Journey to the center of Equestria

by Rarity Belle

Chapter XXXII

The company had just been wandering over the same plains they had crossed the day before. With her hair waving in the calm breezes of wind was she sunken deep inside of her how thoughts. The unicorn soothsayer stood once again at an impasse. Of course she could have decided to keep on trekking towards the Frozen North and pray that they would eventually come across something that resembled food, or they could take yet another detour and go to the town of Appleloosa to stock up.

The images of the map continued to rush themselves through the mind of the mare it did seem like the most logical step for them to be taken. “Always ready to help, but never been able to make the hard decisions,” mumbled Twilight to herself. A deep sigh was released through her nostrils in the hope to calm her mind. The words were perhaps a little bit more then true.

It had of course proven itself time and time already on the trip that whenever there was a tough decision that had to be made, Twilight needed to think. Yet she hurled herself into danger’s way just like that. Perhaps it was for the better that she had separated herself from the others just for a little bit. While the winds that ran past her ears were catching her attention.

Her eyes turned themselves over into the air itself and she simply stared down the horizon as the sun came up. What was wisdom in the moment? That was the question that rushed through the mind of the mare. The best decision to make it up to the Frozen North and still be well supplied.

Of course had Twilight the ability to summon the food that was required for each of them. It was something that she could have done easily in fact. The only problem would have been the little fact that it would have been far from fresh. Not to mention the taste of the arcane energy wasn’t something that was loved by any and all.

She hadn’t tried it on the trip yet and wouldn’t be doing it either. If any of them got to know just what she could actually do with her powers, all hell would be breaking loose within a moment’s notice. Or so she thought at least. Her eyes turned themselves back over to the camp where she glanced over all the other anthronies finally having gotten out of their beds or returned as well.

Rainbow Dash spoke a little bit with Applejack about subjects that Twilight thankfully couldn’t hear. If their troubles would also have reached her, her mind would have been going into a massive shutdown before the day had even actually and properly began.

The unicorn shook her head a little bit as she then continued on her small walking over the plains. The moist grass below her hooves of the dew was feeling oddly comfortable to her body as the hands were placed upon her back.

At one end she could just make the journey straight up north. On the other end, they perhaps couldn’t. It was a literal powder keg that could be blowing up at any given moment given all of their personalities. Twilight shook her head calmly from side to side as she weighed the odds, risks and rewards against one another. A decision had to fall there and then.

All of the other mares were already having their fair share of the breakfast that had been made by Fluttershy when Twilight finally returned from her little trip. Each of them greeted her with a couple of simple words before the mare herself sat down on the makeshift table.

Almost right away had she then reached out for a slice of bread and a cup of warm tea as her eyes quickly glanced once more over each of them. She had to bring the news to the lot of them eventually, so why would be she be waiting? The answer to the question could actually be found in the major of the air force who opened her own mouth just as Twilight wanted to take a bite.

“So…” Rainbow Dash began as she set her own cup back on the table and looked over to the soothsayer. “The plan for today is to reach the Frozen North right? Clear skies ahead and mild winds, that’s my weather forecast for the day.”

But much to everypony’s surprise did Twilight shook her head. All of them didn’t fully understood the fact of just why. Why would she not have wanted to go straight to the North as it was their heading? Could the mare have been spooked by something else that they didn’t know? They were right on that, albeit it being partly.

“Why wouldn’t be able to go, dear? Rainbow just told us that if we make haste, we can be reaching it before nightfall or early next morning,” replied Rarity. She had shifted her position a little bit. One leg was thrown over the other while her sapphire blue rims almost penetrated into the soul of Twilight. That haunting set of eyes made it uncomfortable, yet she had to overcome intimidation.

“Because Rarity, the rest of you,” the soothsayer began. The slice of bread was laid back on the plate. What then followed was a deep exhale that came through her nostrils. The eyes closed themselves for a minute. “We’re running low on provisions. While it is true that the void storage contains food, it is only good for a certain amount of days. If it goes to spoil and we end up eating it…” A gulp was then released by the soothsayer as her entire appetite just seemed to have vanished.

