Chapter 3
The basket almost shattered on impact. Pieces splintered off and sprang away as the wicker vehicle tumbled end over end down the hillside. Its contents spilled out as it bounced off and snapped the lifeless trees of the corrupted orchard. The basket left chaos in its wake as it rolled, plowing up the infertile earth in great divots that exploded into showers of stones, roots, and soil. The basket careened against a tree, splintering the dead body and continuing its rampage down the hillside. Finally, the basket’s wave of destruction came to an abrupt halt against a large stone with a sound like a gunshot. Most of the vehicle was mangled and broken, spread out all along the hillside, its path strewn with the corpses of husked trees. Nothing living could have survived the fall, much less the rolling disaster afterward.
Twilight Sparkle was slowly descending to the ground in a purple glow as her heart began its own descent from her throat to its rightful place in her chest. She had wanted to try out the levitation spell she had been studying, but not like this. She liked controlled environments, not dangerous ones.
She looked back at the dragon on her back. Spike was stunned, eyes bulging at the devastation that had occurred to the basket of the balloon in which they had been riding just a few moments before. His claws were dug in so deeply that the mare’s skin had almost been punctured. Apparently, the gravity of the situation hadn’t set in yet for either one of them because she didn’t seem to notice. “Twi…Twilight. The basket is all over the place. We were in it. We could have…we WOULD have died if you didn’t use your magic.”
Twilight’s breath had nearly returned and, upon settling in between her lungs, her heart began to beat again. Her mind also begun to react and after only a few seconds she replied, “Yeah…did you see…what…happened?”
“I heard popping noises and then the balloon opened up. I thought the Guards checked everything? How could they have missed something like that? We should talk to Celestia about this. I could have been a greasy spot in that grove of trees.” The dragon was furious after the near death experience. He looked down from Twilight’s back, the ground slowly coming closer.
“The Guards always do a thorough check. I guess they could have just missed it, but I think something else happened. I think somepony may have popped our balloon.” She snorted and thought back to what she had seen.
They had been flowing along the currents of the night air towards Hoofington. She remembered looking down and noticing the town of…Ponyville, was it? Anyway, a town closer than it should have been. They had been floating over a somewhat wooded area just on the outskirts of the town when she heard some loud pops and the balloon began to sink. During their attempt to prepare for an emergency landing, she had heard those pops again, after which the balloon had rapidly begun to descend. After a loud whoosh, this descent had turned into a freefall. By instinct, she had quickly grabbed Spike and used her magic, unsure if it would even work.
Spike released his grip on the mare and scanned the local area for signs of life. They still had several hundred feet to go and wanted to spot a safe place to land. “On purpose? Who would do something like that? There, Twilight. I see a clearing near the crash site.”
Twilight sighed and began to drift the pair towards the small opening in the dead orchard. The limbs of the trees reaching out like bony claws and neither of the floating passengers wanted to tangle in their grasp. “I don’t know, Spike. It had to have been an accident. Maybe some foals were playing with slingshots and didn’t mean to, but did, shoot us down.”
“Well at least they sent a rescue party pretty fast.” The dragon pointed with his claw at a pair of earth ponies lifting the broken basket back right side up and searching the inside for what was left.
“Thank Celestia, maybe they can help us get cleaned up and help us contact the Princess.” Twilight was relieved that the ponies had shown up so quickly and brought them in for a soft landing only a short walk away from where the earth ponies were rummaging the wreck.
***
“Daaaaamn, Skank. It’s all busted,” Pony-C, a white earth pony with a black mane and still wearing sunglasses, though it was now dark, remarked to his friend. The pony rummaged through the broken basket and tossed out pieces of what had once been the door and the straps that bound the balloon to it, to come to rest in a small pile. He could still make some bits from what remained, but had not expected the vehicle to go to pieces on impact as it had. He wore mixed emotions on his face and continued to dig in the ruins.
Skank was busy looking over the rubble that had flown loose from the vehicle during its rough landing. The pickings were slim so far and he was unhappy about it. “Yeah, I see that. We gotta get goin’ soon. You know where this is, don’cha?” The large blue stallion had been feeling guilty over drinking his money away and not supporting his wife and children as well as he could and the balloon had been a perfect target to make some bits. Even in this wreckage, they could salvage enough of the Canterlotian material to sell at the local broker. Skank liked their broker. He never asked where the items they sold came from or how they acquired them.
