Appledashery

by Just Essay

Blood Hungry

"Romulus, you damned bird!" a suited stallion gnashed his teeth. "Is this some kind of a joke?!"

"Believe me." Romulus' good eye glinted as he stood with his front talons crossed. "I did not trek all the way through a dark cave full of spiders to tell a joke."

"You call this tracking a petite pegasus?!" The thug retorted. "You've teleported us into the middle of nowhere!" He stomped his hoof, then turned back towards the portal. "Come on, boys. Let's go back and tell the Don that he's been led on another wild goose chase."

"Hold your hooves, ya stupid ponies!" Top Dog barked. He sniffed at the air, sniffed again, then said: "These scents are all very strange to me, and there's no wind from the east."

"What in Tartarus' name is that supposed to mean, you crazy mutt?!"

"Can't you tell?!" Top Dog's grizzled brow furrowed. "We are no longer in Equestrian territory." He slapped his staff against the gravel. "Even this earth is stale. Untainted by living paws." He slowly shook his head. "No, the only intelligent beasts who stalk this land do so from the air."

"You mean..." Flim's eyes narrowed. "Like dragons?"

"The pegasus is nearing the lair of Aatxe," Sunset Shimmer said. "And when she gets there, we'll stage an ambush, seizing all of the shards that are left."

"And when you're done..." Flam cocked his head aside, squinting suspiciously. "...you'll teleport us back to the Don, right?"

"Yes. Of course." Sunset rolled her eyes. "And then we'll divy up the chaotic power amongst ourselves. It's like we've discussed!"

"We know what we've discussed," one thug grumbled, marching forward and adjusting his tie. "But how do you even know that this... Rainbow Dash is nearing her destination? For all we know, you've just stranded us out in the middle of nowhere!"

"So long as Sunset Sorceror here is in possession of the crystals, then no one is stranded," Romulus said.

"But—"

"Have some damn faith in us, you sniveling whiner!" Romulus spat, making the mobsters jolt. "Goddess above! The only reason I work with you imbeciles is because your boss pays so well!"

"He's going to want an update," another thug said. "What should we tell him once we've sent one of our members back?"

"Tell him that we're all tailing the pegasus now," Romulus said. "And the moment she spots a dragon—and they spot her—we'll make our first move. Those shards are as good as his."

"I... think he's going to want a bit more specifics than that."

"He'll get more, I promise you." Romulus' eye glinted. "He'll get a drop of her blood." He raised a talon, hissing to the group. "We'll all get to make the pegasus pay!"

The criminals and henchstallions collectively cheered. Squidgy spun around in his jar, flickering with bright emerald fury.

"I have a question, griffon." Top Dog shuffled up, followed by a pair of his canine cronies. "Who gets to collect the head?"

"Screw the head," Sunset Shimmer spat. "I want her heart!" She smiled wickedly. "I intend to put a transmogrification spell on it... drop it in on her friends while they're having a tea party... make them watch as the last piece of Rainbow Dash flitters away into moths!"

"Patience... patience!" Romulus smarled, raising a talon. "We will all get her blood in due time. But first... the shards."

"You're certain she's still intent on grabbing them herself?" Flam asked.

"Absolutely." Romulus turned about, peeking to look over the hill of gravel at their distant target. "After all... she's got a talking piece of the pie to keep her pathetic flank company..."

Comments

[Lightning Bearer]

"Screw the head," Sunset Shimmer spat. "I want her heart!" She smiled wickedly. "I intend to put a transmogrification spell on it... drop it in on her friends while they're having a tea party... make them watch as the last piece of Rainbow Dash flitters away into moths!"

Well, that doesn't bode well for my hope of Sunset being redeemed.

[Sharp Quill]

Squidgy spun around in his jar, flickering with bright emerald fury.

Uh... what does Squidgy bring to this party? Seems pointless to me.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

"Screw the head," Sunset Shimmer spat. "I want her heart!" She smiled wickedly. "I intend to put a transmogrification spell on it... drop it in on her friends while they're having a tea party... make them watch as the last piece of Rainbow Dash flitters away into moths!"

