Applejack fixed him with a hard stare. She didn’t want to give anything away. How did he learn her name anyways? Was he just messing with her now? And he was still just smiling down at her, perfectly content to wait for her answer.
“Who’s asking?” She finally replied, brow furrowed at him in grim determination.
His smile got wider and he took a moment to ruffle his feathers. “Oh, just any other pegasus. You see those four ponies down there are old friends of mine. I like to pay them a visit every now and then, but this time before visiting them I had heard they made a new friend. And I simply have to find her. After all I even just more recently learned that my old friends happened to be training her in a silly old earth pony fighting art. But you probably know nothing about that.”
Applejack gulped. Oh yeah, he knew.
Night Storm scratched under his chin while he continued to smirk down at her. “You seemed to be awfully concerned about these four, and if I’m not mistaken you said the names Quartz and Obsidian as well. I suppose you know them?”
She didn’t answer, instead tensing up her body and preparing for anything.
“You don’t have to worry about them though, I would never kill them. They’re just far too much fun to mess with.” He suddenly spread his wings as wide as they could go. “You on the other hand, Miss Applejack, you’re just a fun new little thing for me to defeat.”
Applejack glared at him. “You-”
“Oh don’t be angry at me.” He cut her off. “Be angry at your friends, I might not have bothered with you at all if I didn’t know about them teaching you Hoof of the Earth. I’m so lucky I found a nice foraging pony from Brooksville before I came back to the monastery. Quartz probably never would’ve told me the truth about you. Heh.” He chuckled lightly to himself.
She bristled at knowing that he was already back to terrorizing the poor ponies around here, she hoped that whoever it was he found was okay, even if he did tell him about her being taught Hoof of the Earth.
“You... I don’t get you! They told me about you and everything but why do you have to keep hurting other ponies! Isn’t it enough that you’ve proven yourself stronger than Quartz and them?! Why do you have to hurt ponies who can’t even fight back against you! Answer me!” Applejack yelled at him, thrusting her hoof at him and nearly shaking in anger.
Night Storm stopped smiling for a second, tilting his head and looking down at her. Meeting her strong emerald eyes with his dark ones.
“Heh.”
His grin returned as he jumped off the pillar, keeping his wings out to slowly glide down to the ground.
“It’s not enough to be the best. It does give me immense pleasure to know I’m superior to Hoof of the Earth and my former Wings of the Wind brethren, but it’s not enough. Everypony must know I’m the best. Everypony must know they can do nothing to me. I am the strongest and I can do whatever I want to anypony else. That’s it.”
Applejack practically growled at him, her hooves digging into the dirt beneath her feet as she gave him a glare that would make an Ursa Major run off in fear. “You’re horrible.”
“I can afford to be, I’m strong.” He simply smiled back at her, meeting her glare with confident eyes.
“I don’t care how strong you are or how long you’ve been learning this stuff or fighting other ponies, there’s no way I’d let somepony as awful as you continue tormenting all these good folk! I’m putting an end to this.” She reached up to push her hat back, trying to calm down her beating heart so it was easier to grasp a tremor.
“Oh please try it, I want a challenge for once.” He licked his lips at her. And then just as suddenly flicked one of his wings in her direction. It was like a nearly invisible claw of air coming at her, Applejack’s eyes widened and she jumped to the side just in time, the claw of air tearing through her saddlebag and shredding the map and kiwis inside of it. The tattered remains of the bag fell from her side to the ground as Applejack quickly slid backwards from Night Storm, putting some distance between the two of them.
“Hey hey, good job, most ponies can’t even see that.”
Sweat already began to form at Applejack’s brow, realizing how close she had come to biting it right there and then. And the dull throb from her body after her quick movements reminded her of something else. She was tired. The whole day was spent dragging herself through a hot jungle, up and down a big hill, constantly on uneven ground and very uncomfortable. She’d been doing that since dawn, at first there was an adrenaline rush when she saw Quartz and confronted Night Storm but now that she was still and thinking she realized that she was on the brink of exhaustion.
Applejack let out a haggard breath but at the same time sent a tremor through the ground, Night Storm was walking, the tremor would reach him and end the fight right then.
