Dungeons and Deserts: Part 3
After many hours, a lone unicorn emerged from the forest on the outskirts of Anvil Wood. Haven been given her quest, Clarity the Radiant set about to rid the farmlands of their parasprite problem.
“Hmm, I suppose the first thing to do would be to gather intel on those nasty little buggers,” the sorceress said. As she set off on the dirt road before her. Not long after, Clarity noticed large open fields, but not a single crop to be found. It was safe to assume that Clarity found her destination.
“Well howdy stranger,” came a rustic voice. “What brings ye ‘round these here parts?”
He was a middle-aged earth pony, with a large brimmed straw hat and tired eyes. She could tell just by looking at his hooves that he’s been a farmer since the day he could hold a spade.
“Good day sir,” Clarity greeted. "I’m here because I’ve heard rumors that your farms needed some assistance.”
The farmer perked up. “Well land’s sake! Yer here te help take care of them dang ol’ parasprites! Them little varmints done ate up almost every crop we got!”
“Well not to worry my good, stallion, I’ll take care of those pests right quick. All I need to do is play some music and-“
“Woah time out!”
“Aww,” Rarity groaned. “What did I do wrong this time?”
“You’re meta-gaming Rarity,” Spike replied.
“Meta what?”
“Meta-gaming,” Spike repeated. “You’re using real world knowledge to give yourself an edge in the game.”
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
“See, somethings you’re allowed to know because it’s common sense. Like fire is hot, water is wet and grab a spear by the non ouchie part. But bringing the real-world solution to the game is generally a no, no. You know that parasprites are attracted to music because of Pinkie Pie. But Clarity doesn’t. As far as you know, this is the first time she’s ever dealing with them. So you have to gather any and all clues on how to deal with parasprites without knowing their weakness.”
Rarity sighed, “Oh very well. I suppose it wouldn’t be much of a game if the solution was so blatantly obvious. Hmm… Let me try something else.”
Clarity cleared her throat. “My good stallion, tell me, did you happen to notice anything… peculiar about the parasprites? When did they first arrive?”
The farmer scratched his chin. “Hmm, les see. Ah reckon them lil’ blighters came ‘round ‘ere ‘bout two weeks ago. Didn’t think nuthin’ much at the time, just seemed like them bugs were just passin’ through. But then about a day or two later, they came back and there was a sorta frenzy about them. They wiped out almost all of our crops, what few acres of land we’re protectin’ won’t last fer long. Thas why we called fer help, and here ya are. Please, help us save our crops.”
Clarity nodded. “I’ll do everything in my power good sir.”
“Gooooooood mornin’ everypony!” Came a voice over the arena’s loudspeakers. “Are y’all ready fer some rough an’ tumble action!?” the crowds in the stands all let out a roar of excitement in response. “Then let’s git this here show on the road! It’s time fer the world famous Appleloosa rodeo!”
“Our first event is barrel racing!” a second voice said over the loudspeakers. “And the first contestant up is a regular in these parts! All the way from Ponyville, give it up for Applejack!”
Cheers and whistles rose up from the stands as the element of honesty took to the field, waving at the fans and stoking their spirits. Applejack rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck. She eyed the three barrels in a triangle arrangement with deadly focus.
“Right side first,” she murmured. “Ain’t nuthin’ to it.”
“On yer marks!” said the announcer. “Git set! GO!” The sound of the air horn blasted as Applejack broke into a sprint. She ran between the first two barrels and took a hard right, springing off her fetlocks and running towards the first barrel. She ran around it and sprinted to the leftmost barrel, circling around the edge, and then dashing to the furthest barrel. She circled it, but lost her footing and a bit of speed. But Applejack recovered and sprinted to the starting line. Applejack came to a stop and the crowd cheered as she tipped her hat.
“Wow wee!” said the second announcer. “What a rush that was! Applejack is a surefire example of Ponyville tenacity! And Applejack’s time… is thirteen point three seconds!”
The crowd roared again as Applejack waved and trotted off the field. “Not bad,” the country pony remarked. “Fumbled a bit, but it ain’t too bad.”
“Up next is a local folks!” the first announcer boomed. “The fire cracker of Appleloosa, let’s hear it fer Filly the Kid!”
Said pony spat out the piece of straw she was chewing on as she took her position at the starting line. She tucked her strawberry blond mane behind her ears, adjusted her hat and smirked as the crowd applauded her entrance. A quick stretch and Filly readied herself, patiently waiting for her moment. The horn blared and Filly bolted from the starting line. Despite being one of the shorter (if not the shortest) competitors, her speed was unlike anything Applejack has seen in another earth pony. Filly was able to turn on a bit and pivot her whole weight without losing an ounce of speed. She cleared the first two barrels easily and in a flash rounded the furthest barrel and practically flew back to the finish line. Filly shot Applejack a confidant (and slightly smug) grin as the fans showered her with praise and cheers.
“Ah- Ah can’t believe!” the announcer said. “Y’all saw it ‘ere folks! Filly the Kid ran the barrel race like her tails was on fire! And her time… holy smokes! Eight point two seconds!”
Applejack finished collecting her jaw off the ground. “Well Ah’ll be tarred an’ feathered…”
Clarity the radiant held aloft her lantern as she took another uneasy step through the swamp, taking special caution to avoid the murky waters. Goodness knows what lurks under the surface and the sorceress was none too keen on finding out. The moonlight struggled to clear the thick canopy above and the sound of chattering critters slinking through the rot and grime were her only company.
