Sugar Valley

The door swings open with force, Shining Armor coming through with an intense scowl. Princess Cadance stirs from her spot on the bed, utterly clueless as to why her husband is so upset.

“Shining…?”

“I can’t believe her.”

Cadance sits up, wings stretching out.

“Who?”

“Fucking Celestia!”

Shining Armor flails his head away from the princess, and begins to pace vigorously.

“Okay… calm down; what happened?”

The ivory unicorn suspends his trot around the room to speak with his wife.

“You remember ‘Clay’, from Canterlot?”

Princess Cadance leans her head back, ever so slightly.

“Ah, maybe; we visited with a lot of ponies on our last trip—”

“He’s in the Guard—it doesn’t matter, point is he just sent me a letter explaining that Princess Celestia sent my sister and her friends after a fucking psychopath!”

A scroll suspended in a magenta field of magic lands on the bed in front of Cadance. She unfurls the crackling paper, reading over the letter as Shining approaches his closet.

“‘Lane’? I’ve never heard of him…”

The alicorn cranes her neck trying to understand her husband’s intentions.

“It’s like reading a horror novel, looking at his file.”

A frown forms on the mare’s muzzle as she watches Shining Armor walk out of the closet with his helmet under his leg.

“He’s killed ponies, Cade.”

The princess rests the scroll on the sheets next to her, looking sympathetically at her mate.

“I don’t doubt that he sounds insane—but you read the letter, they have Pinkie Pie!”

The helmet hits an end table with a metallic clack, Shining returning to the closet to retrieve the rest of his gear.

“She should have told us!”

“I’m sure she has her reasons.”

The ivory unicorn steps out of the closet with a suit of armor held in his levitation.

“Why are you defending her?”

“Honey, you have your own obligations now.”

The metal plates lay down on the wooden floor with the help of Shining Armor’s magic.

“It’s in the interest of my ‘obligations’ to protect the Elements of Harmony.”

“I mean as a father.”

Shining freezes, his back turned to his wife. Princess Cadance seizes the moment.

“It’s your decision to make. I just don’t want you to make it on an impulse.”

The unicorn’s nerves relax, and Shining Armor has a moment to reflect on the princess’s words.

With the dawn having made its way well beyond the horizon, Shining Armor now finds himself in a small room with a mare from the Crystal Guard, as she configures the numerous straps and buckles on the unicorn’s armor. For a while, Shining is able to look sternly in the mirror before him, a sense of duty permeating his stance. But as he stares longer from behind his helmet, his shoulders begin to slouch, and his eyes sink toward the floor. Only a framed image on the desk of his wife and foal lifts his gaze back up.

“Sir.”

The ponies in the photograph watch Shining Armor with unmoving, gleeful eyes.

“Commander, sir.”

The ivory unicorn pries his eyes away from the photo, to the mare at his side who presents his sword in her telekinetic grasp. A distraction that lasts for only a short moment, as Shining Armor soon finds himself again staring at the photograph.

As the stallion re-enters his bed chamber, he finds his wife up and moving, combing her mane in front of a lavish vanity. Shining approaches the mare, standing at her side as to converse with Cadance’s reflection.

“Okay. You’re right...”

The unicorn removes his violet helmet with magic, tossing it onto the bed at their side.

“...I imagine it’s time to take a break from that life.”

Princess Cadance pauses her brushing, looking up and smiling warmly at the unicorn.

“I know she’s your little sister; but she’s far from the innocent foal you used to fly a kite with.”

Shining’s own smirk appears as he nods in quiet agreement with the alicorn.

“I know. Truth is, Twilight’s more capable of handling a fight than I am.”

A warmth grows inside of Shining Armor as the princess reaches up and kisses him briefly on the muzzle. In response, the stallion rests a leg over Cadance’s shoulders, caressing her coat gently.

“She’s going to be alright.”

The two fall into a comfortable silence, Shining Armor admiring the familiar image before him.

* * *

A cool breeze tousles the manes of the two ponies who stand alone in the shadow of wooden colossi. Both of the mares stare solemnly down at a mound of dirt, raised just above the grass around it. Applejack turns her attention to Princess Twilight, who seems to be cradling a small object with one of her hooves. As the hoof rises, the earth pony discovers the curiosity to be a yellow feather, held closely to Twilight’s chest.

