Death is Liberty

by the7Saviors

Chapter IV ~ The Hat

The journey back to where Applejack had first awakened was a long one, but thankfully—and strangely, thought Togg—their trek was a peaceful one, all but devoid of any deadly creatures lurking in the underbrush. Much of the trip was spent bringing the pony-turned-wolf up to speed on the current situation. Togg knew nothing of Equestria and Luna had very little to say about the Equestria of Applejack's time, though Applejack and Togg noticed that the former Princess had little to say in general.

She kept to herself for the most part as she led the other two through the overly tangled and eerily silent forest. It didn't help that Luna would occasionally break through the trees overhead and take to the skies without warning to check their position and in doing so, leave Applejack and Togg to wait until she returned. This left Togg to answer many of Applejack's questions, of which she still had several.

There wasn't anything he could do about Applejack's questions regarding Equestria, but the porcine conjurer had plenty to say about himself and his own world. Togg's words came warily and hesitantly at first, but by the time they'd all made it roughly halfway through the twisted forest, he'd gotten into the conversation. It wasn't long before he was eagerly discussing his chosen discipline with the large wolven beast.

Applejack listened as politely as she could while Togg droned on excitedly about odic theory and the supposedly awe-inspiring feats of his mentor. It was clear to the former pony that the conjurer took great pride in his craft, but Applejack would've been lying if she said she understood even a hint of what he was going on about, so rather than telling him as much, she decided to simply nod along with his words.

Truth be told, she normally wouldn't have minded telling Togg her honest thoughts about what he was rambling on about, but with more pressing concerns clouding her mind, she couldn't be bothered. Given her worries and having not yet fully come to grips with her current state of mind and being, it was a wonder Applejack could spare even half the attention she was giving Togg as it was.

And then there was what she'd evidently left behind prior to her madness.

Applejack had tried to ask Luna about what she meant, but the former Equestrian princess had simply ignored her and continued to focus on the path ahead. It put her off somewhat, but after a while, Applejack had just begun to assume whatever it was would be self-evident. It didn't ease her worries, confusion, or curiosity any, but she was nothing if not a patient and reasonable mare... at least she would've liked to think so anyway.

As it turned out, Applejack felt she may not have been entirely wrong in her assumptions. As the three neared the edge of the warped forest, the scent of something familiar hit the wolf's enhanced olfactory senses like a sold brick wall. Her lupine head raised to the sky and her nostrils flared as she inhaled what she was suddenly certain was the smell of her past.

It wrapped around her like a tantalizing shroud and dragged her forward. Her nose sniffed against the ground and her legs began to move almost on their own. Any dialogue from Togg was ignored and forgotten as she pushed ahead of the surprised and concerned scholar without a word. Luna, for her part, merely stepped aside to let Applejack pass and continued after her, wordlessly letting her lead the rest of the way.

"It seems Miss Applejack has caught the scent of something," Togg observed worriedly, "a threat perhaps? Some unseen nightmare hiding in the depths of this interminable darkness?"

"Not likely," Luna replied as the two of them followed Applejack out of the malformed underbrush and onto the dead, blackened soil beneath the alien sky above, "I wager that she has picked up the trail of the piece of her she'd left behind."

Togg turned to Luna with brows slightly raised. Her tone was dismissive, but Togg was surprised that the stoic demon had even deigned to answer at all. Although he frowned a moment later at her next words.

"I believe you mentioned something about being able to sense the presence of those around you," Luna commented snidely, "surely you would have known if there was any real danger?"

"Not every vile creature can be sensed with odic energy alone," Togg replied somewhat defensively, "and my natural senses are a bit... lacking compared to yours and Miss Applejack's I'm afraid."

Luna merely gave a derisive snort at that and picked up her pace to catch up with Applejack. Evidently, she had nothing more to say, so Togg simply sighed and followed after the other two. Another half-hour or so passed In relative silence as Luna and Togg continued to trail after Applejack, who still had her nose pressed to the ground. She moved swiftly, pushing ahead with purpose and seemingly heedless of anything and everything else but that scent of familiarity.

