//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: By any means // Story: Apprentice of the Stars // by Vohira //------------------------------// Chapter 6 By any means Hours after Rarity delivered the news of Applejack’s ponynaping, Twilight stood by a small window in the local saloon. They were given two rooms on the upper floor, one for her and Rarity and one for Spike. Having a room all for himself somewhat helped with the gloomy attitude of the baby dragon. The purple mare looked to her right. Rarity was sleeping surprisingly peacefully, only now and then twitching slightly. The white unicorn had some bandages wrapped around her head, Twilight was surprised that her friend didn’t comment on it ruining her mane, when they were taking care of the wound. Rarity needed the rest. They would go to the buffaloes in the morning and then from there they will hunt down those diamond dogs. She sighed and returned to watching the planes that stretched beyond the window. Earlier she sent a letter to Princess Luna, she wrote to her about Applejack and the situation in general. The reply letter... she was still holding it in front of her. Contemplating it. To Twilight Sparkle, Resolve this situation by any means necessary. This message has been recorded in the archives as a Royal Order. Princess Luna After reading the short letter once more she crumbled it into a paper ball with her magic. Her cat like eyes narrowed dangerously as she looked at the moon rising above the planes. She turned around and headed to her bed. ********** Sun was barely up and already Twilight and Rarity stood at the outskirts of the small town, with them was the sheriff and Spike. “But I want to come with you!” Spike voiced his wish for at least tenth time in this morning. “And I said no! You are staying!” Twilight’s front hoof smashed into the dry ground as she replied with her voice full of irritation, but this time she finally mixed in the commanding tone she used in the castle. Spike just blinked for a few moments unsure what he had just seen. Sure Twilight usually was ordering him around, but not in such way. Draconic eyes meet, and Spike had to quickly turn away his head. Twilight’s gaze was cold and unrelenting. He hadn’t seen her in such state before, it was unnerving for him. In that instant he knew that this Appleloosa business wouldn't end well. The baby dragon sighed. “Fine, fine. I will stay with the sheriff then, I guess.” “Good,” Twilight looked to her side, only to see Rarity looking at her uncertainly. “Rarity we’re going.” “Remember what I told you. The buffaloes could have moved their camp so it can take awhile for you to find them.” Sheriff Silverstar have told them that one time already, when he showed them on a map the last position of said camp. He suspected that they could have moved to get away from now identified diamond dogs, and he warned the mares of that possibility. Twilight and Rarity nodded in understanding and after that, the two mares started their journey into the plains. They walked for about twenty minutes in silence, until Rarity decided to ask something that was nagging her. “Twilight, I was thinking... Why didn’t they take me?” The white mare saw how Twilight’s muzzle got that sort of ‘I’m thinking hard’ look. “Probably... Because earthponies have no way of causing them serious trouble. With ponies that have magic or wings they would have harder time controlling them.” While saying this Twilight never slowed down or turned to look at Rarity. “One more thing, dear. Did you really had to be so... pushy with Spike?” “You know that I was right back there.” Twilight simply answered. “Yes, but you could have been more cordial about it.” Rarity answered and moved a forward a bit to look her friend in the eyes as she said that. “I tried from the moment he first asked, it didn’t work. Spike is my assistant, so he should listen to me, I merely enforced that belief.” Hearing that Rarity stopped for a moment, but had to quickly start walking again. “So what are you saying darling? That Spike shouldn’t question your actions and be obedient?” Rarity asked with slight worry in her voice. “Yes. Besides, he didn’t mind me ordering him around until now. Do you have a problem with that?” Twilight asked with slightly annoyed voice and finally looked at her white friend. She had more important things to do right now, or rather things to think about, than her relations with Spike. Rarity didn’t quite know what to say. This topic demanded more time in her opinion, but she knew they should have other things on their minds now. Like rescuing Applejack and other ponies from diamond dogs. She sighed. “We will discuss this later.” The white unicorn said quietly, she didn't want to argue with her