//------------------------------// // The Downfall of Al-Karamaretel // Story: Applejack at the Edge of the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// The doors closed behind them and the trio stood arrayed in the room with Applejack walking out in front, Miss Valentine to her left and Amethyst to her right. There wasn’t much for them to take in or see in the room aside from the large window at the back and the large desk directly center. Even if there was—they’d be far too focused on the figure behind the desk, the mysterious Warden now finally visible to them all as he calmly sat there. Applejack’s eyes widened as she recognized what kind of creature she was looking at. Only ever having seen one other before in her entire life. Miss Valentine was confused, despite being well-traveled herself she had never seen a creature like the Warden before. But Amethyst, a former Equestrian, recognized his nature as well. And it made her blood run cold thanks to the memories of the last one she and her friends had the misfortune of falling victim to. His frame was large, even while sitting he dwarfed the ponies, with a powerfully built upper-body that held wide shoulders and muscular arms. Black fur lined his chest while a bluish-gray fur covered his arms and face, beady but sharp and intelligent eyes sat in his sunken face beneath bushy eyebrows and behind a pair of bifocal glasses while a long and wispy beard came from his chin in comparison to his bald head. Horns came from his head, curving like a ram’s once before ending in sharp points. And his large hands sat on the desk before him, his posture relaxed, confident, and nonthreatening. “A centaur…” Applejack whispered. “A what?” Miss Valentine shot a sidelong glance to her. “H-He’s just like...” Amethyst stuttered, unable to finish her sentence. “Tirek,” Applejack finished for her. “Indeed,” came the low voice of the Warden, as calm and placid as it was over the broadcast system, as he lifted a hand to remove the bifocals from his face. He gingerly folded them shut and carefully put them on his desk, looking from pony to pony before resting his eyes on Applejack. “A pleasure to meet you face to face, Applejack of Equestria. I have not yet had the honor of meeting an Element of Harmony in person.” “Sorry to say but the pleasure’s all yours,” Applejack narrowed her eyes at him. “Not unexpected of you to feel that way. I assume trying to get you to return to your cell will be pointless? Though I assure you it is the best solution if you don’t want anyone to get hurt,” the Warden said. Applejack shook her head. “No way. We’re putting a stop to what you’re doing here.” “Regrettable. I had no intention of coming into conflict with a hero of Equestria. I assume you came up with the idea that the guards will no longer fight when alerted of my being disposed of?” The Warden gestured to the intercom on his desk. Miss Valentine clicked her tongue, annoyed at their idea being discerned so easily. “That’s right, once you’re out of the picture we can end this easily,” Applejack said. “Of course you realize the same applies to your little… “festival”, don’t you?” The Warden said. “Once I have dealt with the three of you your friends will not have the will to fight nor the capability to win. And things will go back to how they should be.” Applejack frowned, he had a point, but in the end all that mattered was winning. “That’s not going to happen. I’m not letting you terrorize and make all these ponies suffer anymore!” “And I’m afraid I can’t let you tear down everything I’ve built here,” the Warden said. “You didn’t build anything!” Applejack shouted. “I don’t know much, but I know the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel wasn’t always like this. You came in and changed things, for what? What are you doing out here? Do you have any idea how many places and ponies are suffering because of what you’ve done? It’s not just here at the Citadel but in so many lands and cities west of here! Why are you imprisoning everypony that wants to go from one side of the canyon to the other? Why are you stealing everything from them? You’re draining the life and hope of everypony around you!” The Warden was unmoved by her accusations, but he raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “You truly know nothing of what I’ve been doing, don’t you? Did the Princesses not actually send you here at all to stop me?” Applejack awkwardly grimaced. “It’s… it’s really just a coincidence that I came here.” “Hm, is that so?” The Warden tapped his fingers on the desk. “Interesting, the world certainly has a sense of humor.” “That doesn’t matter right now though!” Applejack shouted and pointed at him. “Why have you done all this? Are you just some power-hungry monster like Tirek?” The Warden clasped his hands together and leaned in. “I do not have quite the lofty ambitions of the famed Lord Tirek, but I do desire power, and control, yes. Though of a different sort than he. Money and finances have always been