• Published 6th Mar 2015
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Upheaval: Journeys - Visiden Visidane



The ninth rebellion looms over Equestria, and its defenders must gather all the means they can to face the firstborn.

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Applejack 8: Apple Slice's Rest

Upheaval: Journeys

Applejack 8: Apple Slice's Rest

"Like a frog before a snake."

That wasn't exactly a very popular saying in Ponyville, or anywhere in the Heartland, as far as Applejack knew. Ponies didn't like talking about frogs and what snakes did to them anymore than they liked to talk about apple blights and vampire fruit bat swarms. Still, the saying existed in its own niche in Equestria, and Applejack understood it it just a little but better as she faced down the ophidites charging her position.

She had faced worse. She knew that well enough. She had stood against a brachyurus, against an alicorn soldier, and the Six Companions. A large group of these snake soldiers shouldn't give her so much pause as this near-paralyzing sensation that gripped her at the moment. The lead constrictors were still a good distance away. Instinct screamed at her to lash out already. Take down the lead to slow them down. Why was she scared now?

The scrabbling behind her gave the answer. She had crocodilians and a rogue ophidite watching her back where she was used to having her friends. Some of them had already retreated into the cave. Of those that remained, she doubted that they'd be particularly concerned if she was struck. Battle suddenly never felt so lonely. This wasn't her first fight in the Southern Barrier Land, but the lingering thoughts of Apple Slice's last stand; of fighting in a lonesome outpost surrounded by strangers...it shook her as much as facing down death.

A hoof bumped her left shoulder, followed by a quick blur of grays and blacks out of the corner of her eye. Vanguard Clash, his blade gripped tightly in his mouth, looked ready to take all of their foes on by himself. "Cobrahns first," he mumbled through his weapon.

Applejack nodded and made her first lash. It wasn't hard to find them. Their brightly-colored hoods came in yellows, reds, and green, and they carried sparkling weapons that crackled with magical energy. They were also the only ophidites that stood on legs. The tip of her silver chain struck a cobrahn's wrist, forcing it to drop its wavy-bladed knife. It let out a pained and nursed the unnaturally bent joint.

Perhaps that show of accuracy, range, and power wasn't the best idea, though. The other cobrahns pointed at her and hissed at the rest of the ophidites. Several bows aimed at her. She remembered the burning pain of even a scratch from those things. Already, thoughts of bringing out the golden shield came to mind.

'No,' Applejack thought. 'If the coatls sniff me out, it's over. Especially if they call their emperor.'

The vipren loosed a volley towards her. Apple Slice may be a legend here, but she was no slouch in a rodeo herself. Her chain caught each shaft mid-air, knocking them away, then retracting to her before another attack came.

The lack of surprise from the ophidites hinted their discipline, or the fact that they had seen this before. Sakylthos wasn't among them, but Applejack was sure he was involved in this attack.

The constrictors closed in, halberds tilted towards her, great rectangular shields protecting their faces and torsos. They moved at a measured charge, clearly defensive at the sight of her attacks. Applejack squinted and hung back. It was going to be hard finding an opening against those. Her best option was to keep attacking their back rows.

Vanguard followed through with that plan without so much as glancing at her for confirmation. He and several crocodilians, including Anektor, slammed into the charging constrictors. The shields alone towered over him and the wall of muscled scales advancing behind them made it seem, for a moment, that he would be swept away.

Instead, the constrictors stopped dead in their tracks. The one facing Vanguard looked utterly dumbfounded that it could not even budge a pony a fraction of its size. Vanguard's size, like his demeanor, belied a font of strength that was nigh unbelievable. He was far removed from the snowy lands he was used to fighting on, the enemies he was used to fighting against, and the usual allies he fought alongside with. Yet, he fought back without missing a beat, without even acknowledging that he was in any sort of disadvantage.

The distant crackle of a cobrahn casting a spell put an end to that moment of admiration. The enemy back rows needed to be dispatched or this would be a losing battle. Applejack found the cobrahn responsible holding up one of those weird wavy-bladed daggers up. Blue-white arcs of electricity danced along its edge.