A moment passes where the two ponies stand frozen in place, before the princess extends her leg outward, and releases the feather into the wind. Applejack bows her head in silence, wrestling the urge to cry.

Silence draws out long into the evening. The setting sun to their backs, Twilight and Aj watch the crackling flame the earth pony had managed to kindle, keeping the two warm amidst the chilled air. A second, more complex contraption Applejack had built sits behind the mares, a stretched tarp collecting the occasional sprinkling the clouds bring. Neither pony says a word, instead both quietly continuing their futile fight to mentally move onward.

Applejack, still far from content, is the first to overcome the blanketing stillness.

“We should move East tomorrow—toward the back of the park. We woulda seen something up there, if it’d been near the entrance.”

Twilight Sparkle sits motionlessly, continuing to peer into the fire with reddened eyes.

“...I don’t understand… how Pinkie could—”

Suddenly fixated on the hat lying in front of her, Applejack begins to impulsively play with the stitching as she responds to her friend.

“I know. Pinkie had herself some bad days, that’s for sure. But something like this, it—It just don’t add up.”

The violet alicorn closes her eyes and attempts to envision the warmth of the fire coming from a hearth in her castle, listening intently to her friend’s words.

“It’s something I don’t wanna say… but saving Pinkie? I dunno, it just—it feels kinda like…”

“...like there’s nothing left to save?”

Aj’s eyes meet her friend’s for the first time in what seems like forever. The earth pony never mutters a response; but her silence and despairing expression say more than enough for Twilight, who slowly turns her head back toward the flames. The warmth of the fire surrounds the princess, calling her softly to the retreat of a dream.

“It feels like a nightmare…”

Applejack notices her friend begin to nod off. The orange mare stands on her hooves, dusts off her hat, then places it back onto her head.

“Why don’t you get some well deserved rest, Twi’. I’m just gonna go find a little privacy for… you know; private business?”

Twilight’s eyelids momentarily lift back open to give the pony a chance to look at her friend.

“Okay; but be careful, alright?”

The farm pony nods.

“I will. And I ain’t gonna go far, so just holler if you need me.”

Twilight Sparkle returns to the fire’s trance, resting her head against her forehooves.

“Okay…”

Applejack is given a moment to study the alicorn, a pain growing in her chest at the sight of Twilight’s bloodied bandages highlighted in the fire’s glow.

With the brim of her hat hanging low, Aj turns from the scene, and walks into the moonlit fields engulfing their camp. Chills quickly make their way down the pony’s spine, Applejack having left the fire’s glow, its soft crackling replaced with the distant cheerful faire tunes. To the mare’s left lies an alley of glowing booths and attractions, some calling out to her with loud, overly-enthusiastic voices. To her right, a single tree surrounded by a tall chain-link fence, its gate left wide open. The mare begins a slow trot over to the tree.

The gate is surrounded by torn posters and rusting signs, the gate itself blowing softly in the wind, occasionally creating a grating metallic whine. Upon arriving at the tree, Aj supports herself against a plain wooden bench situated under the slow falling of leaves. The area is bare. Aside from a restroom made of concrete, there are no buildings, only garbage bins and dying foliage.

Applejack removes her hat and runs a hoof through her mane, upsetting the mostly uniform direction of her hair. The mare’s hat falls to the ground, as her eyes grow misty, her lips quivering. A soft croak—the remnants of a suppressed sob—escapes from the pony’s mouth. Hopeless to resist, tears begin to make their way steadily out of Applejack’s eyes, her head leaning carelessly against the bark of the tree. The uncharacteristic croaks turn into quiet moans as the mare’s coat collects bits of bark, and tears run uncontrollably down her neck.

Eventually, Aj finds her knees no longer able to support her, and the earth pony falls helplessly from the support of the bench and into the grass. From here, she remains for a moment, viewing the world sideways as she waits out the sobbing and blurred vision. The earth is cold; colder than the wind above it, yet there’s almost a comfort in its touch. To the mare, it was a feeling to embrace when all other feelings have abandoned her; something to remind her which way was up.