“Ok,” Clarity said to herself as she pulled out a worn and weathered map. “The elder said that I need to find the shrine of the guardian spirit and ring the bell three times. But where the devil is this shrine? I can’t make heads or tails of this map and I can barely see past my own nose…” Just then, Clarity fell face first into a mud puddle. She picked herself up and glared daggers at the vine entangling her hoof. “And I swear this whole swamp is out to get me!” Her horn glowed and the vine burnt to ash; another glow and her face was cleared of everything slimy and gross. Clarity collected her lantern and held it up, she shrieked as the light shone on an unfamiliar face peering out from the darkness. She held her chest as her chest thumped wildly, only to realize the face in question was part of a statue of a large frog.
Clarity pulled out her map. “Aha! I am going in the right direction! This statue is here, so the temple is…” Clarity scanned the area with her lantern until she found a few stones leading to a cobbled path. “That way!”
The sorceress made haste down the path and after a few minutes of trekking, came to a grand stone archway, while worn, weathered and slightly vine covered, this was certainly the place Clarity was searching for. She stepped into the atrium and noticed the torches along the walls, guiding her and encouraging her to move forward. Clarity proceeded with caution but was also overcome by a certain calmness as she passed through the hallowed hall. Soon her path lead her to a grand shrine and at the center of which sat a large golden frog statue, its lustrous hue playing off the moonlight as candles flicked and bowed at the base of the grand figure. Clarity approached the alter before the guardian frog.
“Well, this is quite the centerpiece,” Clarity marveled. “But, no time to sight see. I have to ring the bell and-“ Just then the sorceress noticed something amiss. “The bell? Where’s the bell!?” Clarity searched around the alter, under the alter, on the statue, even in the used candle wax around the floor. But no matter where she looked…
“The bell is gone…”
A flurry of trumpets sounded in Spike’s room as the door flung open revealing Discord with several other Discords throwing confetti. He was in his O&O outfit, his blond wig flowing in the “breeze,” and behind him was Big Mac, looking rather sheepish amidst Discord’s flair.
“Salutations Garbunkle!” the lord of chaos announced. “I and Sir McBiggun have returned for yet another rousing session of O and!- oh hello Rarity, didn’t see you there.”
“Good day Discord,” Rarity replied. “We were just-“
“Oh ho, ho!” Discord said in his flighty tone as he poofed between Spike and Rarity. “What’s this? Could it be that you’ve been bitten by the Ogres and Oubliettes bug too?”
“Well I don’t know about that,” Spike said as he rubbed his neck. “Rarity was curious and wanted to try it out.”
“But I am rather enjoying myself,” Rarity said. “A little stumbling here and there but it is quite fun.”
“Well then don’t mind us!” Discord said as he pulled Big Mac onto a floating couch that hovered over Spike and Rarity’s game. “You two keep playing, just pretend like we’re not here.” Discord snapped his paw and snacks and refreshments were placed on either side of the couch.
“You guys sure?” Spike asked.
Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup.”
“So,” Rarity said eagerly. “What’s the next step? I still have to find the bell, correct?”
Spike chuckled, “Yep. Upon further inspection of the room, you notice scratches on the floor and by the looks of it, they were made recently…”
“Let’s ‘ear it fer deputy Tin Star and his impressive rope work!” The announcer said as the crowd’s cheers died down. “As soon as the judges have tallied his score, we’ll move on te our next contender!”
“Boy howdy!” Applebloom said after swallowing another mouthful of caramel corn. “Ah knew he’d do well! Ya gotta be good with a rope if yer a deputy an’ such. What’cha think of that Autumn? Autumn?”
Said Kirin seemed to be entirely detached from the conversation as she chewed on her bottom lip and tapped her back hoof on the bleachers, eyes darting between the current standings and Applejack.
“Helloooo?” Applebloom waved a hoof in front of Autumn’s face. “Equestria to Autumn, come in Autumn.”
“Hm? Oh, sorry Applebloom,” Autumn finally said. “What did you say?”
“Is somethin’ the matter? Ye’ve had that look on yer face fer a while now.”
Autumn’s ears drooped. “I’m… just worried about AJ. She’s barely ahead of the competition and… I don’t know… I just sorta feel like she’s in trouble-” Autumn placed a hoof on her chest. “-something in here is pulling me… telling me to see if she’s ok or something…”
Applebloom raised her brows at Autumn’s words. She gave a low hum and gave her own words some serious consideration. “Autumn. Ah know it’s tough te feel like ye can’t help Applejack out. Heck, Ah feel it here an’ there too an’ Ah’m her sister. But if there’s one thing we Apples got, it’s faith in our family. Applejack’s on her own out there, but she ain’t alone. She’s got me an’ the rest of the family and we believe she’ll make us proud.-“ Applebloom held out her bag of caramel corn to Autumn. “You believe in her too. Just as much as Ah do, don’cha?”
Autumn smiled and levitated a serving of caramel corn. “Yeah. I really, really do. Thanks Applebloom, I needed that.”
“Alright folks!” The announcer called out. “Next up in the lasso lacing contest is none other than Applejack of Ponyville!”
Applejack trotted out onto the center of the field and waved to the cheering crowd. The arena had fences and hedges dotted about with a pile of small sandbags in the center ring. The Farmgirl’s nerves were ablaze with anticipation for the sound of the horn, this time for sure, she’ll blow the competition away.
“Git ready everypony!” said the other announcer. “Cause we’re goin in, three, two, one!” the sound of the air horn blared and from behind the scattered hedges and fences rose up a number of targets. Applejack wrapped her lasso around one of the multiple sandbags at her hooves and flung it at the closest target, shattering it into splinters with a satisfying “ding” sounding. She roped another bag and shot it at the next target, another hit. She spun on her hooves and flung another bag, missing the target by a hair, but Applejack quickly roped another bag and smashed her mark to pieces. Applejack kept this pace up and landed a few more shots. She flung her last bag, nicking the target before the airhorn blared again.
“Ah don’t know ‘bout you folks, but that was some dern impressive lasso work from Applejack!’ There was a ruffling sound over the speakers before the other announcer took the mic.
