The Lost Serpents

Chapter 2: Battle at the Sweet Apple corral

After all the hard work, Applejack was ready to call it a day.

The sun was about to set, the birds still singing as the sun was dipping into the horizon. Applejack took a moment to marvel at the beauty of the sunset before heading back home. The sun’s last rays lit up the side of the barn as Applejack approached the building. She could smell dinner being made, which made her mouth water.

Just as she reached the door, her little sister, Applebloom, opened the door with a worried look in her eyes. Applejack immediately grew worried.

“Sugarcube, are you alright?”

Applebloom shook her head “I don’t think so. I heard a portal of some kind appeared near Ponyville, and Granny and big brother went to go check it out.”

“Why would they go on and do that?” asked Applejack.

“Grandma said it might help you sleep better.”

Applejack looked down. For a week and a half, Applejack was getting a strange dream. It started out with Applejack looking out her room’s window, then an intense fog would roll in. The fog will stay there as a unicorn with a pure white mane and golden eyes would stare back through the fog. It would then make his way to the window and tap it repeatedly. Applejack would cover her face with her hooves, trying to ignore the sheer terror she was dealing with in the dream while the unicorn’s thoughts would invade her mind, saying “please… let me in… I beg you.” Applejack would then wake up.

Applejack quickly changed the subject “c’mon, let’s eat.”

******

Applejack was having trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned in her bed, trying to catch sleep. Eventually, she gave up and began to stare at the ceiling. She pondered on Granny Smith’s untold departure, and wondered why Granny smith would go out of her way to leave for her nightmares.

She pulled the covers over her head and tried to sleep.

But that effort proved useless when the window in her room shattered.

Applejack jumped at the sound of shattering glass and got out of her bed. She could see the window completely busted, but nopony was there. However, there was a faint light coming from the window.

Applejack carefully trotted closer to the shattered window, her senses on full alert. She took a quick look out the window to see where the light was coming from.

Her jaw dropped as she saw a swirling vortex near her barn. The vortex itself was flashing with lightning and swirling winds. Applejack continued to stare in astonishment as she witness three different earth ponies fall out of the vortex and onto the ground nearly twenty feet away from the barn.

The three ponies were strange indeed. All three had brown hair and wore the same armor. However, two had helmets with a white hoof marking. The other one had no helmet, had a brown and shaggy mane, and had the white hoof marking on its face.

The one with no helmet looked around his surroundings and looked up and spotted Applejack. His growl did not seem pony-like at all. He drew his sword, and began to walk towards the barn, the other two coming behind him.

Applejack bolted to all available doors to the barn and locked them all, just in time for the three stallions to try and break down the doors. Applebloom appeared next to her sister asking in a frightened tone “what’s happening?!”

“Applebloom, go on to the basement and hide,” Applejack said as she put a chair to the doorknob.

“What about you?!-”

“Ah’ll be fine, please go to the basement, where you’ll be safe…”

“Applej-”

“GO!”

Applebloom reluctantly obeyed, leaving Applejack with three armed and angry stallions trying to beat down the doors. Applejack moved the furniture around to block the doors and windows and hoped that they will be enough to deter the attackers.

Suddenly, the noise stopped and they were replaced with a couple shouts and metal clashing.

Applejack went over to see through a crack in the door (freshly made by the stallions) and only got to see a blinding flash of light and a loud BOOM that blew her off her hooves and into the dining table.

Applejack groaned as she picked herself up. She glanced at the table, now smashed to smithereens. She muttered to herself about Granny Smith getting pissed about the table and looked to the door. The door itself was hanging on by one hinge. In the entrance was an earth pony.

He had brown eyes, a black mane, had an overcoat of fur and a medallion that had an emblem of skulls with purple gemstones in the skull’s eyes. The dark green stallion had a pouch at his side and a lance decorated with beads and a pony’s mane. He also had a tomahawk… made of a pony’s jawbone.

“Greetings heir of the Sweet Apple acres,” the earth pony said.

Applejack nearly leaped out of one of her own barricaded windows, but the earth pony caught her before she could.

“Get yer hooves off me ya darn no-good shi-”

“Stop struggling, i’m on your side!”

Applejack then proceeded to kick the earth pony in the dick.

