.buck//Moment

Several Days Later

Applejack dropped to the ground, skidding a short distance before turning, blade drawn. The large goblin swung its club down at her, but she dived to the side, running her foe through the middle with her sword. It screeched as it dissolved, a chest forming where it had died. A short jingle played as Applejack levelled up, the message in the corner congratulating her for reaching level 20. Sheathing her sword, she grinned, spinning and opening the golden chest. Inside was another new heavy bodyplate, which she rolled her eyes at. Starlight was already drowning in gear she'd sent her.

“If only Ah could get somethin' useful,” she grumbled, stepping through the stone archway to the next room. A giant stone statue greeted her as she trotted into the treasure room, quickly looting the chest, receiving an old sword whose attributes didn't come close to Applejack's current, and gated back to town.

As she landed a 'ping' caught her attention as a new icon popped onto her screen.

New Message Recieved!

Cocking an eyebrow, she tapped it, reading the message she'd been sent.

Dear  Applejack !

Congratulations for reaching Level 20!

You can now access a new Root Town from the Chaos Gate!

Simply choose 'Θ Dun Loireag' from the new Root Town option!

We hope you've enjoyed the game so far!

Yours,

CC Corp.

Curious, Applejack turned around to face the Chaos Gate, activating it. Sure enough, there was a new option at the top for choosing a new Root Town. Shrugging, she tapped it, and felt the world fade away to black.

It returned shortly after, and the orange mare gasped, her eyes wide as she saw the new area. Where Mac Anu had been a port town sitting on an ocean, Dun Loireag was a series of rocky islands floating in a sea of clouds. The Chaos Gate, where she currently stood, was on a stone dais in the centre of a roughly circular isle, covered in naturally growing grass. A wooden rope bridge connected it to the nearest, long island, which itself connected further to another three smaller ones. Each of the smaller had a rounded stone hut with a visible shop window, NPCs stationed inside.

What caught Applejack's attention most, however, was the large crowd of familiar looking unicorns surrounding a wooden stage. Upon it stood a proud mare, similar in look to the others, waving her hooves about in a clearly boastful attitude as she cast magic spells into the air, fireballs detonating in the night sky and illuminating the congregation as they stomped and cheered.

Curiosity got the better of the mare as she trotted over. The crowd was dense, and she felt herself unable to get close enough to hear the stagemare over the hollering. Left on the outskirts, she instead tried to catch a better view of the pony on stage.

She was a unicorn, identical to the others if not for her outfit, which unlike her apparent fans included a giant, flashy hat in addition to the cloak. Her mane and coat reminded her of Twilight, in fact, now she looked they were the same style, just slightly darker in colour.

Applejack had been focused so hard on the showmare that she barely noticed the looks she was getting from her audience. The applauding ceased as the crowd turned to the orange pony, who was snapped from her analysis by the sudden silence. Glancing around, she spotted the many staring ponies and gulped.

“Uh... Hope Ah'm not interruptin',” she slowly stepped backwards, away from them.

“Hey, how'd you end up looking like that?” a voice from the crowd shouted out. More voices joined it, asking the same question.

“It was an event!” Applejack barely managed to be audible over the din, which ceased as her response hit their ears.

“What event?”

“Uh...” Now Applejack was stumped. She'd never planned this far. Quickening her pace, she found herself at the rope bridge and tentatively began to cross it. Several of the ponies near the back of the crowd advanced on her. “A secret one!” she blurted out.

She didn't hear any responses beyond that, turning tail and running before any of them got any ideas. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a few give chase as she sped up, heading to the Chaos Gate. Slamming into it, she swapped Root Towns back to Mac Anu.

Appearing in the port town she didn't risk anything, diving down the stairs and into a nearby alleyway, pressing herself against the wall. Whooshing of log ins and a multitude of varied shouts echoed through the area as she saw a number of the identical unicorns charge from the gate, sprinting into the town. Pressing herself further into the wall, she almost merged with the bricks as she held her breath, heart pounding.

“Good show you put on there.” A voice in her ear made her jump out of her skin as she leapt away. Staggering, she turned to face the source, growling as she attempted to calm her heart rate. Leaning against the wall was a unicorn, like the rest of the group.

