Diamond Tiara awoke to the sound and smell of sizzling bacon.

She raised her head off the ratty pillow it had been on, partially throwing off the wool blanket she slept under for warmth, and looked around in groggy morning confusion. She was still inside the back of her wagon and fully dressed under the blanket. It was too cold where she was right now to do anything else. She even still had thick wool socks on her feet. Diamond Tiara groaned in annoyance and threw the blanket off herself completely, rubbing at her eyes and yawning. The young girl had been asleep for a long time and she still felt tired. Things had been boring lately and having nothing to do but sit in the back of a wagon all day somehow drained her of energy more than if she actually had something to do.

“Applejack?” Diamond Tiara muttered as she stood up. She hated the thought of keeping on the clothes she had just slept in, but that was something she had gotten used to as they were roughing it now. They may have been a bit smelly and covered in sweat but it’s not like she had anyone to impress right now either.

A quick glance around the wagon and out at the two horses in front of it showed that the gunslinger who had saved her life wasn’t in it. That’s when the scent of bacon fully registered in Diamond Tiara’s brain and she woke up for real. She took a big stretch and then hopped out of the back of the wagon, looking around she saw Applejack off to the side of it in a small clearing. The cowgirl was hunched over a ring of small rocks with a bunch of burning leaves and twigs inside it and a cast-iron skillet resting atop the flame. Diamond Tiara sniffed again and smelled the delicious bacon that was cooking in it.

“When did you wake up?” Diamond Tiara asked her.

“Couple hours ago,” Applejack shrugged as she prodded the bacon with a spatula. Her face was a little red, probably from the hot fire. “Had a lot of work to do and I wanted to have breakfast ready for you when you woke up.”

“Thank you,” Diamond Tiara said as she walked towards the fire before a strange feeling on her feet made her look down. “I forgot to put on shoes...”

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hehe, I didn’t think the bacon smelled that good.”

Diamond Tiara glared at her for a second before walking back to the wagon and jumping in, searching for a good pair of shoes for the outdoors. After a minute she came back out and stalwartly walked towards Applejack. The two of them… it couldn’t exactly be said they got along, but they didn’t fight either. Both of them found it nice to not be alone and it had been enough days since they first met that they had gotten used to each other. Applejack did pretty much everything but Diamond Tiara was willing to help out when need be. It was funny, back before her family’s ruin she had servants to do things for her. But now she liked to do things herself just to keep her mind from wandering to the horrible events of her past. She still had nightmares, and likely always would, so she didn’t need to freak out and have crying episodes during the day either.

Sometimes she couldn’t help herself though. Breakdowns happened every now and then. Applejack was always there to provide a shoulder to cry on for when they did though. Diamond Tiara felt ashamed to show that to anyone, but she was still grateful to Applejack for being there when she needed her.

Currently their random travels had taken them into the mountains. It was cool up here but not the season for snow at the very least and both Silver and Winona had done a good job of pulling their wagon through and over the rocky trails. They had been traveling through here for days and Diamond Tiara had the sneaking suspicion that they were actually lost but she didn’t want to bring it up with Applejack. Of course could you really be lost when you didn’t have a destination in mind in the first place? Either way the going was a little tough. Applejack would always go out and look for good firewood to chop, or running water that looked safe to drink, and game to hunt. She did that every day even when they already had stuff because she wanted to be sure they never ran out of provisions. Applejack had told Diamond Tiara that she should learn some of this stuff too and while Diamond wasn’t totally against it she wasn’t looking forward to her hands being covered in blisters either.

Diamond Tiara squatted down next to Applejack and looked at the bacon, resting her chin in the palms of her hands. “When’s breakfast ready?”

“Should be just a minute.”

“No eggs?” It was asked half-sarcastically.

Applejack snorted. “If you found any yourself you could have them.”

Diamond Tiara didn’t respond and just kept her eyes trained on that sizzling bacon. It’s not like they had gone without food for any time and she certainly wasn’t close to starving, but having to essentially live off the land like this made her grateful she could still eat something so good and fresh. If it wasn’t for Applejack’s hunting all they’d have is a bunch of canned beans and stuff. When they had stopped by a river once a few days ago, Diamond Tiara had attempted to fish while Applejack foraged and did other things, but her luck was bad and she didn’t get a single bite. Hating failure, she decided that she’d rather just not try fishing again after that.

“There we go, that looks just about done,” Applejack smiled and pulled the skillet off the fire, holding it in Diamond’s direction. “Take whichever piece you like. Just watch your fingers so you don’t burn yourself.”