The earth pony was on the floor and almost in tears in pain. Applejack stood over him, a broom in her hooves. Before she could beat him to a pulp, he vanished. Applejack swung the broom at the air, but all it did was pass through it.

“Will you just listen to me?!” the air seemed to say.

“No! Ah know yer one of them damn thieves, here ta steal mah apples!” Applejack yelled. She swung her broom again, only for the air to catch it with a manifested hand. The static air transformed back into the earth pony, and he looked pissed. He reared on his hind legs, spun his lance, and put the point to her throat.

“Listen, if you value the lives of your sister, your grandma, and the rest of your family, then you will hear me out.”

Given that the point of the lance was pricking her neck, she decided that she had no choice and dropped the broom.

The earth pony pulled back his lance and said, “My name is Remnant Grim. I come to warn you and participate in the coming struggle.”

“What are yer talking about? What damn struggle?”

“I have been called here to help some kind of heir to tremendous power. I don’t know why it was me that the shaman picked for this quest, but I ended up here, in this place. But, I do know that the heir has blue and serpentine eyes, and it’s a male.”

Applejack raised her brow, “I think I know what yer talkin’ about. There is this fellow that lives in the Everfree forest, with wings and a snake’s tail topped with some feathers.”

Remnant’s eyes widened when he heard this. He stepped closer to Applejack, making the latter uncomfortable, and said,”You know where his whereabouts are?”

“Ah… sure.”

“Good, because I need you to take me to him,” Remnant said.

Applejack didn’t like that idea. But before she could say anything in protest, Remnant covered her mouth.

“Stop struggling!” Remnant hissed. when they were both quiet, they could hear the sounds of combat outside.

They both crept over to one of the barricaded window and took a peek outside.

They saw a group of Royal guards engaging a group of jungle ponies. The mere sight of the jungle ponies would have been weird, since nobody has seen them for two thousand years. The royal guards have the upper hand, but the jungle ponies way of fighting still created a challenge that the guards weren’t used to. One of the guards was closing the vortex with a mysterious charm and did so a few moments later, causing the vortex to simply vanish.

Applejack wanted to help the guards, but all she could do was get in the way, something that is not favorable in a battle like this. Remnant muttered some kind of curse and dug into the pouch on his flank and brought out a single stone. He hurled the stone into the middle of the guards and pointed his hoof at the stone before it hit the ground. An earth-shattering bolt of lightning streamed from his hoof and flew into the guards, causing a electric explosion. The guards were flung in different directions, and the ones closest to the bolt were fried.

The jungle ponies looked in awe at the destruction caused by a lightning bolt, while Applejack was horrified.

“Why did you kill them!?” Applejack yelled to Remnant, pointing at the charred bodies of some of the guards.

“Because they were the enemy, simple as that,” Remnant said with no hint of emotion.

“The enemy?! Ah think not!” Applejack yelled.

The jungle ponies walked up to the two. The lead one asked “was the thunderbolt your doing?”

Remnant answered “Yep, all me.”

The lead pony knelt down, “we thank you.”

“Why are you guys out here? Isn’t the jungle to the southeast, beyond the Badlands?” Remnant asked.

“Yes,” the lead pony said, “but the one has returned, my people refer to him as Áápicoatl. We heard rumors that he has been near the Everfree forest, and we planned on joining a group who said they found him and we're going to meet up with us near Appleloosa. Unfortunately, we were spotted and attacked by the Royal guards that came here. But, I must ask you warrior, where do you hail from, for it is evident that you are not from these parts. Perhaps, from the tribes near Appeloosa?”

“From the Undiscovered West. I hail from the Ponute tribe.

A twinkle of admiration came from the lead jungle pony’s eye, “so your from one of the unconquered tribes, the main reason nopony lives in the Undiscovered West. I envy you warrior, for my people were struck down when the blasted father of Celestia killed the sky serpents…”

One of the jungle ponies asked “who’s the mare?”

Remnant glanced at Applejack, then to the jungle ponies. “Her name is Applejack, heir to the Sweet Apple Acres.”

The lead pony snarled “Applejack… one of Celestia’s friends.” The lead jungle pony hefted his club and said “any supporter of Celestia should die.”