“And Applejack finishes with a score of twenty out of twenty-five! Let’s give her a big round of applause!”
The crowd did just that as Applejack humbly trotted off the field.
“Up next! Is our rodeo veteran! Let’s hear is for Sarsaparilla Slim!”
Slim trotted onto the field and gave a small wave to the crowd, sending most of the mares into a frenzy. He took his position at the center of the ring, with the provided sandbags close at hoof. He took a deep breath and steadied his rope. Just then, Applejack saw something change in Slim. It was like he was an entirely different stallion. His eyes hardened, his muscles tensed and his hooves were as steady as rocks. Like a wound-up rattle snake, ready to strike any second. It was in that moment Applejack realized just how much of a gap in experience there was between Slim and every other pony here.
The very second the horn sounded, Slim sprang into action and launched a sandbag at a blinding speed. A direct hit! The splinters from his first target barely tapped against the dirt before Slim shot another sandbag at the same speed. Another direct hit! Slims eyes narrowed and with a quick flick, fired off another bag, destroying three targets in a row.
Hit!
Hit!
Hit!
Hit!
As the final bell rang out, signifying the last target had been struck down and the horn ending the round, the rest of the rodeo was dead silent. The audience couldn’t find their voice and several buckets of popcorn slipped out from shocked hooves. Filly the Kid mumbled something unsavory under her breath. Finally the crowd erupted, and cheered with the force of a hurricane!
“Un… unbelievable!” Came one of the announcers voice. “You-you saw it here everypony! Sarsaparilla Slim cleared out every target with a speed I’ve only seen from the Wonder Bolts!”
“Ah ain’t seen nuthin’ like it ‘fore!” said the other announcer. “An’ if Ah didn’t see it wit’ mah own eyes, Ah’d never have believed it!”
Off to the sidelines, Applejack still couldn’t speak. She could only watch as Slim tipped his hat to the raving audience before trotting off. Applejack tried to process what she just saw. She knew Slim was a challenge, but to see him in action like this? The farmer’s legs gave out as the weight was too much to bare, eyes unblinking and voice lost to the void.
In the stands, Autumn looked down at her friend, biting her hoof, reminding herself that, at least for the time being, Applejack was on her own.
“The jig is up, Captain Baa’d!” Clarity announced as she tore off the mop she was using as an impromptu wig. She pointed a dramatic hoof at the glowering sheep. “I’ve successfully infiltrated your beauty pageant, and discovered your diabolical plan to use the parasprites to eat all the crops not controlled by the Squizard so he can monopolize produce! Surrender yourself and the guardian bell this instant!”
Captain Baa’d grinded a hoof on the model runway as the ewe’s wool seemed to curl in anger. “Impossible!” she cried. “You were in the taffy warehouse when I set it on fire!”
“Was I?” Clarity asked smugly. “Or was it?-“ a second Clarity appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. “A simple trick of the eye?” both sorceresses said before one of them vanished.
“An illusion?! Bah! How could I fall for suck an obvious ruse!?” Captain Baa’d’s wool looked close to igniting from rage before her demeanor changed in an instant. “It doesn’t matter, I suppose I’ve been bested. Very well, the guardian bell is right over there.” She pointed to the award platform where sat the first-place trophy, with the guardian bell affixed to the top.
“That’s more like it,” Clarity said as she happily trotted off to collect her prize. As soon as there was enough distance between the two, Captain Baa’d revealed a secret button on the stage and pressed it. The whole area began to shake and rattle as whirrs and clunks could be heard before the award platform rose up and in a matter of seconds the trophy was five stories above a massive structure. “What the devil?”
“Oh did I forget to mention you have to climb for it? Silly me!” Captain Baa’d mocked. “And, just one more thing.” Suddenly there was a loud bang, then another and another. The standing atop the tower next to Clarity’s goal, was a giant gorilla. “Mr. Kong here doesn’t take too kindly to creatures that want to steal shiny things away from him. Get her Mr. Kong!”
Clarity looked up at the massive beast. He had a wide smile, but his eyes gave away his hostility towards the mare. He picked up a nearby barrel and chucked it towards the sorceress.
“Oh dear…”
The rodeo clowns took to the field to give the competitors a chance to catch their breath and stretch for the final event. The clowns were doing a great job at keeping the crowd entertained, though the one who got the most laughs was Troubleshoes, who expertly tripped, bounced between barrels like a pinball and bellyflopped into a mud puddle with such perfect comedic timing that even Pinkie Pie would be taking notes. But not every pony was enjoying the show…
“AJ, you gotta snap out of it!” Autumn said as she shook her friend.
“Yeah Applejack, what’s got ya so spooked?” Applebloom asked. “Ah ain’t never seen ya like this.”
“And Ah ain’t never seen anything like Filly and Slim!” Applejack blurted. “Barrel racing, hog tying, lasso lacing, steer wrestlin’, bucking fer distance? Ah- Ah never felt like such an amateur in all mah life!”
“You’re being way too hard on yourself AJ. You did great out there! Not to mention you earned enough points to make it to the final event.”
“Barely,” Applejack spat.
“But ya still made it!” Applebloom chimed. “Now ya got a real chance te win and beat pa’s record.”
“How am Ah supposed te compete with them two!? It’s like all that trainin’ and practice meant diddly! Ah just keep getting left in the dust!”
Autumn grabbed either side of Applejack’s face and gave her a stern glare. “Now you listen and you listen good Applejack! All of that practice was never for ‘diddly!’ I watched you every day as you poured your heart, soul and sweat into this contest and now that things are hard you’re just gonna throw in the towel? Nuh-uh! Not on my watch you’re not! Now get out there and show those ponies just how determined you are!”
