Meanwhile…
“Golly, Flurry...are you sure this is gonna be enough?”
We all rode the train down towards Dodge Junction. There was no station that led directly to the Badlands itself, so we had to walk the rest of the way there. Unfortunately, now that we were on hoof, I started to feel a bit nervous as we trotted towards the reddish-orange landscape that reminded me all too much of Tartarus.
In tow, we had the Crusaders by our side. Each of them already prepared with some different method of combat. Sweetie Belle used her magic to levitate a book in front of her face. The pale green aura flipped through each page as she inspected it closely. Applebloom had a pair of saddlebags that looked as if they were only half-full. Odd. I had no idea what to expect from her, but she seemed to be busy inspecting, and taking note of the area. Was she looking out for certain animals or plants? Scootaloo was the most interesting of all. All she had with her was her skateboard and her helmet that she casually rolled upon just ahead of us. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for the fellow pegasus to be unable to fly, but she seemed more than content with her scooter, roller skates, and other equipment that I saw in her house. Guess the skateboard was one of them.
“Heh. We’ll be fine,” the alicorn said with a confident, smug grin, “If anything, I’m more worried for our enemies. I have limits on the amount of alicorn-spells I can cast, but I know a whole bunch of other types of magic, both offensive, and defensive. So if any of you get hurt, I can heal you instantly.”
Scootaloo scoffed at her words as she rolled upon her board. “Pfft. We won’t even need that. It’s like Rainbow Dash always said, ‘Pain is an excellent teacher.’ It’s bold of you to assume that we’ll even get hit.”
“Ah hate to say it,” Applebloom spoke up as we entered the fiery landscape, “But she’s right. Ah’ve been thinkin’ about how we should approach this situation, and it pretty much all comes down to who we come across. If we take down a few, the rest of ‘em will give up faster than a kirin with bad jokes.”
I heard some light, clinking noises from those saddlebags of hers. It made me extremely curious as to what could be inside.
Lastly, I looked at the white unicorn mare. “Um...so, SB…”
“Hm?” she looked up from her book.
“What do you think of our odds?”
“Hm...well, when you think about it, it’s pretty simple. You’re the strategist. Flurry has the sheer power, Scootaloo has the willpower, Applebloom has the frontline capabilities, and I’ll take up the rear with support,” she shut her book via magic, and smiled at me, “There’s no way we can lose. Plus, I’m pretty sure Flurry’s parents are already on their way, and prepping to nuke the place from above. All we’re gonna do is...find it, first if you catch my drift.”
Well now, that was striking. I had no idea whether or not I should’ve felt happy or concerned by what Sweetie said. Was it really possible that Cadance knew what Flurry had been planning and intended to capitalize on that fact? Just what kind of crazy combo of a family were they?
I was getting off-track. Anyway, we all walked up to a massive hill that overlooked the valley of the Badlands. Endless, scorching desert as far as the eye could see. Tumbleweeds, cacti, and the occasional rock formation all topped off with a gross, sickly red-orange hue that made everything look like some sort of alien planet. The Badlands was the least-explored area in the whole land of Equestria, and for good reason too. Nopony would realistically come down here for any reason. It was the perfect setup for a base of operations hidden by natural flames.
Flurry took out some binoculars, and looked out over the horizon. “Hm…”
Despite the heat, I was actually shivering from fear as I hovered in mid-air. Something about this land was making me feel unwell. “Eghaagh...this place gives me the creeps. Just how did a random splotch of Equestria end up like this?”
“You mean you don’t know?” Scootaloo kicked up her board, and held it underneath one of her hooves as she stood next to me. Her Crusader friends stopped to listen as well. “As legend has it, the Badlands were created over time whenever Celestia fought a powerful being. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis--when she fought them all, she had built up so much stress and anger, that she needed a safe, quiet place to vent. And so, what used to be a nice, calm, vast grassland...became the Badlands. Scorched by her frustrations over time, the Badlands have earned the nickname, ‘The Valley of Torment’ after the rumors of how she treated herself.”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute--” Sweetie Belle interrupted her orange friend’s words, “Is it possible that this has something to do with Daybreaker?”
Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head as she thought about it. “Hmm...it’s possible? I mean, Daybreaker is rumored to have been created through Celestia’s frustrations...but they’re mostly rumors. It’s not like Nightmare Moon who has factual confirmation of her existence. But it’s possible…”
“Landsakes…” Applebloom wiped some sweat from her forehead, “So that’s why it’s hotter than a summer’s day in a cornfield out here. Yeesh. I wouldn’t even wanna build a barn out here, let alone an entire base.”