my calling—I have a special knack for that world. I started long ago as a sort of financier and treasurer for many businesses and eventually the Citadel itself. All of it as a way to gain the power I desired. That’s what all of this has been for. I assure you I have not done any of this out of simple, base, amusement. I gain no sadistic joy from any of this, it is all a means to an end for me.” “What end?” Applejack asked. “Domination of the west,” the Warden answered. “You see, I realized quite long ago that the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel was the perfect place to manipulate the economy and development of both sides of what you Equestrians refer to as “The Undiscovered West”. It’s situated perfectly to either strangle or feed many nations and ponies on either side of the canyon. It is a unique place with a unique utility. That is why I eventually took it over completely. While of course intentionally staying out of sight and cultivating a mysterious and intimidating persona—the Warden title is just for show, a meaningless title, you ponies are a rather superstitious and easily frightened people.” “Sorry for that,” Miss Valentine spat in derision. “Moving on. All of this economic tampering I’ve been doing has been a way to buy up land for cheap without resorting to armed conflict. You see although I have managed to hire a considerable amount of guards now they are still nothing more than a cheap mercenary force. And in the early days I had no real army to speak of, but fighting with money proved to be far more effective anyways,” the Warden explained. “I’m not exactly too knowledgeable when it comes to money or economics,” Amethyst frowned. “If you’re the same as Tirek I figured you’d just do things by force and steal everypony’s magic.” “Lord Tirek was a special one and he had a direct way of doing things. I do not,” the Warden calmly answered. “As soon as I took over the Citadel I stopped almost all travel, both genuinely and artificially creating demand, as you know while also making it far more expensive to get through. And stopped the flow of gemstones from east to west and the flow of gold from west to east to further control things. What you—and everypony on this side of the canyon didn’t know—was that the moment this started I offered to buy the land of the largest kingdom to the west in return for reopening travel and allowing some gemstones through. When they refused I allowed trade and resources to trickle through to the other kingdoms with the wealth I had already stockpiled here through my thievery and let the largest kingdom starve and die out, the smaller kingdoms were quite happy to be my pet vultures. Then I repeated the process while continuing to stockpile more and more gemstones. My plan is to now acquire the lands of the kingdoms for nearly free and then buy out the more independent villages and places in the far west. I will then heavily tax and fine them on everything until they fall apart and I gain direct control of every piece of land and every business to the west of the chasm. I will have a monopoly on everything. And then of course when the far west is totally under my control I will allow all travel from east to west through again but for an exorbitantly high flat fee. It’s at this point that I will begin buying up land in the east as well, offering loans I know that can’t be repaid to towns, businesses, and whoever else has been hurt by my stifling of travel. When they inevitably can’t pay me back I will take everything they still own, easily able to weather the financial storm with the accumulated wealth and land I will already have at that point. Soon I’ll grow to own all the land and businesses on this side of the canyon as well. I will be able to cutoff trade with and isolate the larger kingdoms and cities that so far have not felt the pain of what I’ve been doing here. They will be forced to accept whatever bad deal I give them—if not outright sell their land and property to me. By this point as well I’ll have the money to amass the largest mercenary force the Undiscovered West has seen so no one will even be able to attempt to stop me by force. And so eventually I will own all the land, and tax every single being, business, and kingdom in the west all from the far coast to the very borders of Equestria. Complete financial and economic domination ending in my totalitarian rule. That is my ambition.” “You’re just another megalomaniacal monster!” Applejack shouted at him. “All the suffering you’ve caused for something so selfish...” “Quite so,” the Warden nodded, unphased. “Though I do not agree with your accusation of me being a megalomaniac. I’m too realistic and practical-minded for the term in my opinion.” “Well words and definitions don’t matter much right now, honey. You still need to be stopped,” Miss Valentine said. “T-That’s right,” Amethyst nodded and stepped closer to Applejack. “And the three of us are the ones who will bring you down.” The Warden was unconcerned by their