At this point, Applejack wished for a counter spell from Twilight, or a bolt from Rainbow, or a fancy blade from Rarity. The crocodilians didn't seem too keen on ranged fighting, yet one more reason they weren't doing so well. Her chain smacked the knife from the cobrahn's hand, breaking a few fingers in the process from the way the cobrahn's hand distorted. With a flick of her neck, she spun the chain when a particularly brave and stupid vipren attempted to grab it. The upswing smashed silver links beneath the vipren's jaw and sent it flying back. Even then, a momentary, uncalled jerk on her chain along with the sight of a third cobrahn's knife glowing, suggested that she was being telekinetically disarmed. She wrenched the chain free from the magical grip easily enough, in time to see several more arrows coming at her. The chain caught a few mid-flight, but the rest of her defense had to involve a frantic scramble for cover. She couldn't see them, but she knew that the vipren archers were already nocking more arrows.

"You're a terror with that chain, Applejack!" Seshimyssen said as he slithered close. He loosed his own arrow before ducking behind a crocodilian. At least some of these hulking warriors had the sense to use shields. They were no magic golden ones capable of stopping an alicorn's attack, but Applejack was happy to shelter behind them anyway.

"Try not to impress too much, Applejack," Seshimyssen said. "The cobrahns won't risk their wider spells with their grunts in melee, that changes if you turn out too big to ignore."

"Guess I'll have to take all the varmints out, then!" Applejack retorted. She jumped out of the crocodilian's cover, ready to pick out a target. "Cobrahns first" made perfect sense. She had counted four when the ophidites charged, and two of them already lost their hands.

The remaing ones had sheltered behind some constrictors, their spells flashing among their allies. Applejack squinted and paused. No easy way to get at them now.

Seshimyssen fired an arrow in a high arc, aiming for the unprotected top of the circle of shields around the cobrahns. The shot was good, but the arrow merely bounced off an invisible barrier. Applejack expected as much. Twilight would have done the same. She readied a lash with all her strength into it. Ridentem had proven with enough clarity that hard enough strikes could break those magic shields.

The silver links not only lengthened, they also expanded, growing heavier to add weight to Applejack's strike. They struck the invisible shield which crackled loudly in protest. It was like striking a mountainside. Only now, Applejack realized that she had gambled on this working. If the strike bounced off, she might have a large, heavy chain coming at her. Still, the chain dug into the spell, reaching the physical shields beneath. They dented as well. The wielders beneath hissed and buckled. One of them dropped its shield, clutching a badly bent arm.

The strike had not penetrated fully, however. The cobrahns inside desperately shifted their spellcasting, trying to reform their shield. Applejack reared, pulling the chain in for another lash. A scream, one too high-pitched to be from a crocodilian, erupted from behind her. 'What in tarnation-?'

More loud cries, the cries of ponies, suddenly filled the cavern entrance behind them. Applejack nearly dropped her chain. For a moment, her instinct was to turn around and check what that was all about. Were the crocodilians keeping ponies inside their cave? She righted herself at the last second, however. She was needed here. Vanguard still fought at the front, and she wasn't going to abandon him. She lashed again before the cobrahns could reconstruct their shield. The links crashed into the shields, splintering the wood and knocking down the constrictors. Blood sprayed upward as a cobrahn fell backward, the chain buried halfway into its skull.

'One more,' Applejack muttered. She kept her eyes away from the blood dripping from her chain as it retracted towards her, dragging bits of shattered bone and smeared brains, and focused on thoughts of ophidite cruelty. These were villains of the worst sort! Varmints that would kill or enslave them in an instant. An arrow grazed the dragonscale plates protecting her neck. A second one thunked against her side barding only to bounce off. A feeling of exhiliration welled up inside her at the sight of the ophidites scrabbling frantically. Without support from their ranged allies, the frontline constrictors were being overwhelmed.

A second wave of hisses from the right sent whatever elation in Applejack sinking.

"Second wave!" Seshimyssen said with a chuckle. "My, my! The Empire's decided to play seriously!" He placed a hand on Applejack's shoulder. "Call your stallion back, Applejack. There's bound to be a third wave if they bothered with a second one, and once the Empire gets numbers, it gets more free with what tactics it allows."

True enough, more constrictors burst from the foliage with vipren and cobrahns behind them. Ceremonial daggers flashed while Applejack could only grit her teeth. She couldn't reach so many spellcasters, not with an arcing barrage of arrows flying her way.

There came another hiss, not the snake-like sort, but more the sound one would hear from a punctured balloon. A thick, roiling cloud of yellow vapors seeped from the dagger of one of the newly-arrived cobrahns. One look at it was enough for Vanguard, who had not given an inch despite dealing with the second charge, to fall back.

