//------------------------------// // Night Interrupted // Story: Earthbound Journey 2: Reign of the Magic Queen // by ShadeJak //------------------------------// It had seemed like another quiet evening in Sandalwood Forest. The sky was clear with the moon hanging overhead. Sandalwood was a vast forest, bridging Tazfilly Village and much of the land around it including the old Eclipse Castle and the mountains framing the edge of the island. Numerous fauna resided there, some asleep and others preparing to pursue their nightly activities, dismissive of several dark figures slipping in and out of the shadows of the thick woods leaving several strange devices on the ground that began to glow brighter and brighter as they ran off. South of the forest lay Tazfilly Village itself. The place had a rustic charm to it, with its simple wood cottages and humble stores. The ponies living there enjoyed the calm tranquility of the beach to the west of town, and the farms where crops were grown dotted its eastern and southern boarders. One such farm located in the latter part of town belonged to the Apple family, renowned for its orchard and its hardworking siblings. With Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom visiting the mountains, Applejack had a great deal of extra work on her hooves and had decided to turn in early. Her early slumber was disturbed by a sudden and excessive knocking at her door, causing the farmpony's eyes to snap open as she sat up and nearly fell from her bed. "Big Mac? Apple Bloom? That you?" she asked, recalling she'd barred the door that night. "Applejack! Get up!" a male voice shouted urgently outside. Applejack cocked her head, recognizing the voice but knowing it to not be her brother. "Mr. Cake? What in tarnation ya doin' over here at this hour?" she asked as she nudged the bar lock aside and opened the door, finding herself face to face with the local baker who looked panicked out of his mind. "Applejack, this is no time for that! Sandalwood Forest is on fire!" the lanky earth pony replied. Any grogginess Applejack had been feeling quickly faded and was replaced by a sense of urgency. "Well what're we waitin' for? Let's get a move-on!" She paused when she heard a sharp bark. Turning, she saw her dog Winona cocking her head at her in concern. "You stay right there, Winona. In case Big Mac an' Apple Bloom get back while ah'm away," she ordered. The collie seemed reluctant at first, but then went back into her doghouse and lay down. "Good girl," Applejack said, managing a smile before returning her attention to Mr. Cake. "Alright, let's get to town. Ah just hope Amethyst an' Dinky made it out okay." ~ "Hoooooo boy," Applejack muttered as she saw all the ponies of Tazfilly running about in a panic. Cloudchaser, Flitter, Derpy, and Thunderlane were flying in circles around the well drawing water into clouds, Button Mash was crying while his mother attempted to keep him calm, Cheerilee was ringing the school bell in alarm drawing several of the townsponies who lived further from town square to them, while Redheart, Berry Punch, and the young buffalo Little Strongheart were gathered around Mayor Mare at the well rushing to get buckets brought out for the pegasi to turn into rainclouds. "Pegasi, hurry up with those rainclouds!" Mayor Mare shouted, trying her hardest to keep calm amidst the chaos around her. As soon as she spotted Applejack she breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh, Applejack! Glad Mr. Cake found you," the mayor said, managing a smile. "What's this about a fire?" Applejack demanded. "Did Amethyst an' Dinky make it out alright?" The mayor shook her head. "Nopony's seen them yet. I'm worried they may still be in there!" "Then ah'm goin' in to look for 'em!" Applejack replied. "We'll get the rainclouds finished up, here," Mayor Mare said. "Mr. Cake, can you go with her? I don't want her going into that fire by herself!" "Y-yeah, sure." the baker replied, obviously uneasy but not about to argue. "J-just let me go tell the missus. She's got the foals right now!" he explained, rushing off to the bakery. "Any idea what started this?" Applejack asked. "Nopony knows!" Thunderlane replied, setting a cloud above a water bucket for the other pegasi to handle. "But I head some loud explosions earlier..." "Big Mac an' the others're supposed to be on their way back," Applejack said, growing