“But-“
“No buts! You can do this AJ, Applebloom believe in you and I believe in you too. But this is something only you can do and I know you know that you can win this. Just remember I- we’ve got your back, alright?”
Applejack took a moment to drink in everything Autumn said. The chatty Kirin did have a knack for saying the honest to goodness truth and lighting a fire under you. It was so easy for Applejack to lose sight of her goal and forget her progress, but Autumn had a special talent of reminding the farm girl of what’s important. And right now, what’s important is getting her head back in the game. She made it to the final round, this was Applejack’s time to shine! She placed a hoof on Autumn’s.
“Thanks sugarcube,” she said confidently. “Ah needed a right kick in the keester. Sorry fer worryin’ ya, Ah’m ok now.”
Autumn let go of Applejack’s face with a fleeting blush. “N-no problem AJ. I’m just happy I could help.”
Applebloom gave her sister a hug. “You’ve got this Applejack. And Ah know ma and pa are rootin’ fer ya too… wherever they are.”
Applejack returned the hug. “Gee, Ah hope so. Ah want pa te see me break his dern record once and fer all!”
“That’s what I like to hear!” Autumn cheered.
A slight whine aired over the PA system before one of the announcer’s spoke. “Would the qualifying contestants for the final event, please report to the field! I repeat-!”
“Well, I guess that’s our cue. We’ll be cheering you on in the stands AJ.”
“Knock’em dead sis!”
Applejack nodded and trotted to the field. Heh, jus’ watch me!
“Eeep!” Clarity ducked as another barrel came flying towards her from the ramps of the tower and Mr. Kong showed no signs of slowing down as he picked up another barrel from his seemingly infinite supply.
“If this keeps up, I’ll be dodging barrels for the rest of my life! I need a plan.” Clarity looked around the structure, the only way up was via the ramps that the barrels came down from, with the odd ladder here and there, but she was nowhere near those, so she needed another option. Just then, Clarity had an idea.
“What I need is a way to clear out these barrels. Perhaps some kind of weapon? I might have just the thing!” Her horn glowed and a large ball of energy formed and after a fizz, pop and a bang, a large mallet formed. “Let’s see what I can do with this!”
Clarity leapt into action. Smashing each barrel that came her way, every once in a while slamming her mallet against the structure. She climbed the ladders and smashed her way through more barrels, before finally coming face to face with Mr. Kong.
“Ha! What do you plan on doing now Clarity the Radiant?!” Captain Baa’d called out. “Do you really think you can beat Mr. Kong!?”
“Probably not!” Clarity responded. “But I don’t plan on fighting him at all!”
“Spike,” Rarity said. “Is it possible to smash the platform causing Mr. Kong to fall to the ground?”
“Ah, so that’s why you were attacking the tower,” Spike said. “You were weakening it’s structural integrity. Very clever. But I warn you, even after the work you did, you may not succeed.”
“Give me the die,” Rarity said with a cocky smirk.
Big Mac and Discord watched with great anticipation. Big Mac gulped and Discord was chewing his nails (as in he was literally chewing on iron nails from a burlap sack).
Rarity took the die in her hoof and blew a gentle puff of air on it. She shook it about and dropped it in the felt tray. All eyes were glued as the die bounced around the walls and spun. Then the die finally landed on…
“Twenty!” Rarity cried in joy. “I finally got a perfect roll!”
A shower of confetti and celebratory music began to play out of thin air. “Bravo Rarity!” Discord cheered. “That was some idea you had!”
“Eeyup!” Big Mac said.
Spike finished collecting his jaw off the ground. “Well I’ll be…” Spike cleared his throat. “Heh, alrighty then! You raise your mallet and all of a sudden you feel a rush of energy…”
“HAAAAA!!!” Clarity’s war cry was almost as loud as her mallet smashing onto Mr. Kong’s platform. There was a rumbling and the sound of metal buckling and violent snaps as the platform gave out, then gravity took over, sending the gorilla down, down, down and crashing onto the ground below. Clarity couldn't relish in her victory for long though, the whole tower began to wobble; in a split second, the sorceress ripped the bell from the top of the trophy and leapt from the peak of the tower, grabbing onto one of the banisters of the stage and swinging off to a very graceful and stylish landing on the catwalk before Captain Baa’d.
“Y-you cheated!” Baa’d’s wool was practically smoking. “There’s no way you could’ve won against Kong!”
Clarity smirked. “Don’t be a sore loser darling, it’s not very dignified. Now, if you’re quite done fuming, I have a village to save.”
“I don’t think so,” Captain Baa’d pulled out a strange whistle and blew into it. An odd and eerie sound resonated from the instrument and soon the room was flooded with parasprites. Their eyes were red and the buzzing of their little wings could only be described as “hostile.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to return that bell. You don’t want to deal with a swarm of hungry parasprites.”
Clarity held the guardian bell up. “Haven’t you learned? I don’t have to fight you directly!” she rang the bell three times and things became silent. Then there was a rumbling, a thud and then the ceiling collapsed and the dust settled, revealing a giant frog. The frog spotted the swarm of parasprites and let out a mighty bellowing croak. The swarm’s hostility died as each and every parasprite turned white and flew as fast as they could away from the amphibious titan.
“NO! Get back here you stupid bugs! Obey me!” Captain Baa’d barked. She furiously blew into the whistle to no effect. At that moment, the ewe felt like something was eyeing her. She looked up at the enormous frog, she could see her own terrified expression reflect back in its eyes. The frog threw his tongue out, capturing the sheep and pulled her into its mouth. After about a second, the frog inhaled and spat Captain Baa’d out through the roof.
“I’ll get you for this Clarity!!!” the slime covered villain cried as her form disappeared over the horizon.
“Wait,” Rarity said. “Does this mean… I won?”
Spike chuckled, “Yep! The day is saved and it’s all thanks to you.”