All the jungle ponies brandished their weapons and advanced towards Applejack, murderous intent in their eyes.

Remnant got in between them and Applejack.

“Step to the side warrior,” the lead jungle pony said, “I have no desire to kill you.”

“And I have no desire to let you kill Applejack,” Remnant stated, sparks of electricity crackling all over his body.

Applejack lunged forward and took Remnant’s lance from him. She kept the lance pointed to the jungle ponies and to Remnant while backing away slowly.

“And ah have no desire to sit here with y’all. You killed my friend’s guard, and are trying to kill me!” Applejack said.

Remnant approached slowly and said, “Applejack, I have no intention of killing you.”

Applejack kept the lance trained on Remnant’s throat and said, “Ah don’t believe ya.”

The jungle ponies still were advancing, and the jungle leader said “first pony to capture her will get a good reward, for her heart will bleed true for the spirit of the last serpent. Just imagine it, the highest honor for getting her, a friend of our enemy.”

The jungle pony warriors were getting worked up, making bold lunges towards Applejack, who kept them at bay with the lance.

“Please, leader of the jungle, can we not make an agreement to let her go?” Remnant pleaded.

“No, her blood and beating heart will be the best sacrifice in ages to our lord. She is ours, and if you intend on standing in the way, we will kill you.”

Applejack was terrified about this talk of sacrifice, but she held the lance as firmly as she could with her hooves. Suddenly, one jungle warriors lust for glory got to him, and he dashed towards Applejack, howling for blood.

Then, a black and white blur rushed past him, decapitating the pony. Blood squirted from the neck as the body crashed to the ground, still twitching.

In front of Applejack was Vinyl Scratch, a katana in its sheath. She had a black kimono on and her signature glasses on her head.

“Vinyl?” Applejack asked in amazement.

“Hi Applejack. Short time, no see,” Vinyl said with a grin.

“You dare interfere with jungle matters?!” the lead pony snarled.

“I do. You threatened my friend with death, so I will make yours come to you.” she stood on her hind legs and put her right foreleg hoof on her katana’s handle.

“A challenge for a one-on-one duel. I see… what are the wages?” the lead jungle pony asked.

“If I win, your men will leave Applejack alone and won’t touch her at all with anything. You win, you may take Applejack.”

“I accept.” the leader said.

Applejack went to protest, but Remnant put his hoof over her mouth and whispered to her “If she loses, we will escape.”

“What about Vinyl? Ah’m not about to leave her for these ponies,” Applejack said.

Remnant looked at Vinyl again and said “She would rather die than flee.”

The jungle leader and Vinyl faced off in front of the jungle ponies and Applejack and Remnant. The jungle leader brought out an axe. He said “do you know what this is? It’s a Itztopilli. I cleaved a pony in two with this same ax. Now, I will do the same to you.”

Vinyl smirked and stood there, hoof on katana.

The two stood for what seemed like an hour. Finally, the leader charged.

When the leader was upon her, Vinyl Scratch drew her katana, resulting in a fast block. The leader swung again, and Vinyl dodged to the right. The leader did a diagonal slash that Vinyl avoided, but she got nicked near her unicorn horn. The leader was growing more confident about the duel and began to get more reckless in his attacks. Vinyl was on the defensive, and was parrying and dodging, but not striking.

Soon, the leader landed a strike on her right flank that was deflected by her blade. Vinyl yelled in pain as she felt the axe slice her flesh. She jumped back, blood oozing from her flank. If she had took the full force of that blow, her leg would be severed. This would hamper her speed and hoof-work, big time.

The leader, with a wild grin on his face, did a horizontal slash, intent on breaking her block and driving the blade home. However, Vinyl saw her chance. She ducked under the blow, put her katana in reverse grip, and stabbed the leader with her back turned to him, in classic samurai fashion.

She then pulled out the katana and then decapitated the leader, his blood began to spray everywhere.

She then dropped to the ground, her flank wound hurting terribly, and passed out from the loss of blood.

Applejack immediately rushed to Vinyl Scratch, trying to stop the bleeding while the jungle warriors began to walk away, heading for Appleloosa.

Remnant got some moss and applied it to the wound, stopping the bleeding. He then turned to Applejack and said “get whatever can be used for a bandage, and pray she survives the night.”