Or it could’ve if he didn’t promptly flap his wings and fly up off the ground, hovering only a few inches off it but totally untouchable to Hoof of the Earth.
“Sorry, but I can tell pretty easily when you’re sending a silly tremor through the ground.” He just grinned smugly at her, rising up higher. “You should know that something like that wont work. And you’re never gonna be able to hit me. Now let’s see how you deal with me getting a little serious.” As he flapped his wings Applejack could see the wind forming and blowing around them, streams of air snaking across his feathers. “I hope you’re fast on your hooves, I truly pity you earth ponies for not being able to know the joy of flying, to feel the wind under your wings.” His wings fully extended outwards, even though he wasn’t flapping them anymore he was still hovering in the air, the wind itself was holding him up now. “Are you prepared? It’s coming.”
With a single twitch of his wings a barrage of scythes and blades of wind shot towards Applejack. She had to strain her body to the limit to avoid them, ducking under one that bisected a tree behind her, jumping to the side of another that left a deep gash in the ground. She saw two blades, the light of the sun reflecting of the manipulated wind, coming down at her in the perfect trajectory to scissor her head.
There was no time to think, Applejack acted purely on instinct. She slammed a hoof into the ground in front of her, letting out a tremor in one huge burst, the ground exploded under her and she was rocketed backwards with enough speed to just barely save herself from the wind blades. She landed on her back and continued to painfully slide across the dirt for a few feet before stopping. She was breathing heavily and her body was telling her it didn’t want to move but she was still alive.
“Hey, that was pretty good.”
She looked up to see Night Storm still hovering in the sky above her, a faint shimmering around him showing he was still ready to fight. His wings were held unmoving at his sides, like he didn’t need to even use them to fly. It was more like he was walking on air.
“You’re more fun to fight than the others, I’ve gotten too used to them.” He chuckled at her.
Applejack shakily got to her hooves, wishing she wasn’t showing any weakness to him but unable to do anything about it.
Night Storm frowned as he saw her shaky movements. “Already tired? What were you doing all day before you came here?”
“None… of your… business.” Applejack stubbornly replied.
He stared down at her, unimpressed. He seemed to think for a second before the wind swirling around him disappeared, the currents in the air returning to normal. “What’s the point if you aren’t at your best? Go take a night to rest.” His smirk returned in full force. “Enjoy my mercy. But I should let you know that it would be very bad for all the pathetic ponies living around here if you were to suddenly run off.”
Night Storm started to flap his wings like a normal pegasus needed to do to fly, going up high above the pillars and tree line. “Tomorrow morning, meet me above the monastery on top of this little mountain. I’ll be looking forward to crushing another Hoof of the Earth disciple. You should take the time to say goodbye to your friends. Heh.”
With a great flap of his wings he shot upwards, quickly becoming just a speck in the sky, a whirlwind was left behind as he flew away.
Applejack watched him until he was gone completely, almost out of breath she looked over to the knocked out forms of Quartz and the others. Her body protested as she wobbled towards them. Now she didn’t even think she could carry one of them.
“I need to get some help.”
Applejack paced back and forth in one of Brooksville’s hollowed out trees, the sun had passed down below the horizon but she was getting no closer to being calm enough to sleep. Quartz, Obsidian, Marble and Bedrock lay in their own cots in the living room. What had passed for the villages doctor had given them a look over and it seems they would be okay as long as they just rested for a few days.
“You doing alright?”
Applejack turned to see Tree Bark entering the room from the entryway. A concerned but hardened look on his face.
“Yeah, yeah I’m alright. I really can’t thank you enough for helping us out.”
“No need for that, I wish we could stay out of it but we aren’t the types of ponies that would just leave an injured pony out there on their own. Besides, that pegasus already attacked one of us earlier today.”
Applejack winced. “Right, he mentioned something like that. Will he be okay?”
Tree Bark sighed. “He’ll live. It’s just… nopony should have to go through this. Not over and over.”
“I’m-” Applejack hesitated for a second. “Well, with any luck I’ll be able to finish things with him.”