No, this was the actual unicorn on stage. Up close it was easier to tell the differences between her and Twilight: at this distance she was noticeably darker, and her eyes were a brilliant, fiery red. They drilled into Applejack as the mare scrutinized her, making her gulp nervously. There was silence between them for a few seconds before Applejack spoke.

“Ah'm sorry fer ruinin' yer show,” she mumbled, looking away. The mare's eyebrows rose in curiosity, a coy smile forming on her lips.

“Oh? Dusk was not expecting an apology that fast,” the mare laughed to herself, relaxing her stance and smiling. Spotting her nervousness, she placed a hoof on her chin so she could look her in the eye. “That's quite alright, little pony. Apology accepted.”

Applejack exhaled in relief, forcing a smile. Bringing herself to full height, she shook off her anxiety. The sounds of shouting and galloping reached her ears, and she ran further into the alley, pressing herself into the wall as the crowd of identical unicorns ran past. Synchronized 'whooshing' notified her of their warping to another zone, and she let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. The unicorn chuckled beside her.

“Hmm, well, Dusk's show is pretty much cancelled now,” she smiled as she spoke, putting Applejack at ease, “so Dusk wonders what she must do now.”

The orange mare looked confused for a moment, scratching her forehead. “Uh, not ta cause ya any offense but... who's Dusk?”

There was a clatter as the unicorn fell, spluttering. Forcing herself up she stared at Applejack, mouth moving but no words escaping it. Her eyes danced over her features, trying to find any proof of a joke, but Applejack's face was the pinnacle of seriousness.

“You... what?” the unicorn pathetically ended, before shaking her head and hardening her expression. “Dusk has a task! She will educate you, little pony!” Swiftly, she wrapped a hoof around Applejack's neck and dragged her out, much to her chagrin. Applejack tried to fight it, but the unicorn was stronger than she looked, and soon she found herself heading towards the Chaos Gate.

“Oh! Hi Applejack!” a familiar voice caught her attention, and she glanced up to see Violet standing at the top of the stairs, her fiery mane bouncing as she trotted over. Violet looked between Applejack and the pony dragging her several times before turning to the blademaster. “So who's your new friend?” Violet asked absent-mindedly, fiddling with a menu. Applejack soon got the party invite, accepting it without a thought.

“Ah dunno, but she...” Applejack trailed off as she saw the showmare's features rapidly flip through different emotions. After several seconds they settled on anger, and she leapt away, surprising the two friends.

“YOU!” she screamed, as Applejack and Violet glanced at each other in confusion. “The Mighty Dusk will have nothing to do with your kind!” The two barely had time to blink before the unicorn was gone in a puff of smoke.

“Uh...” Violet slowly began, “what just happened?”

“Ah have no idea,” Applejack concluded, dumbfounded. The two companions continued to stare at where the unicorn had just stood.

What felt like several minutes later, Applejack spoke up. “So, what brings ya online, Vi?”

Violet turned to her with a blank look on her face before her brain caught up with the words. “Oh, uh well, there was an interesting post on one of the boards.”

An eyebrow raised in interest. “Really?”

Violet nodded. “Apparently there's a zone that's been marked as 'Protected'.”

Applejack blinked, waiting a couple of moments then gesturing for her companion to elaborate. With a light blush and murmured apology, she continued. “No one can access it basically.”

“And so y'all're thinkin' there might be somethin' there?” Applejack concluded. Violet nodded again. “Right, so where're we headin'?”

Violet scratched her head. “Uh, well... We can't go there but... The area is Θ Chosen Hopeless Nothingness.”

Applejack's eyes grew wide. “Well if that ain't forebodin' Ah dunno what is.”

Her companion chuckled lightly in agreement. Applejack scratched her chin idly for a few moments before striding towards the Chaos Gate.

“Hey, where are you going?” Violet called after her, running to her side. Applejack shrugged.

“Ah'm jus' curious ta see what it looks like,” she uttered simply. Selecting the Root Town option, she transferred to Dun Loireag, Θ Server, and entered the keywords. Halfway through, she heard Violet warp in behind her, watching with curiosity as Applejack tapped away.

“You're getting better at that,” she off-hoofedly commented, causing Applejack to pause and her cheeks to warm slightly.

