This was the fifth day Applebloom has been walking on the dirt road. She still remembered how she was told that the wizard of San Fernando would be able to help her out, but she wasn't even sure how long it would take her to get there, or if she would get there at all. The Sun was intense and unforgiving, she already ran out of water, food was gone a day ago and it was just the middle of the day. This was getting worse the more she went onward in this lands. For each step she took, she regretted her argument with Applejack and now wished to be back in Equestria to tell her how sorry she was for insulting her.
She looked up at the unforgiving Sun, not ruled by the benevolent Celestia, and wondered who would be so evil to make it so hot and why would they make it so hot. Applebloom looked at the lands and, to her sadness, she couldn't find a single tree where she could rest or hide from the Sun. She was now at the mercy of the heat and her solitude left her with no one to discuss.
- "Well, Applebloom, you're in big troubles now. How do you think you'll survive this one?"
- "I'm not sure, I actually thought that I would be able to make the journey all on my own with the food and water I got."
- "Applebloom, you went out alone and left behind Miguel and José. They were the ones who knew where to take you, you had to prove once again that you were a grown mare and that you didn't need help from anypony, right?"
- "Of course, every time I was told that I was too little to understand or to do anything, I would always prove them wrong."
- "Yeah, Applebloom, and look at how it got us that attitude. We're no longer in Equestria, we're no longer a pony, we barely even know where we are and we've been wasting our breath on this pointless conversation considering that you still don't understand why's this your fault".
- "My fault? I wasn't the one who started this conversation and we wouldn't be on this situation if Applejack-"
- "Shut it, stop blaming others and remember that you're alone in here and I'm a part created by you to stop feeling alone. Now look around, someone's coming".
Applebloom looked up and managed to see a figure in the distance, she wasn't sure if it was the heat or if she was actually seeing things, but that didn't stopped her from wanting to meet someone who could help her out. So she decided to get close to that figure ignoring, once again, the warning done by Miguel about the figures she could meet on the Plains. Once she got close enough, she managed to notice that it was a horseman riding a white horse. The rider was wearing white clothes, he had a spear on his back and a machete on his hips. The horse looked strong and recently rested with signs of living on the best moments of its life. Applebloom hoped that this wasn't a dangerous fellow and that he had enough water for her, as the two figures got close to each other, Applebloom managed to hear a few mumbles coming from the rider.
- "Well, would you look at that. The little girl isn't a ghost." - After being close enough, Applebloom heard the typical salute the horsemen have always given her. - "Gree' my little lady! What are you doing on this dangerous place? A girl like you should be in the house learning how to cook."
Forcing herself to not lash out at her possible savior, Applebloom decided to respond to him with as much likability as she could muster on herself and saluted back.
- "Hello mister! My name is Applebloom and I'm a lost girl. I was on my way to the city of Fernando but I got carried away and separated myself from my caravan while losing all my water and food. Could you please tell me where is the direction to the city and if you got something to eat or drink, please mister?" - She then made a sad face to give as much petty as she could, missing her two friends that created the trifecta of cuteness that could destroy every wall they faced. The stranger looked at her and made a simple smile.
- "Florentino I'm known as, Cantaclaro I'm called as. Its really sad to know of your situation little girl but I cannot give you my water, I need it to get to the next farm but, I will tell you that, if you walk two blocks ahead, you'll find a river that has one of the freshest water you'll ever find. From there on out, if you go a few blocks following the road, you'll find the State of San Luis, where they will receive you kindly and tell you where to go next." - He then took out a collar helding a cross from his pocket and gave it to her from his horse, - "take this, it will protect you from anyone who tries to rob you and once you get to the river, remember, do not drink directly from the water."
Applebloom took the collar, said her thanks and decided to move forward. As she was moving ahead, she heard the horseman making a copla that struck her on the wrong turns.
I've met a girl on the road
Asking for water and food
If she's not taken by the ghost
I hope she reaches goal
In that moment Applebloom decided to turn around and ask him what did he meant with that but, in the moment she turned around, the road was empty and with no trace of the Horseman, not even the hoofprints of the horse were there. She looked at her pocket and found the collar given to her, chilling her spine and wondering in what kind of problem she just gotten into. Nonetheless, she got the direction she needed and was now going to the State of San Luis.
As Applebloom continued on her advance, she started to wonder about her current position. She was sure that it was no coincidence that she had the form of the ones living here, who knew how she would've been treated if she were a pony considering how superstitious the local folks were, and she hoped that she could be a pony again when she came back to Equestria, of course, that is if she survived these hot plains.
She could still remember when she woke up for the first time on this world, the plains surrounding her and being close to a house, and she could still remember how calm but dangerous they felt, as if they could be your best friend and worst nightmare at the same time. She still remembered, and still do now, how they would sometimes feel as if they were calling her somewhere, the local llaneros always told her of how her feelings weren't wrong. - "If you have a good ear, you can hear the plains calling your name. Once you hear them, you belong to them." - That's what they said and she couldn't miss the similarities between the plains and the Everfree Forest: The weather run by itself, the animals lived by their own and the plants grew without help from anypony. To make things worst, apparently these plains had a mind of their own so now Applebloom feared that she could be a target of the plains, making her regret even more that she left behind her party.
As Applebloom thought on this things, she found the river Florentino told her about, the smell and sound of the water flow became each stronger with each second she walked closer. She was happy she could now regain the water she lost, now all she needed back was the food, since she already knew hay wasn't edible in her current condition, so she started to get close and prepared to drink the water of the river but, as she started to get close, she heard a very faint sound, barely audible, that came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.
"Don't get close to the river".
