Chapter 36 - A Rebel's Next Step
Complete darkness.
This wouldn't be the first time Twilight had fallen into this realm, nor would it be her last. Formless and omnipresent, the Everlasting Darkness appeared before her to comfort the unicorn. However, the being's incomprehensible embrace contained no warmth, and its touch felt utterly numb.
"I'm not dead, am I?" Twilight asked. "But if I were to die, would I still end up here?"
"I am not certain," replied the Everlasting Darkness in its usual thundering whisper.
"Then why do I keep appearing in this realm?"
"I am not certain either. You are but an ordinary pony, and yet I find myself drawn to you. Eons come and go each time I have a visitor, and I try to take advantage of their company. Yet your encounters are becoming frequent, and the situation in you world becomes graver."
"You mentioned somepony being your beloved? Who is she?"
"I do not know. Her form constantly shifts at various points of space-time. She lives according to what you beings call the 'Uncertainty Principle'. "
"I believe I read about it. So that means that you know how fast your Beloved moves, but you are unable to pinpoint her location."
"That is correct, and She will appear when she has fully awakened."
"And that's when we gather all six Elements of Creation."
"I am not sure that is the main prerequisite, but you seem certain it is."
"I'm not sure either. Everlasting Darkness, who are you? What are you?"
"These answers can wait, Twilight Sparkle. Time marches on in your world, and the Third is nearby."
Her current environment swayed back and forth like a boat, but she heard no water. At least, that's what Twilight thought it felt like. She never rode on a seafaring vessel, and during her youth she and Trixie tried to simulate ocean voyages with a cardboard box floating in a cave pool. That resulted in more Titanic shipwrecks than actual voyages. Plus the pool was too small.
The floor was cold. Her plot rested between two metal bars. A haggard Sunny snuggled right up next to her, while Fluttershy snuggled at her other side.
The ponies were inside a cage suspended from the ceiling by a network of thick chains that also held many other cages. How high, Twilight could not determine, and it was too dark to make an accurate measurement. Yet even from the little light in this chamber, the drop down appeared quite far. Her cage was neither too small nor too big for her and her friends, and there was enough room for a quick jog so as to prevent any detrimental muscle atrophy. Beyond the bars at one side of the cage, many golden sparkles twinkled dimly in the inky darkness.
Far at the opposite corner, Pinkie sat her haunches making grinding noises and a stream of sparks from her hooves. She seemed on high alert, because after about fifteen minutes of grinding, her ears stood erect and pivoted left and right before she stopped turn her head from direction to the next. When she felt it was clear, she resumed grinding, and then the pattern repeated itself.
"Pinkie Pie," Twilight whispered after she crawled back up to her hooves. "What's going on?"
Pinkie Pie nearly screeched, but she covered her mouth with her hooves that donned her Pinkie Gear. Checking to make sure the coast was clear once more, she deactivated her Element, which then resumed its shape of a golden necklace with a blue balloon-shaped jewel in the middle.
"Twilight, you're awake!" Pinkie cried. "I'd give you a 'Surviving a Deadly Fall' party, but we're in a real pickle now."
"We can do that later," said Twilight. "How is everypony doing?"
"Fluttershy pulled all 1000 Crimson Needles out of Sunny's body. It's good that you weren't awake when that happened because it was very painful to watch. I still get goose bumps every time I remember it."
"Sorry. Hey, where is Spike?"
"I dunno. I woke up here just like you did."
"If we survived the fall, then he must be alive somewhere. Pinkie, we've got to get out of here and find him."
Suddenly, they heard the rumble of spinning gears and the echo of massive and rusty hinges. Far off to the side, two large doors swung open, and making an entrance was a short, bipedal figure with a dark purple cloak holding a lit torch in his hand. There was no mistaking the green spikes from his head to his tail. Twilight and Pinkie Pie joyously yelled out for his name, and their cage started rocking back and forth.
Yet he kept walking, perhaps unaware of his friends' predicament high up from the ceiling. Eventually, their cries were acknowledged, he looked up to gaze back at them with cold reptilian eyes.
"Will you two be quiet?" he barked out. "You're being noisy."
"What are you saying?" Twilight asked.
"Does this look like we're joking?" Pinkie cried.
"It's best that you ponies do as I say," said Spike. "Or else."
"Or else what?" Twilight retorted.