Once again she looked up at everypony present and could only speak her words of worry. “Let’s say the way back home might be even longer, if there’s even going to be a way home.” Those words felt like a massive sledgehammer pounding itself through a brick-built wall as if it was nothing.

Commotion between the members of the company wanted to erupt in pretty much it fullest of glories, yet they managed to keep themselves calm for one reason or the other. Perhaps they weren’t willing to fight in the early morning. Or they didn’t wanted to give Twilight yet another headache next to her side still healing as well. Who would have actually told the facts as they were?

“What, uhm, w-what’s the plan going to, to be?” stuttered Fluttershy. Her kind but shy voice filled itself in the air. All of the eyes were once again aimed towards Twilight. All but one set of eyes. For the admiral was glancing over all the other anthronies for just a moment before she returned her attention as well.

Twilight leaned back just a little bit. There was a deep sniff made by her. One that acted as an inhale through her nostrils. “Well, Applejack had been plotting a course to the nearest town. Family of hers seems to run it and they are willing to share a big bit of their food supply for our trip. But there’s one catch however. It means that we have yet to take another detour from the original route. The place is close to where we need to be, so I suggest we make haste,” explained Twilight.

Grumbles and mumbles were the things that followed. None of them had even heard of Appleloosa before in their lives. Perhaps it was something for the better as well as Applejack had something to confess. She might not have been entirely honest and could have plunged the whole company in a spiral of nothing but death and despair.