After a while, the crying ceases, and Applejack is left alone on the ground with dirt and bark smeared across her face, a long strand of saliva lifting from her mouth and toward the sky. None the less, her dry eyes finally give the pony a chance to see what lies ahead of her, at the edge of a strange jut in the ground.

Slowly, the mare rises to her hooves, taking the opportunity to wipe her muzzle with a forearm. The closer she approaches the scene, the stranger it appears. The earth had been torn open, that much was certain; but it was a small red object at the edge of the rift that holds the pony’s attention.

Upon arrival, Applejack lifts the apple off of the ground and into her hoof. Turning it, she discovers a single large bite had been taken from the fruit. The pony turns her head around, eying the tree behind her. She hadn’t been mistaken; it was a Dogwood that grew alone in the area.

Aj turns back around and slowly creeps toward the edge, peering down at the base. There she lays eyes on a large sewer system; the stone tunnel ceiling having been torn away in what Applejack guessed to be a botched landscaping job. And there on the metal grating floor, lying haphazardly in the corner,

“My bags!”

In a flurry of renewed energy, Applejack rushes to the left of the rift, where the slope is even enough to traverse down. Before she begins her descent, however, the earth pony turns and peers over her shoulder, watching the distant glow of the campfire through the chain-link fence. A small part of her tells her to go back, and return in the morning. Of course, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t need what was in the bag until tomorrow.

Small rocks and debris cascade down the dirt hill as Applejack slides onto the ceiling of the sewer tunnel. An appalling smell assaults the pony standing above the tunnel, who’s forced to turn from the opening and take a moment to resist vomiting. After recovering, she’s able to cautiously peek over the stone ledge, and get a better look at the room. Conveniently, storage crates had been stacked intermediately between the metal grating and ceiling, allowing an easy way down; and, perhaps more importantly, an easy way out.

Upon landing in the room, lit only by a flickering light hanging above a rusting door, the stench delivers a painful punch to Applejack’s gut, sending the pony dashing for the railing. Aj throws her hooves her over the peeling metal, and vomits violently into the murky water below. The mare remains still for a moment, taking a moment to regain her senses and acclimate as best she can to the environment.

Once recovered, Applejack turns from the railing and looks around to get a better sense of the area. The pony stands in a corner room; behind her and to her right are seemingly endless tunnels, where the grating gives way to a creek of filth surrounded by thin walkways on either side. As the area Aj stands in connects the two tunnels, the creeks meet one another and collect in square space under the metal mesh. And in the corner of the room, propped up against the stained stone wall, are Applejack’s saddlebags.

The pony canters over to the supplies, excitingly opening the flap with her teeth. A burlap sack is the first item visible to the pony, one Applejack immediately recognizes as the bag of apples she prepared for the trip. She gently sets this aside; although not ecstatic about eating food that had sat in a sewer system for twenty-four hours, she feared she might soon not have a choice. As she releases the burlap from her mouth, a figure underneath the grating draws the pony’s attention.

A pony corpse with dried blood leading from its ears and nostrils appears to be lying amidst the waste, its back against the wall. The longer Applejack stares, the more details she notices, like how it appears the mare had had her eyes sewn shut before death.

Aj grimaces, disgusted and baffled by the horrors the park seemed to consistently surprise her with. Unable to stare longer, she returns to the saddlebags.

Two items remained from underneath where the apples once were. Applejack pushes aside the first item, a rolled up map, in favor of the second. She grabs hold of the wrapped item with her teeth, then brings it out of the bag so that she can inspect it. Desperate for assurance that it was still there, she unravels the thick paper to find a familiar blade, gleaming in the light.

“Oh… Thank Celestia…”

Applejack wasn’t excited about using the weapon; but Sugar Valley had long since revealed its ruthless nature, and it came as a relief to know that she could at least fight back.

Remembering that her friend was still lying helplessly next to the fire, Aj rushes to repack her bags. She grabs the burlap sack in her mouth, and hurriedly drops it into the bag. Next she quickly folds the paper back over the knife, nearly cutting herself in the process. Finally, she lifts the covered knife with her teeth, and aims to place it in the bag.