words, momentarily glancing at Miss Valentine and Amethyst before returning his gaze to Applejack. “For an Element of Harmony you have chosen some rather unsavory allies to work with. An amoral bounty hunter and a lifelong criminal? What would the Princesses think?” “I’m not like that anymore,” Miss Valentine glared at him. “And I’m… I’m trying to be better,” Amethyst said. Applejack smirked, nodding at the both of them. “And I believe in them.” “Indeed?” The Warden unclasped his hands and placed them back on his desk, raising an eyebrow at Applejack. “Then I suppose further words are likely pointless, but I’d still like to give you one last opportunity to stop this so we don’t have to resort to violence. Would you stand down and allow me to get back to business?” “Aint happening,” Applejack shook her head. “Your time here at the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel is over.” The Warden stared intently at her for a moment before straightening up. “Well then, I’m not sure how you managed to escape from your cell in the first place, or what other tricks an Element of Harmony might have up their proverbial sleeves, but you shouldn’t underestimate me either.” He stood up fully now from behind his desk and the three ponies had to crane their necks up to continue looking him in the face. While the Warden was not so big and muscular as even a more middle-sized Tirek he was still an imposing figure and the crown of his head and curved horns nearly reached the ceiling of the room. “Though I prefer to wage battle with usury and predatory loans, I suppose my fists will have to do for this occasion,” he said and clenched his fists. Applejack, Amethyst, and Valentine all tensed up. Ready for him to make the first move. The Warden suddenly kicked the desk out in front of him with his cloven hooves, sending it screeching and sliding across the floor at high speed towards the ponies. The three ponies’ eyes widened and they each had to jump out of the way quickly, Miss Valentine and Amethyst jumping to the sides while Applejack jumped over it. The desk slammed into the door behind them with incredible force and blocked it off. Nothing anypony could do in here but fight now. As soon as Applejack’s hooves landed back on the floor, the Warden leaped out at her and pulled back a fist, punching down towards Applejack. She jumped away from it towards Miss Valentine—watching as the Warden’s fist slammed into the steel floor and dented it easily. Applejack winced. “Uh, I might be okay but I think the two of you probably might want to avoid getting hit.” “You think?!” Amethyst shouted at her. The Warden turned his attention to the unicorn—separated from the other two—and ran at her to take out the easiest target first. His powerful legs thundered over the steel floor straight towards her and he brought up his fists in preparation to turn her into mush. “Ahhh!” Amethyst screamed and fired a wild beam of pure magic at his face. Her magic though was not especially powerful and the Warden raised a palm to block it while not slowing down in the slightest. Before he reached her though he was stopped—a tug on his white tail preventing him from going further. Looking over his shoulder, Applejack stood on the floor, her hooves planted into it, and holding his tail in her mouth. She was using all the strength in her body to hold him back and it showed. Sweat had gathered at her forehead and the veins in her muscles were popping. “Amusing. You have quite the power in that small body,” the Warden said and reared up his hind legs, carrying Applejack off the ground and then bucking her right into the wall with them. “Oof!” Applejack groaned as she collided with the wall and slid down it. Amethyst had taken the opportunity to run from where she was and try to make a wide circle around the Warden to get over to Applejack. The large centaur turned to follow her when- “Haaaaah!” Miss Valentine went screaming through the air, jumping at him and leading with a kick right towards his horse-body. She impacted right into the side of it, hard, and just as quickly bounced off the impenetrable wall of muscle right under his skin. She flipped in the air and safely landed on her hooves, but her teeth ground in frustration at the mountain in front of her. He was built far too solidly for her to hurt with her hooves and there was nothing else to work with in here. “Please, you should give up now, I may still be lenient with your punishment,” the Warden said to her. “Not a chance, honey,” Miss Valentine shook her head. “Maybe I can’t bring you down myself, but I’m still here to help.” “You’re here to die,” the Warden brought a hammer fist down at her and Miss Valentine rolled out of the way. His fist still smashed into the floor with enough force to send her tumbling further away. When she stopped and he tried to stomp on her with his hooves—Valentine plucked one of her very small feathers from her wings and threw it at his eyes like a dart. The Warden’s reflexes proved to be