The admiral tore her attention away from the table and glanced over the endless plains of Equestria. Plains that would eventually shift and change into something a whole lot more dangerous. Something that only she knew and perhaps Twilight as well. But they were in need of extra provisions, so the risk seemed to have been well worth it. If only they wouldn’t figure out the thing that Applejack had done in order to get them crazy enough to go.

~~~~

With their breakfasts eaten and the gear once again packed were they ready to leave the circle of trees. The fire was finally put out by Twilight’s magic and the last checkups were made. They were all ready to once again head into the wild, wild world that was their Equestria. Given the fact that Applejack herself already knew how to walk the route from there to Appleloosa itself, it was voted that she would have been the leader for the company for that day.

The admiral would be leading them right into town where they would hopefully get the aid they needed. All of them had packed everything again and gave a nod to one another. They were ready to go and that was exactly what the admiral did. She took the first step towards the place with her steam powered leg and they were all just off. Off into the literal unknown once again.

Time and time again they kept on walking as if there wasn’t anything happening. But there was something happening. For the longer they seemed to be walking, the more the landscape seemed to be changing. Though the changes that were seen didn’t actually seem to be for the better. For the grassy fields out of which the plains existed slowly turned themselves into savanna before the hot sand was just scorching beneath their hooves and shoes.

The admiral had lead them straight into the biggest sea that could be found upon the land itself. Each of them wanted to complain about the little fact, but the earth anthrony always said that she knew what she was doing. It was an actual surprise for Twilight that none of them even dared to play mutiny against her. Though what didn’t happen then, it certainly could be happening in the future. The dice still had to be cast about their fate, was another thought that went through Twilight.

The eyes of the soothsayer had turned themselves into the skies . She tried to determine the time of day as something else caught her eyes. For high within the skies stood the beating sun. It’s warmth just hammered the lot of them down and making them drink their reservoirs of water like they were nothing. Yet they couldn’t drink all they wanted. They had to preserve a lot of it for when the time was actually there.

Shirts were taken off and head-scarves were made out of them to at least keep the blistering heat off of them for as much as it was possible. Never in their lives had they been tortured in such a manner and it was clearly visible. From Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy, each of the mares sweat like never before. Even Twilight herself had fallen victim to it, she almost was about to faint.

She lived on the fine line between fainting and staying with them actually. Of course she wanted to use a massive spell to cool them all down. Though every time she even as much as tried to get in contact with the arcane powers there was the feeling of fainting already. With her head pounding itself inside of her skull did it seem to have been actually better to endure the heat then to lose her consciousness beneath it. Something none of them were actually happy about.

“Maps, maps, where did I leave the maps?” Twilight whispered up to herself. She tried to find the very same maps that were given to her by Applejack. Even though they were in a small pouch that rested on the side of her body, the dreaded heat caused her to not think clearly in the slightest.

Eventually she did reach inside of the little pouch and took out the one map that she knew held of the answers. For one little thing had been off for the whole time. One thing that just didn’t make sense from the moment she noticed it until them. And that very little thing happened to be the thing they all cursed in the moment. Nothing else than the sun itself.

Twilight just hoped that her suspicions weren’t right as it did seem to her that the sun was traveling with them, instead of crossing their path. “This can’t be true, now is it?” she mumbled almost inaudible for the rest. She separated herself just that little bit from the group. Not that they would really be missing her that much in the moment, thanks to their own little misery.

The eyes of the unicorn continued to go upwards and glanced over the skies. Nothing could even indicate of where exactly they were so the answer wasn’t hidden in the skies. It must have been inside of the map itself that the answer was hidden. At least that was the logical reasoning of the unicorn, for as much as she still had that thing.

An exhale was released through her nostrils. Twilight looked once again over the route they were walking. It seemed to be heading them right into the northern direction. For just a couple of minutes she just stared at the thing as if it would eventually give away its very secrets.

Minutes went by as Twilight felt herself shifting between the world of blistering sand and the world of darkness as everything around her faded in and out of existence. The feelings of fainting became only stronger with every step she took. It was her brain that tried to kick back into its fullest of gears which perhaps wasn’t the brightest of ideas in the moment.

“Oh my head,” she spoke up a little louder. In response was it Fluttershy who turned herself around. Next to Twilight was the doctor the one who formed the rearguard and caught the words within her ears. She saw the near devastated Twilight just wandering along like she was on her last reserves. A gulp was released by the mare as she reached for a flask in the side of her hip. Near instantly she actually stopped and waited for Twilight having passed the distance between them.

