//------------------------------// // Undying Greed II // Story: Applejack Gets Lost // by MagicS //------------------------------// They crept through the forest under the cover of nightfall. It was dead midnight if Applejack’s estimate was right. She hadn’t seen any other ponies while they made their way through the forest but the four of them wanted to be sure they didn’t run afoul of any guards or soldiers that might work for the ruler of Greed Volcano. None of them really knew what to expect since all they had to go on were old anecdotes and the knowledge that nopony who went further than this ever returned. What was worse for Applejack was that under the trees the moon and stars really didn’t provide enough light for vision. It was at the point where even after her eyes had fully adjusted she could barely make out more than shapes. “Uh, any of y’all have a spell that makes a light?” She asked her companions. They stopped for a second, Star Blaze answered her. “Yes but it’s risky. Making a light could completely give away our position.” “I guess, I’m just worried that with us fumbling around like this we wont even see if somepony has caught onto us.” Applejack said. “Also how exactly are we going to sneak in to this city or whatever if we can’t even see it?” “That’s true...” Daylight said. “We may have to take the risk or just get close to the city and then sneak in once the sun comes up.” “Do we even need to sneak in? Is there a wall or something?” Applejack asked them. “Old records say there was a stone wall with guard towers built around the city back when King Avarice ruled.” Star Blaze answered. “No reason to think it isn’t there anymore.” As Applejack was mulling over what they should do, Daylight Gleam spoke up again. “I think I have an answer to our light problem.” Applejack looked at her, barely able to see a pearly white smile on her face in the darkness. “I’ve been working on some more useful spells for our adventures, stand close and give me a second.” Applejack and the other two walked up next to Daylight Gleam as her horn glowed a light blue. A shimmering dome was projected over the four of them before disappearing, it looked like nothing had changed at all. “Uh, what was-” Before Applejack could ask, Sugar Spirit brushed past her and wrapped Daylight in a hug. “Wow! A real camouflage spell! You’re getting better at magic every day, Daylight!” She giggled at her little pun. “Camouflage?” Applejack asked as she looked around herself to see if anything was different. “I suppose it would be difficult for a non-unicorn to tell.” Daylight responded. “I just casted a special camouflage spell around us, the dome will move with us so we can also hide a light under it. During the day it would be pretty easy to see in motion but with how dark it is outside nopony should be able to tell.” She looked over at Star Blaze. “You can make your light now.” “No problem.” Star said as a purple glow lit up around his horn. A second later a ball of light was made at the tip, Star moved it so it was in front of the four of them, right at the edge of the camouflage dome. Star proudly grinned at Applejack. “Something like this is actually my specialty, I got my Cutie Mark by sneaking around at night.” Applejack raised an eyebrow at him. “That doesn’t really help your “We’re not criminals” case you know?” Star’s grin vanished and he looked away, attempting and failing to whistle nonchalantly while Daylight glared at him some more. “Let’s just get moving.” Daylight said and started walking. “And remember to keep close so you don't accidentally leave the dome. And we still need to be quiet, this doesn’t block out sound.” Applejack, Sugar Spirit and Star Blaze quietly crept up close around her. The little ball of light now giving them perfect vision of the forest around them. The four quietly continued on to their destination, looking for any sort of landmark or watching for other ponies. But the night was still. Applejack knew they had to be close to whatever city was at the base of the mountain since the forest was relatively small but they still hadn’t come across anything yet. “Do you think we’re going in the right direction?” She asked the others. “We’re not going sideways or something are we?” “Nope, don’t worry, I can smell a city in front of us.” Sugar Spirit said and smiled at her. “Okay, guess I’ll take your word for that then.” Applejack decided not to press the issue, Sugar Spirit acted odd enough so Applejack might as well give her the benefit of the doubt. What does a city smell like anyways? The three treasure-hunters and Applejack walked for probably a good hour longer. It was slow going since Daylight wanted to be sure that none of them messed up the camouflage or that the light didn’t accidentally peek out. Star Blaze was fine guiding the light while Sugar Spirit clearly wanted to start moving around some more, Applejack could tell that she was not a pony who liked to go slow. “Hold on, I can see something up ahead.” Star Blaze said as he squinted ahead. Applejack looked too, it did seem like there was some sort of shadow or structure in the distance. The wall? When they got closer the trees around them started to thin, it definitely wasn’t natural, much like back at Mountain Town Applejack could see the trees were removed by somepony. Unlike there though it wasn’t just the trees being cut down, Applejack could tell that the entire stump and all the roots of the trees were dug up too and the hole filled with dirt. Taking another few steps it was like they had crossed a border of some kind, there was no longer any grass beneath their hooves, just brown dirt, nor any plants growing and the trees all stopped in a straight line right before the dirt. “How come nothing is growing here?” Sugar Spirit asked. “It looks like the ground’s been repeatedly dug up and salted.” Applejack said. When the others turned to look at her she decided to elaborate. “I’m a farmer. The ponies that did this wanted to stop anything from growing too close to their wall. So they boxed the forest in, that’s why it looks so uniform.” Star Blaze shrugged. “Works