//------------------------------// // Chapter XXXIV // Story: Journey to the center of Equestria // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// The sun was setting itself over the town of Appleloosa. Twilight and Applejack been talking about the history of the town for some time. Not to mention one other little thing. Twilight released a deep sigh through her nostrils. Her head was shaken from side to side. Disappointed was perhaps the word that she was looking for to describe Applejack in the moment. “All of it combined, still doesn’t give you the right to lie against me or any of us, Applejack. Yes, we’re a band of misfits thrown together in order to mythically stop these earthquakes. But we need to be able to trust upon one another,” said Twilight after the conversation was already over for the admiral. But the soothsayer wouldn’t have any of that. She would be stating the facts as they were and make the admiral face her wrongs for a change. “Ah already told ya Ah’m sorry for not saying we would be going here, alright? What more can you want from me?!” Applejack exclaimed. Her head was turned towards Twilight once more. “What else do ya want to hear out of me? That Ah was wrong all those years ago at sea? Ya soothsayers had nothing to say about it and ya were still laying in a cradle when it happened!” Those words were in fact harmful for Twilight, but the admiral was more than right. All of the mares were far in their thirties or even forties, but the unicorn was still in her early twenties. She was the youngest of the bunch even though they all looked like they were in their mid or end twenties. All three races aged differently and soothsayers in general had a rather complex aging system to begin with. “Don’t bring age to the matter as it is just a number of how long you have been around here. An anthrony of ten can have seen just as much as one of ninety,” snarled Twilight back towards the admiral before a huff followed it all up. Applejack on the other end released a single ‘ha’ before she focused her attention back on the main street. “Don’t make me laugh, Twilight, we all know this ain’t gonna work. But fine, ya want to know why Ah said we should have come here? Resources. That’s all Ah can say.” “Resources?” Twilight repeated in a questioning tone. One of her eyebrows rose itself up. She couldn’t really believe the words that were said to her. But Applejack was one of those mares whose mood and alliance constantly shifted to make sure it was in her benefit. “So you just wanted to come here for resources and to see your cousin? Don’t get me wrong, I am well aware it’s a long trip, but you could have been honest!” “Honesty and them lot? Not really gonna happen, partner. ‘Specially Brittenburg,” replied Applejack in a bitter tone as her eyes narrowed themselves a bit. Twilight was becoming fed up with the whole argument about Rarity and she found it even stupid that Applejack was still hunting her for that very reason. “You’re as stubborn as a mule sometimes, you do realize that, don’t you?” she said to the admiral. The earth anthrony then stood up from her chair and just gave a nod towards the soothsayer. Without any further word had she walked into the bar and took a seat upon one of the stools that stood near the bar. “Of course, drown your sorrows again. Typical sailor,” muttered Twilight to herself before her eyes closed themselves a little bit. She wanted to get some more rest before the trouble of dinner would be beginning. But much sleep wasn’t going to be granted to her, for the thoughts constantly rushed through her. If Applejack and Rarity hated one another so much, why could they been having so much fun on that one night. Countless explanations went through the unicorn until one came to her. One that came to her like a stagecoach hitting a wall. “She’s sobering up!” the soothsayer exclaimed. She almost shot right up out of her chair. A shot of pain could be felt immediately going through her side as the right hand was pressed against it. A deep inhale was taken through her teeth which gritted themselves against one another. She was in pain, she was in a terrible pain. But perhaps the pain she was going through was a whole lot better than where Applejack was going through. Quickly she walked through the doorway of the bar and charged up her magic in one hand. What first happened between the cousin and the niece would then be happening between the admiral and the soothsayer. “Applejack!” Twilight shouted through the bar as she closed in the distance right away. The admiral herself was downing a glass of something when the word entered her ears and she almost spat the liquids back out. Yet somehow she still managed to keep everything inside of her. The mare turned herself around on the stool and before she knew it, there was a massive punch that impacted upon her cheek. The force of the punch was powerful enough to knock the mare upon the bar and knock her unconscious on impact. The deliverer of the punch was nopony else then Twilight ,who was waving her hand quickly from side to side from the self-inflicted pain. Even with the magic surging through her hand was Applejack a tough nut to crack. Something that Twilight discovered the hard way. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, oh that hurts!” she exclaimed. The mare was even dancing a little bit on the spot. "Wow, wow, wow, hold it right there missy!” Braeburn said while he suddenly had aimed a blunderbuss towards Twilight. As soon as the soothsayer noticed the little fact, there wasn’t much that she could be doing then to release a gulp. “What did ya do to mah niece?” There wasn’t any real escape that Twilight could be taken to avoid the shot of the massive weapon. One shot and half the bar would be literally wiped from the map. “I, I, I realized something about her. Something, I didn’t know until now. Her, mood swings.” In response went the eyes of Braeburn from angry to almost sympathetic looking. The blunderbuss was hidden behind the counter again. Then he glanced over his knocked out niece. One of his hands began to stroke the cheek of the mare as a conversation between the two erupted. “She’s indeed having trouble of that. She holds her family high as well as her job in the navy. Not to mention the hunt for Brittenburg.” “And in order to cope with it all, she began to drink and she’s only happy when being drunk,” dared Twilight to say. She expected another explosion of the stallion to happen. But instead he just turned his head back towards her and nodded. “The swings are at their worst when she’s sobering up. I don’t think, I have ever seen an actual sober Applejack in a very, very long time.” Braeburn couldn’t help but to let out a single chuckle from his throat in response to the words. Until the words of his side left the throat. “Nopony has seen a sobered up Applejack in a long time. Not even her own brother with whom she sails. He had warned her if she took much of the family’s trademark cider, she would end up being an alcoholic. But I think it’s much too late now.” “It’s never too late, Braeburn,” the mulberry mare replied to him. She leaned against the bar for a little bit. “All that she needs is time, lots and lots of it. And let her just be happening to be having a lot of that now that she’s on the journey with us.” Those words took Braeburn actually by surprise. If he had heard it right in mind, was Twilight really offering him help to get his niece back to the state in which she used to be? To make her again that hard working, prideful admiral of the navy with a clean slate? “You sure you are able to handle her? I mean, you can’t knock her out every time she’s drunk.” Twilight nodded with her head towards the words for they were more than true indeed. “Well, the first thing would be to have her actually sobering up for a change and not make her drink anything alcoholic. Next, this is possibly our last stop for a long time to come so, she’ll be having time aplenty to arrange things.” Braeburn stopped stroking the cheek of his niece. Then he nodded towards the words of the mare. “Sounds reasonable to me. Even though it is highly insane. I do admire what you are willing to do for her. Not many would be doing it and even less know who she will be when actually sober.” “It’s that of course, and I don’t want to get shot by a drunken admiral in the heat of battle,” replied Twilight in all honesty. To which the stallion had to release a chuckle. “Can, can you bring her to her room and take off any flasks she has? It’s time to bring your niece back to the honorable mare that she used to be.” The stallion behind the bar simply nodded and left his position to haul his very own niece over his shoulder and made his way towards the rooms. “I just hope this turns out a lot better than I expect it to be.” Twilight whispered to herself as she turned around and aimed her eyes for the doorways. She would be on the lookout for the other members of their company to finally return to the bar so they could be having their last supper in Appleloosa. ~~~~                       Slow but sure had each of the mares enter the bar again. At first was there Rainbow Dash who walked in a whole lot more happier than usual. It was something that surprised Twilight as she gestured her over. “You seem oddly happy today, you had some good luck getting the supplies or something?” “Hehe, make it the ‘or something’-part, Twilight. Yes I have the supplies you asked for. But also something I have been looking for a long, long time. You’re a soothsayer, right? Living in Canterlot with that massive library,” said Rainbow in a hyped up tone. She took a seat next to the unicorn. Whatever the major’s game was, Twilight had no idea in the moment. All she could do, was play along for the time being. “Uhm, yes. Canterlot Castle is