was drowned out by the rest of her mind screaming at her to keep running.
Once the two of them had galloped a good mile or so out of Dodgeworld and couldn't see any sign of Sin following in the distance, they stopped to rest at the base of a cliff overlooking what was probably the only body of fresh water on the entire island. Sitting just barely in the shade of the cliff was a brackish pond with all kinds of muck floating on its surface and several waterlogged trees sticking out near the center. One could easily guess that ponies were intended to jump off the cliff into the pond in lieu of a diving board; likely only used by daredevil ponies who weren't afraid of heights. It only helped solidify DELOS' promise of having a vacation for everypony.
Prickly dared a glance back in the direction they came from. All he saw was vast expanses of barren desert that lacked any sort of lush or pristineness, but he had a grim feeling it wouldn't take long before the masked robot relocated them. Still, for now they were safe.
"Ah think we'll be alright here," he told Rarity who sat next to him. "Fer a little while at least."
Rarity didn't answer, or move. Prickly looked at her and noticed she seemed to be lost in her thoughts again. Not like before, however, as he noticed her lips were quivering from what he could only guess was sorrow for seeing her friend get struck down by Sin. Always the gentlecolt, Prickly took it upon himself to comfort her.
"Hey there, it's okay, Rarity." He wrapped a foreleg around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Everything's gonna be alright in the end, just ya wait an' see."
Rarity wrapped both her forelegs around Prickly and leaned her head against his shoulder. She sighed, and then stared at the bright, blue sky. "I do hope you're right, darling."
Thankfully, Rarity didn't look at Prickly's face when she said this for it made him blush. They stayed in each others embrace for another minute before Prickly shrugged Rarity off of him and stood up to stretch. Then he spared a glance in both directions alongside the cliff before sitting back down.
"So, Rarity," he said, to which she turned to face him, "who was that masked pony anyhoo? Ah've never been ta Magicworld, but Ah'm guessin' it was the resident villain."
Rarity nodded. "It's name is Sin. It is indeed Magicworld's resident villain, although it appears now to be Dodgeworld's as well, at least judging from the condition of that nameless mare back in that building."
"At least she ain't dead," Prickly exasperated, "which Ah'm also guessin' is true fer everypony else in both Magicworld and Dodgeworld. Ah'm jus' confused as ta what happened ta make that 'bot go buhserk."
"I don't know either." Rarity stood up and stretched herself before making her way towards the pond in front of them. "But I'll only be happy when my friends and I leave this accursed island alive and well . . . Applejack . . ."
"Ah told ya, everythin' will be alright, an' that fer sure includes AJ."
"I believe you," Rarity responded as she stepped into the pond. She swirled her hoof around in the water to accrue all the muck floating around her. Once she was satisfied with the amount she accrued, she lifted it up with both fore hooves and threw it all up onto the dirt bank in a giant, slimy pile. She nodded to herself after inspecting the water around her before proceeding to submerge herself entirely below the surface. She re-surfaced a second later, her coat covered in slimy pond water and her mane and tail drenched with little bits of muck clinging onto them.
"And might Ah ask what yer doin'?" Prickly said, still sitting against the cliff base.
Rarity huffed. "I'd like to at least attempt to clean myself before we get moving again." She wrung her mane with her hooves and scraped as much gunk off as possible before stepping out of the pond. She then proceeded to vehemently rub her hooves against her coat to dry off in lieu of using a towel. All the while she did this Prickly stared in amusement, a haughty grin spread across his face.
"Ya know," he said once she had finished, "ya could'a just let the sun dry ya up."
"Perhaps," Rarity replied, "but I'd rather not walk around with pond scum stuck to my coat." She began walking back towards him. "Now, why don't you clean yourself off so we can get a move on?"
Prickly laughed. "AJ sure was right 'bout ya'll; yer a mighty uptight clean freak."
Rarity huffed again. "Of course she would say that; it wouldn't be the first time."
"Indeed." Prickly stood up and stretched some more before walking towards the pond. "But if it'll make ya happy, Ah'll take a quick dip 'n this 'ere pond and clean up."
Rarity smiled. "Thank you, darling."
-----
. . . walking protocol cancelled.
Scanning for target/s . . . . . . scanning complete.
Target/s identified: 0
Walking protocol initiated . . . . . . *Error F-EA* . . . . . . . . . Error resolved.
Walking protocol initiated . . . . . . walking protocol cancelled.
Scanning for target/s . . . . . . scanning complete.
Target/s identified: 0
Frustration protocol initiated.
Selecting random swear from database . . . selection complete.
Swear: "Horsefeathers!"
Walking protocol initiated . . . . . . . . . walking protocol cancelled.
Scanning for target/s . . . . . . scanning complete.
Target/s identified: 2
Attack protocol initiated.
"So, Prickly, where are we going?"
The two ponies had resumed their journey through the Dodgeworld desert once Prickly cleaned himself off. Though, in Rarity's opinion the cowpony stallion had done a horrible job at properly grooming his person, and had insisted upon scrubbing him clean herself. Hesitant at first, Rarity argued that having a gorgeous mare so much as touch him, let alone repeatedly and all over, was an opportunity far too good to pass up.
"Ah s'pose so; ya happen ta know a gorgeous mare 'round these parts?"
"WHAT!!!"
"Heh heh heh, Ah kid Ah kid; scrub away, pook 'eh pie."
"Gladly . . ."
"Well, the best place ta hunker down might be in the CCC buildin'," Prickly replied. "It's where the staff repairs injured 'bots an' such."
"Good idea, let's get there as qui-AHH!!!"
Rarity was cut off by a blast of magic that impacted the ground in front of her, making her start and jump back in surprise. Turning their heads, the two ponies caught sight of Sin barreling down a nearby hill towards them, its metallic horn already charging up another shot. They didn't think; Rarity and Prickly began galloping away from the rogue cybercorn.
"How much farther is this CCC building, Prickly!?" Rarity shouted over the pounding of their hooves on the dry desert ground.
"Ah think it's 'bout a couple hundred meters over yonder!" Prickly quickly pointed a hoof to their eleven o' clock position before resuming his gallop.
"Alright, let's go!"
The two of them changed direction towards the CCC building and, what they hoped would be, safe haven from the masked robot hot on their tails.