//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: The Pale Land // by OrphiusOlyandra //------------------------------// Fields of white as far as the eye could see. After spending so long underground, Dash was tempted to throw herself on the ground and roll around for an hour or two. As much as she was sick and tired of snow, seeing something familiar just set her at ease. Well, as much as possible when travelling in the same direction as a unicorn who would willingly sell out her own kind for some useless books and her pet drake. Bloody Tartarus, if it wasn't for Fluttershy, Dash would have braved the world alone. Death would have been better than this mess. And the worst part was the fresh layer of snow. Without her wings, Dash was forced to slowly trudge her way through the neck high crap, the chill easily passing through the clothes she had on as they became absolutely soaked through. The only real upside was that it numbed her limbs so she didn't have to feel that constant ache as she walked. It was a brief respite, but it let her keep up with the unicorn before her, and it's not like it was life threatening or anything. After all, if a unicorn could handle it, then so could Rainbow Daring Dash. Sure, it was no longer snowing, but with that tornado off to the north and the black clouds above, Dash felt her heart thumping away—from the exertion of course! She wasn't afraid of anything and she never would be, not even the stupid weather or caves could scare her. It was just natural survival instincts, that's all, nothing weird or strange about that. Another nervous glance at the sky assured her that Fluttershy was still alright, that she hadn't been blown off course or struck by lightning or eaten by Spike . Dash shifted her wings slightly as she pressed forward, following the path Twilight left with her fat flank. For a mare who was apparently travelling through the wasteland, her flank was seriously large. How was that even possible? Muttering something unintelligible under her breath, Dash shook some of the snow off her body and bit down hard to stop her traitorous teeth from clattering away. It was like her body had decided to refuse her commands with the way they'd shake or threaten to buckle every couple of steps. Well Rainbow Dash wasn't going to have any of that! She was a Flight Lieutenant and that meant her word was law. "Could you walk any slower?" said Twilight over her shoulder. There just a hint of mockery in those words, but a hint was all Dash needed. A feral growl rumbled in the back of her throat as she threw herself forward, shoving past that arrogant mare to take the lead. A wall of snow immediately slammed into her, forcing her to lean into it and push forward with all her might. Slowly, grudgingly, it gave way, and after ten seconds, her hoof finally touched ground once more as she took a single step forward. Soon another followed and then another and another. Each step she took sent a twinge of pain through her wing as it rubbed against the snow around her. "I don't like this," said Twilight as she glanced over her shoulder at the sky. "Nah, really? Maybe it's got something to do with the black cloud hanging above us, threatening to kill us any minute," snapped Dash. "And I'm telling you that it is unlikely to snow again and there are multiple shelters along this route," said Twilight. "Ha! Trust a unicorn, real funny." "At least you're not hiding your blatant racism anymore." "Hey, you're the one who tried to stab my eye out," growled Rainbow Dash. "A mere slip of the hoof." If it wasn't because Dash had gotten into a rhythm, she would have bucked the unicorn in the face. "I was actually aiming for your other eye." "Typical unicorn, can't win a fight unless your opponent is blind," said Dash as she ruffled her feathers. "Honor before reason, why am I not surprised?" "Better tha-" A purple blur shot past, causing Dash to immediately skip back and drop into a defensive stance. When she finally figured out it was Spike, she shifted into a more aggressive posture. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you hate me, blah, blah, blah. Normally I'd say something snarky, but there are some pegasi approaching fast from the west. We need to hide." "Nah, really?" Dash glanced over her shoulder at the trail they had left in the snow. "Change of plans, you two hide and Fluttershy and I will handle this." "You expect us to-" "Spike, we don't have time to argue, and we don't have support this time around." Twilight spun around and began pawing at the snow. "Come on, we need to get a tunnel cut and covered." "Alright, alright." He immediately dropped down, and with three quick blasts, had a tunnel wide enough for Twilight to wiggle into. As he worked on covering the top he glared up at Dash and said, "Say anything, and I will personally hunt you down." "I'd like to see you try, tiny," Dash shot back, completely ignoring the flat look Fluttershy was giving her. "Do you think they'll be alright in there? The hole looked so tiny