just as much of a problem as his physical strength though and he snatched it out of the air before it reached his eyes. Miss Valentine grimaced. “Applejack? Amethyst? I’m not sure how much of a distraction I can be. Could you two honies back me up here?” “On it,” Applejack said and picked herself back up from the floor. The Warden’s kick really hurt but she wasn’t out yet. “A-Also on it,” Amethyst gulped and stood by Applejack. “You ponies should clearly see already that there’s no point in fighting me,” the Warden said. “That’s what you think!” Applejack shouted and ran at him. “Valentine, Amethyst, just back me up any way you can! I’ll do the heavy-lifting!” “Okay!” Both mares shouted in unison and ran with her. The Warden prepared for her charge and got ready to swing his fists down at her but Amethyst quickly created a ring of magic around his left wrist to hold it in place while Valentine threw more feather-darts at his face. The Warden was strong enough where he was able to break the ring of magic in an instant—but it was still an instant where his fist wasn’t plowing towards Applejack. However he didn’t waste using his other hand to grab Valentine’s feathers, instead moving his head out of the way and continuing to throw a strong right punch at Applejack. It was only one fist though and while Applejack didn’t consider herself the fastest of ponies or much of a real fighter she still was able to move to the side and duck her head down to make sure his punch didn’t connect. And then Applejack attempted to end things in one hit. Sucking in a sharp breath she threw her hoof towards the Warden’s front left leg before he could jump back or kick out at her. Punching him hard, she saw him wince, but that was hardly the real attack. Applejack fired a powerful tremor from her body into his—directed right towards his femur. The Warden’s eyes shot open in shock as the strange vibrating sensation went into his body and his leg started to shake uncontrollably. For the first time since the trio had walked in, honest surprise and confusion appeared on his face. Along with worry. He could feel a jackhammer on his bone trying to smash it apart and he clenched his jaw to try and beat the sensation and power through it until it was over. Applejack meanwhile had her brow furrowed and sweat pouring down her face as she tried to put more force into the tremor—also shocked that she hadn’t been able to break his bone easier. Suddenly the Warden’s leg lashed out at her, withstanding Applejack’s Hoof of the Earth attack, and Applejack was knocked to the floor. His body’s so tough—his bones are like iron! Applejack glared up at the Warden while Amethyst and Miss Valentine came to help her up. The Warden, for his part, looked down at his leg and stretched it out, flexing the muscles in it. The vibrations had stopped and it seemed totally normal again. “Odd. You possess an unusual power it seems. Is it part of being an Element of Harmony? Or perhaps something else? Either way you won’t be catching me off-guard again.” “I guess he isn’t as easy to break as padlocks?” Miss Valentine sarcastically asked. “Guess not,” Applejack said. “Now what?” Amethyst asked. “The same thing. I know I can bring him down, just help me out but be sure to stay safe most of all,” Applejack said. “Ridiculous,” the Warden sighed in vexation. “You ponies just don’t know when to give up. A rather tiresome aspect of your species.” He lifted his front legs up and slammed them into the floor—putting his full body-weight behind them. The force of the stomp caused the floor to shake and Applejack and the others wobbled and fell over while the Warden quickly took advantage of the situation and charged at them. His fists were already raised to pulverize them into dust. Applejack clicked her tongue and pressed her hoof against the floor. Two can play at that game! She sent a powerful tremor through the floor towards the Warden, practically causing the floor to warp up like a wave passing through water. The Warden ran straight into it and was tripped up, his large body flying over their heads and crashing to the floor—sliding towards the large glass window at the back of the office. His horned head crashed into the glass and cracked it with a painful sounding bang. The Warden groaned in slight discomfort, but more annoyance than anything, and started to get back up. He sent an angry glare at Applejack that was readily returned. Applejack got up and nodded at her friends before running at the Warden. When he tried getting back up, a slight tug of magic on one of his back legs stalled him for a moment. The Warden frowned and from his prone position he threw out a punch at Applejack instead. She pulled back her hoof and met his punch with one of his own—their appendages colliding with supreme force and a devastatingly loud sound. Applejack was throwing another powerful tremor into him but in terms of pure physical strength the Warden easily had her outmatched and he knocked her backwards in just a second. She