"Cloudkill again!" Vanguard shouted. "Fall back!"

The vapors poured out swiftly, all but engulfing the frontlines. The heavy cloud followed the ground closely, behaving more like a spilled glob of honey rather than spreading smoke. Applejack's heart nearly stopped, only to lurch on when Vanguard galloped away, barely keeping ahead of the advancing yellow wall. Next to him, Anektor ran with two constrictor heads tucked under his arms, which he promptly threw away. The other crocodilians that had rushed into the fray were not so lucky. Their silhouettes convulsed within the fog. The sounds of fighting inside turned into a chorus of coughing, retching, and wheezing. Even some of the constrictors suffered the same fate.

Applejack sent the lasso flying towards Vanguard. As soon as he had a good grip, she pulled him to her side.

"Save your pony, of course!" Anektor shouted as he continued his sprint. Behind him ran two more crocodilians. "Maybe I can rut with you later for that insurance, yes?"

Applejack had half a mind to send her chain back just to smack Anektor across his snout. She was about to help him out when Maldaktor and another similarly attired crocodilian emerged from the cave. They raised their claws and muttered their own incantations. The half dozen warriors accompanying them raised their weapons in a defensive stance.

A strong wind from the crocodilians ruffled Applejack's mane and tail as it pushed back against the vile cloud. It did more than push as well. Invisible tendrils of clean air cut through the thick yellow vapors, dispersing them as water would a fine lather.

The cloud's dispersal only brought a different horror to sight, however. Behind it, the vipren had massed to an even greater number, their bows poised to deliver a huge barrage of poisoned arrows. Protecting them was a long wall of constrictor shields and halberds.

"We can't match these numbers," Vanguard growled. "Especially not with most of the Rebellion preoccupied with something inside the cave."

"Into the cave!" Anektor growled. "Their numbers won't matter as much."

"Anektor!" Maldaktor called out. "Dalhin mo yung mga kabayo sa loob! Baka may magawa sila sa mga multo! Pipigilan namin sila dito!" He and several crocodilians assembled themselves along the passageway.

"Come, ponies," Anektor said. "You're needed inside."

Both Vanguard and Applejack nodded and followed. Applejack didn't like fleeing from a battle, but something inside that cave tugged at her. A lot of these weird apple branches emerged from the mouth before spreading out to the swamp. A scratch brought out a more powerful glimpse into Apple Slice's past. The source might hold more. At least, maybe, if they do deal with what's holding up the crocodilians inside, they'd be able to reinforce the front and push the ophidites away. Seshimyssen slithered behind her, while a couple more crocodilians, frontliners that had stumbled out of the cloudkill with behind Anektor, brought up the rear.

"What's going on in there, Anektor?" Vanguard asked as they hurried deeper into the caves. Lit torches occasionally showed up on the natural stone walls, giving the place a dim, orange glow. The floor was damp and slick with swamp ooze, as well as lightly sloped downwards, making slipping a real danger. Combined with unpleasant, burning odor and the partly obscuring smoke, navigating this hideout quickly proved dangerous.

"Your restless dead are crawling out of the woodwork," Anektor said. "The shamans are having trouble with them, especially since they popped out suddenly mere minutes ago." He looked at Applejack. "Quite a coincidence, yes?"

Applejack didn't even need to look at her chain. It pulsed against the fur around her neck, like somepony's heartbeat, and that heartbeat was quickening.

"It's getting colder again," Seshimyssen said. He kept an arrow nocked as he slithered on, and he glanced from side to side constantly. "Your ghosts are close. If it's you they want, Applejack, put in a good word for me."

Anektor grinned at Seshimyssen. "If these are dead legionnaires, maybe we can appease them with an ophidite sacrifice."

"Plenty outside, Anektor," Seshimyssen replied. "Or are you too scared of the ones that fight back?"

The air grew even colder as if by response. Applejack stifled a shiver, all of a sudden missing the muggy atmosphere that she had been traveling in when they started this trip. She even missed the living enemies still outside. These days, she kept ending up fighting ghosts or dead bodies with plants in them. The chain around her neck was warm, though. Indeed, it was getting hotter by the minute.

"We're reaching the main cavern," Seshimyssen said. "If the Rebellion's settled here, that would be the main spot."

"Quite knowledgeable of the Rebellion's base," Anektor said.