having a massive library, yes,” replied Twilight. She still hadn’t even the slightest of clues on where the conversation would be going to. “Suppose you don’t have any fictional adventure books?” Rainbow then asked through as she began to reach inside of her bag. “We, actually do have a section that is filled to the brim with fictional stories. It’s fun reading them once and awhile,” commented Twilight with a small smile. Yet nothing could have prepared her for the thing that Rainbow would be showing her next. Out of the bag and sealed in plastic it just appeared. A copy of the first ever published Daring Do book. The eyes of Twilight went wide as she didn’t know what she actually saw right before her. “B-But that’s, that’s not possible. Is, is it first print? The cover on it is different.” “Oh yeah, this is the original first print of the story with the original cover art for it. They changed it with the second run. But you know what’s even more awesome?” She then tabbed just below the cover art and Twilight came in just a little bit closer. Only to see that through the name of the author was actually a signature of said author. “Wow, that’s really a one of a kind find indeed,” said Twilight to Rainbow. She was genuinely impressed by the sights that she saw. She hadn’t truly expected that something like that could be found in a store within the town of Appleloosa, but Rainbow had somehow managed it. “I didn’t know you were a fan of Daring Do though.” “You never asked me if I was or not,” chuckled Rainbow Dash in response. Then she placed the book back in the bag. “But, uhm, I have a question. Can you save it on a special place in the void storage, someplace where almost never something comes? It’s, it’s the pride of my collection now and a flight to Cloudsdale takes me about four days from here. Not to mention I have to confront Spitfire again when I arrive.” Twilight allowed herself a little giggle before she nodded for confirmation. Before she even knew it had she received a hug from the pegasus that was both tight, firm and genuine. Only to have her then darting off towards her room. Though as Rainbow went upstairs did Braeburn came back down from it. The stallion took his usual place behind the bar and poured a drink for himself. “So it runs in the family,” the soothsayer spoke up in a sharp tone. To which the stallion only shook his head. “Nah, doesn’t run in the family, but a drink on its time isn’t wrong in my eyes. Only having like, three glasses per day. And no, I don’t stand up or go to bed with it. And yes, Applejack is sleeping peacefully in her bed.” It was another relief that went through the mare as both Rarity and Fluttershy entered the bar. They saw Twilight sitting at the bar and they both walked up to the mare. Rarity carried a rather large case of something as Fluttershy held both of the bags. “Before you ask, I offered my help but she insisted,” said Rarity before wishing the two of them a good evening. “Oh, kay…” answered Twilight. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t confused about the matter. The bags were placed next to the one of Rainbow and it shook the unicorn right out of her confusion for the moment. “So, uhm, Rarity, what are you having there actually?” “Wait, as in, Brittenburg?” Braeburn questioned. He couldn’t believe the facts. “So she spoke the truth. You did join them. Forgive me, but my niece isn’t really fond of you and I can see why.” “Oh trust me, a lot of anthronies are thinking that way,” answered Rarity. Her head  rose just a bit to make him stare into her eyes. “Still, we have the same cause in mind, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Long story actually, now that I think about it.” “Rarity, the case,” whispered Fluttershy then to her. “Hm? Oh, yes! Sorry,” the pirate answered before she brought it forward and opened it. Twilight, Braeburn and Fluttershy were all granted a sight at two beautifully made sword sheaths that actually took their breath away. “Aren’t these two of the most amazing sables you have ever seen in your entire lives?” she then asked before closing the case again. They all had to agree upon the fact as it was. The hilts and the sheaths were already amazing, let alone the actual blade that rested inside of it. “They are stunning actually. Where did you get them?” Twilight asked out of curiosity. “From the smith down the street…” But before Rarity could speak the name had Braeburn simply taken over the words like that. "Agate, heh, I knew that mare would still be having something on her craft. Everypony knows everypony in this town. But I suggest you lot prepare yourself for dinner, heard you would be leaving tomorrow again for the Frozen North. Jackie told me perhaps a bit more then she should.” Twilight rolled her eyes a little bit before she nodded. “That’s indeed true yes. Girls, I think it’s time we prepare ourselves for it then.” It couldn’t have