didn’t stay connected long enough to try and empower her tremor and keep it going long enough to actually break anything. Instead his hand just wavered in the air for a second before it went back to normal. At the same time, Applejack’s own hoof hurt considerably from matching his punch directly. “Pesky,” the Warden growled and finally stood up in front of the cracked window. “But I have you figured out. Whatever it is you’re doing, you can’t harm me with just a small touch. I won’t allow you to touch me for more than an instant now.” Applejack stared the Warden in the eyes and whispered to Amethyst and Valentine. “Keep his eyes off me for a second.” “And how do we—nevermind,” Amethyst started and then got a nasty grin on her face. “You ponies are merely delaying the inevitable,” the Warden said and raised his fists. “I will-” His eyelids slammed shut over his eyes thanks to the helpful telekinesis from Amethyst, she had enough power in her horn to do something as easy as that at least. And as strong as the Warden was, eyelids were still just eyelids and he didn’t have much muscle in them. The Warden roared in frustration as he tried to open his eyes—finally reaching up and forcing them open with his fingers. Which was right when Miss Valentine jumped on his back and started pummeling the back of his upper body. Her strikes were little more than taps to him but it was still annoying since she was hitting him from somewhere he couldn’t reach. No matter how he turned and how he tried to reach back she moved out of the way and stayed on him like a cowpony at a rodeo. Right up until he acted the part as well and hunched over while bucking up his lower body and launching her over his head and off him. He couldn’t savor that short little victory though—while Valentine and Amethyst were distracting him, Applejack had closed the distance. The Warden’s eyes went wide as he looked down and saw Applejack already at his legs with a hoof reaching towards him. Applejack struck him in the same spot as the first time. His left front leg. And directed another powerful tremor into his femur. A tremor from Hoof of the Earth as powerful as she could muster, carried right from its origin in her heartbeat and amplified until all it took was an instant of contact for her to deliver it. Applejack’s own leg was shaking as it happened and sweat continued to pour down her face as she overexerted herself but she was sure it was worth it. Even as the Warden quickly lashed out at her with the same leg and kicked her hard enough in the stomach to knock the wind out of her. She went tumbling back until both Amethyst and Miss Valentine stopped her. But the Warden didn’t press the attack. He couldn’t. His eyes were focused on his shaking leg, his leg that was shaking much harder than before even after Applejack had been kicked away. The Warden clenched his teeth and sweat gathered at his brow as the vibrations in his bone only grew stronger and stronger. He fought his hardest to keep still—to try and beat the tremors again. But in the next instant they reached an intense peak and his leg spasmed—the tremors snapping his femur clean in half. “AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!” The Warden yelled in pain and rage and partially collapsed to the ground when his leg gave out. Only a quick planting of his hand on the floor stopped him from falling on his face. He lifted his head up at Applejack, practically frothing with rage at her. “HOW DARE YOU!” “Are you willing to give up and stop all this now?” Applejack asked him, breathing heavily. “ONCE I FINISH THINGS HERE I’M GOING TO RUN YOUR FARM OUT OF BUSINESS AND PUT YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY ON THE STREET!” “That’s a no,” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. The Warden stood up on his three healthy legs, neck vein popping out, and raised his fists once more in preparation to attack. “Valentine, keep his arms out of the way. Amethyst, throw me,” Applejack said. “What?” Amethyst turned to her like she had grown a second head. “Just do it,” Applejack said. Meanwhile Miss Valentine was already running at the Warden, trusting Applejack enough to listen to her right now. The nimble pegasus removed a feather as she ran at the Warden and chucked it at his eye. With his lessened mobility he blocked it with a hand and threw a punch at her when she got close enough. The still just as agile pegasus though slammed her hooves down on his wrist and vaulted over his arm—kicking his hand away from his face. He was left open. And Amethyst had already lifted up Applejack in her magic and spun her around once before throwing the earth pony as hard as she could at the centaur. Miss Valentine was flipping through the air and landing on the floor while Applejack was flying towards the Warden. Thanks to the distraction and hits provided by Valentine, the Warden couldn’t block or hit Applejack out of the way with his arms, nor could he dodge the way he was. Applejack turned around in