for me. Come on, the wall is right there.” He was right, a large stone wall came up out of the darkness, only the tiniest section of it being illuminated by Star Blaze’s light spell. Craning her neck, Applejack would say the wall went up a good 30 feet, and just like she had heard there were big round towers built at even intervals along it that went up another 30 feet. “Alright, we can follow along the wall now until we get to an entrance.” Daylight said, she started walking when Applejack told her to stop. “Hold on, shouldn’t there be guards or something around? I don’t see anything on the walls or the towers. Not even any lanterns or anything for guards to use.” Daylight stopped and looked up as well. “That is curious. You’d think that whatever pony has such a grip on this city would have guards on his walls. From the looks of things I don’t know if we even needed to bother with my spell.” She frowned, deep in thought. “Well maybe...” Sugar Spirit said, getting the others to look at her. “Maybe they don’t care about ponies getting in. Maybe the walls are to keep ponies inside from getting out.” That was something of a worrying thought to Applejack. Something just felt bad about this place. “No sense worrying now. We can take things as they come.” Daylight said, a sentiment Applejack was more than willing to share. Daylight started walking along the bottom of the wall, still keeping up the camouflage just in case, while the others walked with her. The city must’ve been quite big since it took them a good thirty minutes of walking before they reached a gatehouse. Applejack presumed that it must’ve been built in the center of the wall, that just made sense after all. And if the wall and the city extended all the way back to the base of the volcano the city inside would cover maybe even more space than Canterlot. “Well the door’s open.” Star Blaze said, looking at the gatehouse with its huge portcullis raised as if it was inviting in any ponies that wandered by. With how dark it was out Applejack couldn’t see to the other end of the gatehouse but it didn’t look very far until it opened up to the city’s interior. “So do we just… go in?” Applejack asked. “There might be guards on the inside.” Daylight said. “If this really is all about keeping ponies in, and this is the only way in or out we’ve seen, we’ve gotta be careful, this camouflage spell will be pretty easy to see for anypony that’s up close. Even with it being this dark out.” “Well we don’t have any rope to climb so there’s not really anything else we can do unless you know some teleportation or levitation spells.” Applejack said to the three, Twilight and Starlight could do that kind of stuff easy but they were hardly normal. As expected the three unicorns just shook their heads. Applejack sighed. “Okay, let’s just take it slowly.” This time Sugar Spirit groaned and rolled her eyes but the four of them still proceeded, close together and walking slowly to try and make sure they didn’t give themselves away. Star Blaze’s light lit up the inside of the gatehouse, the light shining off the stone ceiling and walls around them but nothing else. It was probably about a fifty foot walk, meaning that the wall was much thinner, not like that mattered much but still good for Applejack to know in case she had to get a little more physical. So it was that quietly they got to the end of the gatehouse, it would just be a few more steps before they emerged on the other side. Applejack didn’t see or hear any sign of guards but she wasn’t letting her guard down. The moment she passed through completely she felt a little pinch at the back of her neck. Not even as strong as a mosquito bite but her hoof still reflexively went back to rub her neck. Nothing was there though so she just shrugged. “Hm, so I guess there aren’t any guards here either?” Daylight said as all four of them stepped out into the city proper. It was true, there wasn’t a single soul around the gatehouse even on the interior side. But that didn’t mean the city was empty. Applejack didn’t see any ponies wandering the streets but the massive amount of houses and buildings that sprawled out endlessly before her were filled with signs of life. Windows had light in them with shadows moving in front of them, the streets were well-worn and filled with shops closed up for the night. Smoke rose from chimneys that she couldn’t see from when they were outside. The city had a big classical look to it, the houses and other buildings reminding her a lot of Ponyville and Canterlot. And all the way in the back, Greed Volcano shot up into the sky. The city seemed to pretty much be built all the way up to its base but as she was already able to tell from afar there definitely weren’t any buildings actually built on it or touching it. The wall around the city was probably the only thing that actually touched the volcano. “Guess so, so now what do we do?” Applejack finally responded to Daylight, shooting her a glance. “Do we wait un...til… were you always wearing a choker?” Applejack asked in confusion as she looked at the black band around Daylight Gleam’s neck. “What are you… you’re wearing one too!” Daylight said in surprise, staring at Applejack’s neck. Applejack’s eyes widened in surprise, she couldn’t see it for herself but a quick look at Star Blaze and Sugar Spirit showed her that they had the same black bands around their neck. “What are these?” Sugar Spirit said as she raised her hooves to her neck, rubbing at the band. “I don’t feel anything!” “It’s like they’re painted on, or branded right to us like a Cutie Mark.” Star Blaze said as he rubbed Daylight’s neck. “Okay great, so how’d they get on us?” Daylight asked in frustration. Suddenly Applejack’s eyes widened. “That pinch… did y’all feel something like a mosquito bite when we walked in here?” At their faces of recognition Applejack knew she had struck gold. Daylight Gleam frowned, her face filling up with worry as she looked at the stone archway of the gatehouse they had just passed through. “We might be in trouble, I think I know what these bands do. No wonder there aren’t any guards.”