The ponies then heard a low growl powerful enough to rattle the cages, causing Sunny and Fluttershy to wake up in surprise. Spike did not seem to notice the large yellow glowing eyes opening right behind him, nor did the snorting twin gusts of black smoke surprise him.
"It seems our meal have become rowdy, Spike," uttered a voice.
"My apologies, sir," said Spike as he faced the owner of the giant yellow eyes. "I tried to warn them."
"'Twas not your fault. These mammalian vermin have always been noisy bunch ever since they split off from our common ancestor. Perhaps it is high time that I introduce myself to our edible guests and inform them of their place. Turn on the lights, my boy."
"Yes sir."
Spike blew his fiery green breath into the torch, which then sent out a several fireballs in all directions. One by one, wall torches lit up a seemingly endless grid on each side of the wall to illuminate a gargantuan cavern and a giant nest of gold, jewels, and many other rare treasures.
An adult green dragon with ghastly scars where his majestic wings should be rose up from his nest and yawned out a foul breath that made the ponies' eyes water. His thick neck snaked his wedged-shaped head up towards Twilight and her friends, and his eyes narrowed into a slit.
"Welcome to Tartarus, my little ponies."
Utter silence.
Applejack could easily shake off bruises and scrapes, but she did not want to move. The large abyss in the middle of the forest stared back her. The abyss beckoned her to leap in to join Twilight and her friends, but what good would that do? They could be dead, and even if they managed to survive, anypony would be too injured to do anything after the long drop.
What angered her wasn't the blue unicorn who attacked them. Applejack had lied. She hated lying, especially to her friends. She thought she could save Twilight with her sure grip, but she failed. All that was left was the orange neck scarf that formerly covered her wound.
Off to the side, Trixie stood looking down the giant hole silently, and eventually a cold smile drew across her face. Her dark cloak became blood red and wrapped itself around her body before it twisted upon itself to vanish in the most unnerving way. Applejack caught a glimpse of the unicorn's glowing red eyes staring back at her before she disappeared into nothingness.
Meanwhile, Gizmo managed to slip from underneath the fallen Draftmech. He brushed his mouthless snout with his mechanical claw before stomping it to the ground in anger. From there, he limped away and disappeared amongst the charred trees.
The Border Collie walked up to the orange pony to give her a sympathetic lick on the cheek. It was not like the affection Sunny displayed to Twilight, and fortunately it was not like Pinkie's gross slobber. That lick gave Applejack enough strength and motivation to rise back up. Her Sword of Truth reverted itself back to its golden necklace form, and after a quick touch, she felt it warm.
She's alive. It was not yet time for tears, and the pony felt a surge of hope flowing within her. Applejack then petted the Border Collie for her loyalty, and as a gesture of kindness she used the orange apple-patterned neck scarf to wrap around the dog's neck to cover up her red collar that Pinkie gave as a gift.
Applejack then did a quick survey around the edge of the giant hole with the Border Collie walking beside her. It would do her no good to leap straight in without a plan and without taking care of herself first. Wherever they were, Applejack had to figure out another way to get to the bottom.
Fearing any possible presence of Robopony stragglers, Applejack and the Border Collie trotted back into forest and well away from the battle site. A lone owl hooted twice before landing on a nearby flat rock upon which he presented a gift of a dozen edible berries for the earth pony.
"Owlowiscious," said Applejack. "You're worried about her too, huh? Don't worry. She's alive. My Element hasn't gone inert yet."
She planted herself in a small clearing to dress her wounds, and all the while Owlowiscious and the Border Collie scoured the forest for food and supplies to help Applejack recover. Eventually, they gathered a pair of used saddlebags, flint, one iron pot, and some empty canisters. Applejack populated one of the saddlebags with some nuts, hay, herbs and berries she found around the area before fatigue set in. She then started a small fire to help her aid her short nap, but that nap became shorter when the Border Collie started growling.
"Keep an eye on things here," Applejack told Owlowiscious before she turned to face the dog. "Um, Winona, is it? Mosey on ahead to check it out. I'll be right behind you."
The Border Collie now known as Winona nodded, and she immediately scoured ahead while Applejack followed. The orange mare did not summon her Sword of Truth just yet, and whoever was out there felt like a living creature than a straggling Robopony. Applejack did not go too far when she heard the clanging of rocks, wood, pots, and pans behind her. She turned her slight back at the campsite, and at her peripheral vision she saw a shadow darting in and darting away.