“Heh, it's not that hard now Ah've got some practice,” she replied, finalizing the area code. A large error message came up over her screen; the word PROTECTED in large, bold, red writing. She sighed, “well, Ah don't know what Ah expected...”

“Uh, Applejack...” Violet's voice was hesitant. “What are you--” A bright flash interrupted her comment, as Applejack rose into the air, the bracelet on her leg reappearing and spinning. Without thinking, she leapt towards her friend, grabbing onto her as the crystalline structure spun and the world around them shattered. The sudden rush of sensation made the unicorn feel sick as she was wrenched from the root town. Her eyes screwed shut in a desperate attempt to block out the visual onslaught.

Then the sensation of free-fall hit her, and she snapped her eyes open again, fighting the urge to scream. She was falling through an infinite column, walls of white static surrounding her. Random junk code floated past and whipped around her, through her mane. Thick bands of green surged across the walls around them in a regular pattern. Beside her was Applejack, focused intently on downwards, holding the leg with the bracelet in front of her. It was open, spread in what Violet would describe as the firing position, with five sharp prongs extending from the bracelet proper. Green and blue energy whipped around the front, forming a multicoloured crystalline cone around them.

After a few seconds, she spotted something at the bottom, a wall of red and black. As it rapidly drew closer, she began to make out the large words emblazoned across it: 'PROTECTED'. Screaming, she hugged Applejack tightly, screwing her eyes shut again.

“Calm down sugarcube,” Applejack's voice was unsure, but somehow soothing, and Violet cautiously cracked an eye open, staring at the rapidly approaching wall. Desperately calming her breathing, she watched in awe as the front edge of the cone hit the protective barrier. For a split second, the two slowed in their descent as cracks began to appear in the wall. They spread over the entire structure, which faltered, buckled, and finally shattered, allowing the two to continue their fall. The column faded, and they plunged into a black abyss.

Violet shook herself, slowly getting to her hooves. Her head was spinning and her legs were weak, but she forced her eyes open regardless. The sight nearly made her fall over again.

The previous zone had been damaged, but it didn't come close to this one. The majority of surfaces had some kind of texture deterioration on them, the warm orange code showing through. Where the sky had previously been split in two, now there was less sky that there was damage, with great patches and strips of dark green showing the ugly symbols within. White lines of numbers and letters streamed from above and below, streaking out of the damaged sections. They drifted in an unseen wind, dancing and intertwining. Some caught on her coat, sticking before it dissipated harmlessly.

Casting her eyes around, she spotted the friendly form of Applejack dusting herself off. Her companion glanced around, then saw Violet staggering and hopped over, steadying her. “Y'alright?”

Violet nodded, breathing deeply and calming her nerves. “That was certainly something,” she eventually mumbled. “How did you do that?”

Applejack looked away awkwardly. “Well... Ah don't rightly know, jus' this bracelet thing seems ta know what it's doin',” she lifted her foreleg to emphasise the point. Every few seconds, the bracelet pulsed, drawing their attention.

“Isn't it normally invisible?” Violet noted, reaching a hoof to touch it. It went straight though the bracelet, as if it wasn't there, causing her to jerk her leg back in surprise. “That's weird.”

“Yer tellin' me.” Applejack stared at the pulsing crystal in concern.

Violet took another anxious look at the area around them, turning to her companion. “I really don't think we should be here Applejack.”

The orange mare nodded in agreement. “Ah'll admit, this place is startin' ta creep me out.” She cautiously eyed the sky, gulping at the abyss above. A burst of static flashed across their views, causing them both to jump as colour vanished for a split-second. Applejack nodded frantically, and the two gated back to town.

For once, Applejack was more comfortable on a rock floating over an endless sea of clouds than on ceaseless solid ground. Sighing loudly in relief, she felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked up into Violet's face.

“Applejack, please warn me if you're going to do something like that again.” A small, almost invisible smile was on her lips and she couldn't help but grin back.

“Nah, s'more fun that way,” she said playfully, winking. Glancing down, she noticed the bracelet hiding again, undetectable. Sighing this time in annoyance, she muttered to herself. “Wish this darn thing would gimme some answers.”