Diamond Tiara frowned down at the skillet. Of course Applejack didn’t bring any plates or silverware out, she had no problem eating with just her hands. The grease didn’t bother her. And at the moment, it didn’t bother Diamond Tiara either. That bacon just smelled too good. “Thanks.”

The young girl carefully plucked her first strip of bacon out and began chewing on it. The crispy meat just tasted so good, she really didn’t want Applejack to know how much she enjoyed it but she couldn’t help it. Diamond’s strip vanished quickly and she waited for the chance to get another one. The savory taste of the bacon just made everything so much better, it was enough to actually make her kind of look forward to today. Flakes of it were stuck on her lips but a quick lick of her tongue lapped them up and Diamond Tiara sat back in contentment. Looking over she saw a red-faced and sweaty Applejack tear into her strip like it was a piece of leather, gnawing it to pieces with her strong teeth. She certainly hoped she didn’t look as vulgar when she ate.

For the rest of their breakfast the two of them ate in silence. Silence was pretty common for the two of them, Applejack just naturally quiet and Diamond Tiara still in grief and unsure of if she wanted to open up more to the older girl. She probably talked more to Silver and Winona than she did Applejack. The horses were good company and even better listeners.

Also fortunate was they had so far not come across anyone else on their lonesome journey. Which was good for Diamond Tiara and just fine for Applejack. They didn’t need any extra hassles right now, though a merchant wouldn’t have been bad to come across. Seems they were in far too remote a place right now and most travelers were still too afraid of groups like the Shadowbolt Gang and tribes of Buffalo Men. They were also aimlessly going off the beaten path most of the time since they were essentially doing nothing more than living off the land and being wanderers. Even before she picked up Diamond Tiara, Applejack didn’t know where she was going or what she was doing with her life. And Diamond Tiara didn’t particularly care about anything anymore. Whatever plans her parents had meant nothing to her.

Diamond Tiara was vacantly staring off into the distance when Applejack came up with a big handful of dirt and dumped it on the fire, snuffing most of it.

“Okay, that’s breakfast,” Applejack said, stretching her back and arms until a loud pop was heard. With a groan she blinked a couple of times and glanced down at Diamond. “Come on, we’ve got stuff to do today.”

Diamond raised an eyebrow at her. “What stuff?”

“Finding fresh water for the horses first of all. After that I’m going to scout out the trails ahead and maybe see if there’s anymore food or nothing out here. And after that...” Applejack got a blank look on her face as she stared at Diamond.

Diamond Tiara hesitantly looked back at her, a little worried. “And?”

“I’m going to teach you how to shoot.”

“You’re going to teach me how to shoot a gun? I don’t—I don’t want to have to shoot a gun. Why are you suddenly bringing this up? You never took me hunting or acted like you wanted to teach me before this.”

Applejack grimaced and brought a hand up to her face, running it over her red and sweaty forehead. “Well it’s cause I’ve got a pretty wicked fever, and I ain’t sure when it’s gonna knock me out for the next day or two. If something bad happens when I’m out you’ll need to be able to defend yourself.”

“What?!” Diamond Tiara shot up. “You have a fever?! Why didn’t you say anything? That’s why you’re so red!”

“I felt something coming on last night but was trying to ignore it. Hoped it would go away. It uh—didn’t,” a woozy looking Applejack said to her. Diamond could see her eyes slightly going off focus.

“If you’re about to collapse then what the hell are you talking about with going to find water? You’re in no shape for any of that!”

Applejack frowned, her eyes refocusing on Diamond Tiara. “It’s important, it’s gotta be done before I lose it completely and you don’t know what to do.”

“And I’m sure you fainting in the wilderness is far more preferable,” Diamond Tiara folded her arms over her chest.

“Look-”

“Even if you got back here in one piece you think you’d be able to teach me how to shoot in your state? Can you even aim your gun right now?”

Applejack looked down at her sidearm and grasped it with a sweaty palm. Grimacing, she quickly unhanded it and watched as her hand seemed to blur into two even after she squinted at it. “Okay, maybe I’m not in the right state of mind right now but-”

“But nothing,” Diamond Tiara reached up and poked Applejack in the chest. “You are getting into that wagon and you’re going to rest. Them I’m going to find some water for the horses and then we’ll slowly start making our way through these mountains again. Got it?”

Applejack wanted to stubbornly argue the point but as her body started to sway back and forth and more sweat dripped down her red face, she found that she was too tired to. “Got it.”