“I won!” Rarity exclaimed. “I won, I won, I won!” Oh dear, that was rather exciting.”
“Glad you had fun Rarity,” Spike said as he gave Rarity a small golf clap.
“Sooooo, now that Rarity is done with her little ‘training quest’,” Discord said as he poofed himself and Big Mac on either side of the mare. “Can we get back to our game now?”
“Um, would it be alright if I played as well?” Rarity asked meekly.
Discord rolled his eyes. “Well obviously! Looks to me like you can handle yourself in O&O, but now you’re playing with the pros. I hope you can keep up.”
Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup!”
“Get comfortable Rarity,” Spike said as he took out his other notes. “You’ll be here for a while.”
“I’m ready!” Rarity said eagerly.
“I hope so,” Spike said as he narrowed his eyes on the three adventurers before him. “Cause I’ve got the perfect idea to test your mettle…”
It was time for the final event of the Appleloosa rodeo. The haybale stacking contest. Applejack trotted to her position next to a large cart full of bales, joining her was deputy Tin Star, Filly the Kid and Sarsaparilla Slim. She took a breath. This is what she’s been training for. She was going to beat her pa’s record, and nopony was going to stand in her way.
“Now remember folks!’ the announcer said. “Win or lose, these here ponies are the best of the best! And should be dern proud of how far they came! Now, y’all know the rules! When the timer starts, each pony will stack as many haybales as they can, the one with the most bales by the end of the round wins!”
“Will this be the year that somepony finally breaks the record set by Bright Macintosh?” said the other announcer. “With these contestants, anything is possible! Now, let’s stack!”
The four ponies in the arena readied themselves. There was a moment of silence as the onlooker’s cheers died out, save for the whistling of the wind as it carefully threaded the tension in the air. The horn blared and the contestants were off. As Applejack expected, Slim was just as capable at this as he was at every other event and made easy work of his haybales. Tin Star was keeping up with the element of honesty as he fired off bale after bale. Filly the Kid on the other hoof was falling behind. Her lack in height helped her in the speed and agility courses, but was proving to be a pretty sizeable handicap here. Applejack gritted her teeth. She had to focus, had to keep a good pace going, had to remember technique even as the fatigue set in. Her haybale stack was getting higher and higher, but it was still falling short of Slim’s; as it seemed for every bale Applejack kicked, Slim kicked two.
Her breathing became labored as the fatigue became too great and lack of energy became more and more taxing on the mare. Gotta keep goin’! gotta keep goin’! she chanted in her mind, she had to keep up with Slim, she had to beat him, she had to break the record. The crowd roared like a thunderstorm, but Applejack couldn’t hear it. In fact, she was having trouble hearing anything. There was a ringing in her ears before she collapsed on the dirt. Applejack’s vision blurred as her whole world began to spin and warp around her. Time slowed down as the mare tried to get up. She couldn’t lose, she couldn’t… but Applejack couldn’t go on. She lost the fight…
“AJ!”
Applejack jolted as something finally broke through the incessant ringing. Her vision began to clear up as well.
“Get up AJ!”
Applejack looked up. Over by the sidelines was Autumn. Somehow her voice was carrying over the chaos with crystal clarity.
“You have to get up!” the Kirin cried. “You can’t stop now! You have to keep going! I know you can do this AJ! Please get up!”
Was it magic? Some kind of divine intervention? Whatever it was, Applejack found herself pushing off the ground and with a deep breath and a quick slap to the cheeks, she was back in the game. Applejack began to kick her bales with a vigor she never felt before. To heck with pacing and technique, what she needed was power and luckily she had that in spades. She fired off her legs like cannons, sweat poured with every grunt and huff but she kept kicking. She was catching up, she closed the gap passing Filly, passing Tin Star! One last hurdle to jump, one last challenger to beat! She was close, she’ll pass Slim, she’ll break the record, victory was within a foreleg’s reach as long as she pushed further and further passed her limits, she’ll make it!
The air horn blared over the speakers. The final haybales landed on their respective piles. Applejack stumbled, her lungs felt like they were on fire and her breath erratically wheezed in and out. Her whole body felt like it was struck by lightning and she was having trouble seeing straight. The ringing in her ears was back as the adrenaline coursed through her veins.
But Applejack was still standing.
“Well Ah’ll be covered in cookin’ oil an’ thrown te the manticores!” said one of the announcers. “Ah never did see anything like it folks! Ah don’t know ‘bout you, but Ah know Ah’ll remember this day fer years!”
There was a short whine over the speakers as the mic was passed over. “We’ve tallied the results everypony!” said the other announcer. “Filly the Kid, bucked a grand total thirty-four bales! Tallying up her previous points, lands her in third place!” The announcer waited for the crowd to die down before reading off the next name. “Deputy Tin Star, with a total of forty bales! Tallying up his previous points, lands him in fourth place!” The crowd’s cheers rose up again. “And, bucking a total of fifty-three bales!” Everypony within hearing range was as quiet as could be as they waited for the top two with overwhelming anticipation. “With the title of runner up!” the only sounds came from the creaking of the stands as the entire audience was on the literal edge of their seat… “Is Applejack! Which means, in first place is Sarsaparilla Slim with a grand total of fifty-five bales, just shy of the sixty-four-bale record, and this year’s rodeo champion!” The crowd’s hoots and hollers hit a crescendo, one so loud one would think it could be heard n Canterlot.
Slim waved to the audience and bowed, while Filly puffed out her cheeks and gave the campion a sour look. The news of the placements was enough to shake Applejack out of her fugue. She covered her eyes with her hat, sighed and raised her head and smiled.