and cramped. What if they suffocate!" As Fluttershy descended into her full blown 'care for everything' mode, Dash took a couple of deep breaths to compose herself. While it was unlikely it was a search party organised by Lightning, it was still best to be prepared. After a minute of silent waiting, they finally came into view, flying high and travelling in a straight line. There were half a dozen of them, travelling slower than expected, and... Dash frowned, squinting as she tried to make out the dark shapes against the clouds. And they were larger than she expected. Far larger than any pegasus she had ever seen before, almost as though they were flying earth ponies. That thought made her snort, though her nerves stopped her from bursting out laughing entirely. "They're not pegasi," whispered Fluttershy. "What?" Dash's head snapped across. "What do you mean they're not pegasi? What else could they be?" "Gr-Gryphons." "Gryphons!?" Dash immediately dived onto the ground and began pawing at the spot Twilight was hiding in. "Change of plans, let us in!" Glancing up nervously, Dash began digging faster, and within seconds, they uncovered the tunnel and Twilight hurled them in. In the darkness, it was a jumble of hooves and limbs in all the wrong places touching all the wrong things. At one point, Dash could have sworn she felt a face pressed against her flank, and she wished more than anything that it wasn't the unicorn's. In fact, she'd happily kiss an earth pony if it meant it wasn't Twilight's face. Anything, absolutely anything, was better than that. Dimly, she was aware of footsteps above them and voices saying something. Somewhere in the dark, Fluttershy whimpered, and even Twilight seemed to be holding her breath. All was silent as they waited for that first flash of light that would signal their doom, but after a long minute huddled together as all sorts of noises echoed in their tight hiding spot, everything became silent. Unwilling to speak or move, they all stayed still, only breathing when absolutely necessary. It took another minute or two before Dash felt someone punch a hole in the ceiling, letting light flood in. She immediately raised a hoof to block out some of the light as she wiggled her way out, flopping onto the ground and panting heavily as she took in the fresh air. "That was a close call," panted Twilight as she began stretching out her limbs. "Beyond close," said Dash. "Let's not do that again. I hear dragon meat is a delicacy for them, and with my tender flesh, I'm sure they'd find me irresistible." Dash snorted and rolled her eyes. "Whatever." "They seem to be heading in a straight line," said Twilight as she scanned the skies. "But what I really want to know is how they're in so deep to begin with. They're crossing the entirety of the Pegasopolis and not bothering to hide themselves." "Agreed. There's far too few of them and it's far too deep for it to be a raid." Dash frowned as she stared at their retreating forms. "They couldn't have just finished a raid considering how little they were carrying." "I don't like this, you pegasi are up to something," said Twilight as she took up her spot at the front yet again. "Oh yeah sure, make a deal with those who eat us," said Dash as they began moving once more. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, and considering how I deal with dirt ponies every day, that's saying something." "Earth ponies. They're called earth ponies," said Twilight. "Earth, dirt. Whatever," Dash shrugged as she tried to get back into the rhythm that she had before. "No, earth ponies," growled Twilight, "get it right." "Yeah, yeah, dirt ponies, I hear yo-" The only warning Dash got was a slight tense of the muscles before Twilight's hind hooves lashed out. Dash immediately ducked under the blow before lunging forward, ramming the unicorn with her shoulder just as Twilight turned. Before she could back off, Twilight was in Dash's face, landing a solid hook punch before following it up with a second to the throat and a knee to the stomach. Stumbling back with a hacking cough, Dash just managed to roll out of the way as Twilight's hooves stomped down. Flicking her good wing, she felt the wingblade snap out and she immediately swept it in front of her, forcing Twilight to leap back. "Stop this at once!" Dash blinked in surprise as Fluttershy dropped between them, forcing them to separate. "I'm ashamed of how you two are acting! You're like two foals fighting over a slice of apple. Start behaving like responsible adults. I'm sick and tired of this constant fighting!" "Bu-" Fluttershy finally turned to face Dash and she immediately began backing up as the Stare barreled into her at full speed. All she could see were those cyan eyes, and no matter how much Dash wanted to look away, she couldn’t. The cold was gone, the anger, the desire to pound Twilight's face in—all of that was gone, and in its place, there was just disappointment. It was all she could think of, all she could remember, and all she wanted to do