Then the two of them would have been walking together as the pegasus offered her flask. Twilight’s dulled out eyes looked first towards the mare and then the flask. But the action that Fluttershy wanted to be done, wasn’t. Instead she got a shake of the soothsayer’s head as she gestured with her head she didn’t need it. That was something that told Fluttershy that Twilight was about to dehydrate herself.

If dehydration would have fallen upon Twilight herself, who knew what would be actually happening next? “Twilight, you need to drink. Even if it is just one sip. One sip of nice, cool water in this heat. I’m a doctor, remember? I know what’s best for you,” plead Fluttershy to the mare while they looked at one another.

The stern look that could be found within the eyes of the doctor compared to the dulled out rims of Twilight were perhaps more than enough to convince the both of them from their suspicions. “Don’t make me chug it down your throat,” the doctor then said in a serious tone. Those words caused the purple skinned mare to raise an eyebrow as she hadn’t expected those words to have come out of that normally so quiet mouth.

But it proved the fact once again that Fluttershy was perhaps the best in the field of what he did. It made her feel oddly comfortable whenever there was a medical emergency, or she at least seemed to have been that way. Twilight couldn’t tell and she really didn’t wanted to. “Fluttershy, I’m fine. Trust me,” mumbled Twilight with her dried up lips. Next to that did the pain in her side also return like fire. A winch was given off as the hand that held the map was pressed against it.

Once again did the yellow skinned pegasus glance over Twilight before she shook her head with a sigh that came from her nostrils. “Just take a sip, will you,” she spoke up in a stern and demanding tone towards the other mare.

But Twilight wouldn’t be having any of that. “I’m old and wise enough, to know what I’m doing for myself and my body, mom.” That was the biggest mistake that Twilight could have ever made against Fluttershy. In that instant did she knew what was wrong, there was no more turning back. Fluttershy looked over to the rest of the company and gave a whistle with two of her fingers.

The sudden noise that was given off caught the attention of all three other mares and when they turned around, they caught a falling Twilight. All of their eyes went wide as they never thought to be seeing the scenes they did. Gulps were released by all of them as Fluttershy dropped herself on her knees and set the flask against Twilight’s lips. Whether the unicorn liked it or not, Fluttershy was going to chug the water down her throat.

“Is she going to be alright?” Rainbow asked in a truly worried voice. The eyes, for perhaps the first time during the trip, irradiated actual fear. Rarity brought a hand to her mouth as Applejack just pushed the two of them aside. She walked forward with the sand crushing into the gears of her leg.

Fluttershy never took her eyes off of Twilight. A hand was placed upon the forehead of the mare. A mare who actually kept on drinking the waters given to her. Applejack eventually stood next to the doctor. The admiral wondered if she could help in any way or form. “She’s going to be fine, Rainbow. She needs but a couple of minutes to come back by again. She’s dehydrated and delirious for the moment. The foolish mare didn’t drink anything for over an hour, that is my best guess.”

A massive weight fell off of the shoulders of the pegasus in that moment. Her eyes closed themselves for a moment. Yet Rarity placed her arms again next to her body while she looked over the fallen mare. “You need me to do something, Fluttershy?” she just plainly asked were as Applejack just did nothing.

The pegasus nodded before she spoke the command. “If you could give her a gentle shock, she should be returning to normal again. Took the liberty to fill my flask with some medicine that dissolve in water as well. When she comes back, she should be the Twilight we came to know.”

Rarity nodded as her own horn charged itself up and released a small blast of the arcane magic right into the chest of Twilight. The sparks of sapphire blue aura travelled over the chest of the mare as the wait began again.

Applejack couldn’t look at it anymore and left the spot to form once again the head of the company. Fluttershy, Rainbow and Rarity all seemed to have found it a little bit unusual for the admiral to do such a thing. But Rainbow quickly took their attention away from her. “It’s always Twilight who gets these things. Don’t any of you find it odd?” asked Rainbow then. She spoke the things that were traveling on her mind without much consideration of them.

While the words were indeed more than true, they were also complete and utter useless. The head of Fluttershy finally moved itself up and towards Rainbow. The eyes that were given to the other pegasus happened to be unpleasant to say the least. “She’s a soothsayer, major. Soothsayers aren’t used to getting out of the castle much. Let alone if they have to travel to places like we’re going to. So, would you kindly just shut up about it? Your words are not something we need now.”

“Fine then missy nurse,” replied Rainbow. She turned herself around and just left Fluttershy by. Rarity couldn’t do much else then to release an annoyed sigh before she began to just wander through the sands.

“It’s, doctor, by the way,” corrected Fluttershy under her breath to Rainbowl. All while Twilight slow but steady managed to get back into the there and then. There came a smile from ear to ear upon the face of the pegasus as she was just genuinely glad that the mare had returned safely to them. “How are you feeling Twilight?”