friend right now. After that both mares didn’t talk, both focused on the road and on their thoughts. As they traveled, the sun also climbed higher and was now nearing noon. The heat forced them to stop a couple of times already to rest and drink. It was one thing to be in this region in the spring, and another being here in the summer. Finally when the sun was well past noon, Twilight saw some smoke on the horizon. She smiled and when she looked to her side, she saw that Rarity was relieved as well. Twilight knew she could be wrong, but she was rather certain that the smoke pointed them the way to the buffaloes camp. So not wasting any more time on pointless wandering, both mares galloped in the direction of the smoke. In no time, at least for them, they saw the camp with almost a dozen tepees and a bonfire in the centre. Both mares slowed down when they saw two buffaloes heading their way, one was light brown and second was dark brown with some feathers tied to his horn. “What are you doing here ponies?” Asked the darker buffalo with a gruff voice when both parties meet. “We want to talk with your chief about diamond dogs.” Twilight’s statement caused the two buffaloes to look at her with grim expressions, but they both nodded and silently gestured for the mares to follow. Of course when they entered the camp, Rarity and Twilight became the center of attention. Twilight more so, because of her eyes. The purple mare heard some mutterings about herself and could discern some fearful comments. Near the fire they saw chief Thunderhooves, and by the time they got there, Twilight suspected that the whole camp was present. She and Rarity saw how the darker buffalo that escorted them walked to the chief and whispered to him something. Thunderhooves looked at the ponies. “I know now why you are here, but we can’t help you, only point you to the area where we know the gems are.” His answer wasn’t that shocking to Twilight. “We weren't counting on anything more. Although, could we stay at yours camp for the night?” Twilight saw that Rarity wanted to add something but she shushed her. “Hmm... Yes you can,” the chief said and then turned to the rest of buffaloes. “Let’s welcome our guests.” What followed was a short party, a quieter one and not as cheerful as the ones Pinkie could do, but she had to admit, the situation wasn’t perfect for such things. However, the one thing that made Twilight laugh was when some buffalo females rounded on Rarity. They tried to clothe her accordingly to their fashion sense. The purple mare knew she would remember for a long time the look of Rarity’s muzzle expression, when the white mare silently begged her to rescue her. When the next day Twilight and Rarity were leaving the camp, almost half of the buffaloes came to see them off. “I wish you luck in your journey.” Thunderhooves said with as they exchanged their goodbyes. When some buffaloe brought their saddlebags that had been refilled with supplies, both mares expressed their gratitude and were off. According to the chief it would take them almost a full day to reach the eastern border of their territory where the gems were. ********** In an underground cave or rather a prison cell, Applejack was lying on the hard, cool rock trying not to move to much. Almost all of her muscles felt as if they were on fire, on her flank and back she could feel the small, stinging wounds left by a whip... and a few larger bruises also adorned her body. And all of this in mere two days, if she guessed correctly. Maybe she wouldn't be in such a bad shape, if she wasn’t as stubborn as she was, but the blond mare promised herself not to give the dogs an easy time with herself. When she looked around she could spot seven more ponies, all of them were earthponies, probably from Appleloosa. But the only other pony that looked even worse than here, was her cousin. It would seem being stubborn ran in the family. And that worried her. Other ponies whispered that he would not make it past another couple of days, if he didn’t stop fighting. Her musing was stopped when a nasty looking, older and scarred diamond dog brought them their meal. If it could be called that. Sure the rest got somewhat decent food, but she and her cousin got half of the portion, and the hay wasn’t that fresh. “You pony should wise up and work, not fight.” Said the diamond dog with a nasty smirk. “As if...” Applejack muttered and watched as he left the dungeon. Only then did she crawl to the bowls of hay and water. After an hour or so, Applejack woke up when she heard the doors to her cell open. In the dim light provided by the torches in the dungeon corridor she saw a familiar diamond dog. He had bandages around his torso, but what drew her attention was the whip