Dawn had cracked over the tops of several apple orchards when the train squeaked to a halt in a town that looked like it had been plucked from a spaghetti western. A wave of yawns and creaking joints went through the car as each of the ponies stirred in their bunks. The conductor walked through each car calling out, “Last stop - Appaloosa!”
Stephen pushed his bunk's curtain to the side and looked out into the car to see Applejack fixing her hat to her head, Rainbow Dash stretching out in the aisle, Twilight reorganizing her bags, Rarity styling her mane with the aide of a levitating mirror and Fluttershy sitting up in her bed with a yawn. As Stephen climbed out of the bunk, he assumed the loud snoring coming from above Fluttershy's head belonged to Pinkie Pie.
“Who's up for some breakfast?” Applejack asked after throwing her bags onto her back. “I'm starvin'.”
“Fluttershy, would you be a dear and wake up Pinkie Pie for us?” Rarity asked as she lowered her beauty supplies into her bag.
Fluttershy nodded, climbed out of her bed and hovered to the top bunk. There Pinkie Pie was curled up and snoring loudly. “Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy said, giving Pinkie's barrel a gentle nudge. “It's time to wake up.” Pinkie responded with a guttural snort and then rolled onto her back to continue snoring.
Stephen watched this go on a few times before realizing this wasn't going anywhere fast. Looking about the car, he found a solution when he noticed Pinkie had left her bags open on the aisle floor. A curled up paper noisemaker was sitting atop her other belongings. Stephen suppressed a chuckle as he reached for the party favor.
Fluttershy was still trying to wake Pinkie when Stephen made his way up the bunk's ladder with the noisemaker in his mouth. A tap on Fluttershy's shoulder gained her attention so he could signal for her to move aside. As she complied, a nervous expression came to her face and she covered her ears. Stephen took a deep breath through his nose. Ready to embrace some small-scale poetic justice for yesterday's head injury, he blew into the noisemaker.
The air rapidly pushed through the paper, unfurling it until it stretched out right next to Pinkie's ear, whereupon it let out a loud, distorted squeak. Stephen had expected her to be startled awake, which is exactly what happened. However, he had not expected Pinkie to yelp and leap off the bunk to latch onto the first thing she could grab like a frightened cat, which in this case, was Stephen's head. They tumbled down the ladder and into the car's aisle.
When Stephen's vision refocused, Fluttershy was hovering over them. “Are you two alright?” she asked.
“My mother once said that vengeance doesn't belong to us,” Stephen groaned. “Now I know why.”
Pinkie burst into a fit of giggles. “You sure got me!” she pealed while getting herself upright. She turned her head to look out the window and then gasped with excitement. “Oh! We've arrived! What are we doing first?”
“Well, if ya'll are done horsin' around, we're going to get some breakfast,” said Applejack.
“Sounds good to me,” said Stephen, getting himself to his feet. Once everyone had secured their belongings, they filed out of the train and into the dusty old-western town.
After a few minutes of walking, the group entered a saloon where a cowboy hat wearing pony was entertaining the patrons with a melody from an out-of-tune piano. Around the room were ponies of various shapes and colors. Some were wearing western accessories like cowboy hats, bandanas or leather vests. The group was shown to one of the long picnic tables that populated the saloon's floor. The six mares sat down and within a minute, a stool was pushed up to the end of the table for Stephen. He sat in between Applejack and Rainbow Dash while the waiter took orders.
Once the orders were taken, the group conversed among themselves while waiting for their breakfasts to come. Applejack turned to Stephen, “How are you feelin' today?” she asked. “Any better?”
“A little better,” said Stephen. “Once everyone got to sleep I was really able to relax and calm myself down.”
“Get any sleep yourself?”
Stephen shook his head. “Not really. I can't seem to actually sleep when I'm here. I don't know why. But I can take naps and that helps a little bit at least.”
“Boy howdy, I couldn't imagine being in your horseshoes right now.”
Stephen sighed. “It isn't fun. I can tell you that much.”