“Heh. You got one more year pa…”
“AJ!” Autumn ran onto the field and wrapped Applejack in a tight bearhug. “You were great out there! I mean, I’m sorry you didn’t win, but you looked amazing out there! I’ve never seen you move like that! Where’d ya learn it? Oh, it doesn’t matter, what matters is you did amazingly well and nopony can say you didn’t give it your all!”
Applejack was able to catch a breath of air. “Thanks sugar cube. Ah didn’t know Ah had it in me neither.”
“You were so cool!” Applebloom chirped as she joined the hug. “Ah wish Big Mac and Granny were here te see this! You would’a knocked’em off their hooves!”
Applejack chuckled, “That’d be a sight wouldn’t it?”
“Hey, Apple!”
Trotting up to Applejack was Filly the Kid, though her trademark scowl seemed to be absent from her features.
“Oh, uh, howdy Filly,” Applejack greeted nervously. “What can Ah-“
In an instant Filly grabbed Applejack’s hoof and started shaking it vigorously. “That was one heck o’va challenge! Ah ain’t been backed inta a corner like that fer ages! You gots guts Applejack and Ah can respect a pony with guts.”
Applejack was grateful that the shaking was bringing some feeling back into her foreleg. “Well, uh, no problem. You were mighty impressive yerself Filly.”
“Cobbler.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s actually Peach Cobbler,” said the short mare. “But you can call me ‘Peaches.’ Jus’ don’t tell nopony, got it?”
Applejack drew her hoof over her smile. “Mah lips’re sealed Peaches.”
“Good!” Peaches turned and trotted off. She stopped and turned to look over her shoulder. “Ah better see ya here next year Applejack! Gotta have somethin’ te look forward te.” Peaches took her leave, and Applejack couldn’t help but notice the little spring in her step.
“Huh. Guess there’s more to her than meets the eye,” Autumn commented.
“Jus’ a little too competitive,” Applejack said. “Can’t say Ah’ve never been like that before.”
“Well, the rodeo was fun an’ all,” Applebloom said. “But Ah’m getting’ hungry and Auntie Orchard said she’d make a big dinner fer us.”
“Sounds good to me!” Autumn replied. “Let’s go get some grub.”
“Y’all go on ahead,” Applejack said. “Ah’m jus’ gonna stay here fer a while.”
“Everything ok AJ?” Autumn asked with concern. “If this is about not winning or breaking the record-“
“Ha! Are ye kiddin’? this was the best Ah’ve ever done! Ah didn’t break pop’s record, but Ah’m getting’ there. Naw, Ah just need te catch mah breath is all.”
“Well alright,” Applebloom said as she trotted away. “But don’t be cryin’ when there ain’t nothin’ left.”
“See you later AJ.” Autumn gave Applejack one last hug before catching up with Applebloom and the pair left.
Applejack sat herself down in the dirt and let out a deep sigh. She gazed up at the stacks of haybales and a feeling of pride began to well up from her heart. She thought back to all the days of training. All the sweat and soreness were worth it. She was a few steps closer to her goal. Just have to make sure nopony beats her to it. The stands were emptying out as the crowd moved on to enjoy the rest of what Appleloosa has to offer. Not that Applejack noticed them, or the pony trotting up behind her.
“That was some mighty fine work you did out there Applejack.”
Applejack flinched in surprise and turned her head. Sarsaparilla Slim tipped his hat and gave Applejack a small smile.
“Howdy Slim. Congrats on yer win.”
“Thank you. But I have to admit, you certainly gave me a scare at the end. I haven’t seen a pony make a comeback like that in a long time.”
Applejack chuckled. “Ah gotta be honest Slim, Ah have no idea where that energy came from. One-minute Ah’m about te tap out, next thing Ah know, somethin’ inside me kicked me right in the flank and I was able te pull myself up.”
“Hmm…” Slim took a seat next to the mare. “Applejack, I want to tell you a story. It was many, many moons ago, when I was about your age. I entered the rodeo and I thought for sure that I was a shoo-in for the title champion that year. But. There was one stallion who seemed to always be one step behind me. A fella by the name of Bright Mac.”
Applejack’s eyes widened and looked at Slim in disbelief.
Slim smirked. “Maybe you’ve heard of him? Anyways, I was dominating the rest of the competition, but that Bright Mac made darn sure that I didn’t have a runaway lead. If I scored twenty points, he’d get nineteen. If my time in barrel racing was 12.2, he’d beat it in 10 seconds flat. This kept goin’ all day, until the haybale contest. I was in the lead and it looked like Bright Mac had finally met his match. I had such a sizable gap over him, I thought for sure he was going to be left in the dust. But then something happened, Bright Mac started flinging haybales like a stallion possessed. I never saw anything like it before. He not only cleared the gap between us, but went so far and so hard that he set a record.
“After the match, I asked him how he did it. How did he go from trailing behind me to winning the whole event ? He said, ‘I heard my Buttercup cheering. I had to make her proud.” -Slim patted Applejack’s shoulder. –“I know you’ll go far kid; you’ve got so much potential. You got your father’s spirit and his stubbornness and someday you’ll break his record. Not this year and maybe not the next, but you will someday.” Slim stood up and took a moment to help Applejack up as well. “Till then, keep workin’ hard. I’m sure your father wants you to break his record too after all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I promised Sassafras I’d get him some ice cream. See you around Applejack.”
Applejack tipped her hat. “See you around Slim… and thanks.”
Slim waved goodbye before trotting off. After a few moments, Applejack gave one last look around. The hoofmarks in the arena, the empty stands with an occasional forgotten popcorn bucket or cider mug, the sun reflecting off the glass of the announcer booth and the towering haybales. She took a deep breath and released a satisfying hum. Her head was held high as she left the grounds.
“And on that note,” Spike said as he closed his O&O manual. “I think we’ll call it a day.”
“My goodness that was a thrilling adventure!” Discord said as he stretched his limbs.
“Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed.