“We all do, Applejack,” Violet's voice was calm and collected now as she pulled her friend into a hug. “Plus, I think I have an idea on where we should go next.”

Applejack's eyes grew wide. “Yer not sayin'...”

Violet nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately, yes. Looks like whatever answers we're going to get, will start with that area.”

Silence reigned between the two for several long moments before Applejack spoke. “Let's get the band together. Ah reckon we're gonna need everyone fer this.”

Violet smiled softly in agreement, bringing up the friends list. This was their chance, and there was no way they'd waste it so easily.

*****

“So, remind me why we're here again?” Starlight repeated for the umpteenth time. Applejack groaned, placing a hoof on her brow and slowly dragging it down over her face.

“Because we've found some kinda clue,” she responded, for the umpteenth time. “And we need all o' y'all here in case this goes south.” Casting her eyes over the gathered party, she couldn't help but smile slightly. They stood in a line before her, Party Time at one end to Starlight at the other. Violet and Shadowdancer framed Ardent, who stood still in a heroic pose in the centre.

“Applejack, we're all here. What's the plan?” she asked calmly, fluttering her wings in a little stretch.

Applejack found herself pacing in front of them as she spoke. “Vi told me o' this area that's been sealed off. We uh...” she faltered for a moment, trying to think, before raising her leg and gesturing to it, “kinda broke the protection on it. By accident.” She hastily added the final point at Shadow's smirk and raised eyebrow.

Violet stepped forward, joining Applejack's side as she turned to the group. “When we got there it was heavily damaged.” Gesturing to Starlight, she continued, “Star will know what we mean, but far worse. Aside from that, Applejack's bracelet was always active in the area, just like when we fought that strange monster.”

Murmurs overtook the group as they began discussing with each other before Applejack stepped towards them. “Now, Ah dunno what we're gonna find there, but Ah do know one thing.” She waved a leg at the Chaos Gate. “Whatever's happenin' there has somethin' ta do with what happened ta me. And Ah'd like ta find out.”

She turned away for a brief moment. “Y'all don't have ta come with me if it's too dangerous; Ah won't hold it against ya.”

After a few seconds a few giggles spread through them, quickly becoming true, loud laughter. Applejack stared at her friends in confusion as they laughed heartily, a look of intrigue on her face.

Ardent pulled herself upright, a bright grin on her muzzle. “Applejack, you're a silly pony.”

“Huh?”

Now Starlight stepped forward, a dainty smile of her own. “We'd follow you to Tartarus and back, dear. Of course we're coming.”

A heavy hoof suddenly found itself on her back, and she looked round to see Party Time's face barely an inch away from her own. “Yeah, this'll be fun! I love playing with my friends! Whoopee, let's go!” she bounced off to the Chaos Gate, a wide smile on her face as she tilted her head, waiting for them to follow. Applejack shook her head, trotting over to the Chaos Gate and inputting the keywords. The world shook as the group found themselves in transit.

Silence fell upon Dun Loireag, until a certain robed unicorn crept out from behind a nearby box, adjusting her hat.

“Hah, the Great and Powerful Dusk now knows your secret, Miss Blaze!”

“I thought you stopped using that title,” a second, calmer voice commented. Dusk merely coughed awkwardly, turning to a figure still hiding.

“Ah, sorry, relapse. The Mighty Dusk. Better?”

“Eh, it'll do.”

“Regardless!” the mare whipped around, cape flowing dramatically. “Dusk shall use her own hubris against her!”

“What?”

The unicorn face-hoofed, sighing. “I'll follow her, find out what she's doing, and report her to the Admins. Then,” she threw a hoof in the air triumphantly, “Dusk shall be the greatest unicorn ever!”

There was silence for a few long minutes, during which the unicorn's bravado slowly ebbed, before the hiding figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself to be a similar but lighter shaded unicorn. She shook her head. “Enjoy yourself, Dusk,” she called over her shoulder as she walked away.

“The Mighty Dusk will... Oh forget it,” the showpony finished lamely, waving a hoof half-heartedly in the direction of the retreating mare. Walking up to the Chaos Gate, she laughed evilly under her breath, and entered the same area words as the others.

*****

“Well this is certainly something,” Starlight muttered under her breath as she stared into the sky. “I see what you mean about it being worse.”

