//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Stallions of the Apocalypse // by BronyWolfGuy //------------------------------// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The night was at it’s thickest, only the moon’s unnatural and mystic glow was piercing the pony’s eyes. She lights a lantern, grabbing the handle with her mouth, and heads out. The sounds of insects and the nocturnal birds break what would be dead silence. Any other pony without the bravery of Applejack would be shaking but her determination keep her strong. As she ventured further from that warm bed the contrasting winds grew more and more, picking up the lightest debris and dragging it away like a wisp in woods. Applejack quickly lays her hooves on her hat to stop it flying off, but in the meanwhile, the lantern’s flame is flustering and spitting angrily in the wind’s presence. Quickly draining it’s own energy and is diminished as fast as it had been birthed. “Darn”. She places it on the ground to relight it, but the winds pick up and the lantern can’t hold in the wind’s impact and is knocked to the ground. Applejack decides it’s not worth wasting time on and continues on a straight path. The moon’s rays start to provide enough light as Applejack’s eyes adjust, at first, only shadows and delicate sounds to play with the mind, to turn into the midnight beauty of the world, in serene silence and frozen calm. “It’s not so bad. A gal could get used to tis sorta tranquillity. Now, time to see Zecora, I hope she won‘t be sore about me coming to see her at tis time of night”. Fluttershy’s house was nearing closer, the darkness displaying only a grey blur before the moon’s presence faded it out to a coat white reflection on top of it. Applejack knew she couldn’t give away what she was doing to any pony. She continued on, cautious of her surroundings not to make a sound or draw attention to herself. She walked on, sticking to the darker parts of the path, taking cover in bramble and bushes when she could. Fluttershy would most likely be asleep, but Applejack wasn’t taking any chances. She edged further towards the forest, near home free, when unexpectedly, one of Fluttershy’s chickens came out the coop, tired and sleepy, it had seen the black shadow creeping about in the dark, and in natural reaction, panicked, creating a huge commotion. The noise had woke the other chickens, and they then quickly joined in. Applejack heard the racket, her mouth open wide with shock at the turn of events, as she quickly ran beside the coop to calm them down. “Now hey now critters! Shush now! It’s nothing to be scared about!”. Applejack’s reassurances came across wrongly as they continued, if not louder and more wildly. “Tarnations be quiet!!”. Applejack’s screaming along with the chickens started to alert the household as Fluttershy’s window flickered on. Applejack spotted the light and started to dash into the forest’s darkness. The window slowly eases open as Fluttershy timidly rises from the window. “H-hellooo? …” She quivers, her eyes barely above the window ledge. She takes a gulp and pokes her head out for a better look, nothing is out of the usual, encouraging her as she starts to relax, she then notices her hens are in a uproar. She heads down and outside to tend to them. “Now now, hush”. As Fluttershy tended the chickens, Applejack runs deeper and deeper into the Everfree Forest, the leaves and bushes whipping her and brushing against her, clawing away at her stamina and endurance, until finally, she stopped to regain her breath and posture. The forest was darker this night then the ever before, coated in darkness like dust in that old, abandon attic, where the monster’s would live, waiting for any unfortunate to clamber up and have curiosity get the better of them. The only difference, the monsters in the Everfree forest were real, timber wolves, cockatrices, manticores, serpents, ursar minors, majors, hydras. All these the group have encountered before and just survived with almost sheer luck, and with their friends to help out and look after each other. Applejack was all alone, the cold breeze made the mare shudder before she continued to walk deeper. A piercing chill whent through each strand of her mane and fur as she continued to get swallowed in the forest’s abyss. “I-I must be strong. Mai entire family en friends depend on it”. The path was hard to follow in the dark, the only thing Applejack could go by is the sound of the soft path under her hooves. Any snapping of twigs or rustle of leaves means getting lost forever. But as the path drove further, the more of the path died and let the wilderness in. The trees reached out at Applejack and tried to drag her back it the safe, eternal darkness, though the strength was lacking as their life as she pulled past. Creatures watched as she ran though the forest, some watching hungry. Though never moving. Soon, the trees gave clearing to Zecora’s hut, the moonlight gave the hut a eerie ambience, making it as creepy as the old stories about her. It once again felt those stories was true. The white glow like ghosts barricading the dark, wooden hut. She trotted over to the door and knocked hard. “Zecora!? I naw it’s late an all. But I need ya help”. There was no reply, no sound or motion. “Zecora!?”. She got up on her hind legs and started working over the door with her front hooves, repeated bashing them against the door. There was still no response. “O kai Zecora. You asked for this”. She turned around and, raised her back legs and started bucking, the shaking and impacts was weakening the door’s hinges and the screws could be heard coming loose. “Damn it pony I am trying to sleep. What’s with the noise you must keep!?”