"I've been here before," Seshimyssen said. "Turned it inside out looking for the tomb of Apple Slice for my old master. Your Rebellion picked a spot that's already been scouted out by the Empire, Anektor. It's a miracle that it's still around."

"There are other smaller bases in the marshes," Anektor replied. "This one was picked more for defiance. That it's still here says more about the might of Ophidus, doesn't it?"

"The Empire would prefer a slow and deliberate show of superiority," Seshimyssen said. "If you all surrendered, all the more intact slaves for the citizens."

"But they're coming in force now," Vanguard said. "It seems odd that the Empire would change its mind about slaves now when it's winning."

"Indeed," Seshimyssen said. "We're about to find out it seems. They have their hero out there with the same magic chain as Applejack here. They must be really interested in the Wrangler."

Applejack opened her mouth to reply, but the passageway they hurried along on had widened to an enormous cavern. The floor rapidly sloped from where they were, descending into what looked like a tiny valley filled with mushrooms big and small. There were no torches here. The ceiling was lined with thousands of luminescent fungal stalks that bathed everything in pale green. Anektor led the way, expertly navigating the winding pathway carved into the slope. Below them was a veritable grove of mushrooms. The large ones rose above Applejack, spreading their round, spotted, red caps to create a canopy. Beneath were smaller stalks of white. Within the grove were wooden huts with various tools scattered about. A deep pit, with faint wisps of smoke still rising from it, lay at their center while a half-eaten creature of some sort lay spitted above it. The scattering made it clear that these crocodilians were interrupted by something. There were no sounds of battle though. At the sight of the empty, the other crocodilians with them let out throaty growls.

"No bodies at least," Vanguard said after a quick look around. "They must be here somewhere."

"Where did the restless dead come from?" Anektor asked the other crocodilians. "Kanaktor?"

The first one merely shrugged. "I don't know. I was guarding the entrance when this happened."

"Delaktor?" Anektor went on.

"The restless dead swooped in from the fishing hole's direction," Delaktor replied.

"The water," Anektor muttered. "Always the water."

Delaktor suddenly looked at Kanaktor. "Your shift had been over this morning, Kanaktor. Why were you still there?"

"I was..." Kanaktor cleared his throat. "Covering."

"Inaktor and Anaktri fooling around again," Anektor muttered. "Lintik..."

"I have a good idea where they might be," Seshimyssen spoke up.

"The ophidite knows the situation in the camp best," Anektor said. "The Rebellion's standing strong indeed."

"You lugs should at least know that half this complex is under the water, right?" Seshimyssen said. "If those ghosts are coming from there, then they must be from the sunken tunnels."

"A place you snakes explored, yes?" Anektor asked.

Seshimyssen shook his head. "We tried. Even with waterbreathing spells, we could not get into the deeper parts. The dark resists light spells, the unnatural cold will kill you if you spend too long or venture too far."

"A dark and cold place where ghosts emerge," Vanguard said.

"These apple branches emerged from that fishing hole," Anektor said. "This spot is making the Rebellion look stupider and stupider."

Applejack shuddered. No. Not again. She could have lived with knowing that he was a violent murderer, or that he turned on the Legion. Anything but the abyss.

"Some other alicorn then...I'm not picky at the moment. Somepony strong enough!"

They passed through several more huts, the insides of which were hidden only with a curtain of dry grass leaves. One entrance had been torn down, revealing a multitude of long, curved blades hanging on its walls and ceiling. The crocodilians seemed a filthy, messy lot. Cooking utensils lay scattered on the ground along with crude metal pots blackened by exposure to open flame. They passed by another pit, this one full of gnawed bones. Applejack hoped that none of those were pony.

Eventually, they walked past a thick grove of mushrooms and into a clearing.

"Galdaktor!" Anektor called out to the gathered crocodilians before them. There had to be a dozen of them, all dressed like Maldaktor had been with the beads and the skulls. They stood seemingly frozen around a large pond, their hands clasped and the tips of their fingers glowing.

"Anektor..." One of the crocodilians growled, the strain in his voice obvious. Anektor walked closer and the two conversed in their tongue. Applejack could barely contain her apprehension, now she had to wait.

The cavern's pale illumination made it impossible to see the depths of the pool, but there were indeed large, milky-white fish swimming about close to the surface. It must be quite deep though. Enormous, twisted apple branches emerged from it, resembling the legs of a gigantic spider about to crawl out of a hole. The throbbing along her chain grew all the more stronger as she took a few steps closer to the edge. Once more into the abyss...