Rarity giggled, “Indeed. I thought for sure we’d be trounced by that hydra.”
“But it was your idea to distract it with a sparkly mini-skirt,” Spike added. “Can’t say I’ve seen that before.”
Rarity grinned. “Never underestimate the power of the mini-skirt darling. It can make or break you.”
Discord took out a clock in his own image. “Hmm, looks like I still have time for some late tea. So I’ll be off now.”
“Say hi to Fluttershy for me,” Spike said waggling his brows, much to Discord’s annoyance.
“Good day Discord,” Rarity said.
Discord snapped his claw, then he and Big Mac were standing in what looked like a great glass elevator, Discord sporting a brown top hat, purple coat, and ivory pants. While Big Mac wore a very uncomfortable grimace on his muzzle as he dreaded what Discord had planned.
“Toodle-oo you two,” Discord said. “Up and out, next stop Ponyville!” Discord pressed a large red button and the glass pod began to shake before shooting up, phased through the ceiling, and was gone from sight. Though a few Canterlot citizens could swear they heard the faint cries of a stallion.
“I suppose I should take my leave as well,” Rarity said as she collected her things. “Visiting hours are almost over and I have an order to fill. Good day Spike.”
Spike scratched his cheek as he tried to put words together. “Hey Rarity…”
“Yes darling?”
“Thanks… for today… I… I really enjoyed playing with you.”
Rarity smiled, which seemed to put Spike at ease. “The pleasure was mine dear. I have to admit, this was much more fun than I was anticipating. We should do it again sometime.”
Spike was filled with excitement. “Y-yeah! Sure thing Rarity! Um, I’ll let you know the next time we’re playing and maybe you can join us.”
“I’d like that very much. See you tomorrow Spike.”
“See you tomorrow Rarity.”
As Rarity trotted down the halls of the hospital wing, she dug into her saddlebag and pulled out a small figurine. It was of her, well more specifically of Clarity the Radiant, in full wardrobe and looking very confidant. A small gift from Discord to welcome her into their game. Truth be told, while Rarity did have fun playing the game, she was happier that she got to share this time with Spike. He looked more excited and jovial then she remembered him being in a long time.
Rarity had a light blush on her cheeks as she tucked her figure back into her bag and practically skipped all the way back to the boutique.
As the sun began its decent, Applejack trotted back to Auntie Orchard’s farm, the fading light casting long shadows of the path and giving the trees a warm glow. As the farmhouse came into view, something else caught Applejack’s attention. Atop a hill that rose over the trees was a lone Kirin, staring out into the wasteland. Applejack was drawn to her friend, she couldn’t put her hoof on how, but she could feel that something was eating at Autumn and the honest Apple felt determined to see what was the matter. It took Applejack longer to climb the hill than she realized; but after the day she had, that was to be expected.
“Howdy Autumn,” Applejack said as she finally reached the top. “Mind if Ah join ya?”
Autumn shook her head. “Not at all AJ. Take a seat, the view is amazing.”
Applejack sat next to the chatty Kirin, her hoof brushed against Autumn’s and she drew it back and adjusted herself so that they weren’t so close to each other.
Though if Applejack was being honest, the Kirin’s hoof felt nice.
“Somethin’ on yer mind sugarcube?”
“Not really… well, yeah. Actually I’ve had a lot on my mind recently. I thought I’d take a minute to clear my head and wouldn’t you know it? This hill is the perfect spot to watch the sunset.”
“Yeppers, this ‘ere’s a mighty fine spot. Y’all can see all the way to the horizon.”
“The way the sun’s light sets the earth aglow and the skies awash in such beautiful oranges and purples, as if nature herself is sharing with us her most glorious painting. And as the desert gives its final moment of life before being swallowed by night, I can’t help but feel as if it were made specially for me and I’m ever grateful for this gift.”
Applejack blinked a few times before she absorbed everything Autumn said. “Ah was gonna say, it’s pretty. But yeah, that.”
Silence followed as the two friends enjoyed each other’s company. Both mares stared out to the sea of colors as a gentle breeze caressed their faces.
“AJ…” Autumn finally broke the silence, but kept watching the sunset. “I’m.. I’m going home… back to my village.”
Applejack felt a jolt run through her as she turned to face Autumn. “Wha-? Yer… yer leavin’? But Ah thought we’d be going back te Ponyville and-“
Autumn giggled, “it won’t be forever. AJ. I’ve just been giving what you told me a lot of thought and decided that I have a few long heart to hearts to have. Chief Rainshine, my folks, my neighbors… I need to tell them what I’m feeling, how it felt to be banished… I don’t want to carry this weight around anymore and I don’t want to ruin any relationships I have. But… I have to get these emotions off my chest.” Autumn finally turned to face Applejack, and the Apple’s heart skipped a few beats as the setting sun caused the gold in Autumn’s eyes to sparkle and glow, perfectly complementing her sweet smile. –“And as soon as I’m done, I’ll be right back in Ponyville.”
Applejack smiled back and took her hat off and plopped it onto Autumn’s head. She laughed, “Ha, ha! Ye better come back! We’ve got a big harvest comin’ up and we’ll need everypony te pitch in!”
Autumn tilted her hat. “Heh! I wouldn’t miss it for the world AJ!”
A lone pony was trotting on the path from the farmhouse. Braeburn walked with an apple in hoof, looking rather nervous. “Miss Autumn, Ah want ya te have- no, no. Um, Autumn, it’s been a real pleasure meetin’ ya and… Ah want ya te have this apple. Ah picked it fresh jus’ fer you an’… Braeburn’s voice caught in his throat as he caught a glimpse of the two ponies on the hill. He saw his cousin and the pretty Ms. Autumn laughing and sharing a special kind of closeness as they watched the last flickers of light. Braeburn’s jaw dropped as realization struck him. His ears wilted and his eyes were glued to the darkened dirt path. After a few moments, he raised his head, shrugged his shoulders, and sighed. He looked up at the hill and took a bite of the apple in his hoof.