“Buckin’ forest. This the edge o’ the Everfree or sometin? Is that why you sound so jumpy? I got m’piece still. That’s all I need. Dragons an’ Monsters don’ dare come after this pony.” The white pony puffed up as though he were made of steel.
“Naw, this is Apple territory. Used ta’ be part of the orchard. They probably’ll be out lookin’ soon. The racket this thing caused as it broke down all them trees was bound to alert somepony workin’ for them bitches.” The stallion looked at the devastation. “You see the driver? I s’pect they’d be all over the place after that.”
The white pony in shades shrugged and lifted a large piece of framework from the wreckage and added it to a pile of salvage he had accumulated. He didn’t really care what happened to the driver of the vehicle, although the thought of a Canterlot bitch being scattered across the forest made him chortle.
He was only interested in the profit and not the fate of the driver. The profit these scraps brought would keep him in drugs for a while. Lots of Sweets and lots of beer. He would settle in good and get high for a few days. Life was going to be sweet for the rest of the week.
“I’m right here. I’m okay. I used my magic to slow the fall for me and my assistant here.” Twilight had only caught the last little bit of their conversation and while she had not been thrilled to hear the blue one describe his expectations of where her body would have been, chocked it up to the on-scene ponies seeing many crash sites and other accidents. The ponies who could deal with death on a daily basis had to be used to such scenes. She breathed out a deep sigh of relief as the two earth ponies looked up and at her and Spike. “We are so appreciative of how quickly the two of you came to the scene of the accident. Dedication like that is why you both have such jobs. Thank you both.”
Skank and Pony-C looked at each other and chuckled, before going back to their salvaging. They had judged the mare and her dragon companion quickly and found no threat there. Canterlot bitches were stuck-up and knew nothing of how the streets worked. They wanted to get their rewards and get out before the Apples came to investigate. For the moment, they left the dumb unicorn to her assumptions and ignored her.
Confusion ran down Twilight’s face and she looked at Spike for a moment in quandary. The dragon only shrugged in response and she moved a little closer towards their rescue party. “Soooo…we were the only ones aboard and we’re not injured. Are there any others who can clean this up while you take us somewhere to contact Canterlot?”
The pair just kept ignoring her. Social awkwardness was one thing, but ignoring her was downright rude. Maybe they knew she had caught them talking about where her corpse should have been and were embarrassed. That was probably it. They were ashamed and didn’t want to look her in the eye. Her expression changed to one of understanding and a little pity. It really must be hard on them. “I understand, guys. It’s okay, I’m not mad that you were umm…joking a little. You don’t have to be embarrassed about it. I’m sure you’ve both seen a lot with your jobs.”
“Ka-bucking-ching!” The blue pony that had been scouring the debris from the wreckage came up with a suitcase in his hooves. He held it aloft for a moment before using a piece of deflated balloon to wrap his salvage into a sack. At that moment in the distance, they heard the barking of a dog. It sounded angry. It sounded big. It sounded like Winona.
The White pony with sunglasses whooped, “Yeeeeaah, colt! Let’s get gone, homey.” He hastily tore at the fabric of the balloon and followed suit in making an impromptu sack. Twilight still didn’t understand exactly what these two were doing and watched them begin to cart pieces of the wreckage away. Casting an eye to Spike in a manner that said, “I don’t know,” she began to follow them, rushing to catch up. She assumed they were finished and were leading her to a nice safe building where she could regroup after the harrowing event and sleep. In the morning, she would send a message to Celestia and within the day would be back on her travels.
Skank heard the mare catching up to them and quickly turned on her, the heavy sack of salvage on his back. He had figured the mare would understand soon enough that they weren’t there to help her but sometimes ponies were slow to understand. He let her get within a few steps and violently turned on her, glaring daggers. “Bitch, you best be steppin’. We ain’t here ta help you. You stupid or somethin’? Get goin’ or you gon’ make me slap a hoe.”
Twilight skidded to a halt and gasped. Nopony had ever spoken to her in such a manner and it took a moment to cut through the delusion that the pair was going to aid her. She couldn’t believe how rude they had been and, worse yet, they were taking parts of the wreckage for their own benefit. They didn’t care that she and Spike had almost died. They were vultures. If they had come across her corpse, they would have only searched it for valuables. They were thieves! Nothing but bandits, come to take advantage of an accident. An accident that had nearly killed her. Twilight, normally level headed and pleasant, felt anger so poignant that she lost herself in the mind-bending rage for a moment. Confronted with a situation she had never expected, she targeted the sack that the filthy white stallion was carting away as her temper flared.