Then, as if a flip had been switched, Applejack froze. Her head suddenly snapped up and her ears went erect and alert. At that same moment, Togg felt something tug at his preternatural odic senses and he too stopped in his tracks. Luna had no need for sharp ears or odic senses, as her flaming azure eyes alone were enough to pierce both darkness and distance to spot the shifting, shuffling silhouettes further up ahead.

"What in Mother's name?" Luna muttered, frowning as she tried to make out the formless shapes, "what are those creatures?"

"Ah ain't got a clue," Applejack replied, a low and dangerous growl escaping her throat. She crouched, her hackles raised as she stared straight ahead, "but whatever they are, they sound like trouble, an' they smell even worse."

Luna frowned and took a few steps forward, straining to get a better look at the distant shapes. After a moment or two, her eyes flared brighter, and to her surprise, she could suddenly make out the creatures clear as day. It was as if something had filtered the shadows out of her vision and now she could see the thin, hunchbacked monstrosities for what they were.

There were five or six of them, chittering and burbling unpleasantly in high-pitched, unintelligible voices. The naked skin that stretched taut over their diminutive forms shone pale grey and oily in the moonlight. Their misshapen, lumpy backs were bloated with grotesque black and purple splotches and boils.

Two pointed ears jutted out from either side of their flat heads. Their eyes were the same sickly shade of purple as the boils upon their backs and filmy with cataracts. If it hadn't been for the shape of their heads and the wide mouths full of gnashing, shark-like teeth that dripped with black ichor, Luna might've mistaken them for some manner of overgrown and diseased hairless rats.

Not a single one of them seemed to pay the trio of onlookers any heed as they all danced around restlessly in an uneven circle about the wide, soot-strewn clearing. At least, Luna thought it was some kind of dance, though she couldn't be completely sure from where she was standing. Whatever the case, it was clear the hideous things were distracted, and for that, the demonic mare was thankful.

"Blighted goblins," Togg hissed, his beady red eyes narrowing and his snout wrinkling in disgust, "a nasty lot to be sure, but..." his disgusted grimace turned to one of confusion, "their territory lies much further southeast near the Swamplands of Kveth. Why are they here? Another effect of that disastrous anomaly perhaps?"

"Ah don't know an' Ah don't care," Applejack growled, her emerald eyes flashing dangerously, "those ugly critters are standin' between me an' somethin' Ah really need to see."

"I know not what has caught your attention, but you must calm yourself, Miss Applejack," Togg warned, seeing the telltale signs of bloodlust in the wolf's eyes, "do not be so eager to rush into combat, blighted goblins may look frail, but—no, wait!"

Togg raised a hand to forestall Applejack's headlong charge, but the enraged wolf had already once again given into her instincts. She shot off like a lightning bolt towards the group of unsuspecting goblins before either Togg or Luna could stop her. Luna looked from the rapidly bounding form of Applejack to Togg as the conjurer cursed and raised his hands. Her eyes flared with interest as he flexed his thick fingers and cried out in a language vaguely familiar to the mare.

At his call, several orbs of ebony fire manifested above and around him in a large semi-circle, each flaming orb roughly the size of his own massive fists. Luna managed to count at least a dozen orbs before Togg shot out a hand and sent them all flying forward at a speed that very nearly broke the sound barrier. They overtook Applejack's speed with ease and, shocked out of her fury, she stumbled to a near stop as the flaming projectiles passed her by.

Luna, who'd seen similar magical attacks used in the past during warfare, had expected the orbs to explode on impact. What she hadn't expected was for each orb to rip through each goblin's flesh, piercing them all with pinpoint precision and leaving gaping holes where each orb hit. They hit with such force that many were either sent flying or skidding roughly across the ground.