Applejack felt her tail twitching, but it wasn't Pinkie's Pinkie Sense rubbing off her. She took a deep breath and focused what was called the mind’s eye. The pulse of the earth flowed straight up through her hooves, and upon sensing the disturbance in that pulse, Applejack ducked right as a grayish mare lunged for a strike with her machete's handle clasped between her teeth.
The machete mare did not get far, and Applejack dealt a strike to her jaw that made her drop her weapon. The orange mare barely realized when she tackled her that she had a limp in her right rear leg. Even when pinned down, wounded and groaning, Ingrid's face remained stoically defiant, and it only served to infuriate Applejack to the point where her gnashed teeth caused her gums to bleed.
"I'm in a real bad mood right now, so I'm going to ask you nicely before I get serious," said Applejack. "Where's the key to remove that black ring of my friend?"
Instead of answering, Ingrid spat off to the side.
"I'll ask again," cried Applejack. "Where is the key?"
"LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!"
Bella fired two shots from her sniper rifle: her last two. She flung her rifle like frisbee towards Applejack, who had no choice but to jump off Ingrid. The light-maned mare was not finished, for she charged in towards the orange pony with a bowie knife grasped between her teeth. She made two swipes at Applejack before establishing a considerable distance between the rebel and the bounty hunters.
Bella's aggressive aura made Applejack cautious. She had always pegged the younger sister as the less serious, if not ditzy half of the Unicorn Hunters duo. She was not a pony that bounties and rivals took seriously, but Applejack had heard one or two stories of her hidden ferocity. On this night, she had finally bore witness to it. Even though a wounded Ingrid kept her composure, Bella growled like a how a wolf mother would defend her cubs. In this case, Bella was fiercely loyal to her sister, her one and only family.
This situation was just like the many times Applejack had been relentlessly bullied, chased, and at one point nearly killed by the ignorant and brainwashed ponies of the Ponyville Slums. Such incidents at times made her fearful of leaving the relative safety Sweet Apple Acres, but what gave her strength was her older brother Big McIntosh. He protected his little sister from the bullies and the mobs, and took all the blows in her place. He never fought back, because even he knew that if he did, it would justify their oppressors' hatred for the Apple Clan.
Bella and Ingrid weren't looking to pick a fight, for Applejack noticed that the younger sister had on her back one of the saddlebags Winona retrieved from the forest. The orange pony sighed, and she motioned to Winona to stop growling at the interlopers. The pony and the Border Collie turned around and headed back to their makeshift camp, even though for the pony it was a very bad idea. The Unicorn Hunters could have stabbed them in the back, and yet they did not.
For the rest of the night, Applejack remained aware of the nearby presence of the bounty hunters. They did not even try to mask their presence, and she even heard their voices in the distant darkness.
"Ow!"
"Do you need any help?" Bella asked.
"I'm fine," said Ingrid. "I have a sprain, not a fracture."
"Sis, why do you have to be so stubborn? You’re just like dad and—“
“I told you to never mention her again. That darned rebel could be listening.”
The orange pony almost couldn't sleep with all that chatter that faded off well into the night. Eventually, Applejack woke up early in the morning. The fire was put out, and a tiny breakfast of berries supplied Owlowiscious gave her enough energy to plan a rescue for Twilight and friends. Unfortunately, Applejack was very bad at planning. Usually her terrorist activities involved bombing various government institutions, all without killing anypony who was not a Clone. She had no overarching plan, and she had picked her targets based on her mood of the day or where she was traveling to.
"Dang the earth," she cursed as she kicked the ground. "Give me a sign!"
A nearby creek ran alongside her during her pacing, and on that creek a log floated before her eyes. Once it passed her, a familiar green reptile splashed out of the water to clamber onto it. It was Gummy, and immediately Applejack quickly used a makeshift lasso and brought the log and the alligator onto solid ground. Of course, she did make sure that it was the right alligator, and she risked inspecting the reptile's mouth using her hooves.
No teeth. It was Gummy.
"You're a sight for sore eyes," she said as she grabbed hold of the baby alligator. "Where have you been?"
The toothless baby alligator gagged and then regurgitated a mess on Applejack's face. Though irritated, the orange pony gently set Gummy next to Winona and Owlowiscious to wipe herself down. Then stuck to her hoof was a scrunched up white handkerchief with a note written in blood.