Ardent stepped forward, running a hoof over a section of damaged ground. “What in Equestria happened here?”

“Ah don't rightly know,” Applejack said absent-mindedly as she waved her hoof in front of her, the bracelet pulsing regularly every few seconds. Scanning the area she spotted a large dark tower jutting out of the landscape forebodingly, and gulped. “Looks like that's where we need t'go.”

Ardent came up beside her, armour clinking as she followed her gaze. Studying it for a moment, she nodded, turning to the rest of the group. “Right! We have no idea what we're up against, so everypony stay close and follow me.” Her eyes returned to the stony structure and she glanced at Applejack. “Ready?”

Applejack smirked. “Born ready.”

Ardent grinned, head snapping forwards. “Awesome.” Slowly, she began a light trot towards the tower, the rest of the six falling into position naturally at her flanks. They moved as one, and they would fight as one.

Inside the tower was strange. Again it was a stony castle, and Applejack was beginning to feel a bit annoyed at the apparent lack of variation. The others just assured her that most of the variation came at higher levels, and that she should treasure these simple dungeon layouts. Shrugging, she went with it, as the group trotted down another identical corridor. Other than the visual damage, occasional static and ambient light from her bracelet, the area was just like any other; normal enemies for the level, scaled correctly, no strange phenomena. It was all quite disheartening, in a morbid kind of way.

Still, they pressed on as they entered the third floor. For some odd reason, while the outside structure was a large tower, they were actually descending. It gave Applejack an uneasy feeling of diving into the bowels of the earth, waiting to unleash some kind of demon chained within. Violet had given her the extremely unhelpful knowledge that any kind of demon deep in the core would, in fact, be unchained, because only known creatures would be imprisoned, and they would be locked in Tartarus. That definitely helped put Applejack's mind at ease.

Combat was easy; the group saw no reason to play fair or farm experience, so every enemy was blasted to shreds as soon as it spawned. Ardent, Applejack and Starlight would lead the charge while Shadowdancer flanked their opponents and cut them to tiny pieces. Party Time and Violet would blast any stragglers with cannon and magic, respectively. Only once did anypony get hit, and that was a wild swing by Applejack nicking Starlight's leg, which didn't deal any damage, and required only a snide comment to prevent recurrences.

The third floor, however, was entirely different. Here the zone was far more damaged, the bracelet shimmering almost every second as they travelled. Enemies they fought had less and less to do with the statistics of the area, with some creatures from first level areas, some from higher levels, and some from the wrong area type entirely. One humorous, although, Applejack admitted, quite morbid occurrence was when a giant starfish-like creature spawned in a small backroom. The size difference made an easy fight, given half of the monster was stuck in the ceiling and it couldn't move, which according to Ardent was a good thing, since apparently it was a boss creature sixty levels higher than them.

Eventually they found themselves with the entire floor cleared, except for one room. Shadow had brought some kind of small cage out of her pack as the fights became more dangerous, opening it. A group of around a dozen balls of light swarmed out, and Applejack watched in wonder as her dungeon map filled itself out automatically. They'd emptied out every room they could find, leaving them with this single, tiny one near the entrance that they'd overlooked.

“Of course it's the last one we check,” Violet's exasperated comment summed up the group's thoughts perfectly. It wasn't even clear or anything, down a long corridor specifically out of the way. They'd just missed it. Trotting towards it, Applejack led and stared in bewilderment as the bracelet pulsed faster and faster until she was standing right at the doorway. Raising her hoof to it, she actually had to look away slightly as it shone brightly, expanding subtly. Glancing over her shoulder, she looked over the group.

Her five companions stared back, confident smiles on their faces. Applejack gave them a quick nod. “Looks like whatever we're after's in here.” She stated firmly, trying to not let her nervousness show. Who knew what was going to be back there?

Her friends replied to the comment with a series of confident nods as they stood by her side. One last time, she stared at them in awe. Ardent stood closest, proud in her armour, the fiery Violet by her side. Behind them stood Shadow, her face now warm and considerate, at odds with her vicious attire, while Party Time achieved a similar style nearby. Starlight gently nudged Applejack's shoulder, giving her a caring but bold look. Smirking, she took a step forwards, then another, then stepped through the threshold.