"Not so fast, pony," Anektor growled softly as he approached them.

"What's the situation?" Vanguard asked.

"Your restless dead flew screaming out of the pond less than an hour ago," Anektor said. "They dragged down some of the Rebellion's warriors and sent the others scurrying out of the cave before diving back in. This shaman circle is the only thing holding those things in."

"This is pointless then," Seshimyssen hissed. He folded his arms across his chest. "Even if we deal with these pony ghosts, we'll only free up some tired shamans. Not exactly a winning move against the troops outside."

"Applejack," Vanguard said, his eyes still fixed on the pond.

"I need to see what's down there, Vanguard," Applejack replied. She fought a tremble in her voice and a strange impulse to dive in already. "I ain't sure what I'll find, but I'm sure I need to find it."

"We're going then," Vanguard said.

"A waterbreathing spell would be nice," Seshimyssen muttered. "Some protection spell against cold would be nice too."

"Diving into a haunted pond with the ophidites breathing down our necks," Anektor said. "I love this plan."

"Me too," one of the other crocodilians, Kanaktor, suddenly said. All of them turned to face him. Applejack's heart raced. That shouldn't be so odd, but there was something terribly wrong here. The others seemed to pick up on this as well.

"Kanaktor," Anektor growled. "We're fine, yes?"

"Absolutely!" Kanaktor bellowed. His voice lost its gravel halfway through and deepened. His hands moved so swiftly that they turned into dark blurs. Out of the corner of Applejack's eye was the glint of something silvery. Her hooves moved to her chain. Already, she knew what was coming.

"Cobrahn illusion!" Seshimyssen shouted.

Kanaktor's crocodilian form twisted, shifted, and crackled with magic. His legs merged with his tail while his arms and shoulders bulged with muscle. He flicked his wrist rapidly, his arm flexing as he made loops with his chain. His chain all but flew through the shamans around them. In an instant, he had every one of them leashed in silver.

"Sakylthos!" Applejack said.

"We talk later, Applejack!" Sakylthos bellowed. He pulled hard on his chain even as he rapidly slithered forward. The links glowed red followed by the wet sliding of metal over flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere, striking the pond's placid surface with a barrage of crimson droplets. Warm and wet drops trickled down Applejack's foreleg, which she had raised on instinct to protect her eyes. Nearly a dozen heads dropped to the ground.

That was Apple Slice's move. Something Applejack hadn't done before.

There was no time to assess the situation. Sakylthos was on her instantly, his enormous scaled form blotting out the pale light from above. She had her own chain in her mouth, but she had her misgivings with the distance. A quick jump aside--

Sakylthos's enormous palm smacked into Applejack's face, knocking her hat off. His fingers curled around her head, covering one eye and reaching all the way to the back of her head. He didn't stop there. His momentum carried them towards the pond. Applejack grasped his arm, but it was like wrestling with an armored tree trunk. He lifted her off the ground with ease, all the while chuckling.

Applejack sucked in a gulp of air a mere fraction of a moment before they hit the water with a splash so loud that it nearly drowned out the alarmed cries from the others. She braced herself for freezing cold and the rush of water over her head.

Neither came.

It was hard, earthen ground that met Applejack's back, and it was warm air that washed over her. Sakylthos's fingers slackened around her face. Sensing oppurtunity, she jammed a hoof into the inside of his elbow. With a grunt, Sakylthos let go and stepped back. Applejack readied her first lash even as she gave her surroundings a brief glance.

This was no abyss she found herself in. The air smelled of familiar scents; apple leaves and blossoms, farm soil...the smells of home. The golden light that bathed her felt like sunlight. No sun, however. The high ceiling still looked stone. Around them were great branches of a massive apple tree. It almost looked like she was back in Sweet Apple Acres. What made it "almost" uncoiled in front of her.

"Not what I expected," Sakylthos said as he rubbed the inside of his left arm. Blood trickled down the silver chain dangling from his right hand and the plates of armor across his chest and shoulders. Though it no longer glowed red like earlier, his chain was pulsing strongly just like hers. "Now, Applejack, we can determine the succession without interference."

"You knew this was going to happen?" Applejack asked.