Braeburn chuckled, “Right. Like Ah can compete with her.”
Goodness this took a lot of time! But it's finally done! Finally finished the Dungeons and Deserts saga! (que fanfare). Anyways, just a quick FYI for those of you who didn't see my blog post, while I was scratching my head on what to do with this chapter, I actually wrote the next two chapters since I know what I wanted to happen in them and minor spoiler warning, this arc is coming to a close very soon. I gotta tell you I've been feeling really motivated as of late and I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's the fact I found a really good workout routine and in the best shape of my life. Maybe it's the self help books that taught me that I can't wait for inspiration to come, I have to seek out inspiration and to work everyday even if what I write/draw is terrible. Maybe it's the fact that I'm actually on a path to the career of my dreams. Maybe it's from Pompo the Cinephile aka the best movie I've seen all year motivating me to go forward. Or maybe it's all of the above? Either way, I'm really happy with where I am in life right now. 
Any-hoo! One of the hardest things to write was Rarity's O&O game. Bare in mind, that since Dungeons and Deserts part one, I actually started playing D&D (my bestie asked and I was like "Ok") and while my opinion of it has improved, but I still don't like it very much. I think it might be because I utterly despise the combat. I'll be having fun roleplaying with my friends and getting into some mischief when we visit a town, but the second combat starts I think to myself, "Oh boy. Here's to another hour and a half of this. What'll we be facing this time? A skeleton? A zombie? A dragon? A dragon zombie skeleton?" But I digress. Eventually I kinda came to the conclusion that D&D is basically a really complex point and click adventure game and point and click stories tend to be on the more absurd side. Like a mission starts off with getting a cat out of your neighbor's tree and somehow ends with you helping an Egyptian mummy winning a spelling bee or something. So when I was having trouble with where to take Rarity's adventure I basically threw up my hands, blew a raspberry and decided to take a hard right onto Bonkersburg AVE. So I'm activating my "It's a parody of D&D," trap card and calling it a day. And for the record my bestie is obsessed with D&D and she loved the campiness, so that's all I really needed to go ahead.
Let me know what you guys think of this chapter, I love reading the comments.
As always, thanks for reading. See you next time 
Silver Wit
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I love me a good Sparity fic, accompanied by another fav ship of Aj and Autumn
11290656
And here I was starting to think I was the only AppleXBlaze shipper out there XD
11290669
Far from it, I'm sad that there aren't more apple/blaze stories
You play DnD.
You turn down Bonkersburg Ave.
Congratulations, youve learnt how to play the game.
11290698
We are the same, you and I.
11290707
I’m glad I was accurately able to depict that
Really glad to see this continued. It really is one the better sparity fics on the site. I really enjoyed Rarity playing O&O, especially as it’s something Spike loves as well. Glad to see you’re feeling motivated, hope the next chapter isn’t too far away.
11290870
You won’t have to wait too long. I’m already halfway through the rewrite
Great chapter & worth the wait, thanks so much. I don't really know much about D&D but I REALLY loved Rarity getting into it lol I can't wai to see where this story is going & I glad that things are going well for you
Thanks again for the new chapter & as always for the hard work, keep it up 
Good to see this story updated, had a ton of fun reading Rarity's trek though her O&O adventure, not to mention Discord/Big Mac joining in the fun later during this chapter!
Great work & looking forward to the next chapter!
11290898
That’s the plan. Gotta keep working hard
11290904
And the good news there is you won’t have to wait too long for the next one
11290910
True, tho you know i don't mind the wait, but it's nice when you don't have to & get to be a bit greedy lol
11290910
I'm so invested in this fic that I won't recover from sadness if this doesn't get completed. But then again reality can always slap u hard right in the face. Have to stay positive until then. I can kind of understand that u can't make time for everything because I started writing my own fic and found its not easy to complete it unlike starting it. Writers block is a serious problem among writers. But the one good thing I decided to do was to not post the fic unless I have the fic completed and all figured out. Its better than leaving the fiction halfway through and making ur fans sad. But its a hard to avoid sort of reality and I wish it wasn't so.
This chapter was wholesome. But the fact that appleblaze story isn't separate kinda throws me in a loop. The combat part of O&O is something I too dislike. But apart from the fighting part its exciting to a tee. I think the fighting part of O&O should be played like a virtual reality game. Playing the fighting part with just books and dice bores you out.
11291418
I'm thrilled to hear how invested you are in this story, and don't worry I have no intentions of abandoning this fic, it's like my baby. Plus my writing professor installed the rule, "finish what you start" into me. So unless something major is keeping me, I plan on working on this till it's done. Then the sequel
11291458
I've heard this concern about the ApplexBlaze thing before. One of my ultimate goals in this story is to build an Equestria with my vision, with multiple parts and characters moving about, adding up to a functioning and complex world. Problem is, sometimes I get a little carried away and create a plot line that could very well stand on its own. I've considered making side stories to this their own separate thing, but then the fear that they'd just be lost to the void and not be noticed despite it tying into a larger story comes up. So in summery, I need to give it a bit more thought, but it is a recommendation I've considered.
11291783
I guess I kind of understand. Sometimes u keep adding more flair to something that's already perfect because of ur passion and end up adding stuff that doesn't add up to improve it because its already perfect. Man, talking about this itself is putting my mind in a washing machine.
11294971
Well I do have a few ideas for side stories. I could experiment with those being separated from the main story.
This was a nice chapter and the description of Dungeons and Dragons made me think of the cartoon by that name were the protagonists encounter Tiamat as their first enemy.
11298431
Glad it made you think of something epic; exactly what I was hoping for.