. The light could be seen turning on from Zecora’s window. Applejack ground her legs again and waited for Zecora to open the door. The door didn’t open. “Zecora can ya let me in!? I need a word with ya”. “Did you not listen to your sister I am sick! You’ll talk out there and make it quick”. “Zecora why can’t ya open tha door?”. “Applejack did I not specify!? I can’t be seen by another’s pony eye”. She started to cough and wheeze. By then the hinges of the door gave way, and Applejack jumped back before the door had chance to land on her. Behind it, Zecora stood, purple blotches across her beautiful black and white striped coat. Her face was a tint of blue and her mane had turned into a mess, she flung her head down and started coughing again. “Zecora! Ya look terrible!”. “I already know my current state”. She starts to wheeze again. “In my sickness my nerves are easy to grate”. “It was the stallions of the apocalypse that did this to ya wasn’t it?”. “Yes. And I fear they do the same to you, make you itch and your nose like glue. As you can guess Pestilence did this, a stallion of trouble you can’t easily miss”. “If he made ya sick, then they must be nearby”. “I know not of how he got me but mark my speech, to do this to me he must be in reach”. “Do ya think thay are ear in the forest?”. “Without a doubt, their trouble I can feel sprout. But make a move they have not yet made. They stay in the dark, and in the shade”. Zecora starts coughing again. “Ya know any way we could find em?”. “Hmm … So it’s the stallions that you seek? Vital information I can’t leek. They are discreet, and we have not meet”. “I see. Well, thank ya Zecora, sorry for waking ya”. “Take care Applejack, meet the stallions you may not be back”. Zecora attempts to rest her broken door back on it’s hinges coughing as Applejack walks off wondering what’s to be done now. If she should search, or heed Zecora’s words, and find them when her friends were fully fit and ready to face them. In doing so she risked in them attacking in the night. But, they have yet to make a move, and if they could have worried about the gang who have protected Ponyville countless times they could have attacked when they were retrieving the elements of harmony from Princess Celestia. While thinking about it she gave out a sudden yawn, she had forgotten how late it’s been and the hour must have been near early morning, 3am probably. She decided to go back, no way would she protect everypony tired, and they haven’t attacked yet, likelihood they won’t in the short space of time between now and the first pony wakes up for the early worm working. And she was one of those ponies that had that kind of job. She started to walk back, tired she took her steps carefully along the path, the surrounding area quiet as if those creatures before have gone to sleep as well, even the nocturnal ones as it was so close to morning. The only noise being made was the crunch of twigs again under Applejack’s hooves. They were rhythmic in their crackling and snapping, the leaves, too with their crispy sound. The forest was still darker still, but had more of a sense of tranquillity along with it’s emptiness. Applejack had made some tracks before she was swept of her feet by a strong force, pinning her down to the spiky twigs and rocks, digging into her back. Her tiredness had taken her off guard, and the sudden change and quick sting of pain woke her back up, she opened her eyes that had closed in automatic reaction to the impact. She could only see the bushes next to her flowing in the breeze, she tried to move her head towards her assailant but what ever it was had her head pushed into the ground. Worry and fear started to well up, she quickly brought herself to speak. “Who are ya!? What ya’ll think ya doing tackling me!?”. “I could ask what a juicy, little pony like you is doing in a big, bad forest with no company, being as easy a prey as a dead rabbit … or a cockroach”. The voice came close near her ear, it’s breath hot as fire against it. In it primal desire to break and tear her to pieces, only holding itself back. “Your so cute thinking you could survive here alone at night. I’ve been watching you all … this …” It flicks her ear with what felt like a hoof before it brought it’s mouth back to her ear to finish it’s sentence. “Time”. The last word came out quick and cheerful, like the stalking was just fun and entertaining. She felt it’s weight get off her and move back. The twigs made a sound of crunching bone under it. She turned her head finally, breathing heavily, glad it’s showing some mercy. What stood before her was a Pegasus with wings like Luna’s guards, bat wings. It’s eye were menacing, it’s pupils small and screaming bloody murder, shaped like a serpents, as it‘s huge, glaring iris was a match to it‘s mane. It’s mane was as red as blood it spilt, and fur as dark red as a dying rose, it’s teeth were sharp like a monster’s. It had a cutie mark that resembled nothing anypony as seen or heard of. It was a bulgy L shape, partly grey, with the small line of it brown, the grey bit looked like a tunnel. “You! … Ya must be one of the stallions of the Apocalypse!”. It gave some insane giggling before kneeling down on one knee in a bow like she was royalty. “Brutal War, pleasure M’lady. So much pleasure. Great honor GREAT honor to meet you Miss Applejack of Sweet Apple Acres”. “Huh? How do ya know my name? And my farm!?”