The waiter came back around and dropped mugs of cider in front of Applejack and Rainbow. Stephen got the glass of water he asked for and the others got their drinks as well. Applejack took a sip and after lowering the glass, she looked over to Stephen. “So what made you want to come with us?”
That question still held enough weight to drop Stephen's head to the table with a sigh. “Have you ever been awake for over a week at a time?”
Applejack smirked and nodded her head. “I tried it once. I didn't end up too well.”
“Did you start doing things you wouldn't normally do?”
“Yep,” Applejack responded frankly.
“Cause any problems?” Applejack only nodded in response. “On Sunday night I hurt my leg at Pinkie's house. When I woke up with a sprained ankle on Monday morning, I got scared and decided that it wasn't safe to go back to bed.”
“I had a feelin' that's what it was,” said Applejack before taking another swig.
“Between all the energy drinks, coffee and candy I was taking mixed with exhaustion and stress, I lost my mind. It frightened my girlfriend and she broke up with me.”
Applejack's eyes widened slightly. “Well I'll be…” she said. Then her expression softened. “I'm sorry about that.”
“We were a great couple,” Stephen continued. “We never really argued or anything. But when I needed her for support, she just couldn't handle it. I probably shouldn't blame her though. Magic doesn't exist where I come from and we don't regard people who talk about getting abducted to another world as being mentally sound.”
Rainbow, who had been taking a long swig on her cider, stopped abruptly and put her drink down. “Who does she think she is?” she almost yelled with her front legs in the air. “Bailing at the first sign of trouble like that? You don't need her anyway!”
“Maybe you're right,” Stephen groaned. “It certainly didn't help anything though. Then the next day I had a disagreement with a coworker and everything got to me all at once. I got angrier than I ever have before and said a lot of things I shouldn't have. Now I don't have a job anymore either.” Stephen paused to make sure he could keep his composure. Once certain he could continue, he sat up straight. “Then all I could think about is that all of this happened because of whatever is going on here. So maybe…just maybe…if I helped find who's doing it than I could make everything go back to normal.”
Rainbow gave Stephen a playful bump on the shoulder. “Don't sweat it. We got your back and you just watch; soon enough we'll have this situation by the reins!”
The small glimmer of hope Stephen acquired yesterday afternoon grew just a little bit bigger. He felt the corners of his lips point up slightly. “Thanks, Rainbow.”
The waiter came back around with their breakfasts balanced on a tray atop his back. “You nervous about this trip at all?” Applejack asked as a large fruit salad and some jellied toast was dropped in front of her.
“Just a little.” The plate of apple-topped waffles that Stephen ordered was dropped in front of him.
“This will be a walk in the park,” Rainbow said as a small apple pie was placed in front of her. She eagerly took a bite, chewed and swallowed it quickly before continuing. “All we have to do is get in there, guard that shrine, kick the tail of anyone that tries to come in and head home.”
“I just hope it's actually going to be that easy,” said Stephen. “By what Twilight said, it sounds like whoever we're up against is pretty strong.”
Just then, the song being played on the piano changed and Pinkie shot to her feet. “I love this song!” Pinkie slapped the end of her plate and launched her pancakes into the air. With unrivaled coordination, she caught them both in her mouth. She gave a few chews and swallowed before zipping to the piano with an excited, “Be right back!”
Stephen leaned over to Rainbow Dash. “Do you think she even tasted those pancakes?” Rainbow sniggered and shrugged in response.
Pinkie's singing washed over the saloon and everyone turned up to watch her while they ate their breakfasts. The other patrons gathered around the piano to be entertained by her antics. The only problem came when they continued to cheer her on for three more songs. The rest of the group had finished eating and it was time to get moving. Applejack solved the problem by throwing up her lasso just as Pinkie reared up while dancing on the piano. The noose tightened around her belly and snatched her from the piano, cutting off the high note she was holding with a surprised, “Whoa!”
Applejack caught Pinkie on her back and shrugged her off to the floor. “We gotta get movin' Pinkie,” she said, tucking her lasso back into her bags and heading for the door.