been a better idea for any of them. They were hungry and tired from the whole day of wandering or working. Yet it would be the days that came next that they would be needing their strength. No stops would be found along the way, it was a straight up race to get to the home of soothsayer Cadence as quickly as they could. Hail, snow, ice and storms they would have to cross. But those were worries for later. First there was going to be a good dinner ahead of them to celebrate their last day in the town. The following morning was everypony standing near the bar. Applejack had managed to haul herself out of bed. She was rubbing her head at a constant rate. The mare stood with the lot of them but never spoke a word. They had missed the mare during dinner and Twilight had told them all just what had happened to her. Each of them could understand the logic behind the actions. Rarity was actually happy that somepony would be dealing with her drinking problem. With the whole company that stood in the bar, there were some of the guests actually became a little bit uncomfortable. But they weren’t carrying too much of their weaponry in sight. Which in return comforting for most guests, though others actually became whole lot more paranoid because of it. Anything could have happened with that group of strange mares. Nopony had to speak a single word against Applejack. She was going through the worst hangover yet. All of her flasks had been taken or refilled with water. They all were ready to finally go. All of them still wore the same attire as the bags of supplies had been stored nice and easily within the void storage. Rainbow’s book was placed on a special little vault which was joined by Rarity’s old sable. Her new ones could be found sticking out the bottom of her trench coat just a little bit. They were all ready to hit the road again. They had to hit the road again in fact. They all thanked the stallion for letting them stay at the bar and then it was back into the wilderness that was the desert. Braeburn waved after them for a little while as they left the bar and town. He kept standing outside of his trusted place all the way up to the point where the mares had disappointed behind the horizon. “And so begins yet another chapter of their tale. I just hope that those earthquakes never hit this place. Time shall tell, for Appleloosa, Applejack and their company,” the stallion mumbled up to himself. He walked back into the bar to continue his daily routine. A routine that was always the same, day by day. ~~~~                       Days turned themselves into nights which then followed up to be days again as the company just followed the lead of Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn soothsayer had taken the full responsibility to get them as fast as she could to the Frozen North and to this soothsayer Cadence. Not to mention the hopeful entrance that would send them to the caverns beneath the earth. From time to time had some of the company’s members to be reminded why they couldn’t go into any ordinary cavern system. There was no cavern system in their land that ran that deep. Myth and legends spoke about only one system that ran all the way down to the core. One that managed to hide through the gears of time and nopony alive could be knowing exactly where it was. Of course there was the preparing for disappointment if not even Cadence would be knowing where the entrance laid. It was a fear that constantly hunted the mind of Twilight as they continued to just walk. Whether it be under the blistering sun or the cool moon, they kept on going until they couldn’t anymore. It wasn’t a lie that there wouldn’t be any other town until they would have been back. For they didn’t came across any other living anthrony in the desert. Left and right did they saw the remains of some who tried to cross but ultimately and obviously failed. Applejack on the other end had become even more cranky than ever as she was still sobering up. All of the alcohol that had been stored inside of blood was released with every day but an enjoyment to see or listen too she wasn’t. She raged and raged about how she would end the life of Rarity in perhaps the most gruesome manners she knew. Yet the trench coat wearing mare never gave them any hearing. Between the two of them was Fluttershy who always managed to keep the two separated from one another. If they had to listen to the nonsense that the mare yelled in order to get the actual Applejack back, it had to be that way. Even if it was just that annoying for them all too listen to. Days had gone by and on one evening long after they had left the desert and were again on savannah territory. Fluttershy had asked to Twilight to sit down on a tree stump in order to inspect the wounds. The unicorn just sat down while the mare allowed the inspection to happen to her. The bandages were removed from her body by the doctor who then