The wounds left by Togg's assault glowed white-hot for a brief moment, the intense heat searing the flesh shut even as the helpless creatures hit the ground. In a matter of seconds, the blighted goblins had been completely wiped out, and silence once again filled the air. They'd only just begun to notice Applejack's charge when Togg's conjuration hit and barely had any time to scream in alarm let alone mount any kind of meaningful resistance.

The flaming black orbs had only left several black patches where they landed, the scorch marks indistinguishable from the jet black soil save for the still smoldering embers in some spots. Applejack, who'd nearly reached the group of goblins before Togg interfered, stood dumbfounded as she stared at the disease-ridden corpses before her. For a moment she was unsure of what to do or say and the disorientation from the sudden recession of bloodlust did little to help matters.

It wasn't long before she noticed something amidst the grotesque bodies, something that snapped her back to full lucidity. It was something so familiar yet so out of place, she wasn't sure if she was seeing things or not. An image—some deep-rooted scene began to push its way into the forefront of Applejack's mind as she gawked at the object.

Almost as if in a daze, she took a step forward but a distant voice called out to her just then, freezing her where she stood and dispelling the hazy image from her thoughts. Growling in frustration, she whipped around to see the approaching forms of Togg and Luna, the former hurrying as fast as his legs would carry him and the latter following along at a more sedate pace.

"W-Wait! Fall back, Miss Applejack!" Togg panted as he came closer, "d-don't... don't move another step forward! Though they may be corpses, the blighted goblins still pose a dire threat!"

Applejack was about to turn away and ignore the conjurer when a low hiss reached her ears, the sound not dissimilar to the hiss from a faulty pressure relief valve. It wasn't long before the sound was accompanied by a foul, acrid stench that set Applejack's newfound instincts on high alert. Those instincts to flee warred with an overwhelming desire to investigate, to know.

Not wanting to hesitate a moment longer, she made a split-second decision. She took one last look back at the panicking Togg before reaching down and snapping up the wrinkled, dirty stetson in her maw and backpedaling away as fast as her lupine legs would allow. She jumped away and in the next moment, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

She watched in a sort of horrified awe as the black and purple splotches rapidly encroached upon the pale, unblemished flesh of each goblin corpse. The large boils bubbled and hissed as they too covered more and more of the pale grey skin, moving from the back to the arms and legs and more. It was when the bodies began to bloat to a frankly ridiculous size that Applejack's eyes widened in alarm.

Aw horseapples, Ah don't think Ah'm gonna—

Space folded around the horrified wolf, shutting out all sight and sound and sucking all the air out of her lungs. For a brief instant that felt like an eternity, Applejack struggled desperately to breathe, but each attempt seemed to grow weaker as she felt her body being crushed in on itself. The pressure was immense, it was too much. She felt like she was being squeezed right out of existence.

And then it was over.

Just as soon as the torture began, it ended, leaving Applejack shaking and panting from the horrifying experience. She stood on wobbly legs, her eyes wide and focused on the dirty, ruined stetson resting at her massive paws. She took a minute to collect herself while sucking in several precious gulps of stale air. Someone called out to her, but it sounded muffled and far away like she was hearing it from beneath a large pool of water.

She raised her head slightly to see Togg crouched before her on his hands and knees. The conjurer looked just as bad as she felt. She could see his body shaking, his chest and shoulders heaving with exhaustion, though Applejack couldn't understand why. Looking past him, she could see Luna looking no worse for wear. She stood back, eyeing Togg with an unreadable expression.

Still in shock, it took her a few moments to notice but looking past Luna, the bloated goblin corpses were nowhere to be found, nor were the scorch marks from Togg's attack. As she took in the scenery she slowly began to realize that they'd all somehow arrived back near the forest's entrance. There were many questions that needed answering right at the moment, but they all had taken a backseat to the thoughts and emotions swirling about in Applejack's head.

"By... by the Black Constellation, that was... far too close... for my liking," came Togg's winded voice as he struggled to rise to his feet, "are you okay, Miss Applejack? Unharmed I hope?"