“Okey-dokey!” said Pinkie as she started skipping towards the door. Having their entertainment confiscated caused the rest of the saloon to let out a collective moan of disappointment. Hearing this, Pinkie turned back to face them. “Don't worry, everypony! I'll come back someday for more songs!” With that, Pinkie exited the saloon to the sound of a cheering crowd and the piano player resuming his tune.
The next item on the agenda was supplies. After a brief walk down the street, they happened outside the town's general store. The group filed inside and began picking through their wares. Applejack and Fluttershy focused on gathering enough food and water to last three days in the desert. Rarity and Pinkie Pie gathered blankets for each member of the group. Rainbow Dash mulled around the shop and Stephen approached Twilight. “Were you ever able to come up with any strategies?” he asked.
Twilight gave a small nod. “I've got a couple ideas that might work if we can surprise them. But now I'm wondering what to do about our defense if my plans don't work.”
“What can you do with your magic?”
“I can teleport and create force fields. But if I teleported, I'd have to take all of you with me, which is difficult and I'm not good at doing it quickly. I'm also not certain if my force fields will be strong enough against this unicorn. I sort of wish I had asked my brother about this while we were in Canterlot. He specializes in this type of magic.”
Stephen raised an eyebrow at that statement. “Wait a second, you've got a brother that specializes in self defense and you didn't bring him with us?” The memory of Big Macintosh bucking a timberwolf through the air flashed through Stephen's mind. “Or heck,” he continued. “What about Applejack's brother? He certainly strikes me as someone who would have been good to have with us.”
“My brother is the Captain of the Royal Guard,” said Twilight. “Princess Celestia didn't want any of them coming with us for fear of the thief seeing them and compensating with stealth like he did at the museums. Big Mac is the only pony that understands Sweet Apple Acres as well as Applejack. If he came with us, there'd be nopony to run the farm while she's gone.”
“So we're in trouble if they aren't subdued right away?”
“I don't know. But we've faced challenges like this before. I'm confident that if we stick together, we can do anything.”
Stephen gave her an unsure nod and resumed looking around the store. He wanted to try to think about ways to help Twilight. But even if his exhausted mind was clear, he doubted he'd be able to offer any helpful advice. He knew nothing about magic aside from its litmus tests could be itchy or painful. However, inspiration came suddenly when he spotted a field plow next to the cash register. Turning around in the aisle, he walked back over to Twilight. “Can you make shields?” he asked her.
Twilight's eyes went to the right and up and her face took on a curious expression. “I probably can. Why do you ask?”
Stephen put himself next to Twilight and raised a front leg to point at the plow. “What if instead of trying to make a force field, you made a shield angled like that plow? That way instead of taking the full force head on, it all gets deflected on the point or on the sides where it meets the inverted curves.”
Twilight mulled it over for a moment before speaking. “That might work. I was hoping to figure out a way to make my force fields stronger because I know I can cover everyone at once that way. But if the unicorn was strong enough to break through Princess Celestia's barriers, I might not be able to make it strong enough.”
“Could you make a plow-shaped shield big enough to cover everyone?”
“I think I can but I'd want to practice it first. If it gets too big, the sides would be wider and the curves would be shallower, so a strong attack might still break it.”
“Physically it would take several times as much force to compensate for the force that's being deflected. The important thing would be to let the base or point of the plow to take the force so it deflects all the force up and to the sides instead of taking it all to the center.”
Twilight gave a small nod but seemed to be thinking about something else at the same time. After a moment she turned back to Stephen. “I can do that if I can figure out how to quickly adjust the position of the shield. That way even if the unicorn aims a spell at a weak spot, I can compensate.” Relief came onto her face and she let out a happy giggle. “It looks like we're onto something. Thanks for the idea.”
“You're welcome,” Stephen replied.
Rarity trotted up to them and slightly relieved the awkwardness from the air. “Our cart is being loaded outside,” she said, pointing to the door. “We've got food, canteens and blankets. Will that be sufficient?”
“I think we'll be fine,” said Twilight. “Let's get moving.”