Spike, who had been silently watching, almost equally as deluded at first, now stood in shock. There was silence for a moment and the blue stallion turned to leave with his friend and their vultures’ bounty. His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something mean and hurtful to the ponies about their manners and their addressing of a student of the Princess’ when it happened. For a moment, Twilight’s mane stood up angrily and she seemed to breathe fire. Spike had never seen her in such a way and her anger extinguished his own as the lavender mare released the hot pressure building inside her.
Magic tore from the horn of the lavender unicorn. It twisted in the air of the night and grasped the bag from the blue stallion like a monstrous claw. The magic ripped the stallion backward and the sack exploded in a shower of basket weavings, colorful tapestry, and the contents Twilight’s suitcase. The mare had lost it and the anger had flown from her like a demon. They would NOT have her things. These ghouls would not make bits from her misfortune.
Unfortunately, Twilight was not prone to fits of rage and as quickly as it has taken hold, it released its grasp upon her. The mare brought her front hooves up to her mouth and gasped at what she had done. She had never lost her temper before and it had frightened her. She hadn’t meant to hurt anypony. She hoped the blue stallion was okay. She looked from the downed stallion to his white friend. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the large blue stallion rolled to his hooves, pulling a hoofgun.
Skank had been thrown to the ground. It had hurt, but much worse than that, a Canterlot mare had done it. He would have to do something or Pony-C would spread the word to the rest of the 3rd Street Cappers, and they would call him a punk bitch. He couldn’t let that happen. He was angry, but the shame he would endure would follow him forever if he didn’t do something now. This mare had tried to ruin him. He started to lose it. His rationality flew to the wind as quickly as Twilight’s had, but his temper wasn’t the worst of it. He could get cruel and stay cruel.
He glared at the unicorn and saw more than just a mare. He saw his wife, nagging him and calling him a cheat and a bad father. It didn’t matter if it were true or not. He had had enough of it and this little purple shit was going to pay not only for what she had done to him, but also for the trap in which his wife had him. He would make her pay for the situation in which he had ensnared himself.
“Bitch, done bucked up bad.” Skank closed the distance between them and grabbed the dark mane of the mare, yanking her to her back legs and shoving the gun into her cheek. “Real bucking bad. Gon’ blow that face all to hell.” His forelegs were strong from a life of crime and, even as she squirmed, he held her tightly. She couldn’t escape. He was going to teach this Canterlot broad a lesson she wouldn’t forget.
“Oh no you don’t!” Spike, seeing his friend in dire trouble, set his feet and launched at the large pony. For a moment, he was airborne and imagined himself grabbing the stallion and biting his arm. He would drop the gun and Spike would breathe flames into the face of the scoundrel, stunning him long enough to free Twilight and the two of them could run into the forest to safety. He would be a hero and Twilight would hug him and tell him he was brave and strong and courageous and…
The big stallion’s hoof caught the leaping Spike in the stomach, producing a small draft of flames as the air was forcibly expelled from the small dragon’s lungs. He fell to the ground and fought to breathe in the cool air. His lungs just didn’t seem to want to follow directions as he rolled across the grassless earth, gasping. The helpless dragon coughed and gagged out sickly noises, holding his stomach.
Pony-C came to his friend. “Hey hey, bro…don’t hurt her. They’s all kinds of things we can still use her for.” The white stallion smirked lecherously at Skank and a creeping grin explained what he was thinking. “I always wanted ta’ see what it was like in the sack with a Canterlot prude. Let’s drag her outta here and find a nice place wit’ her.”
Skank didn’t go for the kind of things about which Pony-C was hinting. He just wanted to hurt the mare, to make her pay. He snorted loudly and twisted the barrel of the gun against Twilight’s cheek. Through the barrel, he could feel the teeth on the other side of the mare’s cheek as he pressed the gun tightly to her. Skank’s emotions twisted his expression into grotesque contortions as he stared through, not at, the terrified mare. It was all his wife’s fault. His wife ran his life and made him feel like shit. Mares, in general, made stallions feel like shit. He might not be able to shoot his wife, but he could sure as hell shoot this prudish Canterlot bitch. The gun pressed so hard into Twilight’s cheek that the skin around the barrel had blanched. Twilight’s involuntary whimper of pain snapped Skank back into the moment. He made up his mind and pulled back on the firing mechanism. “Buck that, Pony-C. This bitch goes down right here.”
