//------------------------------// // Chapter 09: Hearts of Iron (pt.3) // Story: Falling Stars // by Ar0k //------------------------------// The strumming of a guitar opened Trot's eyes, greeting him with the familiar dark nothingness he experienced while he was buried alive. He looked around, taking in the darkness, re-acquainting himself with this familiar sensation. He checked to see if he could draw breath. There was nothing to breathe, but his lungs didn't need it. "Oh great..." Trot whispered to himself quietly. "Not needing air? Check. Creepy guitar music? Check. Now all that's missing is..." "Me..." replied the familiar old disembodied voice. It chuckled and Trot felt a cold shiver run down his spine. "Who are you?" Trot asked, trying to sound brave and wasting no time trying to sort out this mystery. "Ah assure you, Ah'm a friend." The voice responded, pausing in his strumming to tune the guitar again, before resuming to play a more upbeat tune. Trot tried to pinpoint the source of the guitar playing through the darkness, but soon found out that the music was everywhere at once. He tried several more times but finally understood that it was useless. He had the strangest feeling that more than this mysterious voice was observing him. "Why don't you trust 'em?" The voice asked in what Trot assumed to be sincerity. "They don't trust me." He responded quickly. The playing stopped and the voice responded in a way that almost sounded like scolding. "That's bull son and you know it. Is this because that cowgirl was givin' you a hard time? Get over yerself." Trot felt offended, but deep down he knew it to be true. Fumbling with his words for a moment, he finally came up with a reasonable enough response. "Even if she didn't act that way towards me, I still have my suspicions. I'm not sure if I even trust you to be quite honest." The voice chuckled again. "Ah don't blame ya kid. If disembodied voices were speakin' to me in mah sleep, Ah'd be suspicious too." Trot tried to suppress a grin and failed. He didn't know who this voice belonged too, or how he was communicating to him in his sleep. Maybe he was just plain losing his mind. Something other than the playing of the guitar sounded off in the distance. The sound was low at first but then it grew until it was finally audible. Grinding. Moaning. Tearing. The sound made Trot's stomach curl and his heart almost drop out from under him. "Looks like Ah'm running outta time." The voice said quickly. The strumming of the guitar increased at a quick pace, as if the music fended off whatever was coming through the darkness. Trot didn't know where to go, the horrific noises seemed to be coming from everywhere. "Please don't let them get me! Get me out of here! Wake me up!" Trot yelled into the darkness. "Ah'm trying mah best son... listen carefully. Two thing's ah need to tell you before ya go." "Just tell me quick! Get me out of here!" Trot was trembling now. The noise was drowning out the sound of the guitar. It was so horrifying, so loud and clear that it almost felt like he could feel the monstrous noise wrapping around his body. Trot curled himself into a ball; he knew there was no point in resisting. "This is the first thing Ah'm going to tell you. Ya can’t linger in that spot for much longer, when ya wake up, run for the mountains and don’t stop. The second is about the mare's your travelin' with.." "Tell me!" Trot finally yelled as the blood-curdling noises closed in around him. It was almost impossible to hear what the voice was trying to tell him. But despite all the tearing and moaning, Trot was able to hear the voice's final words, which almost came like a whisper. Then finally, almost as if those last words were the queue for the darkness to act, the impenetrable blackness took him. ----- "Last night was fruitless." Groaned a disgruntled Luna as she rolled off of her cot and strolled out of her tent, into the faint morning light. Twilight, who had woken up hours ago and was already busying herself with reading a book comfortably on her own cot, heard the princess and followed her out to cheer her up. "Don't say that princess. I'm sure Trot will come around eventually..." Luna sighed. "I certainly hope so. I'd rather not walk into a mysterious land and be blind as to what we'll experience." Luna noticed Gene coming back from his patrol of the perimeter and gave a quick good morning before proceeding with her question. "Did you find anything useful in what the old mare’s tales had to say about The Land of Twisted Metal? Trot said they did a better job of explaining it than he ever could..." Twilight retrieved the book from hers and Luna's tent with her