concerned. "I'm sure they'd have taken the path by the river, they should be alright." the mayor replied, putting her hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "I'm back!" Mr. Cake declared, galloping over to the small group. "Alright, you two go find Amethyst and Dinky, once we got some clouds I'll send the pegasi in to find you," the mayor said. "Already on it!" Applejack replied, rushing off north towards the forest, Mr. Cake trying as hard as he could to keep up. ~ "Roseluck!" Applejack rushed up to the cream-colored earth pony standing by the entrance to the forest, keeping watch over a pair of sulking fillies; one pink with a lilac mane and one gray with a silver mane and glasses "What's goin' on 'ere? Why're the foals out?" "Because Berry Punch couldn't keep an eye on them so they decided to come and start rubber-necking the moment she went to help get water!" Roseluck said with a scowl. "Ah-ah! Hey!" she snapped, holding her hoof out and blocking the silver one with the glasses from sneaking by. "Don't even think about it, Silver Spoon!" "Awwww," the gray filly grumbled, scowling. "But Berry Punch let us out!" the pink filly protested. "Sure she did, Diamond Tiara," Applejack said flatly, knowing she was lying. "Ah swear, sometimes ah wonder if those two little trouble-makers're really her daughters." she muttered to herself. "So where exactly are you off to?" Roseluck asked. "She's with me!" Mr. Cake shouted, out of breath as he suddenly came rushing towards the small group. "Mayor Mare... sent us to check up on... Amethyst and Dinky... have you... seen them?" he asked between breaths. "No, I haven't," Roseluck said, worry appearing on her face. "You two go on and bring them back here!" "Can we go?" the pink filly, Diamond Tiara, asked. "Absolutely not!" Roseluck snapped. "Hurry, alright? I don't know how long I'm gonna have to hold these two back." "Will do!" Applejack immediately galloped off ahead again, Mr. Cake taking a deep breath and following behind. As the two ponies got further into the forest, the smell of smoke grew all the more evident. Animals of all kinds were running and flying off this way and that in a panic, Applejack waved her hat to get some of the smoke away before placing it over her mouth to breath. "Alright, Amethyst an' Dinky's place shouldn't be too far," she said. "A-Applejack! W-what's THAT?!" Mr. Cake suddenly cried out. "It's burnin' wood, ah know it ain't the prettiest smell, but believe me-" Applejack began, only for the stallion to turn her head to the left. "NO! THAT!" he cried out, Applejack's eyes widening in disbelief at what she was seeing. Hovering in front of them was a creature unlike anything she'd ever seen, resembling a rat with its legs replaced by several insect-like ones, and a spinning propeller somehow attached to its back. The creature's eyes glowed and it let out a hiss as it flew at them. "Don't let it get me!" Mr. Cake protested, flailing his hooves in a panic and managing to swat it out of the air. The odd creature fell to the ground and hissed again, rushing at them on its many spindly legs as its propeller wound up again and it took to the air once more. Overcoming her shock, Applejack spun around and gave it a crisp buck, striking it head on and sending it flying out of control into a tree. Sparks flew out of the creature's back as it impacted and fell to the ground, motionless and its lit up yellow eyes dimmed out. "Okay, seriously, what the hay was that thing?!" Mr. Cake asked, approaching the strange creature and looking down at it. "There's something on its chest... looks like a tiny gem..." he explained, turning the body over. "We'll worry 'bout it when we find Amethyst an' Dinky!" Applejack ordered, proceeding further down the path ahead with Mr. Cake following close behind. Reaching the next clearing, the two ponies were greeted by an inferno. Trees and bushes were ablaze everywhere, smoke rising all around and still no sign of Amethyst or Dinky. Applejack felt a knot in her stomach as she grew more worried for their safety. "Fires, weird creatures with mechanical parts in 'em... what coulda caused all this?" she asked aloud. "Look!" Mr. Cake whispered, spotting a figure in the clearing by some bushes that looked like a pony. "Amethyst?" Applejack called out as she drew closer, hoping it was one of their missing neighbors. The pony paused and