"Actually,” the soothsayer began. She blinked a couple of times with her eyes. Everything both made sense and not at the same time. Her mind still had to make everything correct about what was actually what. Eventually she shook her head quickly and got back on her hooves with the help of Fluttershy. “Doing a lot better, thanks Fluttershy.”

“No need to thank me, just doing my job,” the pegasus replied. She then let out a little squee.

Twilight couldn’t help it but to giggle a bit to herself. Though the go sign was given off again. “Where would be we if you hadn’t come along?” she then asked towards the doctor. Who on her own turn just left the question unanswered for obvious reasons. The two of them joined themselves once again by the company as the unicorn remembered what she had to be doing.

Quickly was the map brought before her again and for the first time noticed Twilight the way it was folded up. “Hello,” she mumbled under her breath as she began to unfold the thing. Corner by corner was revealed by her up to the point where the massive revelation was revealed to her.

“That, lying, mare…” Twilight spoke up under her breath. Her eyes looked up from the map and set her sights upon Applejack herself. The revelation that was made to Twilight, confirmed her earlier suspicions. The company of mares had been traveling into the wrong direction. The company went with the sun towards the west instead of crossing it to the north.

The soothsayer was furious in the moment until she realized once more that they were low on provisions. Then she suddenly could understand just why Applejack had been doing the thing that she had been doing. Technically hadn’t the mare been lying to them, on the other end was something shattered. The trust that the soothsayer had placed within the admiral was dented. Not that it all mattered much really anymore. For the map had been folded back up and placed back in the pouch.

Becoming angry after having fainted the way she did, it wasn’t the wisest of things to do. So it came down on the fact that Twilight had to trust her upon Applejack perhaps once more and just pray that everything would be going the way it was supposed to be. Even if that perhaps wasn’t the plan as a whole.

Yet a little bit further up in the company had Rarity more than enough of walking through the desert. She hungered back for the ocean and its many mysteries. She wanted to return to the helm of her ship and take full command again. “I wish I never had said yes to this dreaded and good for nothing quest,” the pirate muttered to herself just loud enough for Rainbow to hear.

Even though the two didn’t trust one another, they were often seen together for one reason or the other. Perhaps the pirate and the major found that they were the best conversation partners for each other or them together gave off the least amount of danger. Who could tell? Rainbow gave a cutting look right to Rarity when she caught the words.

It didn’t took long before the pegasus herself returned some of her own with a whisper. “Quit you moaning and groaning. Don’t you have a bit of pride and respect left within you?”

Those words caused Rarity to raise an eyebrow as she wanted to know the finer details of just what was being said to her. “And how do you mean that? I have a lot of pride and respect inside of me.” Rarity returned in a cutting tone as her eyes narrowed themselves to just small openings. “What are you trying to tell here, rainbow?” She didn’t intend to speak the name of the mare, but merely the thing that her tail was. Which naturally was a literal rainbow of colors.

Though Rainbow herself didn’t caught the insult as she continued her words. “They found you, which I heard is pretty difficult to do in and of itself. Not to mention the little fact that they managed to actually get you on this. You owe them both that respect,” she said in a dead serious tone towards the pirate. A thing which actually did manage to silence her.

Rainbow was more than right on her words though. They did manage to find her and get her crazy enough to actually join the quest of madness they all had embarked on. But how Rainbow Dash could have been so positive in the troubling time remained a mystery to the pirate. Perhaps it was a little pegasus thing. Something that could have something to do with their matters of pride.

Pegasi were just strange beings for Rarity to begin with. Bat anthronies on the other end, those she could understand within the literal snap of a finger. Then again, they weren’t the brightest lights either. Rarity released a deep sigh through her nostrils before she took another swig of her water and peeled over the horizon.

There they meant to have seen something that wasn’t there before. One of her eyebrows rose itself up as she left Rainbow and even walked out in front of Applejack. The admiral then got a surprised glance within her eyes as she kept on walking. Something had sparked the attention of Rarity. And whatever managed to be doing that was highly worth of their time.

“What are ya looking at partner?” Applejack then questioned aloud. The attention of both Twilight and Fluttershy was then also gotten as they looked first over to Applejack before their eyes shifted over to Rarity.

“Look over there, on the horizon. Isn’t that where we’re heading to?” asked Rarity with squinted eyes. Her finger pointed towards something that could be seen far in the back. All of their eyes looked as best as they could into the direction of the finger and then they finally saw it.

The couple little buildings that were erected within the heat of the desert. All of them thought to be hallucinating for certain. That was at least until Applejack began to chuckle to herself and spoke the relieving words. “There it lays, Appleloosa. We’re almost there. Perhaps an hour or three if we ain’t be caught in a sandstorm.”