in his hand. “Pony broke Raf’s ribs, pony will pay now.” He said with a bloodthirsty grin. ********** When Twilight and Rarity reached their destination, it was an hour before dawn, if the position of the moon was anything to go by. They both agreed that they would not stop for sleep. They managed that when Twilight cast a Rejuvenation spell at them. It was a spell well known to her but she didn't cast it if it wasn't truly needed, as it easily addicted. Every year there was at least one case of an addicted unicorn, and in most cases it ended with a fatal magical and physical exhaustion. But those thoughts aside... “Rarity, start searching for the gems.” Without further waiting the white unicorn started her search. The terrain here was uneven and in some places bare rock was visible instead of grass and dirt. But Rarity quickly succeeded and found the first cluster of gems. With years of practice she went from one cluster to another, until the clusters became more common. And then, when the sky was starting to turn pink she found what she was looking for. Deep underground her magic found a massive concentration of gems. “Now only to find an entrance...” Rarity said looking around, last time it wasn’t that easy when she heard the story from her friends' side. “I think I found it.” Twilight shouted from her spot, about three hundred hooves to Rarity’s right. She was standing on a small cliff and she could see a cave entrance beneath her, if she leant forward, over the edge. “So what’s the plan?” Rarity asked quietly. “I’m going in, you stay here and help anypony who comes out.” “Are you certain Twilight?” The white mare asked looking at Twilight and not seeing her muzzle, her mane obscured it when she looked down. “Oh... I will be all right. Don’t worry about me...” Twilight answered quietly as she jumped down the cliff. It wasn’t that high and she cushioned her landing with a bit of magic. Rarity saw how Twilight went inside the cave. The purple unicorn didn’t need extra light, her new eyes were working wonderfully. As silently as she could Twilight moved forward, walking as close to the walls as was possible. It was obvious that the cave was used, any sharp edges or random rocks have been removed, she could make out the traces of tools on the walls and ground. When she went deeper she found herself at a crossroad, two tunnels went to her left, one to her right and down. The choice was simple. After some time of walking lower and lower, she finally saw some light. It was a simple torch. At least Twilight was certain she was at the right place. The walls also started to get more smooth and straight. She heard some pawsteps, and quickly found a shadowy place to hide herself under a Chameleon spell, it was not a perfect disguise... far from it actually, but with enough shadow it made her invisible to anypony who wasn’t looking. Two guards walked by her hiding spot with clubs in their hands. One, older by the looks of it, looked around when he was five steps past her hiding place. “You smell anything?” He rasped, sniffing the air. “Pony. But that smell is all over the place.” The younger then grumbled something about stupid, stubborn ponies that tried to escape. The older shrugged and they went... wherever they were going. Sighing in relief Twilight moved forward, she didn't want to attract attention as long as she could. Further down the tunnel, that by now was lit quite well by torches, she found what she suspected to be sleeping rooms, the snoring coming from behind the different curtains in small passages was enough confirmation. Even deeper she finally found the mines. Ans she was astonished by the sheer size of the first chamber, this diamond dog pack had to dig here for decades if not centuries. Her ear twitched. Somepony shouted? She heard something, from the bottom. Again the same sound, bottom, right tunnel. Twilight decided to investigate. When she got to the bottom of the mining chamber she heard a distinct, sharp, cracking noise... and some voices. “Stop it!” Somepony shouted, a stallion. “You can’t do this to her!” Another shout and another sharp crack. Followed by a pain filled groan. For a moment Twilight stood rooted in place, she knew that voice, the one that groaned. Then she stepped into the tunnel. Everypony turned their heads in her direction, but the diamond dog she saw in the third cell on her left didn’t saw her yet. She galloped to that cell and when she looked inside it... Applejack was many things... The most honest, the strongest, the most helpful, even the most stubborn. But this was just too much. She lost count of how many times the diamond dog had hit her with that whip after thirty second, or was it thirty fifth time? Tears freely streamed down her muzzle