//------------------------------// // Kindness: Ch2 "Good Morning" // Story: What Remains of the Shattered World // by ImpossibleReflection //------------------------------// A pair of mares traversed through the woods, "Ah appreciate yer help Tracker" Stated Applejack, "But Ah don't need it." Yes Ah do. "Ha, no way you could do this with just those matchlocks." Replied a brash pegasus with a mustard yellow coat and a cutie mark of hoof prints. Her navy eyes piercing through not only her red mane, but through the orange mares fibs. In a fit of control, the gunslinger asked "Why do ya choose ta help somepony who can't control her lies?" "Your eyes." Upon hearing this Applejack gazed quizzically at the pegasus before she continued, "Your eyes, They loose their color when you lie. Also, when looking at you, you look like you should stand out in any crowd, but if I don't focus on you, you don't seem to stand out at all. Your lies are even easier to forget, but your honest moments are easily remembered." "Ah don't ever lie." Ah wish that were still true. The pegasus mare rolled her eyes and they continued on in relative silence. Before long they came up on a small camp. They hid behind some trees and looked into it, gaging the enemy. "Ah can do this on my own." "Oh please, you can only shoot a matchlock once, so with two of them you only have two shots before a long reload. With this" She held up a crystal , "I can shoot this as much as I want." Please let me say it, she looks weaker after each fight "Whatever." Let me tell her! The camp was full of thugs. These thugs had been terrorizing a nearby town. Applejack and Tracker had been hired to get rid of them. Tears threatened to fall from the gunslingers eyes as she struck a match and lit the wicks on the matchlocks. She then poured powder in the flash pans. Applejack set one of the matchlocks on the ground and held another up to her shoulder. Carefully she aimed at a thug in the camp, then looked over to Tracker and nodded upon making eye contact. Looking back down the barrel of her musket she fired at a thug in the camp, dropping him. Immediately afterwards beams started to fly into the camp. Applejack set down her spent matchlock and picked up the other one. She took aim and fired upon the next thug she saw. Having depleted her weapons she gathered them up and ran from her position, as the large cloud of smoke was anything but inconspicuous. Once she was satisfied with her new position she set down her guns and began reloading them. After loading the barrels she advanced the wicks and poured in more powder. lifting up the rifle to her shoulder she took aim at the camp, looking for any remaining targets. Tracker landed next to her, "You're too slow, there are only a couple left. I bet I can get them both in a single blast." Tracker trotted from behind the tree, and held the crystal up towards the ponies bringing their own matchlocks to their shoulders. Her crystal began to glow, "No, Wait!" Why now? The crystal's light increased to nearly blinding levels. Applejack, stood there, unable to do anything but watch. Soon Tracker's face contorted into an expression of pure agony, and a scream. Not even a second after the scream started the beam launched. The deafening sound of the blast couldn't drown out the scream. Applejack continued to stare as the pegasus's skin grew taught around her bones. Ribs and joints slowly, but far to quickly, became more and more visible. Color drained from her body. Her wings snapped out from her sides, contorting in ways that could only be considered unnatural angles. The screaming only ended when the beam had stopped. The pegasus then fell limply to the ground. Pained expression permanently plastered upon her mummified face. Applejack ran to the body of her fallen friend, and screamed. As she screamed the world started to shake... _-/|\-_ And the world shook into a blurry wooden room, a room belonging to the tavern. The shaking belonging to Wet Whistle. "You were screaming in your sleep." She said. A concerned look adorning her features. "Ah tend ta do that from time ta time." "Nightmares?" "If only ah were so lucky." Applejack tossed the covers off of her sat up. From her new upright position she brought her fore hooves up and rubbed her eyes. Once here eyes were clear she glanced out the window. The sky was dark, just beginning to show the first signs of light. The sun would be rising in about an hour. She got up out of the bed then stretched and popped away whatever soreness she could. Wet Whistle stood there awkwardly untill she mustered up the words, "Are you okay?" Applejack looked at the bar mare, letting her gaze into the gunslingers green eyes. It gave Wet Whistle her answer, more than words could ever hope to. The bar mare opened her mouth to speak but no words found their way out . She let out a small nod and then walked out of the room to perform what duties she had in this dried up settler town. Applejack made her way to the small bathroom included with the room. She stepped into the bath and turned the water nob. There was no hot water, likely because whatever rune or enchantment that would have heated the water has fallen into disrepair. It's a miracle that a town like this even has water, no doubt due to some patchwork system. The cold water filled the tub, slowly encompassing the orange mare. She let out a sigh as the water dulled the aches and pains from her body. Soon the bath was full and she turned off the faucet. She sat there there, still, for a few minutes to let the water chill away any remaining aches. She then began scrubbing herself, kneading her coat and tired muscles. Trying to wash away the dirt and blood of the previous day. The physical blood at least, some blood stains will never wash away. She took in a deep breath before plunging her head underwater. After a few seconds submerged she brought her head up above the water and began with rubbing the water out of her eyes. She then ran her hooves down her mane. _-/|\-_ After the bath Applejack went to her coat and saddlebags and emptied the contents onto the bed. She had plenty of powder, and plenty of shot for her howdah pistols, and plenty of balls for her musket. There was a folded piece of paper with a drawing of the Elements of Harmony. She had one spare flint, Normally she carried more, but she'd been wearing through them and didn't think to replenish her stock last time she met an arms merchant. She continued on to check