. “Oh Miss Applejack you do yourself no justice, you have protected Equastria from the likes of Nightmare Moon and AND … Discord himself!. If I hadn’t heard of you I might as well be living underground!”. “Best dang place for ya if ya ask me”. Applejack threw her head away in discontent to this fan she had picked up. Quickly Brutal lost his psychotic, crazed smile for one of sheer anger and quickly returned it to a more neutral expression as he got off his knees and walked closer to Applejack. “Oh Applejack, poor poor apple pip, you don’t believe those rotten books do you? Those grapevine rumors by that treacherous, old fart of a princess of yours?”. She turned around and kicked him in the snout in a outburst towards the slander, he flew back, using his wings to slow down and skid across the floor. He face was no longer happy or emotionless, his eyes glaring hard on her with detest and desire to kill. “No pony, especially not a pony like ya. Will EVA bad mouth the princess without a beatin an a buckin from me!”. “You … FILTH!! You … SCUM! I COULD!!” “Calm down Brute, you brought it on yourself you brainless twit”. Out of the bushes, a pony, draped in a old, tattered cape walked in, his mane and tail were grey and his fur a bland blue. His face and expression was gentle and kind, His eyes big and blue. His cutie mark, covered by his cape. “You forget who your talking to, you should we regal to such a lady of renown”. “Come on Consume, SHE’S ASKING FOR IT!”. “Keep calm, Death doesn’t want her dead … yet”. Applejack jumps between the two, the new intruder lifting his hoof back in slight surprise. “Don’t be talkin about me like that! What’s ya leader want wit me?”. “You should ask him yourself. He is right here watching us. He’s always watching. Waiting”. A dark unicorn emerged from the darkness then, black and red mane and tail, his eyes dark and vivid greyish green, he wore a small jacket as dark as his mane and his cutie mark was of a green jar showing a skull and crossbones. He talked with a bold tone and like a gentleman, if not with a sinister hint. “Yes, that would be me. Oh dear don’t you look cute, it be a shame for that pretty little mane to get ruffled”. He gets close to her, walking around her, inspecting her head to hoof. Applejack follows him with her head as he walks behind her and then she tosses her head to the other side keeping her eyes on him at all times, he then stands right in front of her, staring in her eyes, reading her like a book, as she looked back and did the same. Without a moments notice he leaned forward and kissed her, after realising what just happened she jumped back agitated. He lifted up his head and looked at her maliciously. “TARNATIONS!! What in the hay do ya think yar doing!?” “Oh. Sorry. You just looked like you were into me”. “How in the hay did you think I was falling for ya?”. “Oh. Sorry again. That was my fault, I misread your signals”. “Misread mah signals!?”. Applejack was getting more furious as he kept on talking such lies with a calm and smug face, he looked up at the sky, then back to her, his smile grew longer as he stared back at Applejack, the others look at her, then looked at Death, they then ran off into the forest without looking back, Applejack watched them run then turned back to Death. “Hmm … Don’t you think you should run along now? It’s getting bright again and your little friends will be wondering where you have been. They’d be worried and scared you came to face the big, bad evil doers all on your lonesome without back up wouldn’t they?”. He starts to walk off, he flicks his tail into her nose and watches her flinch back, look at him in disgust, then look at the sky turning to dawn, then the opening of the forest, the hearing of a cockerel call for morning. Then, she finally turned back to him. “Go then. I’m not letting you live right now for nothing. Don’t make your friends worry”. He walks off, following his gang back into the forest. He turns his head back to her as she is running back to the town. He turns back, and walking into the forest laughing how his plan has been set. Fluttershy was up early to tend her chickens, she was just flapping her wings over the pen, unloading this morning’s feed for them. When she caught a glimpse of a unstable Applejack cantering out the forest clearing, the lack of sleep and amount of running had made her frightfully tired, as she made the clearing she slowed down to a near halt, making only a few more footsteps before collapsing to exhaustion. “Applejack!!” The chickens flap their wings in panic to the sack of feed hitting the ground with a thud, they, as quickly as they fled, dive into the sack like hungry vultures. Fluttershy flew over to her unconscious friend, she placed her hooves on each of Applejack’s eyelids and opened them to look at her eye, to momentarily let them return to their normal state. She flies to Twilight’s house to retrieve her and bring her to Applejack. She knocks on the door, which is answered by a drowsy Spike, rubbing his eye while opening the door. “Fluttershy? What’s going on” Fluttershy starts to blurt out words as a tired, bed headed Twilight came to listen in. They do not understand her but manage to pick out the keywords. Applejack! … Forest! … Hurt!!! “Take me to her Fluttershy” Fluttershy nods and races back, alongside Twilight, and Spike riding upon Twilight’s back, to the body of Applejack. They take a good look at her and Twilight sighs. “She’s only asleep, we should bring her in, get her into a nice blanket and when she wakes up, she can tell us why she was in the forest this morning”. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------