T, S, & F ARE SAFE
BUT WE'RE TRAPPED IN A CAGE
UNDERGROUND IN A SCARY PLACE
AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY CAKE
- Pinkie Pie
P.S. - BRING CAKE!
There would be no way the situation would be this dire for the note to be written in blood, but after catching an orange tinge and whiffing the handkerchief’s smell, the note turned out to be written in ketchup. "Still jokin' around despite the danger you're in,” Applejack smirked. At least this validated her hope of her friends’ safety, but whoever captured them was in for a beating.
This was no time to doubt herself. Applejack surveyed her new crew: Owlowiscious the owl, Winona the Border Collie, and Gummy the toothless baby alligator. Out of all the animals, they were the ones stayed faithful and she could not have asked for anymore or anyone better for this upcoming operation. Gummy certainly knew the direction, but Applejack mused over whether or not she needed one extra critter. It had to be a certain critter with an explosive personality with keen experience in guerilla tactics.
"Tonight we dine on rabbit soup!" Bella's voice echoed.
Rabbit soup? Applejack had a hunch, but she half-dreaded what she was about to do. She motioned her three animal companions to follow behind her as she cautiously followed her ears to the commotion not too far from her campsite. Already she could potshots of a derringer pistol, the snapping of tree branches, and the crashing of pots and pans. A white blur bounced back and forth in the distance, and angrily Bella pounced onto the ground. Applejack was now close enough to find the younger bounty hunter dangling Angel Bunny by the ears over a boiling pot. Even when captured, the White Devil Rabbit defiantly kicked and threw his fists in the air towards his captor.
Applejack really did not want to solicit his help, but he would do anything if it involved Fluttershy.
"Leave us in the middle of the forest to die, will you?" Bella said to Devil Rabbit.
"Not that I really care for the critter, but you gals should put him down," said Applejack. "And I expected better from you two. Y'all ain't carnivores."
"You eventually develop a taste for it, especially when you work with Diamond Dogs," said Ingrid who rested her back against a boulder slab.
"Sister, you had your stomach pumped after you ate those sausages about a year ago," said Bella.
Uncomfortable silence. Ingrid blushed and then glared at her younger sister to wipe the smile off her face before turning to face Applejack.
"Though, I am curious as to why you want us to release this Devil Rabbit when he and his bunnies caused so much trouble for all of us," said Ingrid.
"And what do we get out of it?" asked Bella.
Applejack let out a sigh. "I really hate to do this, but I need that fella's help. My friends are captured by earth knows who, and they're trapped underground."
"She might be lying, sister."
"No matter how bad their reputation is, an Apple never lies," said Ingrid as she carefully rose back to her hooves. "Sister, tie that rabbit up and huddle with me for a bit."
Leaving Angel Bunny tied up and dangling from a low-hanging tree branch, the Unicorn Hunters went off to the side to whisper amongst themselves. They broke the huddle, and Ingrid hobbled over towards Applejack while Bella grabbed a hold of the Devil Rabbit once more.
"If you want the rabbit, then the rabbit comes with us," said Ingrid.
"What the hay are you plannin', Ingrid?" said Applejack.
"One of your friends have another Element of Creation on them. I'm pretty sure that the Element's power is dependent on them being alive, and if your friends' captors caught wind of this... Well, you know what I mean."
"And you're sayin' that you two wanna help me."
"It is within our mutual interest, silly Rebel Applejack. We help you save your friends, and we get the two Elements of Creation you have right now."
"At least we're being honest here, AJ," said Bella.
"So what's it going to be? Your friends or the Elements of Creation?"
Unarmed and injured, the Unicorn Hunters still posed a threat, and even if Applejack should reject their offer, they would still follow her and attempt to take the Elements of Creation by force. She didn't have much in choices, and it wasn't as if she desperately needed their help. Allowing Ingrid and Bella to tag along would allow Applejack to keep a close eye on them.
"All right," said Applejack. "You can help me, but I get to keep my Element until we rescue my friends."
"You do promise, don't you?" grinned Ingrid. "Not just any promise will do, Rebel Applejack. You have to swear to us under the Rock Family Promise. Otherwise, we won't accompany you, and this rabbit is as good as stew."
"Fine, I'll agree to your Rock Family Promise."
"But you still have to perform the ritual. Sister, show her how it's done."
"Watch me," said Bella, "and repeat: cross my heart, hope to cry, stick a gypsum in my eye."