Once the cart was loaded, the group hired a carriage to pull them and their belongings thirty miles southwest of Appaloosa. From there, in accordance with Princess Celestia's instructions, they broke off and continued on their own. Rainbow Dash volunteered to pull, claiming she could get them there the fastest.
This, however, was not the case. She would have easily been able to fly the remaining distance had the cart not been so heavy and the climate so hot. Thus she resigned herself to dragging it through the rough and dry terrain covered by a thin layer of desert dust.
Stephen's pace was another slowing factor. Going over a week on an amount of rest that would only qualify as a few hours of sleep made him slow and whittled his endurance to practically nothing. As time went on, he got slower and slower until he found himself falling far behind with only Fluttershy at his side. Several attempts at keeping up with the rest of the group only resulted in being winded and needing frequent water breaks before pressing on.
Eventually, Fluttershy took to the air and caught up with the rest of the group. “Excuse me, everyone,” she called quietly. “I think Stephen needs help.”
“How do you suppose we help him, darling?” Rarity asked.
Rainbow Dash groaned and rolled her eyes at the need to stop for the fifth time in the last hour. “He's got to toughen up a little,” she said after taking a moment to breathe. “If we keep waiting up for him, we won't get to the pyramid until midnight.”
Fluttershy looked back at Stephen. He was shuffling his feet about twenty-five yards back and she could tell he was breathing heavily. Fluttershy dropped herself next to Rainbow Dash. She didn't speak, but she was certainly trying to find the words as her eyes shifted from Rainbow Dash to the cart a few times.
Rainbow's face scrunched. “Look, I'm all for helping him out. But if this cart gets heavier than I'm going to end up slowing us down and I would like to get to the pyramid before midnight. Isn't there something else we can do for him?”
“But if he keeps going like this something bad might happen to him,” Fluttershy responded.
“Why don't you take a breather, RD?” said Applejack. “Me and Fluttershy will take it from here.”
Fluttershy nodded and moved towards the cart's spare harness.
By the time Stephen caught up with the group, Fluttershy and Applejack had hooked themselves up to the cart. Panting dryly, he leaned against the cart and struggled to keep himself up. “Are we there yet?” he croaked out. “May I have some water, please?” He was answered by Rainbow scooping him up by his midsection and hoisting him into the cart. “What happened?” he asked in between pants. Rainbow popped open a canteen with her mouth and placed it in between Stephen's forelegs. Stephen practically swallowed the canteen as he took several long swigs. “Thank you!” he signed once he felt rehydrated.
“Take it easy from here,” said Rainbow. “We've got a lot of ground to cover and it'll take forever if we have to keep waiting up for you.”
“You don't have to do this,” Stephen mumbled, trying his best to be polite. But his legs and ankles might as well have been on fire. He knew very well now that he had stopped, he wasn't going to be able to get himself going again for a while.
“Can we get moving, please?” Rarity begged. “This heat is absolutely unbearable!”
Rainbow rolled her eyes and looked back at Stephen. “No, believe me. We need to do this.” With that, the ponies resumed their trek.
The cacti scattered throughout the desert were casting long eastern-facing shadows when they arrived at the foot of a step pyramid that would have stuck out in the otherwise flat and featureless desert if it had not been so small and gray. Stephen guessed it to be about fifty feet tall and one hundred feet wide at the base. Wind blowing sand against it for an untold amount of time had left some of the stone edges rounded. At the very top was a doorway sealed with a large granite slab with various hieroglyphs carved into it. Ultimately, it was not an impressive sight. But to Stephen, it was a glimmering light that promised to be the first step in solving all of his problems.
Stephen hopped out of the cart and followed everyone up the stairs to the pyramid's entrance. Once there, Twilight faced down the entrance and took a ready stance. Her horn began glowing and soon it was bright enough to light up the immediate area. After a moment, the door to the pyramid gained the same purple glow as her horn. Twilight started to sweat as she pointed her horn to the sky. With a thunderous stony creak, the granite slab ground and slid up into the top of the pyramid, revealing a dark and spiraling stairway that dove deep into the pyramid's interior.