Alicornae: The Legend of Starlit Sky
Part II - Chapter 1: Welcome to Appleoosa
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The first thing Starlit Sky noticed was the heat. The temperature was sweltering and had a sticky quality to it that made it feel as if she were walking through soup, which was especially troubling given that the weather in her part of Equestria was quite temperate at this time of year.
The second thing she noticed was the all encompassing wave of nausea, followed by a quick voiding of her stomach contents.
Head swimming and knees turning into jelly, Starlit stumbled forward in the dry grass before flopping onto her belly and letting the dizziness consume her for the moment. Whatever that teleporter had done to transport her as far as it had, it certainly didn't feel like the sort of thing she'd want to do on a daily basis or even want to have the capacity to do.
"I can't believe that unicorns used to do this as a primary mode of transit," Starlit thought through her hazy mind.
Slowly she flipped onto her back and looked upwards and around, trying to get a read on where she had landed without too much effort. She was laying in a field of dry, if still somewhat green, grass, and around her was an orchard of trees. They looked wilted and their bark cracked and drying, but they still bore leaves and some small, dull red fruit that Starlit didn't know the name of. She also noted, with some confusion, that it was currently the middle of the day, when it had been very early in the morning when she had departed from Twilight's lab.
On the whole, heat and time of day aside, this place was downright pastoral compared to her dirt farm, and were it not for the ghastly vocation that she was undertaking, Starlit found that she could potentially call this place home.
"Sis, I think it came from over this way!" A shrill voice with a distinct twang hollered from a little ways off. Starlit gripped her forehooves against her ears to block out the noise.
As swiftly as she could manage given her present state of discombobulation, Starlit hoisted herself to her hooves just as a filly and a young mare, both earth ponies, stepped out from the tree line separating the orchard and whatever lay beyond.
Starlit also noted, with a sinking feeling in her chest, that the older of the two had a pitchfork leveled at her as she stalked forward.
"What're you doin' out here, stranger?" the mare demanded. Starlit squinted, as the combination of her orange coat and blonde hair caused the bright sunlight to reflect off of her in a very visually painful way.
"I just got... lost, is all," Starlit answered back. "I was just traveling through and happened to wander into your fields."
"And that?" the mare retorted, gesturing to the puddle of sick just behind Starlit.
"Just a bit of heat sickness. I come from a long way off and I'm afraid I'm not used to the heat here. Where I come from its much more temperate."
"Well, all that fancy dark leather and weaponry probably isn't doin' you any favors," the mare replied as she lowered the pitchfork. "Still, seein' as you didn't draw on me as soon as you saw me, I reckon that you're decent enough folk. You know where you're headed?"
"To Appleoosa, actually. Do you know the way?" Starlit asked. The breath she had been holding gratefully slid out her nostrils as the tension eased.
"Know it? Heck, I practically run that town!" the mare replied. "C'mon, I'll show you to Cherry Blossom's place, she'll set you up with whatever you need."
Setting the pitchfork into a sleeve on her back and beckoning the yellow filly that had followed her, the mare and Starlit walked through the tree line and out onto a rough path. Off in the distance a few buildings stood, with a large tower dominating the horizon.
"So, what's you're name?" the mare asked. "Not that often we get visitors this close to the Plains, so I like to get to know anypony the blows through."
"I'm Starlit Sky," Starlit answered.
"Pretty name, fittin' for a unicorn. I'm Applejack, and this little troublemaker here's my little sister, Apple Bloom."
Applejack took a moment to tussle her sister's cherry red mane, and with it she dislocated the large red bow had been affixed to it. With a huff Apple Bloom fixed her hair before putting Starlit between herself and her sister.
"So, what brings you 'round these parts?" Apple Bloom asked. "It's not every day that a pony decked out head to hoof in armor and weapons comes by. Are you a mercenary? A soldier? Ooh! Maybe you're a robber!"
"Apple Bloom, don't be rude!" Applejack hissed, cutting her sister off. "If she doesn't want to say, she doesn't have to. Her business is her business."
"Oh, that's alright," Starlit answered with a nervous chuckle. "Honestly I'm just going through town on my way out to the Searing Plains."