turned towards them and it was quickly evident it was not Amethyst Star, unless she'd decided a forest fire was the perfect time and place to play dress-up. The pony wore a purple cloak and pointed hat with a wide, flat brim. Underneath it wore a dark blue bodysuit with a strange purple utility vest of some kind and matching purple wrappings over its hooves. Its face was covered by a gas mask and a pair of goggles that glowed a bright purple. "Who are you? Did you cause all this?" Applejack demanded, glaring at the costumed pony with suspicion. The pony did not respond, instead looking at an object set on the ground next to it that looked to be some kind of metallic top hat, though it was upside-down. The pony reached into its cloak and pulled out what looked like a wand with a star over it and tapped the inverted hat with it before running off into the trees. "Hey, come back here!" Applejack shouted, preparing to chase after the strange, costumed pony but paused when smoke suddenly belched from the top hat and three spherical shapes with wings emerged from it and flew towards her and the baker. They were small, maybe the size of an apple, with glowing red eyes and round, spherical metal bodies, supported by four large insectlike wings. In place of a mouth was a small spout of some kind. "What in the world..." Applejack barely had time to react as the one in the middle suddenly shot a puff of flame at her and Mr. Cake, causing the farmpony and the baker to recoil. Gritting her teeth, Applejack regained her composure and leaped at them, slamming her forehoof into the one that had attacked and knocking it to the ground. "Applejack, look out!" Mr. Cake shouted, leaping into action as well and swatting another out of the sky as it let forth a jet of flame, narrowly missing Applejack as it spun out of control and crashed to the ground. He watched as the third one looked them over for a moment, as if considering its next course of action, and suddenly turned and flew away further into the woods. "You alright, Applejack?" Mr. Cake asked. "Whatever those things were, the last one was heading towards Amethyst and Dinky's home!" "Well, let's go after it, then!" Applejack said, rushing down the trail leading up to her friend's home and stopping dead on her tracks moments later when she was treated to another sight; the flames had reached Amethyst and Dinky's home, and the lower portions of the building were now ablaze. "Oh no... Amethyst! Dinky!" the farmpony cried out, pausing when she heard a soft moan from a nearby bush. "Amethyst Star!" Mr. Cake shouted, pulling the pink unicorn from some bushes she lay in. She had clearly seen better days, her coat had been singed in a few places, and she looked reasonably bruised up as though she'd been in a fight. "Where's Dinky?" he asked. "Mr... Cake...?" Amethyst muttered, shaking her head as she woke. "I... oh no... not that thing again!" the unicorn cried out, looking past Applejack, who promptly turned and saw the bug-like thing that had escaped them earlier. The odd metal creature's eyes glowed brightly as a humming sound built up in it and it let forth a burst of flame. Applejack pushed Amethyst out of the way and ducked, barely avoiding the fire as it flew over her, singing the top of her hat. "Alright, you, that's gonna cost ya!" Applejack snapped, leaping at the metal bug but it zipped out of the way and flew up into the window of the cottage's upper floors. "D-Dinky!" Amethyst cried out. "Sh-she's in there!" she sat up but fell back over from a coughing fit. "I... gotta... Dinky... I..." she coughed heavily, barely staying conscious. "Ah'll go get 'er!" Applejack said. "Mr. Cake, you get Amethyst outta here back to Roseluck an' the others!" "Please... Dinky, she..." Amethyst struggled, but was stopped by another coughing fit. "Ah'll get 'er back, ah promise!" Applejack said firmly, rushing to the burning house and smashing down the door with a great leap. The inside was an inferno, fire filled the kitchen and dining area and along the walls, threatening to take the place down in minutes or possibly less. Seeing no sign of the filly, Applejack lay low, took a deep breath, and rushed up the stairs and into the upper floor's hallway. "Dinky?" Dinky, are you here? Answer me!" Applejack cried out, but getting no response. She peered into one of the rooms but found it empty, presumably Amethyst's