magic. "I did princess... but there is just so much lore to sift through." Twilight began flipping the pages, trying to find one particular piece of lore that stood out." They can't all be true, much of the information contradict each other. But one in particular I thought was rather strange." Luna raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what is the tale called." Twilight scratched her head. "Well in this story, The Land of Twisted Metal goes by a different name." Twilight held the book up so that the princess could read for herself. "The Graveyard of Worlds?" Luna read, eyebrow still raised, before a light went off in her head. "Oh! I remember this one. Isn't this the story about the battle of good and evil? And how if a world succumbs to evil, it dies and ends up in the graveyard?" Twilight nodded and continued to speak. "The Graveyard of Worlds is said to traverse different universes to test the souls of the inhabitants. But the twist is, the Graveyard doesn't leave UNTIL the world succumbs to evil." Luna read the last few lines of the story and shuddered. "Everything decays. That which was once alive, dies. That which was once light, darkens. That which was once straight, becomes twisted. All will suffer... All will die... All hail the graveyard of worlds." Luna felt a bad taste in her mouth after she recited that phrase. "It certainly did a good job in scaring little foals into being good." Twilight chuckled for a bit, remembering when she first heard of this tale. It was even funnier when she remembered that Princess Celestia was the one who told it to her as a filly. Twilight's horn started glowing as she took another book from her saddlebags. "Here is another piece of lore I found interesting. It has a similar theme, except it portrays good and evil in the form of the mythological creatures such as angels and demons. This particular passage was quite interesting." Twilight cleared her throat and read it aloud, but not too loud as some ponies were still sleeping. "The battles raged, both in the heavens and on the earth, and when the demons claimed the earth for their own, the angels charged from the heavens in balls of fire..." "Falling Stars." Luna said, and twilight responded with a nod before continuing. "There really is a lot more to it than that... but it does mention that when the angels and demons were done fighting, all that was left of the earth, was a land of burning embers and twisted metal" Luna was oddly silent, but Twilight didn't notice; she was in too much of a good mood from being able to share her knowledge to the princess. She closed the book and tossed it back into the tent with her magic. "It's farfetched I know, but it's all we have to work with. Maybe if we all apologize to Trot... Princess?" Luna was staring off into space, deep in thought. Twilight waved a hoof in front of the Princess's face and Luna's eyes finally focused. "Twilight. It may not be so far fetched after all." said Luna circling the remains of last night's fire, thinking. "Last night I neglected to mention what I discovered a few nights ago. I know every star in my domain by heart, but when I counted them earlier, I noticed that not one of them was missing." It was Twilight's turn to raise an eyebrow, sitting down on a nearby grain sack to hear the Princess' explanation. It could be possible that some of these Old Mare's Tales could be true, the legend of Nightmare Moon certainly was. "When I first saw what fell from the sky, I was certain that it was a star. It gave off so much energy that there was no other way it could be anything else…but now… “ There was a loud crash behind them and Twilight and Luna spun around to find a stack of pots and boxes toppled over and Applejack flailing underneath her tent cover. "Dagnabbit! A little help here ya'all!" Applejack called out as she struggled to break free from the clutter. Luna and Twilight immediately rushed over to help their friend. The noise, though loud, did not wake up anypony else. Luna and Twilight freed Applejack from the tangled mess with their magic. When Applejack finally stepped back from the boxes and tent fabric, Twilight and Luna both froze and stared at her in awe. Applejack was wearing something similar to what Trot was wearing the night before, except it was slender and the armor covered her neck and chest almost completely. Only her muzzle and her mane were exposed. Her hooves were almost entirely covered by greaves, and the colors were a dull, neutral grey; except for a small hint of purple, which turned out, to be Rarities armband tied around her mane. Applejack cleared her throat to get their attention. "Well how do I