At the first mention of her destination Applejack and Apple Bloom stared at her, slack-jawed and eyes bulging from their heads in shock.
"The sun must've done quite the number on your noggin if it's given you that big of a death wish!" Applejack shot back. "The Plains are a sun-blasted wasteland! You'd be lucky to last a few hours out there at the most."
"Well, I will admit that it's not the best idea I've ever had, but I need to cross it to get to... a certain place," Starlit replied.
"Ma'am, if you're going to try and find the Radiant Queen's castle then you'd best go back to where you came from," Apple Bloom chimed in. "We've had plenty of ponies come through here trying to get there, and either they come back nearly thirsted to death and covered in sunburns or they just don't come back."
The lack of admonishment from her older sister betrayed the truth of Apple Bloom's words, and helped crystallize just what sort of situation Twilight had gotten Starlit into. If this is where she was going to be starting her quest, then she could only begin to guess what else lay before her.
"Well, I mean, surely somepony knows where the castle is!" Starlit said, trying to sound confident.
"Oh, we all know where it is; the Radiant Queen makes sure we do," Applejack answered. "The problem is getting there without a direct summons from her."
"If you have a summons, you can get to her?" Starlit asked, the gears already turning in her head as to how to get one of those summonses.
"Well, yes and no," Apple Bloom answered. "The summons doesn't take you there or anything, it just provides protection from the sun and heat while you go through the Plains. You've got to worry about getting there yourself."
"Sure wish Twilight had told me that little tidbit," Starlit thought to herself ruefully as the trio entered the town.
Appleoosa's appearance on the horizon was similar enough to its appearance in actuality; wooden buildings no higher than two stories save for the clock tower at the far side of town surrounded her, showing signs of the wear and tear that their arid location would give. What little vegetation grew in town took the form of succulents like cacti or drifting tumbleweeds, and the sun-baked ground was dusty and cracked.
"Listen Starlit," Applejack said as she led the three of them into one of the buildings, "I don't make it my business to tell ponies how to go about theirs, but at least take a day to stay here, rest up, and really think this over. I'll go talk with Cherry Blossom about setting you up with a room pro bono, so grab yourself a seat and get something to drink."
"Thank you for your generosity," Starlit answered. She took a seat at one of the tables close to the entrance and took stock of her surroundings.
The tavern was sparsely populated, with about four other ponies milling about. A pair was sitting in the far corner of the dining area playing some sort of game with dice, while a third was face down on her table and snoring loudly. The fourth, however, drew Starlit's attention.
Off in the sole booth near the stairs leading up to the second floor sat a unicorn, his pine green eyes down in a book as he absentmindedly lifted bits of food to his mouth with his magic. He had a dark burgundy coat and a brown mane held back with a small clip to keep it from falling into his face.
"How is he doing that?" Starlit pondered to herself. She had never been able to so casually use her magic like that, even for the simplest of tasks, and yet there he sat, eating with magic and reading his book.
Determined to get an explanation, Starlit loosened her weapon belt and slung it across her shoulders so that the sword lay across her back. It wouldn't do to approach a stranger while seemingly armed to the teeth, and his quizzical look rather than one of fear as she approached proved her tact right.
"May I help you?" the unicorn asked. His voice was soft, spoken like a stallion who was used to other ponies telling him what to do.
"Perhaps," Starlit said as she took a seat at his booth. "If you don't mind my asking, how are you using your magic without concentrating on it?"
"I'm afraid I don't quite follow," he replied with a nervous chuckle. "Can't you use yours for simple tasks like this?"
"No I can't, and as far as I know no other unicorn aside from you that I've met can. Do you have some sort of amplifier for it?"
"Can't say that I do," the unicorn replied. "Where do you come from that simple levitation is a challenge?"
Starlit thought for a moment; she was in a strange place talking with a pony who's name she didn't know about things she barely understood herself, and he had just asked her where she was from. It didn't take an enormous leap of logic for her to decide to err on the side of caution.
"Far off," Starlit answered. "Off to the east."
"Hmm," the unicorn murmured. "Well, can I at least have your name?"
"Yours first," Starlit sniped back.
"Alright, alright, no need to get upset. My name's Setting Sun, I'm the town wizard. As for why my magic works so well, I think I might have a theory about that."