bedroom, and moved onto the next one, which had a closed door. Turning and bucking the door down, the farmpony peered in, keeping low to the ground. There, laying on the floor was a small pink unicorn filly with a blond mane, and circling around above her was the runaway metal bug. It paused and faced Applejack, its eyes glowing as it prepared to let loose another blast of fire at her. Applejack leaped out of the way, barely avoiding it and crashed into a small table, breaking it. The metal bug turned and faced her again, preparing another blast of fire for her. Thinking quickly, Applejack grabbed one of the broken table legs in her teeth and swung it like a bat, striking the creature just as it let loose a jet of flame that sent it spinning into the wall and crashing to the floor shortly after. Catching her breath as best she could with her surroundings, the farmpony rushed over to the unconscious filly and nudged her a few times. "Dinky! Dinky! You alright?" she asked, noticing the filly was breathing but did not show consciousness. Looking around she could see the flames the metal bug creature had made in its death throes had set the room completely ablaze, now, including the door itself and leaving only one option. "If you can hear me, ya hold on tight, got it?" Applejack said as she picked the filly up and rolled her onto her back. Standing at the wall opposing the window, Applejack ran as fast as she could and leaped out into the open air, turning to her side and hugging Dinky tightly in her forelegs as they landed in some bushes. The farmpony groaned a little as she stood herself up, noticing that aside from being covered in soot, she seemed to be okay. A soft coughing next to her confirmed Dinky was okay as well, as the filly slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Applejack. "Uhhh..." the filly rubbed her forehead. "What happened... Applejack? Where are we?" "It don't matter right now. You're safe," Applejack explained. "Ah reckon your sister's gonna wanna know ya got out okay, too, so let's go find the others." ~ "Applejack! Oh my gosh, she's okay!" Mr. Cake shouted, spotting the two ponies emerging from the woods. "Wow, you're pitch black and covered in soot!" Diamond Tiara said, her and Silver Spoon bursting out laughing. "Hey, you're right!" Dinky said, shaking off and spattering the two other fillies with flying soot and leaving them both looking noticeably dirty. "Better go see your sister, Dinky, she's worried sick about you," Roseluck said. "Thanks again, Applejack." "No problem," the farmpony replied as she followed Dinky over to where Amethyst lay on a stretcher, being tended to by Redheart. "She's gonna be fine," Redheart said with a smile. "Thank goodness," Applejack replied. "Hey, Amethyst, ah think somepony here would like ta see ya." The pink unicorn stirred and opened her eyes. "Huh?" she looked over at her sister and her expression quickly lit up. "Dinky! Oh, thank the stars you're safe!" she said, putting her foreleg around her little sister and giving an affectionate nuzzle. "Yeah, Applejack saved me!" Dinky replied with a smile, looking back at the farmpony then back at her older sister. "Are you gonna be alright? You look like you got hurt pretty bad!" "Pfft? This? Just a twisted leg here, bruises there, nothing big. I'll be back on all fours in no time, see?" she said, turning to try and stand only to let out a cry of pain as she fell back on the stretcher. "...Or not..." "Take it easy, Amethyst," Redheart said firmly. "And Applejack, thanks for handling this." "Yes, thank you, so much... I'm seriously in your debt, Applejack... soon as I'm standing again," Amethyst said with a weak smile. "It's all fine, sugarcube," Applejack said. "Right now we better getcha back to town an' make sure you're properly tended to!" "Still, it's not over yet, unfortunately," Mr. Cake said, approaching the group. "Yeah, there's still a forest fire that needs to go out," Roseluck explained. "And we need a shower," Diamond Tiara muttered, her and Silver Spoon trying to shake the soot Dinky had gotten on them out of their manes. As if on cue, rain immediately began to fall all around them in a mighty torrent, leaving everything and every pony soaking wet in the moments of stunned silence that followed. "Youuuuuuuu're welcome!" Derpy's voice shouted down cheerfully to the small, drenched herd of ponies below.