"Truly, no," Sakylthos replied. He circled her slowly, eyes fixed on her intently. "But we both knew that this is where we should be, didn't we? Our weapons drew us here."

"You--!" That was as far as Applejack got before Sakylthos's chain flew at her end first. She sidestepped just in time, the chain passing so close that her fur parted from its passage. She lashed on instinct, knowing full well that if she didn't put this ophidite on the defensive, she'd be facing an endless barrage of attacks. Sakylthos threshed the ground as he slithered around her, pulling his chain back at the same time. Her chain struck the branches behind where he was, sending splinters flying along with a spray of...blood?

"Too slow, pony!" Sakylthos roared. He slithered towards her with his left hand extended. He was a mere few feet away before she pulled her chain back and lash defensively. She aimed for the exposed scales in his armpit. A good hit should dislocate his shoulder or even break it. Before she could hit, though, he brought his hand to his chest and slammed an armored shoulder to her face.

Stars burst across Applejack's vision and hard ground struck the back of her head. Blood burst from her nose and it was all she could do not to drop her chain. On instinct, she rolled to the side. The loud bang of Sakylthos's chain smashing the ground where she just was proved her right. She kept rolling, tracking Sakylthos's position by ear. His chain struck the ground a few more times before she rolled to her hooves. 'Gotta slow him down somehow...' she thought.

Sakylthos kept on lunging, constantly keeping himself in melee range and forcing Applejack to outright backpedal. He swayed left and right' always too close to let her have a wide swing and too evasive for a thrusting attack. He slipped past a clumsy swing from her and closed in. His massive, scaled fist struck her side, just under her ribs so that he dug into her liver. Blood swiftly rose up Applejack's throat and leaked out of the corners of her mouth as she doubled over. Sakylthos's fists were wrapped with leather with metal studs. So great was the impact that it pushed her armor into her body. Her mind screamed at her to get up as another attack was coming, but her body was crying uncle. Her legs shook just to keep standing. Through sheer force of will she raised her gaze to watch out for attacks, only to be greeted by a heavy, thudding backhand to the side of her head.

Everything turned to blackness for a frightening moment as Applejack rolled across the ground. It was only out of stubborn reflex that she kept her jaws clamped on her chain. The studs must have torn several gashes across her cheek as blood was already trickling down the side of her face. When she stopped, her vision struggled to return. The pain still throbbed throughout her body and trying to stand up was about as easy as walking a tightrope in a storm.

'Consarn it!' Applejack thought. She knew a chain lash was coming. Sakylthos focused on close range attacks to keep her defensive and then followed through with chain strikes when he established distance after unbalancing her. If she didn't defend now, her head was coming off as easily as those shamans. She was quickly running out of options. 'Sorry, Vanguard.'

She got to her hooves defiantly, planting her hooves and staring at Sakylthos. She concentrated on another ability, one that had saved her in the worst moments. Sakylthos let out a triumphant hiss, twisting his coils like a powerful spring for a powerful lunge. Applejack took no small amount of satisfaction when he slammed face-first against a golden shield that had manifested in front of her. At last, he backed off to nurse his snout. Blood leaked out of his nostrils and mouth. Even then, he managed one more lash. The cave echoed with loud bangs, enough to set Applejack's teeth on edge, but her shield didn't even quiver.

"My turn!" Applejack crowed. She drove the pain back to the corner of her mind, and flicked her neck for a lash while Sakylthos still recovered. It was his turn to back away. He slithered to a distance and crossed the apple branches to try to get to her. She wasn't going to have any of it, though. She tracked him through the grove, making sure her shield faced him.

As Applejack was about to attack though, the branches all around her violently quivered, as if a great wind was blowing through. Leaves scattered to the ground, and the branches twisted seemingly in agony.

"That light!" A dozen terrified voices, both mares and stallions, wailed. "Take it away! Take it away!"

Even Sakylthos stopped and looked around. The branches twisted and cracked, shrinking away from Applejack as the wailing voices grew louder. Shrieking in unison.

"Apple Slice, let us go!"

Then, as quickly as they acted up, the branches fell still. The odd sunlight dimmed until Applejack had to squint. The silence was so thick that she could hear her heart race. The branches their side suddenly rustled, as if somepony was moving among them. The cave resounded with the heavy hoof-falls of a stallion walking. Applejack squinted at where the rustling was coming from. Sakylthos did the same. From a distance, they watched as a russet-coated stallion came ever closer.