Applebloom thought for a moment hearing things but, seeing how there was nobody around, she decided to proceed to drink from the river and this time she was sure she heard something.
"Don't get close to the river".
She turned around on the vicinity, hoping to find the person speaking to her, but found none.
"Who's there!?" She shouted, but nobody responded. She started to feel worried but she really needed to drink the water so she decided to get closer to the river, this time the voice didn't sounded as a faint warning, but rather, as a strong order.
"Don't get close to the river!"
Applebloom freaked out at that, now she was looking around fearful of who could be talking to her but, as much as she looked around, she could only find the ever expanding plains surrounding her. She looked at the river, its water pristine and pure, she wanted to quench her thirst so much but she didn't want to anger whoever was the one shouting at her. The water of the river was flowing so passively and reflected so well the sky and sun, the heat was finally starting to pass and she really wanted to drink something. The puzzle looked hard until she had the idea of tying a string to her canteen and throwing it to the river, she could see how the canteen was starting to feel heavier by the second and, once she thought it had enough water, she decided to take the canteen back. After pulling the canteen back, she saw to her sadness that the water in the canteen dropped a bit but there was still enough for her to drink a good amount of water for the moment.
Once her thirst was satisfied and her canteen had enough water for the next day, she decided to move on and, thankfully, the river was close enough to the road to her delight so she started to move between the road and the river which allowed her to never run out of water for the time being.
As she was going down the road to San Luis, she found a group of deer drinking from the river, as Applebloom saw to her anger how the deer could get close to the river but she couldn't, she watched a huge animal coming from the water and taking one of the deer into the water. The beast was something akin to a Cragadile from the Everfree that she once found on the books of her school and seeing how easily took away one of the deer into the water, she wondered if that voice was either harming or warning her from an inherent danger that she didn't know about.
- "See Applebloom? You almost got eaten because you wanted to do things on your own." -
- "Alright, yes, I admit that I almost committed a huge mistake but that's just one case and I listened, so could you please calm down a bit?" -
- "No, because you almost ended your life for being reckless. In fact, we should stay away from the river because I don't want to be close to those things if the night falls and neither do you." -
Applebloom reflected on that warning and saw the river, so peaceful but so dangerous at the same time. It was true, she better stayed away from that river before nightfall, especially because she couldn't see anymore those creatures, so she started to move to the other side of the road, expecting it to be a bit safer now and then decided to take the rest once she saw the shining moon rising with her common silver beauty, hiding inside the huge grass provided by the huge plains surrounding her with the sounds of nature.
As night dropped, Applebloom started regretting leaving behind her party even more for she didn't know how to start a fire to heat herself up although, thankfully, it wasn't as cold as a Ponyville night but, compared to the heat of the day, it felt kinda cold. Applebloom started to reflect then on her journey so far and started to wonder how things would have been had she made the journey with Miguel and José and their cattle, it would've been annoying, yes, but at least she would be in the company of people and she wouldn't feel so lonely. She saw the dark sky and wondered if there was someone ruling the night like Luna, would it be seeing her problems? Would it be trying to help and give her answers if she went to sleep? She wondered.
These ideas were interrupted as she started to hear another sound coming from the direction she was going to, this were the sounds of a horse riding in the road. She looked at the source of the noise and saw, to her fear, a black horse with shining red eyes being rode by a horseman wearing black clothes and with his face being hidden by his long black hair, he had a machete on his side and had the appearance of danger. Applebloom feared to find another ghost and decided to hide inside the grass, hoping to not be seen by this spooky figure.
As the rider got close, Applebloom could feel how the air became colder, making her fear even more at the newcomer. She could hear the horse passing by at a slow pace, as if it were searching for something or someone, she wasn't sure why. All Applebloom wanted was for him to move, she wanted to be back with Miguel and never experience again something like this in her life, she wanted this to be just a nightmare Princess Luna haven't cleaned yet and, as she was regretting the many moments of her life, her heart stopped when she realized the rider stopped moving and was now looking right in her direction.
- "Greetings." - Said a voice that felt smooth but demanding at the same time. - "I know you're there and I only want to ask you something." - The voice never stopped sounding as if it was containing some kind of wrath. - "I'm searching for a rider called Florentino, but you may know him as Cantaclaro. He and I have some accounts to be solved and I want to know where he is."
Applebloom stayed quiet, hoping that the rider would move on and leave her alone but her wishes were dashed as the voice pushed on with its demands, this time in a stronger voice.
"I know you're there, I saw you in the distance and heard you hiding in the bushes. Answer my questions and I will leave you alone".
Applebloom started to wonder if there was any reason to not answer but that horse gave her bad vibes, in that moment, she grabbed the collar that Florentino gave her and started to rub it on her hands to relax herself and wishing that somebody could come to her help. As she was trying to find a solution to her problems, the voice spoke again.
"Fine, I'll leave you, but know that once I end my business with Cantaclaro, I'll come for you".
And, just like that, the rider started to move again, following the same direction that Florentino took hours ago but not without making a copla.
Singing I go through the plains
Trying to get those I have accounts with
Once I end with Florentino
I'll go after the fire headed girl
As he was leaving, Applebloom started to feel the sleep invading her, normal thing when you relax from a tense moment, and hoped to wake up in her house with Applejack.
As the morning came up, Applebloom saw, to her sadness, that she was still in the same place she was when she got to sleep. She rose from her sleeping point and shook the dirt on her clothes, she moved back to the road to continue her journey and, as she got to the road, she saw it marked with black marks. It looked as if they were made with fire and she wondered how could that rider leave those marks. Nonetheless, she saw the road ahead and decided to move forward hoping to get fast to San Luis and from there, find a way to San Fernando.