was whatever it took to please Fluttershy. Even if that meant apologizing to that monster. "She started it!" said Dash and a pressure began forming against her mind. It pushed at her, making her mouth open and she found herself speaking without meaning to. "S-Sorry." "Now you," said Fluttershy as she turned her gaze towards the unicorn, causing Dash to stumble back with a hoof against her heart. It took all her willpower to not collapse right there and then. "Yeah sure, sorry." "Say it like you mean it," growled Fluttershy causing a shudder to run down Dash's spine. "Sorry..." said Twilight meekly. "Good, now kiss and make up," said Spike. "Spike," said Fluttershy all too sweetly, "please stop egging them on." The small dragon gulped and nodded repeatedly until it looked like his head was going to snap off and roll along the ground. "Good." All of a sudden Fluttershy shrunk behind her mane. "O-Oh, I'm, that is... um..." She squeaked. "W-We should keep going," said Twilight slowly, but even as she began walking again, her eyes kept flicking over to the shy pegasus. Even Spike was acting skittish around Fluttershy, opting to glide next to the unicorn rather than chat with Fluttershy as per usual. Dash opened her mouth to yell at them only for a hoof to be placed on her shoulder. "Please, it's fine," whispered Fluttershy. "I don't want t-" "You don't want to cause conflict, I know that, but that doesn't mean they get to treat you like some monster. If anything, they're the monsters." Dash made sure to say that last bit louder so they could hear before she went back to a whisper, "You're the sweetest, kindest mare I've ever known, and they do not get to treat you like dirt." "Bu-" "No buts," said Dash. The silence stretched on, and though Dash knew Fluttershy wasn't entirely convinced, Dash had absolutely no clue what she should say. Ever since they had met, Fluttershy was the one who dealt with the emotions, she was the one who made sure everyone was happy and content and not scared and... Dash sighed and shook her head. "There's smoke up ahead," said Spike, breaking the awkward silence. Dash’s eyes narrowed. “In the direction the gryphons were travelling in?” “Yes,” replied Spike. “We’re going after them.” There was no hesitation in her voice as Dash began racing forward, finally finding some harder snow to move on. “This is pegasus territory so they either attacked a caravan or are planning on attacking a caravan, and I am not going to let that happen. We move in now, take them by surprise, and slaughter them.” Spike blinked in surprise, but in the end, it was Twilight who replied, “No. We’re wasting too much time as is, and there were at least six of them. Six we may be able to deal with if we ambush them, but any more and we’re definitely dead.” “Fine, you two can keep going then, but unlike you, we actually care about others .” Dash finally found herself no longer drowning in snow as she clawed her way out onto solid ground. “Come on Fluttershy, I’m sick and tired of hanging out with these monsters.” “O-Oh right...” Fluttershy almost looked apologetic, if she had, Dash probably would have begun yelling in frustration. “Wait!” Dash glanced over her shoulder and watched as Spike flew towards them. “I’m coming along.” “Smartest decision you’ve made since ever,” snorted Dash. “Keep up because I ain’t waiting for you.” Without waiting for a reply, Dash threw all caution to the wind and broke out into a gallop, tossing snow in all directions and leaving a track so obvious, even a dirt pony could follow it. To her surprise, Spike flew on ahead, guiding her towards the smoke and calling out pits in the ground and other dangerous spots. It was rather insulting that the dragon thought she couldn’t see things as obvious as fresh snow, but she had to admit that it made travelling easier. No doubt it was a habit he picked up from travelling with a lazy unicorn . “There’s a small cliff up ahead,” said Spike, “the smoke is coming from just past it.” Dash nodded and slowed down until she was inching forward, making sure to keep herself out of sight as she did so. Eventually she came to the ledge and peeked over, making sure to keep her hood drawn to hide her awesome mane. From her vantage point, she could see three gryphons just below her, two more searching the ruins of a caravan, and blood. Lots and lots of blood. The snow was stained red, entrails were spilled everywhere, and there was at least one severed head. Even with her eyes closed she could still see that look of terror ingrained on the dead’s face. Worst of all, she could hear them. She could hear cruel laughter and the wet slurping and crunching as they feasted on the dead. A part of her swore she could hear sobbing and the faintest cries for help, but Dash blocked that out. It had to be her imagination, it just had to be. Gryphons were evil, but there was no way anything could be that evil. It just... it just couldn’t be real. Dash licked her dry lips and took a deep breath. “Fluttershy, I want you stay up