Yeah, you do that, you dumb brain-dead dipshit. That'll be the last thing that you ever do before Applejack personally rips out your heart and rams it down your throat for killing the mare that she loves.

And the rest of you? I don't fancy your collective chances after Twilight got her hooves; or more correctly, her magic; on your sorry carcasses for killing one of her best friends.

[Autumn Rush]

"Screw the head," Sunset Shimmer spat. "I want her heart!" She smiled wickedly. "I intend to put a transmogrification spell on it... drop it in on her friends while they're having a tea party... make them watch as the last piece of Rainbow Dash flitters away into moths!"

Oh...

Well, I can't imagine this will actually happen, of course, but that's still an unpleasant image.

[Mister Saxon]

6348480
You never really know with JE. I don't have hope for most of them, but I still think there's hope for her. I could easily see the story at some point going into her conflict with Celestia.

Actually, thinking about it, she's probably going after Discord's power so that she can get some sort of revenge on Celestia.

[Lone Gazebo]

Don't look at it in the, oh god so many enemies way. Think of it in the, There's now a fully functional portal for her to teleport back into Equestria, and therefore gives her even more time to get the shards for AppleBloom.

[JodiePonyPuddinAndPie]

6348506 perhaps there are basalisks out here that it can sense? *shrug*

[JodiePonyPuddinAndPie]

"So long as Sunset Sorceror here is in possession of the crystals, then no one is stranded," Romulus said.

Foooooreshadowing!

[MoonMirror]

6348506 Note that they're not under monster burning enchanted sun anymore. I expect that will come into play!

[TwilightUCrazy]

Who the hell was Squidgy again...?

[BabySkittleMonster]

6349328
That crazy basilisk eye that Rainbow saves, uses, then accidentally kills.

[Elsaack]

Does this cavalcade of villains know what the shards are, beyond power sources? They call them shards like Dash and the other good guys do, but do they know that they are parts of a defeated draconequus, a disharmonious foil to alicorns? That the pieces might fit back together and that would be a very bad thing? I feel like some smart being should be worried about RD resurrecting a long gone chaos avatar. That and I would find it funny if the villains had the totally justified idea that they were stopping the return of Discord while getting a bunch of magically active power sources. Win-Win as it were.

[zaponator]

Jeeze, these guys are certainly upping the ante, eh? I only hope that they're turning the evil up to 11 just so that we don't have to feel bad when you kill them all.

[TwilightUCrazy]

6349580

Yeah... not ringin' a bell.

[BabySkittleMonster]

6349766
Y'know. The eye from the basilisk with the apple pies and the weird goat and the buffalo that had some mental problem. I'm not helping, am I? Just... Use this as an excuse to reread the story. That's what I do. Then again, I'm a sad person with too much time on my hands.

[TwilightUCrazy]

6350063

Was that the buffalo arc?

[BabySkittleMonster]

6350067
Yep! You got it! Maybe I'm not too bad at this explaining malarkey.

[TwilightUCrazy]

6350070

Eh, I probably didn't remember it simply for lack of interest in it, personally.

Ironically, I loved the crap out of the arc leading up to Cider Space, and didn't at all care for Cider Space itself. The goofy adventure arcs don't do it for me quite so much as the more personal, character-development arcs do. This one, for example, that we're in. The griffons weren't my cup of tea -- but I loved the spiders (even if the the Dash monologues and Applejack hallucinations felt a bit contrived). And likewise, before the griffons, I loved the letter-writing Rainbow did.

It's odd. I typically love adventure fics like Austraeoh. But this fic feels a lot stronger when it's focused on Dash as an individual and as a character. It's at its best when it's focused on her struggles and selflessness, and the war she's fighting to try and justify her desires for Applejack, and reconciling her lack of self-worth, even as her body is slowly quitting her.