***
A brown blur suddenly broke up the situation. Seemingly from nowhere, came Winona at a full charge. She lunged onto the big blue stallion, digging her teeth deeply into Skank’s foreleg. The sound of the Collie’s teeth shredding meat was sickening as she twisted and jerked on the large stallion’s leg. He screamed, the hoofgun flying from his grasp as the canine made contact with the ground, teeth still locked in flesh, and used her powerful haunches to yank the large blue stallion down, which forced him to release the lavender unicorn.
Twilight had had a very hard day and the shock from what had occurred sent her into a faint. The poor mare passed out and fell to the ground with a small thud. She lay motionless, her nerves pushed far past what she had ever dealt with before. Her body put itself into a sleep so her subconscious mind could deal with the stressful situation.
Of all the tools Applejack had at her disposal, her favorite was Winona. Winona had been one of the most reliable friends she had ever had in the old days and when everything went south, she had proved to be as reliable as ever. She loved Applejack and had done everything she could to help her master..
When times got tough, every member of the Apple Family had learned hard lessons about life. One of Winona’s lessons was that loyalty and sacrifice for those you loved was painful. Forsaking her happy upbringing and gentle nature, she had been forged in blood and sand to become a champion in the underground dog fighting pits. She had become a savage beast with only one purpose: to help Applejack in any way she could. This taught her a second lesson, that the life of those who were not her masters was cheap. Helping her beloved master usually meant tearing other dogs to pieces in the basement of some abandoned building while many ponies cheered, cursed, and gambled. Other times, it meant attacking Applejack’s enemies. If it hadn’t been for Winona’s fierce loyalty and prowess in the ring in those tough early days, the farm would have been lost.
Skank howled in pain as Winona yanked back ferociously on his leg. He could feel skin tearing every time the dog jerked him. The pain was unbearable and his voice careened in crescendo, “Buckin’ KILL this thing, Pony-C! Hurry!”
Pony-C, stunned by the turn of events registered his friend’s words slowly and went for his hoofgun. How did things go from making bits to bringing a snob down a peg to watching his friend get his leg shredded? The gun came out and he aimed down the barrel at the growling dog’s midsection.
“If ya shoot mah dog, Ah’m liable to get mad.” Applejack stood some thirty feet away with a double-barreled shotgun pointed directly at Pony-C’s head. She looked pissed. Her eyes narrowed over the sights of the shotgun and she smirked a full grin of venom at the white stallion. “Ah almost want’cha to shoot her. Ah get mighty antsy about unwelcome visitors here on the farm. Pryin’ that ugly head of yours off with buckshot might make me feel better.”
Pony-C’s gun bounced against the fruitless earth as he threw his forelegs above his head. He was only confident when things were in his favor. A weak unicorn was one thing; Applejack was another. There was no way he was going to make things worse for himself by disobeying her. She was not only a maniac, but also one who had power. No pony in the ghetto would dare cross the Apple Family. Everypony had heard the rumors of what happened on the farm. Ponies went missing when they crossed Applejack, and then there was her “collection”... “Please…We din’t mean nothin’. We jus’ wanted to make some bits from this here balloon. We din’t want troubles wit’ you Apples!” His voice cracked from the stress as he pled for his life.
Applejack grinned to herself. She cast her eyes on her faithful dog, and then to the nearby soil, which was turning black as it greedily consumed the blood that poured down the injured pony’s leg. She had grown to enjoy watching the pain of those who dared to provoke her. As the soil ate up the crimson liquid, she devoured the cries of anguish from the big blue stallion. She let the dog pull meat from bone for a few moments longer.
“Is that so? When why in tarnation didja trespass on Apple Family lands if ya didn’t want trouble? Ah think ya knew whatcha were doin’ and didn’t care.” She toyed with the stallion in sunglasses. Big Mac and a couple others of the Family had joined Applejack now. “Ah think ya wanted ta show off what big balls ya have. Ya wanted to come here an’ spit on Apple Family ground. What do ya think, Big Mac?”
“Eeyup,” replied the largest of the apple family. Big Mac was of few words in the best of moods, but now, he looked furious. Nopony EVER came onto his family’s land. This blatant trespassing was a curious business. Why would these two openly mock Apple privacy knowing what would likely happen to them? They were up to something. Or they were stupid. Big Mac aired on the side of caution. “Up ta somethin’, AJ.”
The orange mare in the old Stetson hat nodded. “That’s what Ah think too, Big Mac. What are ya tryin’ ta do here, steal somethin’? Kill somepony? Are you an assassin, ya slimy hedgehog?” Applejack knew better, but wanted to torment the stallion. His stupidity echoed in his vacant stare.