look?" Twilight and Luna looked at each other before Twilight answered her. Twilight was the first to speak. "Uh...you look. Intimidating." "It also looks heavy." Luna added. Applejack shrugged a little, and retrieved her Stetson hat from the tangled campfire sheets. "Not really. Ah mean it's awkward an all, as proof of me trippin' over my own feet just a minute ago, but ah' figured it would make it a lot easier for Trot to accept mah' apology." Applejack said tilting her head away as if she wanted nothing to do with apologizing. But if she truly felt that way, then why put on the armor Trot gave her? Thinking about it just made her head hurt and she'd much rather get it over with. It was for the sake of their team after all. Luna suppressed a giggle, not wanting to sound insulting towards Applejack. But she did want to encourage them to make amends and get along. She gestured with her head towards Trot's tent. "Well maybe you could do something nice for him?" asked Luna. "Why not wake him up and give him an apple?" Applejack looked aghast. "Breakfast in bed!? Ain't that goin' a bit too far princess?" Applejack pleaded, hoping the princess wasn't about to order her to do just that. Luna looked Applejack straight in the eyes wanting to make sure Applejack understood what she was about to say. "Wasn't it too far when you told him you didn't like or trust him to his face? And in front of all of us?" Luna exclaimed. "Well that was because...well..." Applejack struggled with herself for a moment. Luna read her emotions well. Applejack thought she had killed Trot, and felt terribly guilty for it, and then Rarity insinuates that she had feelings for him, and that somehow Applejack was afraid of him. Both possibilities, humiliated Applejack in a way she probably wasn't very accustomed to. She was in a deep battle with herself, and the struggle was tearing her apart. "Fine then." Applejack turned around and took an apple from one of the unloaded food boxes and carried it in her teeth as she grumbled. She held it in her hoof to declare one last thing to the princess before she entered into Trot's tent. "But consider this the last time Ah give im'...or ANY stallion for that matter, breakfast in bed." Luna held her laughter until after Applejack went inside. But then she realized something, where did Twilight go? ---- Trot struggled in the dark as he exited the dream, he was falling back into consciousness, but the darkness kept trying to catch him and bring him back. He felt something heavy grip his shoulders, and he struggled against it. He tried hard to open his eyes, but the darkness was holding them shut. The grip on his shoulders tightened and he was being shaken. Finally, Trot's eye's snapped open, standing over him was a green eyed monster, it's skin felt cold to Trot's skin and its yellow mane only complimented how terrifying it looked. "AAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!" Trot yelled in terror. He twisted and bucked with all his might and the monster was knocked out of the tent. Not wasting any time he grabbed a nearby pocket shovel with his mouth and charged out from the tent. He swung up and down but stopped just in time to see Applejack's eye's looking up at him in surprise and horror. Trot dropped the shovel and looked down at her confused. "TROT!" Both Applejack and Trot turned to see Twilight Sparkle, her own armor half on, followed by a shocked Luna, two combat ready Royal Guards and the rest of their friends wearing a shock expression on their faces. Applejack got up quickly, an amazing feat considering how heavy the armor she was wearing, was She shoved the apple into Trot's mouth with a hoof. "Ere! Breakfast!" She yelled before running off. The Trail Blazer just stood there confused. "TROT HOW COULD YOU!?" Twilight yelled. Princess Luna chimed in; Her eyes glowed a dangerous blue. "She went so far as to serve you breakfast in bed as an apology and you respond by attacking her!?" Trot looked at each of their faces, knowing full well that his next few words would decide whether or not he would live to see breakfast. He spat out the apple and let it fall to his hoof. "Breakfast?" He looked at the apple, and his eyes grew wide. He suddenly remembered those green eyes from when he woke up. If that was the case than that meant he... A blue blur stopped him from finishing his thought. Rainbow Dash plowed him into the ground so hard that it created a sizable dust cloud and a small crater. The cyan Pegasus had Trot’s chin in her hooves. She stared him down. “Nopony hurt’s my friends!” She yelled before a bright blue aura lifted her into the sky. “Take it easy Rainbow.” Trixie declared, tossing