Only the paper isn’t secure; and the blade comes sliding out the end. Applejack scrambles to catch the knife, as it briefly clacks against the rusting metal mesh. The pony’s heart drops as the handle slips between her hooves, and through the metal grating.

For a moment, Applejack can only stare with wide eyes, watching the small ripples dissipate around the spot the knife had just sank through the water. After the cloud of filth that the blade had stirred up fades away that, Aj can just barely make out the gleam of her weapon.

“...SHIT! Shit, shit, shit, shit!”

The pony stands up, unable to believe the situation.

“Damnit!”

Images of her defenseless friend flash before Applejack, who paces the small room in distress. The mare’s eyes eventually settle on the corpse beneath the grating, watching it closely for any signs of movement. Finding none, Applejack squeezes her eyes shut and sighs as her plan comes together.

“Aw, hell…”

The mare drops her hat onto the metal floor, before trotting down a short stairway onto one of the walkways surrounding the sewage. Her reflection is barely visible behind the layer of waste that floats in the water, the stench enough to claim any contents of the pony’s stomach, had it not already been emptied.

With a grimace and an inhale, Applejack forces herself into the river of filth. Her insides immediately find a way to twist themselves further into a knot, the water seemingly eroding the fur surrounding her hooves. Once the grating is reached, Aj is forced to lower herself enough to fit under, so that her belly just grazes the muck.

Having worked on a farm all of her life, Applejack was no stranger to dirty jobs; but wading through a creek of excrement turned out to be a far cry away from the chores she performed at Sweet Apple Acres. The pony opts to pry her focus onto the objective, eyes set firmly on the corner of the room. The mare’s sloshing through the waste only pauses when a sound comes from behind her.

Applejack quickly turns her head, being just able to make out the creature from over her shoulder. The body she had inspected earlier lifts its hanging head, the last of the ripples from Aj’s movement splashing against the ‘corpse’.

The room grows deathly still, as Applejack strains to not move a muscle. The sickly pony against the wall allows its jaw to drop just a few inches, revealing a mouth full of blackened and chipped teeth. Applejack’s heart begins to pound as she silently begs for the creature to be immobile. The orange mare is situated in the center of the room, the creature much too close to either exit for an easy escape.

Fear sinks over Aj as the decaying pony leans forward off of the wall, and lands on its stomach with its hooves extended. The earth pony turns toward the corner once again, and desperately begins to push forward. The soft sounds of the creature behind her—almost like cackling—grow louder as the tortured pony drags itself closer to Applejack. Just before the mare’s destination is reached, a shriveled hoof grabs ahold of her back leg, violently pulling the earth pony back.

The cloudy water splashes all around the two as Aj flips onto her back, flailing helplessly as the creature draws closer in. With a firm grasp on the lively pony, the demon pulls itself up and opens its mouth just above Applejack’s knee, biting down with animalistic force.

“AAAUGH!”

Clouds of blood form around the mare, her cries of pain echoing throughout the tunnels. Adrenaline now coursing through her veins, Applejack lifts her health leg up to her stomach, then ferociously brings it down into her attacker’s face. She does this until the creature is torn from its prey, taking bits of the earth pony’s flesh with it. Now covered in a thickening layer of sweat and muck, Applejack twirls around and begins furiously thrashing toward the corner of the room. Sliding her hooves on the canal floor, she’s able to quickly locate the knife, but is unable to get enough traction to hold it. A quick glance over her shoulder reminds the pony how pressed for time she is, the cackling monster blindly limping toward her.

With all other options exhausted, Applejack seals her eyelids and lips as tightly closed as possible, and forces her head under the water. The creature is quick to follow, grabbing ahold of Aj pinning her down. The earth pony can feel the beast snap and bite at her neck, just scratching the skin. Applejack’s muzzle meets the stone floor, searching desperately for the weapon. Strained for breath and trapped by the weight of her attacker, the mare takes a chance with an object her muzzle grazes, opening her mouth just enough to slip it between her teeth. With her head wound all the way to the right to avoid the monster’s assault, Applejack springs to the side, swinging the object in her mouth.

