The going was slow over the rough terrain, made even worse by the need to double back twice to avoid herds of those... things. Applejack had tried to ask what they were, only to be met by a stern glare and a shushing noise from the lead unicorn. Applejack looked back at the earth pony, who shook her said, and uttered a single word.
"Windigoes"
A thousand questions bubbled up in Applejack's throat, but the unicorn's glare made her swallow them all down, and they moved on in silence, save for the regular updates from the pegasus scout.
She didn't even learn the names of her rescuers - captors? The closest she learned were their ranks - the others addressed the unicorn as "Captain."
They continued this way in silence as they crested the pass and started down the other side, into a long and sheltered valley. At the bottom was a swiftly flowing river, and the four of them regrouped, drinking deeply from the ice-cold flow. Each of the three ponies gave up a portion of their rations to Applejack, and she ate them gratefully. She hadn't even realized how hungry she had been, and the food did little to fill he belly, but it helped return some of her energy and keep her spirits up for the long trek ahead.
At least during their respite they ponies spoke a bit, though always in hushed tones and cautiously watching the skies and ground around them.
"So, where are we goin'?" Applejack tried once again to broach the subject of the many questions she wanted to raise, but again the Captain glared at her. The pegasus leaned over and whispered into the earth pond's ear. The earth pony nodded and shrugged, but didn't say anything. Both of them just stared at her, and she stared right back, but the conversation never moved passed that point.
They broke camp and contained to walk. The valley had some greenery in it, though it was far from lush. Thick, brambly bushes and wiry trees lined the river, while short, tough grasses covered the valley floor. The ground here was softer, which was easier on their hooves, and they were able to make good time as they trudged up the valley, the pegasus again scouting ahead by air.
The sun was swollen and red, hovering above the wall of the valley, when they reached the river's source. An immense waterfall crashed down the side of an enormous mountain, the sound deafening in the narrow canyon. The Captain once again paused just within range of the waterfall's spray, and just waited. Applejack could tell they were looking for something, but she had no idea what for. As far as she could tell there was no way out of the canyon other than where they had just come from. After a few minutes, the pegasus rejoined them, and they sat, waiting.
The sun had finally dipped below the horizon before the trio made any motion again. The Captain stood up, her eyes fixed at a point on the mountainside. Applejack followed her gaze, and was surprised to see a small, barely visible green light. She had had plenty of time to study the mountain while they had been waiting, and she was certain that hadn't been there before. The pegasus leaped to the sky and disappeared in the growing dusk, and Applejack found herself having to stare at her hooves to avoid stumbling as she followed the ponies further up the canyon.
When the unicorn in front of her suddenly stopped again, Applejack looked up. As far as she could tell, they had stopped in a small indentation in the canyon wall, right in front of a sheer cliff wall. Again, they waited, and Applejack was about to break the silence by asking what in the hay was going on, when she felt a small vibration under her hooves.
She turned back to look ahead of her, and her jaw dropped. Where once there had been nothing but a featureless cliff face, now there was a slowly retracting, heavy, and impossibly thick stone door. Applejack gaped. The door was easily large enough for a half dozen ponies to fit through shoulder-to-shoulder, but it fit flush with the canyon wall, and a moment ago Applejack could have sworn there was nothing but solid rock there.
The trio of ponies trotted past the open door, and Applejack could see now that it was set on hinges of thick wrought iron bolted to the roof of the cave beyond. It was pulled open by heavy chains, powered by a turnstile of sort. A pair of heavyset earth ponies were even now lowering the door back down to the ground, concealing their hideaway completely from the outside world.
As the stone door settled back into place, the cavern was momentarily covered in a thick, black darkness. The pale blue of a unicorns magic was the only light, until the shutters in front of a pair of lanterns were removed, and Applejack was bathed in a warm, orange light.
The cavern they were in was small, a few pony lengths deep at most, and just tall enough to hold the door. On either side Applejack could make out bulky, elaborate metal shapes, similar in construction to the weapons her escorts had worn, but much larger, their outlets fixed and pointed at the door. Other than her escorts and the ponies manning the turnstiles, there were a pair of unicorns on a scaffolding along the walls, just under the ceiling. They were peering intently out of tiny peepholes, which were just as invisible from outside the cavern as the door had been.
The escorts themselves looked visibly relieved. The earth pony leaned in close to the unicorn, and they exchanged a few words. Applejack turned her ears to try to make out what they were saying, but the resonant echoes of the cavern made it nearly impossible.
After a few moments, they turned to look at her, then both their gazes drifted down to her cutie mark.
Applejack felt suddenly exposed, and blushed, her tail involuntarily moving to cover her flank. The unicorn nodded at the earth pony, who saluted in turn. Then the Captain turned and walked to a second, much smaller metal door set in the back of the canyon, and disappeared through it.
