The blood felt cold against her face, refreshing almost. It was cold, and calm in the now-silent night. It didn't stink of death, and it now had the consistency of a moist towel. Sugarcoat almost enjoyed it, until the voices returned.
“Wake up.” Said the voice, in an out-of-place Southern drawl.
Sugarcoat tried her best to ignore it, hoping that this new demon would get tired of her, and returned to whence it came. At this moment in time, that seemed to be either Tartarus - reputedly below the Earth's crust, where nightmares rested and planned their assaults on the dreaming world - or South Canterlina - geographically below the Mason-Dixon line, where the tea was sweet and the chicken fried.
“Come on, Sugarcoat, wake up. You've already slept for two days straight. Anymore and I reckon we'll need far more than just first aid and cider to put you back together.”
Realizing she was actually awake, Sugarcoat reluctantly opened an eye, steeling herself for another confrontation with Sombra’s forces. What she saw, however, was not a gruff man in camouflage armed to the teeth. Instead she saw a girl about her own age, in an old stetson, scuffed cowboy boots and a patched flannel shirt.
“What? Where am I? Where's Lemon?” She asked, sitting up.
“Hey, not so fast. You've got a bad fever, so take it easy.” Applejack said.
“I'll take it easy after you answer me. Where are we? Where is Lemon?” Sugarcoat asked, reaching for a knife that was no longer strapped to her hip.
“This here is Appleloosa. If you're looking for lemons, I'd suggest you hit the road."
Sugarcoat rolled her eyes, “Don’t laugh at your jokes. Especially if they aren't good, which your wasn't.”
“Well next time, maybe I'll leave you to die of an infected arm in the desert then if you gonna be so ungrateful.”
“Fine. I'm sorry. I just don't like surprises. Or people stealing my things.”
“Calm down, I didn't take your stuff. I just moved your kit over to one side so didn't accidentally cut yourself when you rolled over.”
“Then where is it?”
Applejack pointed to a wooden cabinet in the corner of the room; it was padlocked and, behind its glass screen, Sugarcoat could see her equipment, save for her weaponry, piled within it. The other corners of the room contained the bed Sugarcoat was lying in – Applejack sat at the foot of it. It wasn't a very large room but it was comfortably warm, and the bed was comfortably soft.
“Alright. Next question: Why-”
“There's a facecloth on your head to treat the fever. Braeburn and I rescued you after we saw the flare you fired. And no, we ain’t planning to kill you or anything.” Applejack explained, “That all answer your questions?”
“All but one: When can I leave?”
“You can leave right now if you want. I ain’t keeping you here.”
“That’s the first piece of good news I’ve heard this day.” Sugarcoat said as she climbed out the cot, steadying herself on a bedpost. She managed to stumble for half a yard before her legs gave out. Applejack caught her before she hit the floor, and laid her back on the bed. Sugarcoat winced as the other girl brushed her arm – the aching pains had returned with a vengeance.
“Of course, just because you can leave doesn’t mean you should.”
“I’m clearly too sick to walk, and your lessons aren’t helping with that.”
“Fine then. Twilight reckons you’ll be alright in a week or so, if you keep eating and drinking water. I’ll bring something by in a bit.” Applejack said, leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.
Alone, Sugarcoat lay back in her bed, stared at the wooden-plank ceiling, and began to think. From what little she had talked to the farmer, Applejack didn’t seem to be the type of person to lie. And, from what hospitality she had shown so far, Sugarcoat guessed that she wouldn’t exactly be too opposed to giving away some much-needed supplies. But, then again, wholesome and generous people didn’t exactly impale their enemies on the dead trees surrounding their town. And Twilight was another thing entirely – a real ray of hope. Sunny did mention that the bookish girl was also invited to the Las Pegasus 12th Annual Young Scientists’ Expo, after all. And, if the completely non-athletic, and completely impractical Twilight Sparkle could survive this wasteland, that meant Sunny could too.
A knock on the door broke Sugarcoat out of her half-asleep train of thought a few hours later, and soon afterwards, the door opened to reveal Twilight herself, and a plate of food.
“Hey, Sugarcoat. How are you?” Twilight greeted, setting the plate of pancakes down on the nightstand.
“Alive. Thanks to you apparently.”
Twilight blushed, “It was nothing, really. Just a dose of penicillin and a splash of rubbing alcohol. You should be alright in a few days.”
“Well, I’m grateful for the help. You did save my life.”
“You should thank AJ, she found you. I just patched you up. Besides, you already did that yourself, I really only redressed the wound.”
Sugarcoat picked up the plate of pancakes – five of them, stacked and drizzled with syrup, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Still warm, the food looked about as good as it smelled – completely delicious, with a hint of apple. She took a bite, and then devoured the rest.
“Slow down before you choke. I can make more.”
“You made these?” Sugarcoat mumbled, in between mouthfuls.
“Yes? Cooking is easy – you just follow the instructions to the letter. It’s like performing any experiment really, except that you can eat the outcome.”
“About three years ago, before this all happened, you were going to a science fair, right?”
It took Twilight a few seconds but eventually she nodded, “Yes. The Las Pegasus 12th Annual Young Scientists’ Expo. I never actually arrived though, as there was this massive explosion followed up by an earthquake. It must have been an 8 on the Richter Scale to cause this damage. I guess that would be the apocalypse everyone keeps talking about.”
“Was Sunny Flare with you?”
“No, I know she was going but we didn’t travel together. I was going with AJ in her brother’s truck. We stopped in Appleloosa for the night and, well, we never left.”
“Didn’t you want to track down your parents? Or your friends? Or your boyfriend? Why did you just stay here?”
“I considered it but, I don’t think I’d find them. After all, look at me. I know I’m a genius, but I’m not built for exploring an irradiated wasteland. I could be more use here – repairing things and trying to keep everyone else alive.”
“So, you have no idea where Sunny is?”
“I’m sorry but I really don’t. Was she important to you?”
“She’s my girlfriend. I was going to propose to her after we graduated. Of course, she was important to me.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. That must’ve been awful.”
“That’s putting it lightly. I was devastated.”
A glimmer of surprise crossed Twilight’s face, “I didn’t realize you cared that much about her. You never seemed like the type to.”
“Just because I don’t broadcast every emotion I have to the entire world doesn’t mean I don’t have emotions.”
“Sorry, it seems that my... uh... original assessment of you was way off then. But, what where you going? AJ filled me in on how she found you, so what were you doing trying to cross the Moojave alone?”
“Firstly, I wasn’t alone. Lemon Zest was with me. I was trying to get to Las Pegasus, as that was the last place Sunny had been to. I was ambushed by a surprisingly competent gang of raiders, and I managed to escape but I think they must have taken Lemon. I must have passed out at some point, and I woke up here.”
“I see. But how did it take you three years to get from Canterlot to Las Pegasus – it isn’t that long of a journey. It should only take a day or two by car.”
“It’s a much longer journey when you start from Detrot, and you don’t have a map. Or a car. And you’re constantly being stalked by deranged cannibals.”
“Oh yeah. I heard about them. Sorry you had to go through all of that.”
“Stop apologizing. It isn’t your fault and it makes you appear weak. That is not a good thing in a place like this.”
“Sorry.”
Sugarcoat glared at her.
“So, what are you going to do now. I mean, after you’re alright to walk again. You could stay here. We’d welcome that company.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I had originally planned just to scavenge some more food and water, and then continue on my way. If Sunny is still out there, I plan to find her.”