Tree Bark looked at her in surprise. “Why? What’s it to ya? You’re not even from around here are you, how long have you even known these ponies anyways?”
“It’s not just about that. I can’t let him keep doing what he’s done to all of you. And he said that if I left he’d take it out on you.” Applejack shook her head. “No way am I letting that happen.”
Tree Bark looked at her with that same distant expression he used for her and Quartz when they first came to Brooksville. “You don’t have to worry about us.” Applejack was confused and wanted to ask what he meant but Tree Bark stepped over her sleeping friends and went to a closet at the back of the living room. “We’re through letting him push us around, this was the last straw. We won’t let him hurt us anymore, not without a fight.” He opened up the closet and reached in, pulling out a spear. “I’ve made my decision, so has the rest of the village. Doesn’t matter what you do, we’re going after him too.”
Applejack’s jaw dropped in shock. This was crazy. “You can’t! You’ll be-”
“Slaughtered?” He finished for her. “Maybe. Probably. But we’d rather go down fighting to save ourselves than just keep rolling over.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “I figured you would feel the same.”
Applejack opened her mouth but nothing came out. She struggled to formulate some sort of response to him. But he was right after all. Applejack knew what she would do if she was in the same situation.
“Thought so.” He dryly chuckled at her. “You need to get some rest now. I guess we’re all going out sometime tomorrow.” Tree Bark took his spear and walked through another doorway adjacent to the closet, Applejack hadn’t really explored the treehouse but she figured he must’ve had a bedroom back there.
She didn’t really know what to make of this situation now. She wanted to help these ponies, and she didn’t want to put them in danger by running away. But now they were going to fight no matter what she did. Fight and get…
Applejack shuddered. “No way.”
They don’t know where he is though, I didn’t tell them where he was waiting for me tomorrow morning. I can take care of Night Storm on my own before they get in any danger but I’ve gotta get back to the mountain tomorrow before any of them see me.
“I’ll get some rest Tree Bark, just not here.” She spoke to herself, walking through the living room on her way to leaving the treehouse. She’d find somewhere comfortable outside in the forest and right at the break of dawn she could go back to the monastery.
“Applejack.”
The weak voice cut through the quiet living room like a knife.
She stopped and turned around, there on the floor Quartz was looking at her through barely opened eyes, not even able to fully lift up his head.
“Quartz, you should be resting, just get back to bed and-”
“I’m sorry.”
Applejack just stood there, sadly looking down at him. “I already told you you don’t need to apologize.”
He groaned and tried to open his eyes to get a better look at her. “Don’t go, just leave, leave before he can find you again. It’s… you can’t do anything to help. Go back to your family and take care of them.”
The room was quiet for a second.
“Heh.” A small giggle escape Applejack. “Hehehe...” the giggling grew until it was almost full blown laughter as Quartz watched dumbfounded. “Quartz...” She finally said, calming herself down. “That’s not the kind of pony I am.” She stood up tall and proud. “I want to say thank you, after meeting Night Storm I don’t blame you for not telling me everything. And now I want to stop him, I’d want to stop him even if you had never trained me or told me anything. Quartz, I’m going to fight him tomorrow. But win or lose I won’t be coming back here. You’re right, I do need to go back home. I like the few ponies I’ve really met here, and I like you, but this place isn’t my home. I’ve been away for too long and I can’t spend more of my life learning Hoof of the Earth when I’m never going to be fully devoted to it. I know you’ll be able to fix your friendships with these villages just fine too. Cause you’re good ponies.” She winked at him. “This’ll be goodbye for now, when the others wake up say goodbye to them for me please. You’re all my friends. Sorry for being kind of a coward and making this my goodbye, but I feel it’ll be easier for all of us. And hey, you just remember that if you ever find yourselves in the neighborhood of Ponyville that you’re always welcome at Sweet Apple Acres.”
Quartz didn’t respond vocally, simply looked up at her with those captivating deep eyes as he breathed laboriously and gave the slightest of nods. She smiled at him and took one last glance at Obsidian, Marble and Bedrock before turning back to head out of the treehouse. Tomorrow was the day.