He let out an exhausted sigh as he finally stood up and when he didn't hear a response he fully turned to face Applejack. She stood staring out at the forest with unfocused eyes, her mind clearly elsewhere. Togg frowned, concern written all over his own face as he took a step toward her, but stopped as she spoke.

"Ah remember..."

Togg blinked, then turned to look back at Luna who had finally turned her attention to Applejack. When she didn't say anything, he returned his focus to Applejack.

"You... remember?" he replied carefully, "you mean your past? Your home? How you came to be here?"

It took a long minute, but Applejack eventually gave a slow nod and her unfocused gaze drifted back down towards the stetson. It was clear the hat hadn't survived Applejack's rough treatment, crumpled, full of holes, and wet with saliva as it was from when she'd made a desperate grab for it with her teeth. She took another minute to stare at it, then blinked once and spoke again, her voice hoarse with emotion.

"Ah remember all of it," she weakly batted at the hat with a paw, flipping it over, "every single moment. Ah remember who Ah was, who Ah am, an' where Ah came from."

She closed her eyes and Togg thought he could see a tear rolled down her face, but when she opened them again after yet another long minute, there was no sign of a wolf broken by her circumstances. Her eyes passed over both Togg and Luna and they each saw something else entirely. Her bright emerald eyes flared to life, blazing with a dozen different and powerful emotions—rage, determination, purpose, fear, anguish, hope, and far more.

She took one last look at the ruined stetson... and stepped over it as she made to move past the other two. Applejack didn't know where she meant to go exactly in this broken, twisted world, only that she knew she had to move forward. As far she was concerned, there was no time to sit and wallow in despair—not when she still had others counting on her.

"Ah know how Ah got here," she continued as the others separated to let her pass, "an' Ah know what Ah need to do."

Togg and Luna watched her go for a bit before the former broke the silence.

"Well," he finally said with a chipper tone he didn't quite feel, "it seems your plan was a success, Miss Luna. We certainly had a time of it, but I'm glad she's recovered."

"Hm," Luna replied, not taking her eyes off Applejack as she moved further away, "I'm not so sure she has... and I also feel the hat had little to do with the return of her memory."

Togg frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked, "if not the hat, then what else could it have been?"

At that, Luna only shook her head and began following after Applejack. Togg raised a hand and opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped himself. Luna was clearly done talking and any other questions probably would've gone unanswered. Instead, his frown grew pensive as his mind wandered back to the blighted goblins.

Why here? Why now? And what were they doing?

He glanced down at the abandoned hat, both his worry and curiosity growing by the second. After a second of indecision, he walked back to the stetson, bent down, and scooped it up. The moment his fingers closed around the crumpled brim, something like an electric shock ran through his hand and shot up his entire arm. His eyes widened and he very nearly dropped the thing in surprise but managed to hold on to it.

What in the Goddess' name?

The inquisitive glint in his beady eyes grew brighter.

This phenomenon... the same as the sapling? No... this is something different, but not entirely dissimilar... it doesn't explain the appearance of the goblins so far from their territory, but maybe...

His thoughts ran wild with questions and possibilities, but at this point, he could do nothing but speculate. He'd stumbled upon a golden opportunity—or rather it had fallen right into his lap, and he'd be damned to the Pits if he let it slip away now. Casting a furtive glance over his shoulder, he saw that neither Applejack nor Luna had paid his absence any heed and continued onward toward the Goddess knew where.

Well... I suppose they'll need a guide anyway, right? Someone to keep them on the right track and out of trouble?

With that thought and many others in mind, he carefully slipped the tattered stetson into his satchel and hurried to catch up with the others.

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Ah, the return of the hat. Most excellent.

[Aether Spark]

Woot, the saga continues

[The Cynical One]

In a world of horrors a little bit of home still persists... just like AJ it's time to move onwards!

[FridayPie]

Lol, a hat - thought I and flipped to next chapter... and it was it.