Starlit perked up, happy that he was getting back to the topic at hand. He seemed friendly enough, and if he proved to be a problem she could probably take him if she had to.
"I think," Setting Sun continued, "that it has something to do with the area we're currently in."
"Why would us being in the desert have anything to do with magical ability?" Starlit asked.
"It isn't so much that we're in the desert than it is what is causing this place to become a desert. I'm certain you've probably heard about the Radiant Queen's palace by now, right?"
Starlit nodded her agreement as a serving pony brought by a glass of water for her. She turned to see Apple Bloom waving at her from across the room with a big smile on her face while her sister and the barmaid chatted.
"So," Sun continued, "I have a theory that the Radiant Queen is using powerful magic to keep this place constantly sunny, and as a result the sun is literally bathing the land in magic and giving the unicorns around here a boost to their abilities. Of course, I can't really prove it without speaking with the Queen herself, and she hasn't come out of the Searing Plains in living memory."
"I might be able to help you with that," Starlit cut in. "I'm planning on going out to the Plains tomorrow to pay Her Majesty a visit. If you can use some of your magic to keep us protected from the sun out there then I can protect us from anything that might try to give us trouble."
The silence that followed Starlit's declaration was so profound that the wind outside seemed to stop. Setting Sun shifted nervously in his seat, and the pair of ponies playing dice set aside their game and clomped over to where they were sitting.
"What's this I hear about you goin' out into the Plains?" asked the stouter of the two, an earth pony with a bad burn scar across his muzzle.
"It doesn't concern you," Starlit replied, nursing her water as she did. "Go back to your game."
"Uh-uh, no can do, stranger," said the taller, a pegasus with frayed and patchy feathers on his wings. "Ya see, my friend and I here got our summons just yesterday, and we're fixin' to go out there ourselves come tomorrow."
"Guys, listen, she didn't mean anything by it," Setting Sun cut in, trying to defuse the situation. "She's new in town, she doesn't know the rules around here, that's all!"
"Besides," Starlit said as she rose to her hooves, "why would you two getting a summons affect me going out there on my own?"
"Normally it wouldn't," the stout pony answered, "'cept for the fact that the only ponies that go out there without a summons are brigands and treasure hunters looking to find the Queen's Jewel. And while my friend and I here have been invited by Her Majesty's good graces, we are also lookin' to get our hooves on that there particular gemstone."
"And you sure look like some sorta treasure hunter, what with your fancy armor and shiny sword," the taller pony added.
Starlit quickly scanned the room, trying to gauge the threat level. The sleeping pony was still snoring away happily, while Applejack and Apple Bloom were nowhere to be seen. The barmaid, who Starlit assumed was Cherry Blossom, was barely peeking over the rim of her bar. As the pair of them locked eyes, Cherry flitted hers towards the stairs in a knowing gesture.
"Well gentlemen," Starlit said, readjusting her weapon belt as she did so, "as... enlightening as this conversation has been, I'm afraid I have to be going. A friend of mine has set me up with a room for the day and I am quite tired. Long trip through the hot sun, you know how it is."
As calmly as she could muster Starlit started for the stairs before a meaty forehoof blocked her off at chest level.
"I don't think so," the earth pony declared. "We ain't got the time to worry about you stealin' that jewel, so I think we're just gonna settle the matter right here and now."
Before Starlit could react she found herself flung backward with great force, greater than she thought an earth pony could muster up. The push was so sudden that it knocked her square into Setting Sun's table, sending a shock of pain down her back even as it sent Sun's remaining food and book flying along with the table.
As Starlit pulled herself to a sitting position she saw the two ruffians looming over her, pawing the ground with their hooves in preparation to kick her either to death or into unconsciousness, whichever came first. Quickly she lit her horn up and began removing the dagger from her weapon belt. The effort to do so was significant, but not as significant as when she had done so back in Twilight's lab.
"I guess Setting Sun was right," she thought to herself as the knife levitated to a defensive position.
"Listen, I have no quarrel with you two," Starlit said. "I'm not trying to find this jewel that you two are looking for; I didn't even know it existed until you two told me about it. I just need to see the Queen, nothing more and nothing less."
"Aw, ya hear that," the pegasus mocked, "she 'has no quarrel with us!'"