Honestly, I think it's because this fic is so frenetic and hyped up on Dr. Pepper that it feels nice when we get a break now and again from the whack-factory.

Still, I'm eager to see where this climactic arc leads to.

[BabySkittleMonster]

6350129
To be honest, I feel the same. The best part of the Griffin arc to me was seeing Dash make up with Gilda, and seeing how the two deal with their differences. I loved the hallucinations because of the insecurities it played on. That, to me, makes Rainbow a much more believable heroine. If she was completely brave and selfless, it just would seem contrived and dull. However, in this story we see a painful past for her to overcome, weaknesses and bad habits for her to destroy and we see that all she ever does is for love. Not necessarily justice, but love. And, of course, a sense of self-punishment too. Because she's Dash.

The goofy adventure arcs don't do it for me

I'm sorry, but reading this line then looking at your avatar just cracked me up. It took me a few minutes to recuperate.

[TwilightUCrazy]

6350136

What I meant is that I felt the spider's venom causing Rainbow Dash these hallucinations seemed a bit forced to me. It would be one thing if the venom had invoked fever dreams, and her lack of sleep was causing her mind to race back and forth between the past and the present as she pushed on. Random Halluci-jack, though, made me roll my eyes a bit, if I'm honest. It felt very forced by my taste. I'm not sure, but I don't think venom messes with your brain like that, and I don't know why a predator's venom would attack a prey's psyche rather than their bodily or nervous functions.

Of course, I'm a nitpicky watchamacallit who eats OCD-inducing M&M's for breakfast, so...

The goofy adventure arcs don't do it for me

I'm sorry, but reading this line then looking at your avatar just cracked me up. It took me a few minutes to recuperate.

I'm here all week. Be sure to tip your waitress.

[Sharp Quill]

6350063

Then again, I'm a sad person with too much time on my hands.

And not enough tator tots.

mobile-cuisine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/tater-tot-fun-facts.jpg

[BabySkittleMonster]

6350172

Random Halluci-jack, though, made me roll my eyes a bit, if I'm honest.

It's my belief here that Applejack isn't an aspect of hallucination like in the previous chapters. I think it's Rainbow's feelings of guilt and lack of worth messing with her. It's a fairly common occurrence in trauma victims, apparently. I wouldn't know personally, but still...

I'm not sure, but I don't think venom messes with your brain like that, and I don't know why a predator's venom would attack a prey's psyche rather than their bodily or nervous functions.

It depends on the venom, really. Typically, poison, rather than venom, targets the psyche, but there are a few in known animals that do the same. It's actually a very useful tool. If you instigate enough terror, most animals freeze. And, due to the lowered mental faculties, it actually makes it rather easy for the predator to capture it's prey. There are some interesting articles on the psychedelic effects of poison on animals on the Internet, if you have a look. Because I'm a nerd like that.

I'm here all week. Be sure to tip your waitress.

I hope you don't mind Pound Sterling. I've never been anywhere near the America's, so you'll have to make do. If you are truly desperate, I do have a decent cache of Euro's.

[TwilightUCrazy]

6350194

Interesting. I'll have to read more into that kind of thing. I wasn't too terribly interested before, but you've piqued my curiosity.

[Sharp Quill]

6350253 The correct spelling is “tator tots.” Nope, we do not have Yorkshire pudding that I know of.

[LucyHorseThing]

"Screw the head," Sunset Shimmer spat. "I want her heart!" She smiled wickedly. "I intend to put a transmogrification spell on it... drop it in on her friends while they're having a tea party... make them watch as the last piece of Rainbow Dash flitters away into moths!"

Remember when everypony wanted to do this to Stu?

[arancaytar]

"Screw the head," Sunset Shimmer spat. "I want her heart!" She smiled wickedly. "I intend to put a transmogrification spell on it... drop it in on her friends while they're having a tea party... make them watch as the last piece of Rainbow Dash flitters away into moths!"

Sunset, have you considered seeing a therapist?