threw them away. The dried up blood wouldn’t have been anything good for the body of the mare at all. Yet the eyes of the doctor looked at the wound and even gave it a couple bits of pressure left and right. The winches that Twilight made weren’t as violent she had them expected to be and the tissue of her body seemed to be healing the area quite nicely. “It’s actually a lot better than I could have expected. At this rate I think another ten days and the wound will be nothing but a small scar,” said Fluttershy in a genuine happy sounding tone towards the soothsayer. Who on her own turn couldn’t be doing anything else but smile in return. “Thanks Fluttershy. And, do you have anything on Applejack?” the mare asked as she remained sitting on the stump. She only moved a little bit so that the doctor could lower herself down as well. The yellow pegasus did it thankfully before the rest of the words were released through her mouth. “She’s still having the withdrawal symptoms but from the looks of it, she seems to be going the right way. I would put her on watch tonight, just to see how that goes.” Twilight nodded with calm in response. It was the information that she needed to be knowing. “Then I suggest its first going to be me, then you and you wake Applejack again for her watch. She won’t do anything to you, I hope,” the soothsayer said in a genuinely concerned tone towards the mare. Little did Twilight knew just how close they were to the Frozen North. For when the two of them were talking to one another, there came a gust of wind that caused the hairs in the back of their neck to stand up right. The cutting cold was more than enough to actually send a shiver down their spines and both of the mares knew what it meant. “We’re close,” they both said together. It was more than true. The ice cold wind could only have originated from the Frozen North. It had travelled down the mountains that separated the North from the rest of Equestria. One more day, possibly two, and then they would be standing in the snow. But first, the night would fall again. Deep in the night did the eyelids of Applejack twitch softly. She was brought out of her sleep. The mare felt herself terrible and rose her body up from the bed she laid in. Both of her hands were brought over to her face as she began to rub it firmly. “Oh mah head, what have Ah been doing these past few days?” she muttered almost without a sound to herself. The groans of annoyance left her. In her pajama did she leave her bed and took the guitar in one hand. A guitar that was placed alright right next to bed as she had been playing it just before she went to bed. She was still sobering up even after days of not having drunk a drop of alcohol. Nothing felt the same for the mare and even with her sleepy head she noticed how the bed of Fluttershy was in fact empty. “Heh, must still be on watch then,” the admiral mumbled before she made her way out of the tent. The musty smell of the tent had almost become too much for her. She needed some fresh air. Some fresh air to get her mind back together for as much as it was allowed. For the brain was still pounding itself against her skull. The mare left the tent and walked towards the fire made of the arcane lights before she would drop her body next to the one large tree they had come across in a long time. Perhaps it was stupid to set up camp near such a sore sight in the landscape. But it had worked before and each of them as naturally well-armed. So the admiral rested her head against the bark of the tree. Only then did she began to play a couple of tunes upon her guitar. Fluttershy was nowhere to be found though, so she naturally kept an eye out for the pegasus if she would be dropping by. It was actually a wish of the earth anthrony that the two would be meeting one another soon enough. Though their meeting perhaps came from another way then Applejack had anticipated. While the tunes of the guitar were sent into the air, couldn’t Applejack help herself but to hear the slurping of liquids. Almost as if something above her was drinking from something. Something that perhaps should have been kept as a secret. But every single secret was of course doomed to be surfaced at one point or the other. The tunes of the guitar stopped for a moment and so did the slurping. She began to play another tune on it that was a little bit slower and less noisy. Both of her ears were perked up to catch the mysterious sound again. Yet that time she only got the screeching sounds of bats leaving the tree. “What in tarnation?” she muttered to herself. The sounds were killed off and the mare stood up from her position. She wanted to have a better look at the bats that left the tree as a shocking revelation was made to her. “No, this can’t be happening. This ain’t happening!” she exclaimed to herself quietly as she knew exactly what those bats happened to be. “How can that vermin ever gotten this