Skank screamed before Pony-C could answer, “Jus’ tryin’ ta make bits from this rich bitch! Get yer dog! Please! It’s killin’ me!” His leg would never heal completely. Winona had crushed nerves and split ligaments. He would have only limited use of that leg for the rest of his life.
Applejack glared at the wounded pony and anger painted her words, “Ah didn’t ask YOU did Ah? Harder, Winona!” The dog obeyed bit down harder upon the foreleg trapped in her jaws. The crunch of bones echoed in the wastes of the orchard followed quickly by frantic screams.
“PLEASE! We jus’ needed money and saw that unicorn flyin’ in the balloon. We didn’t know she’d land here when we shot her down. We jus wanted ta make some bits!” Pony-C was close to panic. His friend’s screams froze what little confidence he had left. His bladder emptied before the group and he fell to the ground. “We jus’ wanted ta party. Don’t kill us.”
Applejack smirked to her brother, Big Mac. She had control of the situation. She liked the feeling of power and wanted Big Mac to enjoy what she had made the pathetic stallion do. She still wanted to scare him some more and winked at Big Mac as she spoke, “You were gonna rape that purple mare. Ah heard what ya said. Is that what big boys like you do? Catch weak little mares and force yerselves on ’em? Ya want to do that to me? Ah’m a mare. Ya think you can just take whatcha want from us?”
Pony-C’s sunglasses fell off as he jerked his head up, pupils dilated in fear and sweat making his coat stick together. “NO! I’d never do that. I was jus’…jokin’. Ya’know. I didn’t want Skank to think I was soft. I wouldn’t ever touch…”
“Cut his junk off, Mac.”
Big Mac took out a small pocketknife and flipped the blade open as he stepped, painfully slowly, towards the frightened stallion. He kicked the stallion onto his back, busting his mouth and nostrils with the mighty blow. Big Mac leaned down with the knife.
Applejack spoke up, “So, does he have big balls? He came here to show them off. Are they as large as he wants us to believe?”
“Nope.” Big Mac’s eyes never left the terrorized pony. They were deep pools of remorseless horror. Big Mac had done things, atrocious things, and never once regretted them. His eyes were soulless. They were emotionless, dead. Nothing would faze him and Pony-C could identify his own painful death under the tyranny of those eyes. The knife brushed his junk and he let out a whimper.
“Then he’s not worth our time. Let’em head back ta Ponyville.” Applejack mused, a grin plastered on her face. She loved it. She wanted to send this pair back as a warning to those who would trespass on Apple ground.
Pony-C sighed a deep breath of relief as the giant red stallion removed the blade and took those evil eyes from him. He was going to go home. He would see his mother again. He would see Swizzle Stick again, in private of course.
“…but make sure he remembers not ta come back.” This was the part that Applejack wanted to see. She watched as the white pony looked betrayed and started to beg just as Big Mac’s hoof came down directly between his legs, making a satisfying crunch. Applejack hated rapists. She had never been pushed around in her life, but the idea of being forced into…such acts sickened her. She could only think of Apple Bloom. She was innocent…weak. That white stallion would have taken advantage of her sister because he could. He was going to take advantage of this unicorn. He didn’t deserve to live, but he would. The white pony had built a fire inside of Applejack that only blood could extinguish. Yes, she would let them live, but they would regret ever coming to Sweet Apple Acres and the little would be rapist would never quite “function” the same way again.
***
After the pair was released to drag themselves back to the holes from which they had crawled, the Apple Family looked over the unicorn mare and baby dragon. Neither appeared to have any serious wounds, but both were unconscious. They had been oblivious to the blood and pain that went on around them. Sleeping through the screams and cries, they were infants to the streets. Newborns experiencing the pain of life in Ponyville in small drops instead of torrents.
Big Mac motioned to them and raised an eyebrow. His expression said it all. A Canterlot mage and a dragon here in Sweet Apple Acres? Why had they been so close to their land? They paid good bits to be left alone by the local law enforcement and there had been a no-fly rule over Sweet Apple Acres since the incident. For whom did they work? Why were they interested now?
Applejack wore a serious look. She had been asking herself the same questions. She and Big Mac had always thought alike when it came to the Apple Family. The future of Sweet Apple Acres might be at risk if Canterlot was stepping into their business. They had to ask questions, violently if need be. They had survived before and would survive again, but they had to know with whom and what they were dealing.
“Bring’em big brother. We’ll find out what they’re doin’ here.”