as she groaned when another hit connected with her body. She waited for another time, but then she heard a strange gurgling sound and something warm and sticky splattered across her muzzle. She opened her left eye only to see the diamond dog fall to the ground, a pool of crimson was growing around him. And in the entrance to her cell stood Twilight Sparkle. Her draconic eyes were cold, her muzzle showed anger, even hatred that boiled inside her. Twilight looked at her friend, she looked far worse than Cadance in the crystal caves. And she thought that she would never see a pony in a worse state. Her orange friend’s body was marked by too many long, thin and deep cuts from the whip to count, she saw some larger bruises... It was all that she needed to know. She made the few steps to her friend and saw her tears. Twilight quickly cast some healing magic on her friend, just to alleviate the pain. “I’m going to get you out of here. Wait for me, just a bit longer.” Twilight said quietly, with her magic she moved her friend from the cell to the corridor, away from the dead diamond dog. With a wave of her head and horn, she opened the rest of the cells. Not looking back she went back to the upper levels. When she reached the ‘dorm level’, she saw that some diamond dogs were up now, probably awoken by the noises from the holding cells. They sneered at her when they saw her. And Twilight sneered back, as she ignited her horn. The dogs made the first move and two of them jumped at her. With calm not fitting the situation Twilight formed the same spell she used on the torturer of her friend, a Cutting spell. In mid air the purplish arc of magic connected and two heads rolled to the floor, the sneer turned and frozen into a look of fear. For a moment there was silence, and then it was like Tartarus had broken loose. Diamond dogs howled and barked, attacking her. Only to meet their end in the barrage of battle spells Twilight unleashed, some powerful enough to carve deeply into surrounding solid rock. Most of the dogs ended beheaded, some impaled by conjured rock spikes, some were electrocuted... In her frenzy Twilight even went as far as to use an Implosion spell on one of them. It was the most powerful spell in her arsenal so far, designed for destroying fortifications, not living beings. What was left of the diamond dog sprayed everywhere. The following pressure wave shook the whole cavern system, and smashed Twilight and anyone still standing in the corridor into a wall, dazing them. But for her it was not the end, blind rage fuelled her for the next hour or so. When she saw no more living targets, she finally remembered why she was here in the first place. When she reached the dungeons, she saw the ponies huddled into a group, shivering, covering their ears. Seeing her they went rigid, and their eyes widened in fear. “There... There is no one left. I will lead you to the surface.” She went to her friend and saw that she was unconscious, Twilight grabbed Applejack with her magic... and then noticed another stallion in state similar to hers friend. She grabbed him too and started to walk towards exit, the group fearfully following her. On the surface Rarity waited, she heard the howls. She was worried. When she was close to panicking she heard hoofsteps coming from the entrance to the cave. In the sunlight of the late morning, she saw Twilight. She was coated in a thick layer of crimson, and had a look of pure hate plastered on her face. Rarity’s eyes widened, when she came closer... the stench hit her, and she saw who Twilight was levitating behind her and their state... The white mare turned, galloped to the nearest shrub and vomited what little she had in her stomach. Breathing deeply she returned to Twilight and hers small group. “All the howls and barks... Did you?” The white mare had to sit down. “All of them, no one spared... no one.” It started to slowly dawn on Twilight what she had done. She gently laid the two farm ponies on the ground and just stared at the sun. All of the blood on her was starting to dry in the sun’s rays. She watched the sun, and could not help but wonder, if Princess Celestia was seeing her now. She shuddered, her left ear twitched. “I need a bath...” Twilight said quietly, now starring in something akin to astonishment on her crimson painted front hoof. “T-t-there is a river... Not that far from... here.” One of the mares in the freed group said, not looking at Twilight. “Lets go there, then.” Twilight said stood up and started walking, not truly registering she didn't know where to go. After making few steps, she fainted. ********** A/N: It was truly tempting to raise the rating to write something really gory, but I resisted it, for the better or worse...