The edge of the blade sinks into the creature’s neck, who recoils back and off of the earth pony. A long strand of dark blood ejects from the wound, as Applejack resurfaces, and turns on the beast. Amidst hellish squealing and panicked thrashing, the creature is stabbed over and over by the mare, who only ceases after the blade is driven deep into the victim’s eye socket. The monster’s death cry tapers off in a gargled, drawn out moan, the creature itself left lifeless in a growing crimson cloud. Aj prys the knife from its fleshy resting spot, the body delivering one last twitch in its hoof.

Applejack climbs to the walkway, and limps to the nearest wall for support. The blade drops from her mouth, clattering loudly on the stone floor. The pony begins to collapse under herself, shuddering and dry-heaving as she drops. There she remains, just able to lay her head far enough back to see her worn hat resting at the top of the stairs.

“AH!”

Aj winces, receiving a painful reminder of the wound on her leg. The pony is barely able to prop herself up on the stairs, giving herself a better chance to inspect the damage. Blood pours from the open gash, torn muscle clearly exposed.

The mare’s dirt caked mane flops down as she hangs her head in a hopeless attempt to ignore the pain. When she slowly raises it again, it’s not the wound or the hat that holds her attention; but the blood-stained blade, lying just within Applejack’s reach.

* * *

The sky over Ponyville is painted with a myriad of colors, warm reds settling near the earth that give way to a violet streak, and finally end in a vast swathe of blue. Broken and unorganized clouds dot the scene, casting incredible rays of light above the two ponies who stand in awe on the ground. The young, violet mare is the first to speak.

“It’s beautiful…”

Starswirl the Bearded nods quietly in agreement.

“It’s real.”

The princess turns to the side, confused by her friend’s words.

“What do you mean?”

“That—”

The stallion lifts a hoof toward the sky.

“—that’s not our work. No weather team in Equestria could create this.”

Twilight Sparkle turns back again, further studying the intricate chaos.

“This is what was gifted to us; and what was our response?”

A distant, unintelligible voice echoes throughout the field.

“To build a wall around ourselves, one of stone and magic. There’s a world out there, Twilight Sparkle.”

The distant voice returns, more clearly now.

“Twilight!”

Having again worked up the strength to tear herself from the canvas in the sky, Twilight turns her head so that she can watch Starswirl.

“You’re not afraid?”

The bearded unicorn doesn’t move, instead directing his response toward the lurid horizon.

“I’m terrified by it.”

Twilight snaps awake, taking a moment to recognize the crackling fire before her. Her ears perk up, the mare unsure if reality had seeped into her dream.

“Twilight!”

Rushing toward her friend’s cry, Twilight quickly finds herself in a dark field surrounded by a chain-link fence. The desperate pleas for help subside as the alicorn reaches the top of a tear in the ground, Princess Twilight finally able to see her friend.

“Oh my gosh—”

Applejack looks up, her eyes red and her hat lying crooked atop her mane. She’s struggling to limp up the incline before Twilight races down to help.

“Applejack! What happened?”

The stubborn mare extends a hoof to refuse Twilight’s aid.

“I need you to carry my bags back to camp…”

Shifting her weight, the earth pony is able to help her friend move the newly acquired cargo to her own back. Twilight gets her first good look at Aj’s wound in the process.

“Applejack—your leg!”

“I know; we’ll deal with that later…”

The earth pony winces in pain as she takes the last few steps to clear the hill.

“Boil what’s in the water catcher… use it to… disinfect the knife…”

Applejack pauses at the top of the hill, using the time to catch her breath.

“Don’t let me ‘ave swallowed a mouthful of sewage for nothin’... heh…”

With a trembling smirk and tired eyes, Applejack collapses onto the moist earth.

“Applejack! Applejack!”

The soft grass surrounding the mare relaxes Aj, gently coaxing her into a nap.

“It’s alright… just… need some rest…”

Now panicked and shuddering with fear, Twilight Sparkle anxiously nuzzles her friend in an effort to keep her awake.

“Applejack, please! I can’t do this without you!”

Tears begin to pour from the alicorn’s eyes as her muzzle rests against the wounded mare’s chest.

“P-please! Please, I need you!”

The mare’s pleading drifts along the cold air with no one to answer, and the ponies lie alone under cover of the shedding tree.