The earth pony moved back to where Applejack stood, and sat down, staring at her. That tiny voice was speaking up again, jumping up and down, seething in rage at the way Applejack had been treated by these ponies. She had been ordered around, spoken about behind her back, and treated like a foal ever since they had found her, and she was getting fed up!
Applejack swallowed, took a deep breath, and calmly reminded the little voice that these same ponies had saved her life, shared their meal, and kept her safe until they brought her into their hideaway, and that it wouldn't do to be ungrateful just because their manners were a bit lacking.
The earth pony continued to stare at her, and Applejack just stared back. There was an odd look on the earth pony's face, and Applejack couldn't quite understand what it signified. But she sure tried, as she locked eyes on the pony, barely blinking.
The door in the back of the room slammed open, and the Captain walked through again, followed by two burly stallions, one earth pony and one unicorn, who quickly overtook her and surround Applejack.
The look in their eyes was menacing, and Applejack was beginning to wonder whether she shouldn't have listened more closely to the tiny voice.
"Come with us." The Captain's tone made it clear it was not a suggestion. The two burly ponies took up a position on either side of Applejack, and she complied, following the Captain through the door and into a long, dark tunnel.
There was barely enough room for the three of them abreast They passed several branching and intersecting tunnels, and with each one Applejack had to revise her mental image of just how big this hideout was. Some of the tunnels ended in a door or cavern after a few paces, but many of them stretched into the deep darkness. After a few minutes they took one of these, the stone floor tilting and curving downward, a Dank breeze blowing against them. It wasn't long before they met another mental door, and the Captain knocked against it three times.
A few seconds passed, then a small metal window in the door slid open, and a pair of blue eyes peered through it. Seeing the Captain, the window slid closed, and the mechanical sound of heavy bolts retracting resounded through the tunnel.
When the door finally opened, the tiny voice sat back on its haunches and said told you so.
On the other side of the door was a small guard station, and beyond that a pair of jail cells, the thick iron bars barely visible in the gloom.
One look at the bodyguards on either side of her quelled any notion she had of escape, and she marched, her head hung low, through the open door of one of the cells. The burly ponies stripped her of her hair ties and her hat, which were her only possessions. Then the door was slammed shut and locked behind her.
Applejack took a seat on the hard cold stone in one corner, head and haunches slumped, and held back the tears that were trying to force their way out of her tired eyes.
---
She woke up on the cold stone floor, unaware that she had even fallen asleep. Someone had left a tray of food and a glass of water on the ground of her cell while she was asleep. The grass looked fresh and the water was cool and refreshing, which surprised her, but she didn't question the small comfort she had been granted. Across from her, the guard was watching her disinterestedly, almost looking bored, tapping his hoof on the ground in an irregular tattoo.
"Thank'ee kindly." Applejack may have been a prisoner, but that was no excuse for bad manners.
The guard looked slightly taken aback, but Applejack saw that he couldn't help the hint of a smile that crept onto his face.
Applejack was surprised at how weak and raspy her voice sounded to her ears. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone that long without talking. Around the farm, she could barely go five minutes without telling a farmhand what to do or yell at Apple Bloom for whatever mischief she had gotten herself into or sharing a nice cup of cider with Big Macintosh.
The thought of the farm brought a wave of homesickness over her, and she curled up into the corner again, clutching her stomach. The tears really did come this time, but only two or three.
Cryin' over it ain't gonna get you home any faster. You'll jus' have to tough it out, figure out what's goin' on here. Maybe talk to who's in charge, convince him t' let me go.
The tiny voice in her head tried to tell her how ridiculous her plan was, but she missed her family too much to pay it any mind.
I bet they're wonderin' where you are right now. Why, Big Mac's probably got a search party together already. Probably got the whole town workin' on it.
That made her feel better somehow. She knew her family, and she knew her friends. They would stop at nothing until they found her, and with Twilight and Rainbow Dash in the air, not to mention Fluttershy and her critter friends and Pinkie Pie and her... Pinkie-ness, she was sure they'd find her in two shakes of a lamb's tail, secret mountain hideout or none.
And Rarity would make sure they look fabulous doin' it, I'm sure.
Applejack's spirits had just begun to lift, when the door to the jail - or was it a brig? - Rang out with a knock.
Applejack stood back up, facing the door. She hoped she didn't look too bad with her hair all disheveled and dirty, and her tail a tangled mess from having dragged openly along the cavern floor.
The brig door opened, and the same bodyguards from earlier stepped in. Following them was the Captain and...
Applejack jaw dropped. She rubbed her eyes. She did a double take and rubbed her eyes again, this time to clear the film of tears that had suddenly filled them.
Her mind had a hard time comprehending the image in front of her eyes, and the tiny voice in her head just stared open-mouthed as well.
The fully-grown yellow mare took a few steps towards the jail cell, and looked Applejack over head to tail, before finally speaking up in a thick, deep alto drawl, with just a tiny note of suspicion.
"Howdy sis'."