here and stay safe. Spike, you’re with me. I need you to keep the other two off me while I deal with the three below us. And keep an eye out for extras, I don’t want to be ambushed.” Instead of arguing like Dash thought he would, Spike merely nodded and a flicker of flames licked his lips. “How do you want them? Burnt or crispy?” he asked. “How about dead?” Dash hissed. “This is not a game, this is serious.” “Fine,” sighed Spike. “Um... are you certain you don-” “Positive. You’re a medic so stay put. If we get injured, you can patch us up, but if you get taken down we’re screwed.” Dash glanced over at Spike. “You ready? Don’t make me regret trusting you.” “Just don’t do anything stupid and we’ll be fine,” he shot back. Another quick glance over the ledge to make sure the gryphons were in striking distance, and Dash leapt out. Sure, she could have made her around and down, maybe used the small ledges all along the ridge, but where was the fun in that? The wind rushed through her mane, the ground rushed up to meet her, and lucky for Dash, there was a gryphon to soften the landing. Slamming down, a sharp crack echoed through the plains as its spine broke. Dash immediately rolled with the momentum, flicked her wing, and hamstringed the one beside her. Not losing any speed as she stood back up, her hoof snapped out, hitting the last gryphon in the windpipe. As he stumbled back gasping for breath, Dash spun around, letting her wingblade slit his throat as she bucked the disabled one, crushing his ribs under her gauntlets. An arrow suddenly flew past her head, narrowing missing her. Immediately back onto all four, Dash dived for cover behind the charred remains of the caravan before glancing up at the direction of the shot. That fucking unicorn had a dirt pony crossbow in her hooves , no doubt hoping to kill her with that shot. A second bolt was loosed, aimed so far off target that Dash was tempted to dance a jig just to mock her. And then she heard the sound of a body hitting the snow. Slowly turning around, Dash’s eyes widened as a third gryphon was brought down with an arrow through its forehead. Three dead gryphons, three perfect shots. Another two lay dead on the ground, their faces charred black and numerous claws marks all over their body. "Oh..." said Dash before shaking her head and turning to look at Twilight, "What the fuck are you doing here? I thought you said it was a waste of time!" "Saving your flanks obviously," replied Twilight as she made her way down the cliff. "Or rather, saving Spike’s as usual." "I was perfectly fine," said Spike. "Sure you were," said the unicorn. "Now can we please get a move on?" "No can do, we need to honor the dead." If it wasn't such a serious subject, Dash would have smirked at how Twilight's right eye twitched. "I can cremate them," said Spike. "Cremate?" "Burn them." "Ah, do it." A sad smile touched Dash's lips as she closed the eyes of a dead mare. "They should at least be warm in death." "Alright." Spike began blowing out a thin stream of fire, easily igniting the caravan. It was slow work, dragging the bodies, finding all the limbs, tossing them into the fire. No one spoke, except Fluttershy who hovered just off the ground, her tender voice carrying on the wind as she spoke the final rites of peace and safety and warmth and love in Elysium. That they had died honorably, facing their end with all the dignity of a pegasus and how their ancestors would carry them to their final resting place. It wasn't the first time Dash had heard it and it wouldn't be the last. As long as this war continued, there would always be death. That was simply a fact of life. As long as unicorns and earth ponies were around, there'd be fighting , it was just in their nature and... Dash sighed and shook her head as the last of the flames died down. "We should get moving, the smoke will attract attention," said Dash. "Finally, some common sense. Spike, please scout out the most efficient path for us," said Twilight and the dragon leapt to obey. "Come on Fluttershy, we should get going." For a brief second, it felt as though she was going to stay, but then Fluttershy turned away from the funeral pyre and began walking. "I'm so tired of this. Of ponies dying all the time. Isn’t there something we can do to help? To stop this?" she whispered. "Of course there is." But even to her ears it sounded weak. "There has to be..." Applejack lay on her back, breathing slowly as her ears strained to hear even the slightest of sounds. One hoof was behind her head and the other was raised to the ceiling, slowly tracing her name in the air. It wasn't the prettiest hoofwriting she had ever seen, but writing wasn't meant to be fancy, it was meant to be practical. All those fancy loops and twirls just made everything a headache, it was so much better to go for something straightforward and simple. Leave it to unicorns to over-complicate everything. Her hoof froze in mid-air as she tried to remember how the letter ‘k’ went. It was such an awkward letter to write