her matchbox, a little low, but plenty for now. Looking a her travel rations she though I'll have to get some more food before I leave here. Her eyes finally settled on a slightly beat up harmonica. She picked up the small musical instrument, before pulling it to her chest in a hug and whispering "Thank you." Afterwards she continued checking all of her other odds and ends before placing them back in their appropriate places. That complete she headed downstairs where she was met with Wet Whistle serving a few patrons breakfast. "Good morning, would you like some breakfast?" The barmare asked. "Let me clean up the mess Ah made last night, then Ah'll consider takin' ya up on that offer." _-/|\-_ Applejack strode into the tavern, dirty, soaked with sweat, and wishing she had waited on that bath. She wasn't going to go wasting water, so she was just going to have to deal with it 'till the next opportunity to bathe. She walked up to a table setting her hat upon it and then sitting down. She let out a sigh and leaned back. Looking around the tavern was empty. Wet Whistle walked up, "You ready for something to eat?" "That'd be nice, thank ya kindly." As Applejack sat there in the quiet room, with only faint sounds coming from the kitchen, she had nothing but her thoughts. Thoughts of her friends, if they where even alive. She had seen many ponies die since the collapse of Equestria. No small number of those deaths by her own hooves, but also multiple times ponies dieing of everyday things, such as sickness, accidents, age. There was no guarantee that all of her friends were still alive. Not to mention, she no longer had her element on her. It could be anywhere in Equestria, and no telling about the other elements. She knew she needed to finish up helping the ponies here with their problems, so she could get on after Fluttershy. The longer she took, the farther the once shy pony would get from her. It was on these thoughts of the yellow pegasus that Wet Whistle came out from the kitchen with a plate of eggs and hash browns. Her magic flickered, and the plate didn't float as steadily as one would normally expect from a unicorn, before noisily clanking down onto the table. Applejack's trained eyes notices, and she had to double check. "Can ya hold yer hoof out fer me?" She looked at the gunslinger quizzically before slowly raising her hoof out. Just as the orange mare suspected, it was shaking, completely unsteady. "Are ya okay?" Applejack said before taking a bite out of her breakfast. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" The gunslinger gestured towards the other side of the table, "Sit," She said in between mouthfuls of food. One the bartender had sad down Applejack swallowed, "Yer hooves are shakin', and yer magic's unsteady. Ah've seen it enough times ta recognize it." she took another bite of food as Wet Whistle sat there uncomfortably, "Talking about it'll help. Trust, me." Wet Whistle stared at Applejack, the gunslingers gaze bore into her soul. She chewed her bottom lip, if only to buy her some time. Eventually she relented. "Okay." She blurted out. Her head low, the barmare wondered where to even begin, "How do you do it?" "Do what?" Applejack asked out of formality, she knew exactly what Wet Whistle was asking about. "Kill, and not become an nervous wreck?" "No idea," The barmare seemed to brake a little inside, "It is always terrible, eventually, if you keep doing it, you become one big ball of pain. When I first started, I was still under a curse from Discord." Wet Whistle's eye widened. She opened her mouth to speak when the front door opened. Both ponies turned to look upon the newcomer. He wore a torn up denim jacket, and a worn out cowpony hat with a brim that sagged down over his eyes. Wet Whistle spoke up, "Oh, Swift, I forgot you were showing up today. I can afford a bit more this week, let me get the bits." "Yer a merchant right?" Asked Applejack. "Yes'm," Replied the worn out looking pony. "Ya wouldn't happen ta have flints fer a flintlock would'ya?" "I think I might have one or two in the cart. Follow me." Applejack took a bite of her hash browns and put on her hat before following the merchant outside. Once outside she saw a cart laden with food, booze, and other odds and ends. With her friends fresh on the gunslingers mind, she pulled out the piece of paper unfolded it and asked, "Would ya have happened ta see anything like these in yer travels." After a few moments Swift lifted his head out of his cart, a small bag which clattered when he moved dangling from his mouth. Upon looking at the drawing he let out a hmm, "I've heard about them, but only a story from another merchant," Swift said, "Said he found one of those necklaces. Said that after he found it, a pony wearing a black cloak came to him in the middle of the night and offered him an extremely large sum of bits." "That all?" Applejack asked as Wet whistle came out the door with her own bag of bits. "The gist of it." "Well, how much fer the flints?" He reached over to the cart and picked up the bag upturning it, three pieces of shaped flint fell into his other hoof. he hmm'd as he looked at it, "Ten bits for the lot." Applejack reached into her duster and pulled out a pouch of bits handing it over to the stallion. He looked at the bag and said, "This is far too much." "Information has value." Applejack said taking the flints and depositing them in her saddlebag. Wet Whistle approached the merchant and presented him with a sack of bits, "This should cover the normal shipment, and a bit extra, and two bottles of whiskey if you have it." Swift took the bag and weighed it in his hoof before nodding and setting it down in his cart. He then walked around to the other side and began pulling out bags of foodstuff followed by two large bottles of whiskey. "Thank you," Wet Whistle said as she lifted up two bags in her magic and began walking into the tavern. Applejack thanked swift as well before picking up a bag of potatoes and following the barmare. A look over her shoulder let her see a few other townsponies coming towards the merchant. Once Applejack finished helping Wet Whistle with the food she knew she couldn't put it off any longer. After going upstairs to retrieve her musket she said to Wet Whistle, "Ah'll be checking out that camp now. If'n Ah don't come back by tomorrow mornin', Ah'm sorry." Applejack adjusted her hat and walked out the door, then around the building towards the diamond dog camp.