far, to this one single tree in the literal middle of nowhere? Unless ‘course…” Her eyes glanced themselves upwards into the leaves of the tree and constantly followed a massive body shifting. It was something that had confirmed her suspicion as a small smile was cracked upon her face. She then tore her attention away from the tree and looked over to the stand of the moon. A full moon was shining right down on them. In the moment did everything began to make sense for Applejack. “Ah, now Ah’m starting to see how it all fits together. Ah should have realized this a long time ago, Fluttershy,” spoke Applejack in a quiet tone. There wasn’t any point in hiding anymore. The revelation had to be made before the admiral. If it could only be kept to the admiral though, it meant that the rest wouldn’t be having to know it whatsoever. “Ah know yar up there, Fluttershy. Ya can come out now if ya want to. Ah promise Ah won’t be hurting you.” The words seemed to have been actually too good to be true for the creature within the trees. But due to its natural shyness it remained nicely hidden among the branches of the tree. “Fine, suit yarself then. But can ya at least talk to me?” she then followed up in the faint hope to get some sort of response out of the being. Patience was a virtue and Applejack had in fact a lot of patience, even in her sobering process. There were rotten apples thrown down in front of her then. The admiral took one of them and held it before her eyes. It appeared rotten at first glance, at second glance there was another revelation. One that mortified her down to the soul. It wasn’t rotten at all, it was shrunken down to nothing but a solid core. All of the waters were just sucked out of it. Once again it was proof enough for Applejack. “Ya ain’t fooling me here anymore, Ah worked on a farm for the first portion of mah life, ‘member?” What followed was a deep sigh that came from the tree itself, or better said: the creature that had hidden itself within the tree. “It’s no use, is it?” the voice of Fluttershy spoke up. But the voice was changed, sounding a bit more dark and perhaps even thirsty. Something wasn’t right about the voice and Applejack knew exactly what was wrong with her. “It’s like the old tales. Anthronies cursed, only to be revealed under the light of the moon. So tell me, what are ya?” Applejack pushed on in the hope to get some answers out of the shadow. The lights of the fire didn’t reach that far inside of the leaves so the creature always remained hidden. The creature that was thought to be, Fluttershy. “I’m indeed cursed, cursed to suck the life out of the fruits I come across. It keeps me young, able to do my work. It’s, it’s a wish I had so long ago, but regret now,” the voice spoke up before a gentle sniff was being released. “I’m a vampire, a fruit-vampire. H-Harmless to others, devastating for fruit. But, many make the mistake about me being the real deal and so the hunts begin again and again and again.” Applejack carefully listened to the words that were being told to her as she nodded calmly with her head. Even though the subject was a heavy one to discuss, she focused all of her attention upon trying to help out the mare who so long ago helped her. “And that’s why ya began yar own hospital, to stay away from all the others that want to harm ya? Smart decision actually. Also explains another thing.” “And that, being?” the creature inside of the tree replied with a curiosity in its voice. “Explains how ya can have seen every kind of combat wound, without having been in combat and know so much about medicines. Ya ain’t thirty three as ya claim, so how old are ya actually?” Applejack revealed towards the creature. Though her words had one backfire that she didn’t had expected. “Does it matter how old I am? I’m alive and that’s both my greatest blessing and my greatest curse. Just, just don’t tell this to any of the others. I don’t want them nervous of me as well. The tension between you and Rarity is more than enough to deal with.” Applejack released a deep sigh through her nostrils as she understood immediately what the creature meant. She tore her attention off of the tree as a tear travelled down her cheek. The only thing that could be heard was the rustling of leaves as something big left and the flapping of wings could be heard. But the admiral didn’t had the guts to be looking up towards the creature that left. The truth about Fluttershy, the actual truth about the doctor still remained a mystery. Was she truly a monster, or was it all some sort of sickening trick? One that was set up by both her and Twilight to get the sober Applejack back even faster? The admiral herself didn’t even wanted to know. The earth anthrony just dropped herself down against the tree again and released a deep sigh. Her watch had begun and she had a lot to think about in that time. Perhaps more than she originally wanted to admit.