midair and pulled her back legs up close to her body. As soon as she was in range she kicked out—bucking him in the chest with every ounce of strength she had. Hitting him with the legs she had spent years using to buck trees back on the farm with. The Warden’s jaw dropped as he gasped out and was thrown backwards, colliding with the window and shattering the already weakened glass. “NOOOOO!” The Warden yelled as he fell out the window and over the side of the Citadel, down towards the canyon. Applejack hit the floor on her hooves and immediately ran to the glass with Amethyst coming right behind her. But by the time both of them looked out over the ledge the Warden had disappeared into the darkness of the canyon below. Applejack exhaled and brought a hoof to her forehead—tired. “Don’t rest just yet, honey,” Miss Valentine said from behind her. Both Applejack and Amethyst turned around to see Valentine pointing at the Warden’s desk and the intercom atop it. “Gotta spread that word.” “Right,” Applejack nodded and trotted over to the desk while Amethyst continued to look out the window at the massive canyon and bridge in the distance. When she reached the desk she saw the intercom looked to still be in perfectly good condition but all she could do was awkwardly bite her lip and raise an eyebrow at Miss Valentine. “Umm… I’m not entirely sure how this thing works.” “Here,” Miss Valentine said and flipped every switch and pushed all the buttons on the intercom, at the last one a low buzzing sound came from the device and a green light lit up. She then whispered to Applejack. “Now speak.” Applejack inhaled and gathered her thoughts—steeling herself for what she needed to say. “Attention, this is not the Warden speaking. This is Applejack, and hopefully the entire Citadel is hearing my voice right now. The Warden is gone. He’s no longer in charge here. And for all you guards who listened to his orders about stopping a riot earlier, these are your new orders—stand down immediately. Drop your weapons and stop what you’re doing. It’s over. The Warden’s reign of terror is over. And for everypony else here, we’ll get everything sorted out and taken care of soon. I’ll come back with more to say later.” She went to click off the intercom before she stopped briefly and smirked. “This message will not be repeated.” Click! Over the next day, a lot had to be done at the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel. First and foremost—the prisoners were all taken from underground and brought out to where they could get the food, space, and medical attention they really needed. After that, the massive storerooms and vaults held underground were soon discovered and ponies were able to start recovering their money and valuables. Miss Valentine and Vahar even found where their clothes had been tossed away. Most ponies who were looking to either get inside the Citadel or get across the bridge realized that had to be put on hold too—as soon as they learned from some of the prisoners what the situation was it became evident that the state of the Far West wasn’t what most thought. For a lot of them there was no longer a reason to travel at all. So the ponies gathered and waited together, trying to figure things out and get most of the downtrodden here back on their hooves, waiting for new caravans to arrive and word could be spread about what happened here. Instead of just becoming a massive horde and rushing to get to the bridge. Applejack, of course, along with most of the other leaders from the breakout and some of the more “together” ponies were left organizing things. Even though she herself was anxious to get to that bridge now that things were mostly taken care of here. She had already gone back to her inn to grab her saddlebag and what she left behind when infiltrating the Citadel building. Her landlord didn’t have much to say to her anymore. Right now the group was gathered at a table that had been brought inside the main hall of the Citadel building—right inside its front doors. They wanted it to be accessible for ponies. “So in some good news, the guards have all accepted a one-time payment of gold from the vaults to buzz off and never come back,” Birdseed said. “Good, I was worried they would try something otherwise,” Applejack said. “My friends are helping to sort through the vaults. There’s a lot of inventory,” Amethyst said. “And I’m thinking of leaving pretty soon actually,” Miss Valentine said, now bedecked in a black vest that covered her whole body along with a black beret and sunglasses. Applejack wondered why she chose to wear clothes that must’ve been so dang hot. “I want to go back to Diminuendo and try to organize some help or relief for the Citadel and the nearby cities. It’ll be a long trip but I think it might be necessary for the west to get back on its hooves.” “And I’ll… I’ll stay here I guess? Not like I have anything else to do or anywhere to go,” Birdseed shrugged. “Might as well make sure this place doesn’t devolve into crime and chaos.” “Same here,” Amethyst said. “My friends and I don’t have anywhere else either so until things have settled down here we might as well keep helping out.” Vahar then suddenly jumped up on her chair. “And I—the Wondrous and Majestic Vahar—shall stay here too and put on as many magic shows as possible to raise the spirits of the local ponies! I will be the shining light they need! They will be awed and amazed by my skills and will remember me as the one who filled their hearts with hope and warmth for the rest of their lives!” Applejack sighed. “Vahar? I know you mean well but you could try and put that a little less self-absorbed sounding?’ “The Wondrous and Majestic Vahar shall consider your words!” Vahar then coughed and sat back down. “And what about you, Applejack?” Miss Valentine asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “Don’t you have somewhere you still need to get to?” “I… yeah,” Applejack nodded. “Yeah I do. But I didn’t want to just leave when things are still kind of a mess here.” “To be honest I think you’ve done enough,” Birdseed said. “I somehow doubt anypony would blame you for leaving. I don’t know why you’ve come out on such a long trip anyways but it doesn’t seem like you’d want to get stuck sitting around here any longer, right?” Amethyst asked. “Let us handle things here. And the other ponies who you rescued. I promise we’ll all do our best.” “Even me,” Birdseed agreed. “Just so long as you can introduce me to that friend of yours with the birds later.” Applejack chuckled. “I will.” “From what it sounds like you have a long ways to travel still. Probably even longer than I do,” Miss Valentine said. “Yep,” Applejack nodded. “I don’t even know how far exactly but I’m pretty sure I’m only about halfway there since the start of this trip.” “Just getting across the bridge is going to take you a really long time itself, honey. I think you might want to pack some food and water up and head on out of here today. If you don’t, well, to be honest you seem like the kind of pony that’d get caught up in another problem that has nothing to do with her,” Miss Valentine smirked. “Eugh,” Applejack dragged a hoof down her face—knowing Valentine was probably correct about her rotten luck. “The Wondrous and Majestic Vahar will also keep a watchful eye on the Citadel and make sure nothing goes wrong! But I—she—we all owe you a debt of gratitude. If Applejack must make haste and get back on her journey then do not let anything stop you! Were it not for you we would all still be stuck in that cell or worse!” Vahar announced. “The moron is right,” Amethyst nodded and pointed at Vahar. “You’ve earned it.” Applejack sat back while Vahar glared at Amethyst, thinking and looking up at the pipe-covered metal ceiling of the building. Was it okay for her to just keep going? So many ponies here had their lives completely ruined or upended and still didn’t have a light at the end of the tunnel in sight. There was such a mess at the Citadel that most wouldn’t be able to leave or go across the bridge for a while. Which meant though that if Applejack was staying here until things had settled down more it might be a long time before she could leave too… Could she afford that? It was just a normal friendship problem at Elysium’s View, wasn’t it? But the stuff Discord had said to her still had her worried. What the Warden was doing was horrible but he also wasn’t a pony trying to destroy the world or nothing like that. Applejack wasn’t sure if she could really sit around at the Citadel while something so big was potentially going on out there. “Stupid Discord...” Applejack muttered. “What was that?” Miss Valentine raised an eyebrow. “Nothing,” Applejack shook her head. She furrowed her brow and thought for a moment longer. “Well… if I did leave later today I’d be pretty happy about that. Can’t deny it. But if that’s happening… then before it does there’s a mare I need to see first.” “A mare? Who?” Valentine asked. One of the larger buildings in the inner town of the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel was now being used to feed and house many of the freed ponies from the underground prison. The employees of the Citadel were finding themselves worked overtime—and without the power and authority they used to possess. There was a decent amount of bad blood in the air but nopony had started any fights. For the moment it seemed like the former indentured servants were accepting a “live and let live” attitude. “When I heard your voice over the loudspeakers it was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders,” Solar Streak said to Applejack. Solar Streak was doing the same work she had been doing before but she looked a whole lot happier doing it. When Applejack had come in here she saw the young mare busily delivering food to ponies, helping the elderly and infirm eat when they had trouble, and cleaning up messes to make sure nopony slipped or got dirty. She was a new mare, with boundless energy and hope inside her. “I