“Good,” Diamond Tiara frowned. “Let me help you into the wagon.”

Despite her being a bit wobbly it was pretty easy for Applejack to crawl up into the wagon, where she pretty much immediately sprawled out onto the floor. Much to the annoyance of Diamond Tiara, who made her take off her hat, her jacket, her boots, and her gun. Applejack wasn’t going to get better any quicker with all that stuff on. She needed to cool down a little. Once the cowgirl was finally resting a little, her eyes were closed even if she wasn’t actually asleep yet, Diamond Tiara went to the front of the wagon and grabbed Applejack’s bag that had all of her important stuff in it. Looking through it she saw a knife, a few smaller bags, some dried jerky, a few empty jars, and some rope. Diamond Tiara wasn’t sure if she needed anything else for what she was doing, she wasn’t an expert on any of this stuff. But finding a fresh watering hole for the horses couldn’t be too hard, right? The only question now was if she should go look out on foot first—which may be quicker—or just ride the wagon the whole way. Which was definitely safer.

Diamond Tiara bit her lip and looked back at Applejack. The tan blonde was breathing heavily and her face was mighty red. She needed fresh water just as much as the horses.

“I can do this...” Diamond Tiara stated and curled her shaking hands into fists. She took a deep breath and hopped down from the front of the wagon, walking up to Silver and Winona. “Keep an eye on Applejack, you two. Okay?”

Winona whinnied in what sounded like agreement to Diamond. At least from what she could tell from all the times Applejack talked to Winona. Diamond Tiara gulped and looked around in every direction, seeing if there was a sign of water anywhere. She didn’t know what to look for when it came to that though. There were just little hills and rocks and bushes all around the open trail they had stopped in. Cliffs and ravines weren’t too far away either, so Diamond would have to be careful when she went exploring. The only safe path she knew for sure was continuing on directly the way they had been going. It seemed just as likely in Diamond’s mind that a trail would be made to go alongside a river or something at some point. Maybe she was just trying to convince herself but that’s the decision she came to.

When she took a few steps though she suddenly paused and looked down at herself. She was wearing a dress and a shawl that really didn’t seem like the best clothes for something like this. But she didn’t own any jeans. If she tripped and scuffed her shins or knees she’d just have to live with it. There was something else she was missing too though and it made her look back at the wagon. Diamond Tiara ground her teeth in debate before skipping back to the wagon and looking inside it for a certain thing.

Applejack’s gun. The worn six-shooter that she seemed to value as much as her own life. Diamond Tiara didn’t want to have to carry it but… if there was a mountain lion or something worse she needed to defend herself. It felt wrong when she held it though and her fingers trembled when she touched it. She didn’t like guns. She was ambivalent about them before but after what had happened they simply frightened her.

But it was obvious she needed it right now.

She carried it in her right hand as she walked down the trail, searching for water.

Applejack woke up the following morning to the sound and feeling of the wagon wheels slowly crunching over the dirt and rocks of the trail. She felt like a damn mess, sweaty and gross, and with a bit of a headache and a fog in her mind. Raising her hand to her damp forehead she realized the reason it felt like that was because of the wet rag laid across it. Blinking a few times she had the sense to not immediately get up, still lying there until she could tell exactly how sick she still was. She felt a lot better than the previous morning but the fever hadn’t totally gone away yet. Applejack shifted her head a bit and realized a soft cushion was being used as her pillow, and glancing down she saw that she wasn’t sleeping underneath a heavy blanket but just a couple sheets of linens. Diamond at least knew to keep her body cool to deal with the fever then.

A frown came to Applejack’s face as something felt a little off and she lifted up the linens to see her naked body beneath them.

“You’re awake?” A voice called from the front of the wagon.

Applejack turned her head slightly to see Diamond Tiara glancing over her shoulder at her from her position at the front of the wagon, the reins of the horses in her grip. Applejack had to open and close her mouth a couple times to wet it before she could respond. “Yeah… yeah I’m awake.”

“Is your fever gone?”

“Not gone, but better.”

Diamond Tiara sighed in relief. “Good.”

“When did you undress me?” Applejack had to ask.

“Last night,” Diamond Tiara said as she went back to looking forwards again, a slight blush tinging her cheeks. “You were sweating and rolling around a lot. I know you have to keep cool for a fever, I had a bad one once when I was younger.” She briefly glanced out of the corner of her eye at Applejack. “I didn’t know they were so big...”