her nightcap aside to show her horn. “Let me go ya showmare! Let me go!” Trixie huffed and struggled to hold Rainbow Dash still in the air. Fluttershy took to the air to try and calm her friend down, but Rainbow Dash wouldn't hear any of it. Everypony was looking down at Trot accusingly and Trot knew the amount of trouble he was in, even though it was all just a misunderstanding. "I can explain! I had a nightmare and..." He quickly began, but was silenced by a hoof as Rarity took Rainbow Dash's place holding Trot down. Her eyes were narrow and her usually sweet and elegant voice was filled with righteous fury for her friend's safety. Trot felt the sudden urge to buck her off him, but he realized there was only one thing he could do to explain to them the truth. "Oh your night's will be FULL of nightmares once were done with you ruffian!" She declared, her own horn growing. "I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! GENEROSITY!” He bellowed thinking it was the only way they would listen to him. Rarity didn't back away, but she was definitely confused enough that Trot could writhe himself out from under her hooves. Every pony else just stared at him. Trot took the opportunity to get back on his hooves and to look around for a viable route of escape. "You're are the elements of Harmony, but I know more than that! You've all had a nightmare on your way to Appaloosa." He said quietly. "And just before you were consumed by it, a nursery rhyme played on a guitar saved you.” Trot stopped before saying the next think on his mind. "Who told you?" Princess Luna asked. Her eyes faded back to their original colors. She looked around at everypony else, but they were just as surprised as her. She knew for a fact that nopony would tell Trot about their dream because, just like Pinkie Pie, most would rather forget their terrible dream. Luna watched as Trot tried hard to explain. Trot tried hard to find a way to describe the old disembodied voice, but he was finally able to come with up with the perfect description. "I had a nightmare... and in that nightmare... there was this mysterious voice, and it sounded like he was playing a guitar. He told me." He said, hoping they would believe him. Pinkie Pie shuddered and backed away behind Twilight upon hearing about the guitar player. Twilight turned to ask Pinkie Pie what was wrong, and that was the only opportunity Trot needed. He picked up the apple with his teeth and bolted through the gap in their circle. Trot dashed around the large rocks that surrounded the campsite. "HALT!" Garret and Gene yelled simultaneously, but it did nothing to slow the Trail Blazer. It was of little use, however; Trot had already vaulted over the supply wagon and made his way over a sand dune, following Applejack's hoof mark's on the sand. The guards were about to give chase, but Trixie stood in their way blocking their path while still holding Rainbow Dash with her magic. Trixie gave the two guards a menacing look. “Bring it on.” Gene and Garret both snorted and was about to challenge Trixie's blockade. With hooves planted firmly on the ground, Gene and Garret readied to charge at Trixie. But before they could act, Luna broke in. “STOP!” Gene and Garret halted. They were forced to obey the Princess’s orders. Trixie and the Princess locked eyes for a brief moment, and Luna realized what Trixie already knew. Trot had plenty of opportunities to harm them and get away with it in the past few days. Trixie had no doubt in her mind that he was not their enemy. ---- "Ow..." Applejack flinched as her hooves passed over the bruises underneath her armor. She shuddered at what would have happened if Trot had hit her straight on. "He got me good." She said out loud to herself, trying her best to keep her pride intact. "That's what I get for letting ‘mah guard down Ah suppose..." Applejack tried chuckling to herself, but her voice died mid laugh. She sat there silently watching the sunrise. The warm light reflected off of her armor. She was thinking about her nightmare, thinking about their mission, thinking about Trot. She shook her head and pulled her Stetson further down over her head. A few moments passed before she noticed the Trail Blazer behind her. "Applejack?" Applejack spun around, shocked to see the Trailblazer a short distance away, peaking from around a large boulder in the sand, looking very much like he didn't want to intrude. Applejack only looked away and pulled her Stetson down further. "Are you ok?" Trot asked, daring to take a step out from behind the rock. Applejack felt something nudge her hoof; she looked down and noticed that it was an apple. Trot had rolled it to her from