guess I should thank you for saving my life twice,” Solar Streak smiled. “You really don’t have to, but I just wanted to come find you and make sure you were doing alright before I leave,” Applejack said. Solar Streak laughed quietly. “I’m not surprised you’re already leaving. You did the same thing with my old village. Came in and turned everything upside-down before getting back to your own journey. Heh, that sounds a lot worse than I want to make it sound. You have a way of leaving places a lot better than you found them and I think you know that. This place is no different—in fact this place is even better because there are other ponies here, like me, who will help make sure the Citadel becomes a better place.” “Are you sure you’re going to be happy here? You can leave whenever you want, you know?” Applejack asked her. “I know, and I’ll find happiness for myself one way or another, you don’t need to worry about me anymore,” Solar Streak said. Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. “Well then… I’ll be coming back through here once I’m done at Elysium’s View, so maybe I’ll see you again on my way back to Ponyville. And if you’d like, well I’d really enjoy showing you my home.” Solar Streak’s eyes widened as she realized what Applejack was offering. “You… you’d want me to come back with you?” “Only if you want to, and just for a visit unless you feel otherwise cause I think it’s good you want to find your own path, but I think Ponyville would be a great place for you to see,” Applejack explained. “You’d get to know a lot of great ponies. Friendliest ponies you’ll ever meet.” Solar Streak suddenly reached forward and embraced Applejack in a warm hug. “Thank you. And yes, I’d love to come with you when you’re returning home.” She chuckled and pulled back, wiping a tear from her eye. “I somehow doubt the Citadel will still need so many dishwashers by the time you’re back.” “Then I’ll see you again soon,” Applejack grinned. “You certainly will. Good luck on the rest of your trip,” Solar Streak smiled. And with one last brief hug, Applejack and Solar Streak waved goodbye to each other. “This… this really is a very long bridge,” Applejack said as she looked out at it from the back of the Citadel. It just seemed to stretch on to infinity. It wasn’t even curved or sloped or anything, just a straight line that eventually went so far out she couldn’t even see it anymore. It looked like a simple stone bridge, with walls on the side of it only about a pony’s height, and the road down it a path of gray brick. Applejack couldn’t even imagine how something like this was made in the first place or how it stayed up. What a crazy piece of architecture that stretched over an even crazier chasm. How many days would it actually take to walk across it? Good thing she had listened to Valentine and actually grabbed plenty of extra food and water before coming here. Speak of the devil- “Certainly is, I’m kind of glad I’m not the one going across it,” Miss Valentine said from beside Applejack. Applejack looked at her and then at the others that had gathered here to see her off. Vahar, Birdseed, Amethyst and her friends Diamond, Emerald, Opal and Topaz. She couldn’t help but smile—and felt no small measure of pride, even for a mare as humble as her, that she had managed to help so many ponies. “You just have fun on your own trip back to Diminuendo,” Applejack said to her and smiled to the others. “And the rest of you, make sure you do a good job here, and look out for each other and the rest of the Citadel ponies.” “We will,” Amethyst waved along with her friends. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing you on your way back,” Birdseed said. “The Wondrous and Majestic Vahar misses you already!” Vahar shouted. Applejack rolled her eyes. “I’ll miss you too, Vahar.” She chuckled for a moment and waved to everypony. “Take care everypony! I’ll see you later!” And with that she began walking her way, taking her first steps onto the long bridge from the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel to the Far West. “Thanks for everything!” Miss Valentine waved after her. “See you soon!” Birdseed waved. “Thanks for setting us on the right path!” Amethyst shouted. “The Wondrous and Majestic Vahar is certainly not crying now!” Far below the bridge and where the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel sat, a hand gripped a stone jutting out from the wall of the cliff. “Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous… that everything could be undone by her so quickly… my plans… my ambition… torn down by a single Element of Harmony who didn’t even come here on purpose!” The Warden growled as he climbed up the cliff. His other hand came up and his fingers dug—pierced—into the rock, allowing him to pull himself up further. “Broken leg or not… I will catch you, Applejack. You don’t know what lies on the other side of the bridge…” a dangerous smile appeared on his face. “Red Agony Swamp… I’ll find you there… and end you!”