~~~~

The company approached the town within the estimated time while nothing interesting happened. Applejack spoke about pretty much everything there was needed to know about it. Everything from its history to the cousin of hers that they would be meeting. The stories that were done made it look like a lawless place in the old Wild West. It couldn’t have been that bad, right? That was the thought that each of the anthronies had as they came in closer to town.

In the end could the group of mares be found just standing in front of the main street. All of them lined up with Applejack in the middle. Rainbow and Rarity stood left to her as Fluttershy and Twilight stood right of her. Each of them had that haunting glance within their eyes. A haunting glance of trouble and a long, long journey behind them.

The local residents looked over the group of mares and they already began to fear the worst. Even with Applejack’s leg shining brightly within the sun, they couldn’t have been anymore then trouble. Nopony knew what they were waiting for and quite frankly they were actually happy that the mare didn’t walked in guns blazing.

Within minutes was the main street cleared with the exception of just one stallion. A stallion that had walked out of a building and made his way over to the mares. His attire was almost a textbook cowboy in the mind of Twilight. His stetson covered the eyes but the massive moustache could still be seen below it.

The flintlocks that hung on the side of his hips looked threatening as his fingers were constantly twitching to get them. It were five mares that seemed to be well armed –two of them were unicorns no less– against a single, earth anthrony stallion. Of course he had the right to be worried. For the group of mares, they didn’t look they would be traveling just through.

Then was the head flicked back and the mares all glanced into one blind eye as well as a ruby red rim in the other. Something had gotten to the stallion that must have been unspeakable of. None of them wanted to know the story as most of them decided to let Applejack do the words that needed to be said. “What’s yar business here?” the stallion spoke up to them. He narrowed his eyes again. “Are ya bounty hunters? Or are ya trouble makers?”

“Neither, partner,” replied Applejack. She gave him a small tap of her admiral’s hat. The stallion was still cautious about everything as he allowed the mare to speak further. “We’re here to get some provisions in the legal way. Our travels are still long and our food’s almost gone. Ah promise, ya won’t be having too much trouble from us.”

The words sounded honest, genuine even in the ears of the stallion. It did ease him a little bit. Though he knew all too well that not every honest face did have honest intentions. He released a deep ‘hmm’ from his throat before the silence returned again.

Seconds ticked by as if they were minutes. The silence from both the company of mares as well as the stallion almost was standing at the point of becoming too much for one of the parties. But Applejack knew exactly what they were doing there. The stallion was testing their mettle. All they had to do was just sit it out.

“Ya’re allowed to enter town, but one bit of trouble and Ah make sure ya can’t rest ever again. Every bounty hunter in this land will be knowing about yah lot. Am Ah clear?” the stallion then replied in a terribly stern tone towards the mares. He wasn’t kidding, that much they realized.

Applejack gave a nod to the stallion as she knew exactly what he was talking about. Appleloosa didn’t have any laws outside of those that were made up by the anthronies that lived there. Lawless, that was the place. A true town from the Wild, Wild West. “As crystal.”

“Good,” the stallion said before he then turned himself back around. Without a further word had he walked back towards the building he came from.

Applejack on the other end gestured the rest of the mares to follow her. Together they all walked down the long street up to a place they could only guess it was owned by her cousin. The scent of apple cider and stronger drinks hung around the place as the admiral released a deep sigh.

“Alright, ya lot come in after me. We haven’t seen one another in the longest of times,” said Applejack to them all. With a hand placed on the door, she was ready to open it.. All of the other mares nodded just before the admiral entered the place. What would happen inside was something that went over their wildest imagination.

“Braeburn!?” Applejack shouted after she entered the bar. She glanced over the anthronies that were present. All of them had heard the words and those at the bar went aside with unseen haste. Only to reveal a near frozen stallion just leaning against the bar. Frozen in fear he glanced back into the eyes of the admiral.

His mouth moved a couple of times as the entire bar just went silent. Not even the piano was playing its tunes anymore. All of them were afraid of the mare with the metal leg for whatever reason. But finally did the stallion behind the bar managed to get a word out of his mouth. One simple word managed to get out though. “J-Jackie!?” he exclaimed in utter confusion.