with weird loops and straight bits and... Wait, was that the capital ‘B’ she was thinking of? A sigh of frustration escaped as she rolled over and grabbed that book the horned freak had given her. All it took was a quick flick through the pages and Applejack went back to tracing her name in the air. It was a slow, painful process, but Applejack was positive she could write her name well enough now that it could be read. Though why she would ever want some pony to know her name was beyond her. A quick double check to make sure that she had indeed spelt her name right, and Applejack rolled out of bed and stretched her legs. It still surprised her how simple the unicorn’s room was. There were no pins, no torture devices, not even a scrap of fabric. Instead it had a bed, a desk, and was barely large enough to fit both of them in it. Of course, the horned freak wasn’t in right now, and Applejack couldn’t help but smile as she imagined Rarity’s reaction at seeing what a mess she had made of the bed. Gently nudging open the door, she poked her head out, ears twitching for the slightest sound. When nothing could be heard, she began creeping forward, making sure to place her hooves with the softest possible touch as she walked along the dark corridor. Sure, Rarity could return at any moment, but it had already been three days since she left and no word had been received apart from her being ‘busy.’ As far as Applejack was concerned, she had waited long enough. The sound of coughing made her freeze mid-step, her eyes darting to the nearby door as her muscles tensed. When no other sounds could be heard, she let out a ragged breath and began her cautious descent down the stairs. All was silent apart from her thumping heartbeat that echoed through her mind. Each step was placed with expert precision and care, and though it took forever to reach the workspace, she eventually got there. Taking a deep breath, she immediately pushed open the door, ears straining to hear for the slightest hint of movement as it creaked open. When no hoofsteps came, she let out the breath she had been holding and slipped into the room. Grabbing the saddlepack that rested against the wall, she made her way towards the various outfits that hung up on the wall. Having spent hours listening to that insane pony rant on about fabrics and being forced to wear the obscene things, Applejack knew exactly which one she wanted. The white and blue outfit was pulled off the wall and slipped on within seconds, despite the annoying zipper in the back that almost broke her neck when she tried to grab it with her teeth. Bloody unicorns and their stupid magic. Once the clothes were finally on, she scrambled out and began her slow journey to the kitchen. A whisper filled the air and Applejack froze. A couple seconds later, hoofbeats followed and she quickly dived behind the living room table. Looking out from behind the chair legs, she saw Sweetie Belle walkout of her room, past the stairs, past Applejack, and into the bathroom. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes to hours and the whole time, Applejack felt her heart beating away faster than a slave with a whip at her heels. Then the door creaked open, Sweetie stumbled out, and with her eyes half closed, went back to the room she shared with Pearl. It took another minute before Applejack’s hooves stopped shaking enough for her to actually stand up, and it took another minute before she started walking once more. It took far longer than necessary, but in the end, she reached the kitchen and slipped in, silently shutting the door behind her. Within seconds the place was ransacked, and her bag filled with food. Making sure to grab a couple of the kitchen knives on the way out, Applejack made straight for the bedroom. Now was not the time for subtlety, she was going to escape and she was going to escape now. Stopping at the door, Applejack took a deep breath before pushing it open and slipping inside. There on the bed lay Sweetie, curled up in her mother's protective embrace. It was so easy, all she had to do was step past that door frame, but something stopped her. As much as she wanted to, it was just so hard. Something tugged at her heart, telling her it was the wrong thing to do. But it was her freedom, it was her chance to finally escape this Tartarian pit and actually do something because she wanted to do it, not because someone told her to. Surely there was nothing wrong with that. She glanced back at the two ponies and for a brief second, it wasn't two unicorns, but two earth ponies. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head before opening them once more and letting out a shaky breath. The first step was the hardest thing Applejack had ever done. There was just so much that weighed her down, held her back, so many memories from a time and place that no longer belonged in reality. That one step, that first step, was all she needed to finally break free and leave everything behind. The first step to freedom. The sound of that first step echoed through her skull, shattering whatever it was that held her back before. Now she walked with a purpose, without hesitation. She no longer bothered to be stealthy, for her mind was made up, and fear no longer plagued her. Stopping by the edge of the bed, Applejack reached into the backpack and drew out the knife she had taken from the kitchen. In the dim light of the pyreflies, Sweetie's coat almost looked yellow, but Applejack no longer cared. With the blade gripped tight in her mouth, she reached out, gently brushing Pearl's hoof so she no longer held the filly in her gasp. Then, with a tender hoof, Applejack brushed Sweetie's mane back as she bit down on the knife, trying to get a good grip on it. With a far steadier grip than she should have had, Applejack plucked the sleeping filly out from her mother's grasp and held her close to chest before dipping the knife down so it bit into Sweetie's neck. A shudder ran through her frail body and the filly immediately snuggled closer to Applejack in an attempt to get warm no doubt. It was such a simple matter now. Keep the knife there, wake up Pearl, get them to teleport her out. From there she had enough food and thick enough clothing to survive for days—if not weeks—before she’d need to stock up again. And it's not like Pearl would do anything when Applejack had a knife to Sweetie's throat so it was a win-win scenario. Right? Right. Steeling her resolve, Applejack made to reach out with a hoof, only to stop when she saw a pair of blue eyes staring up at her. "Please... not my daughter, please..." begged Pearl. "Please don't take her! Please! I'll do anything just... just not my daughter..." Applejack shook the voice from her head and bit down harder on the knife. Her or them, freedom or slavery. They were the ones who started this little war, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to fight back. This was her last chance at escape, and she was not going to let it slip through her hooves. Maybe if Pearl hadn't woken up there would have still been a chance to go back, but now? Now it was all in, if she didn't carry through, she'd be dead by morning. "My baby. My darling Applejack, don't worry, mommy's here. I'll protect you from anything." No! Things were different, this was different. Tha-That monster on the bed was nothing like her mother! Why now? Why these memories? She just wanted to be left alone, to forget about all that and just survive. Was that too much to ask for? All of that was in the past now, it should be buried and forgotten. What was the point of the past if it got you killed! What was the difference between that and being a slave? Of leaving everything behind, with nothing left to define who she was except some animalistic sense of survival. How was that better than being some mindless slave, willing to do whatever her master said, even if that meant spreading her legs and begging to be rutted? If escaping meant throwing everything away, leaving everything behind and turning her back on all her memories, was it really worth it? She had nothing in this world, no family, no possessions, no... nothing. All she had were her memories, and as hazy as they were, they were all that separated her from a dumb beast. From all those other slaves who had given up. A life like that was not one worth living. "I love you honey, I'll never leave you. I promise." Could she do this? Threaten another mother's child when her own mother fought so hard to keep her safe. To help her remember who she was and what she could be. What it meant to be an earth pony and to care for others. Her mother taught her so much and yet here she was, about to go against all of it. In the end, was it really worth it? "Please... Not my foal, take me instead..." Was that a memory, or Pearl actually speaking? It was so hard to tell with the way everything blended together. Freedom was so close, it was within her hooves, but to do this to another mother, to put her through that pain. A part of Applejack wanted to claim it was poetic justice, to make them feel what her mother must have felt all those years ago. But that was a lie and even she knew that. This family hadn't done anything to her, this family hadn't beaten her or whipped her or... or... Applejack squeezed her eyes shut as pictures danced across her mind, where the words of her mother came to her in the form of the same letters she had been learning. It wasn't until the sound of metal hitting stone reached her ears that Applejack realized she had dropped the knife. With barely muffled sobs, Pearl snatched Sweetie back, cradling the little filly close as she was smothered in kisses. Turning away, Applejack simply walked out the room, a sense of dread looming over her. At least she didn't sink to their level. It was a small victory, a minor one in the grand scheme of things, and maybe, just maybe, it cost her the freedom she dreamed off. Was it worth it though? Applejack glanced back at the sleepy filly wondering why her mother was crying. Maybe... Maybe.