I had to agree. “Yeah...it’s super weird. But something about it feels...deadly. As if the air is calling us out in a challenge. It’s like it’s...daring us to go out there.”
At last, Flurry lowered her binoculars. “Found it. Took me a minute. But this thick ass heat is making everything hard to keep track of. Despite that, I think I’ve found the base where Pale and the others are.”
“You think Vinyl and The Doc will be okay? I think Pale might have planned this, but them…” I trailed off with an anxious rub of my hoof.
Sweetie Belle was the first to console me. “Hey, don’t worry. We got your back, no matter what. Right, guys?” she trotted ahead.
“Darn tootin’, ya’ll. C’mon, let’s git ‘er done. Ah’ve got some...experiments Ah wanna try,” Applebloom followed with a bit of pep in her prance.
Scootaloo chose to roll her skateboard down the side of the hill. “We’re all in this together, Cozy. Like I said before, if somepony I cared about was taken from me, I’d do anything to get them back,” she strapped her helmet back on, and patted me on the back of my head, “Don’t sweat it, alright?” With that said, she let go, and rolled down the hill on her board.
I took a deep breath, and marched forward. “Okay then. Come on, Flurry. Weak can do this.”
The alicorn followed after me, “That’s the spirit. Remember, we just need to find the base, and shoot off a flare so my parents can come find us and back us up. We don’t really need to fight unless it’s a last resort, okay?”
That put me a little bit at ease. Since I knew that fighting would be an absolute final stand, I laid my concern to rest.
Now it was time to get going.
Meanwhile…
There was no way in hell that I was going to let this mare get hurt. I felt my body go numb as I diverted the last of my magic away from the rest of my body, and internalized it, condensing it. The mana I had left gave me the edge I needed to shake off the dark torture methods that I had endured non-stop for the past 24 hours.
CRASH!
In a flash, I had tackled the merc that was about to burn Vinyl’s horn, and heard their bones crackle and strain against the force I applied between myself, and the thick, concrete wall.
“AGH! Ow! What the--boss! Run!” cried the sadist of a pony.
Just like damn clockwork, Svengallop fled the room. Fortunately, Vinyl had taken it upon herself to tear off the collar that had restrained her magic. Good, she was still able to fight.
But now, I had more important things to worry about.
I forced that merc pony against the wall even harder, and asked a question in a low, quiet tone that conveyed the essence of a starving predator about to consume its prey. “Where did he go?”
His response was nervous, and fearful with a sense of pure dread as he mumbled. “I-I...I’m not talking! OWWW!”
I forced that pony’s head against the wall, which likely applied loads of undue pressure to the skull. Then I asked again. “Where did he go?”
“Ngrrrh! I’ve dealt with worse!” he screamed back, “try me--AAAAHHHAAAAGGH!”
He didn’t want to reply? Okay then. I pulled one of his hooves behind his back by force, which definitely tore at his muscle alignment. He wouldn’t be able to walk on this leg for weeks, at least.
I asked once again. “Where. Did. He. Go?”
A voice called out to me. “Bud. It ain’t worth it,” Vinyl said as she dusted herself off. There were a few scrapes on her body from being pushed around, as well as her mane being full of charred dust. But that didn’t stop her. “We’re wasting time with this buffoon. Come on, let’s go.”
She was right. I had lost all sense of duty in this moment. Even so, my rage persisted. I let the pony go, and showed no remorse as he let out an agonizing cry of pain.
“Aggh...ow…”
“Yeesh...that’s brutal,” Vinyl commented as she levitated my hat and coat back to me, “I need to learn how to do that.”
To be quite honest, I didn’t expect that. But I responded with a grateful nod, and took my usual attire to equip it once more. That was much better. I felt a bit cold without my coat. Anyway, we didn’t have any more time to waste. I looked at the white unicorn mare. “Can you fight?”
“Heh, ‘course I can. That’s why they brought me here. You may not know this, but I’m actually a FROWN inductee. It’s an offshoot of SMILE that stands for ‘Friendship Ranger Organization of Worldwide Neighgotiations.’ I’m basically an ambassador of sick beats, and sicker beatdowns! Just gotta grab my bass gun, and I’ll be ready to break it down,” she said as she put her shades back on her face. “What’s the plan, dude? I’m following you.”
That’s right. My weapon was stolen also. Okay, so that would be our first objective as we made our way through. Svengallop definitely notified every single guard within the facility/prison? I still had no idea what this place was, to be frank. At any rate, we needed to get moving, but be careful about it so we don’t get ambushed. “Follow me,” I said as I snuck out of the room, and into the hall with Vinyl close behind. All the while, I hoped that we didn’t run into any more of Sven’s crew. Why?
For their sake. I was starting to lose it.