A wry smile of amusement came to Applejack’s face as she closed her eyes and lied back on the cushion. “Never had a reason to show them off or anything.” She took a few deep breaths and rubbed at the rag on her forehead. “What did you do yesterday while I was out?”

“Found water for the horses. And you. Didn’t really find any new food or anything though.”

Applejack opened her eyes and looked over at the back of Diamond’s head. “You found a watering hole for them all by yourself? I’m impressed.”

“I can take care of myself—us.” Diamond Tiara frowned.

“Didn’t mean it bad like that… just surprised,” Applejack yawned.

“Whatever,” Diamond Tiara scowled. “I’ve had Silver and Winona pulling us along all morning, I don’t know how long this trail through the mountain goes anyways though.”

“We’re not in a hurry,” Applejack muttered.

“You should just go back to sleep until your fever is gone all the way.”

“Mm,” Applejack noncommittally grunted and turned over. She was trying to get comfortable when a thought occurred to her. “Hold on, I’m happy you found us water but you didn’t really wander off into the mountains all alone did you? Without anything for protection?”

Diamond Tiara was silent.

“Hey-”

“I brought your gun with me. Are you happy?” The young girl bit out.

“Yes, actually. Sounds like you didn’t have to use it at least.”

“Thankfully not. I doubt I would’ve been able to shoot anything anyways.”

“Oh I think you would’ve been able to shoot, hitting though? Probably not,” Applejack smiled.

Diamond Tiara snorted and glowered at the trail in front of her. “I guess the fever isn’t affecting you too badly anymore if you can act like that.”

Applejack actually managed to chuckle a little. “Guess so… still tired though. So you didn’t find any food? See anything else out there before you came back?”

“I found berries but I didn’t know if they were poisonous or not. And some birds and squirrels but that was it.”

“Good on you to not eat the berries, that was smart. And just birds and squirrels huh? Nothing bigger? Guess we might not be eating any fresh meat for a little while.”

“Whatever, we’ve got plenty of cans.”

“Mm, and did you see anything else out there? Like a sign or maybe another trail? Could you see down the mountains and tell if there were any buildings or something around?”

Diamond Tiara shook her head. “I didn’t see anything like that.”

“Guess we’re still just out in “who knows where” then.”

“I did see something a little weird though but I wasn’t sure what it was.”

“What?”

“Well it was kind of off the trail a little bit. There was a clearing and in the dirt was this ring of stones and then outside of that there were six big stones making a bigger ring, and they had these big stakes driven into the ground right in front of them.”

Applejack’s eyes slowly opened wider and she sat up, letting the rag fall off her forehead and the linens fall to her waist, exposing her body and making Diamond Tiara blush when she looked back on reflex. “Those stakes—were there feathers tied to the tops of them?”

Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow at the older nude girl. “Yeah. Why?”

“Oh shit...” Applejack gulped, the feelings of her fever temporarily forgotten as a new fear entered her mind.

“What is it? You’re scaring me,” Diamond Tiara frowned.

“That ring you saw was a Buffalo Men burial ground. We’re in Buffalo Men territory, there are probably a bunch more all around these mountains, we just haven’t seen one yet.” Applejack paled. “It’s likely there’s a tribe or at the least a roaming band of them somewhere in the area. We need to get through these mountains quickly.” Applejack tossed off the linens and stood up, swaying slightly and grasping her head when she did, she quickly recovered and went looking for her clothes and her gun.

“B-But we can’t go any quicker than this! We don’t even really know the way out of these mountains!” A scared Diamond Tiara said.

“I know. We’ve just gotta keep going and hope for the best,” Applejack said as she got dressed. She found her gun belt but there was no gun in it. “Where’d you put my gun?”

“It’s up here in your bag.”

Applejack hopped over and got onto the bench with Diamond, going through her bag while also taking the reins from the young girl. After a quick examination of her gun and belt, she discovered something rather upsetting. “Only fourteen bullets left. Damn.”

“Are we going to be okay?” Diamond Tiara asked as she looked up at Applejack, her lip quivering.

“I-” Applejack started to answer on reflex but closed her mouth. She looked down at Diamond and reached over to pat the girl on the head. “I dunno, but I’m gonna do my best. Why don’t you get back into the wagon for now?”

“O-Okay,” Diamond Tiara nodded and climbed over the bench, hanging out right behind Applejack now.