"Well, ain't that just the sweetest sentiment," the earth pony replied. "It's such a shame that we happen to have a quarrel with her."
With a sickening laugh that sounded more like barking than anything else, the pair of them reared onto their hind legs, letting their forehooves kick in the air before bringing their full weight down.
Mercifully, the pair were remarkably poor shots and all four of their hooves missed her even while prone on the ground. Taking the opportunity she flailed her knife wildly in the air, slashing at whatever happened to be closest, which just so happened to be the pegasus' left foreleg.
"Dammit! Son of a bitch!" he hollered as he jumped back, using his wings to let him land safely a good distance away. "Stonewall, let her have it!"
Thus prompted, the earth pony slammed one of his meaty forelegs straight into her side, knocking the wind from her lungs and breaking her concentration. The dagger clattered to the floor and he kicked it away before rearing back again, this time his aim lined squarely up with her head.
Starlit shut her eyes, waiting for the sickening crunch of his hooves into her skull to come. One second... two seconds... five seconds... almost half a minute passed before Starlit dared take a peek at her surroundings.
Stonewall was still reared up above her, only now he was enveloped in a soft green glow and still as a statue. Whipping her head around to find the source of the magic she saw Setting Sun, forehooves propped up on the overturned table and the same green field enveloping his horn.
"Well, go on," he said. "Knock him out before I run out of juice!"
Quickly Starlit got to her hooves, ignoring the pain in her side as she did, and took the dagger back up into her magic. Stonewall's eyes darted between her and the knife, and a single tear started to roll down his scarred cheek.
Before she could drive the pommel into his temple to knock him out, an orange blur burst out from the side of her field of vision and collided with the side of his face. Even within Sun's paralysis spell his head snapped to one side as blood flew from the side of his face and his mouth along with a few teeth, only to stop in mid-air due to the nature of the spell. His pupils shrank to the size of pinheads from the pain before his eyes slammed shut.
The green glow from Sun's spell dissipated, and Stonewall's large frame crumpled to the ground like a sack of carrots. His blood and teeth splattered and clattered on the floor, respectively, as Starlit turned to see Applejack facing away from her and with a decent amount of blood on her hind hooves.
"Absolutely shameful," Applejack said, spitting on his prone form as she did. "Didn't his mother teach him any manners. Are you okay, sugarcube?"
"Just a sore side," Starlit answered as she put her dagger back in its sheath. "I think my armor took most of the hit, but it's definitely going to bruise up. More importantly, how in Equestria did you do that?!"
"When you've got a job kicking apple trees to get the fruit down out of them, you don't need any fancy magic to defend yourself," Applejack replied. "Cherry, you get his friend?"
The pair turned around to see the pegasus, now in a similar state as his friend with a large welt forming on his forehead. Cherry Blossom paused from sweeping up the remains of a thick liquor glass by his head to give a quick nod of approval. Starlit also noticed that Apple Bloom was busy scowling down at the fallen pony, her face screwed up in a glare that was equal parts menacing and adorable.
"I'm sorry about all that," Applejack continued. "Those two are always causing trouble 'round here, swiping purses and generally being a nuisance, but I guess I just don't have the heart to throw 'em out of town. They generally don't cause any lasting trouble, but they'll have a few months in the jail to think about what they've done here today."
"And to nurse a shattered jaw," Starlit added, looking down at Stonewall's mangled and bleeding face. A pair of horseshoe shaped bruises were already prominently displayed on the side of his face, underneath the blood that had spilled when Applejack's hooves dug into his flesh.
"And to nurse a shattered jaw," Applejack repeated with a chuckle. "Looks like he'll be getting all his meals through a straw for the next few weeks. Anywho, I've got to drag these perps off to jail, so go on upstairs and get settled. Cherry's got a room ready for you, and I'll come by a little later to talk about your 'quest.'"
"One more thing before you go," Starlit called as Applejack turned to go. "You said back at the orchard that you 'practically run this town.' What do you mean by that?"
"Oh right, where are my manners," Applejack said. "I should've told you earlier, but better late than never I suppose. I'm the sheriff and mayor of Appleoosa, Applejack of the Apple family. And as long as you're here, you're under my protection."
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