a distance. "Look..." he began while inching closer. "...I'm really sorry I attacked you. I had a nightmare and well...you just looked like a monster wearing all the combat armor in the dark. I brought you your apple back in case you yourself were hungry..." Applejack took off her Stetson hat and looked at Trot with an expression that said quite plainly: 'are you kidding me?' "Now let me get this ‘ere apology straight." She said not breaking eye contact with the Trail Blazer. "You attacked me, and are apologizing by sayin’ that ah look like ah monster in the dark and givin' me back the apple ah gave you this mornin? You sure know how to make a mare feel special, dont'cha Trot?" Trot was speechless and resigned himself to the simple fact that he was an idiot. He lowered his head and didn't say anything more. Applejack took a deep breath and swallowed hard, she took a few steps towards Trot and sat next to him, much to his surprise. "You know. This is all mah fault though...Ah shouldn't have treated ya like ah did yesterday. There was no excuse for it. The truth is..." Applejack shuffled her footing, fighting herself. Was she really going to admit it? Especially to him? "Ah shoot!" She finally yelled out. "There's no point in hidin' it. Everypony saw me bolt the scene from you back there." Trot just watched and listened not sure what he should be doing right now. "The truth… is Ah'm scared o you Trot! I am terrified of you! And ‘ah was acting like ah usually do when Ah'm scared. ‘Ah fight back. ‘Ah deny! ‘Ah attack!" Applejack was pressing her forehead against his, as if to make sure Trot knew she meant business. It very much resembled what Trot had done to her when they first met after Trot broke through the back of Malt's salt bar. She held his gaze for a few moments before Trot breathed a sigh of relief. "Well… That's a commendable way to face your fears. Though to be quite honest, I'm pretty scared of you too..." Trot picked up the apple with his hoof and cut it in half. Applejack didn't have a single clue as to how he achieved that, but accepted the other half of the apple anyway. "Friends?" Applejack paused for a moment, looking at the apple then back up at Trot. She lowered her gaze but nodded, trying hard not to smile too widely. Trot waited for her answer patiently, but just as she looked like she was going to accept his friendship. Trot caught something in the corner of his eye. Applejack saw it too and both of them turned to face the creature that had just appeared in front of them. It was larger than both of them, but not by much. It stood on four legs but had two bladed arms sticking outside its back. Its skin was covered in armored scales and its mouth consisted of pincers. The ferocious looking monster stood still, its red eyes staring both of them down. Applejack's blood ran cold; she didn't dare break eye contact with the creature. She found herself inching closer to Trot. "Applejack..." Trot stated, his voice suddenly deadly serious. "Do you remember that promise I made to you last night?" Applejack steeled her voice as she responded. Of course she remembered, how could anypony forget what he promised; even if they were staring down a terrifying looking monster. "Yes ah do..." Trot spoke back in cold voice. "Well it looks like you're going to be getting a crash course in how to take a life..." "Trot what is that thing?" Applejack asked her voice faltering. Trot stood before the horrible creature. It’s eyes were filled with nothing but bloodlust. Trot felt a lump form in his throat. The monster growled and hissed as it slowly approached the two. How could this be? Why were they here? First the hunters… now them? Trot’s mind was filled with all these thoughts. He didn’t have much time to think, he just needed to act. Trot’s voice cracked before he could speak. “Zerglings…” The ground underneath them shook and at once, seven more of the zerglings emerged from the ground around them. They were surrounded. Applejack and Trot were side to side, each facing away from the other, in order not to get ambushed from behind. Trot took a deep breath. The voice in the dream had told him to get everypony moving towards the mountains as soon as he woke up, but he forgot. He was distracted, and now he would have to deal with the consequences. Trot spoke in hushed whisper to Applejack, as to not aggravate the creatures surrounding them. "Applejack, listen very carefully to what I have to tell you." Applejack only nodded in response. The feeling of fear had a strong grip on every portion of her body. "Stay close to me… Show no fear, and for the love of all that is good and holy in this world... don't hesitate."