Applejack still felt a little too hot, especially now with all her clothes back on. The one saving grace was her hat blocking the sun from directly hitting her head. But she couldn’t let that fever affect her too much, she had to keep her eyes and ears sharp for the first sign of Buffalo Men. If they were lucky this was an old burial site and whatever tribe had made them were long gone. Unfortunately Applejack was never willing to bet on her luck. At least with the way these mountains were it wouldn’t be easy for a large group of them to come in on horseback by surprise, but there could be plenty on foot hiding out in the rocks. Diamond Tiara had made it safely to water and back yesterday though, so this part of the mountain was at least probably safe. She really wished she had more bullets though. Every single one was going to have to count if it came down to it.

For two more hours Winona and Silver pulled the wagon without any issue. Things were quiet out in the world around them. Or at least they seemed that way. A brief tilt of her head told Applejack it still hadn’t yet reached noon. The thought brought a smile to her face as it made her realize Diamond Tiara must have gotten started very early this morning. The girl was sure learning.

Their wagon then reached a part of the trail that went right by the ledge of a cliff, and to the other side the mountain continued up in a slop with lots of rocks and bushes dotting it along the way. The perfect spot for an ambush. If Buffalo Men came at them from the side they wouldn’t have anywhere to go. At this point though they couldn’t double back and the wagon couldn’t go over the more uneven terrain around them. They’d have to chance it. If an attack did come, Applejack would whip the reins and make Winona and Silver run as fast as they could down the trail. Buffalo Men only ever used bows and arrows, they were good with them, but Applejack didn’t fear them quite as much as rifles. She would take her chances trying to outrun them if it came down to it.

Applejack kept her eyes trained on the side of the mountain, trying to spot any sort of movement. For a while they just slowly trudged along, coming around the side of it until they could see the other half of this mountain. The trail went winding back and forth down the side of it before dropping off into a valley below. Applejack could see a few new landmarks like a small stream flowing down there too and a few smaller foothills at the bottom of the mountain. Her eyes also picked out some unfortunate details. Namely a few more visible burial grounds and those conical tents called tee-pees that Buffalo Men used a short distance away from them. There were only a few so there couldn’t be too many, but it’s very likely they had heard the wagon coming already if they were anywhere around here.

“Applejack...” Diamond Tiara whispered as she looked over the bench at the tee-pees below.

“Shh, just quiet down. If we’re lucky they’re out hunting or doing something else and nobody’s in those tee-pees right now. We just gotta go past them and get down into the valley,” Applejack told her. Though she didn’t quite believe it would be so simple. One good thing was she didn’t see any horses tied up by the tee-pees, so the Buffalo Men here might not have any.

Winona and Silver started to take the wagon down the long trail that would eventually lead past the tee-pees and burial grounds. On a hill like this they had to be a little careful when pulling the wagon so it didn’t roll out of control.

Both Applejack and Diamond Tiara were as silent and still as the grave for this part of their trip, neither making so much as a twitch of movement. Diamond Tiara was now sitting directly behind Applejack and keeping her eyes trained on the back of the wagon, staring out of it to make sure no one was sneaking up behind them. Applejack meanwhile had taken her gun out of its holster and was now holding it with the reins. She wasn’t going to take any extra time if she could avoid it. If some Buffalo Man warrior jumped out from behind a rock to attack them she was going to be able to shoot him immediately. Her quickdraw skills weren’t the greatest but her accuracy was. Though with the tail-end of a fever in her she wasn’t sure about that right now either.

The sound of a few pebbles sliding down the ground to her right came to Applejack’s ears and she looked over at the rocks and bushes that the sound came from. She saw nothing but she suspected something was indeed there. It was the side of the trail the tee-pees were on.

“Diamond Tiara, get your head down and stay still, okay?” Applejack whispered to her.

“Okay,” Diamond Tiara nodded and got down on the floor of the wagon.

Applejack grit her teeth and got ready, knowing something was coming now. A familiar twang came through the air and Applejack ducked her head just in time to avoid the arrow sailing through the air. She looked over and raised her gun at where it had come from, seeing a Buffalo Man just barely peeking out from behind a rock with another arrow already notched in his bow.

Bang!

The first bullet from Applejack’s gun put a hole between his eyes. Decent start.

But that sound of her gunshot and the death of their fellow warrior was the signal for the rest of the Buffalo Men to come out at her. They emerged from the rocks like bugs, a whole party of them, carrying tomahawks and yelling their war cries at the wagon. Inside the wagon, Diamond Tiara covered her ears and kept her head facing the floor with her eyes shut tight and nearly crying. Applejack on the other hand kept her gun raised while making sure Winona and Silver knew it was time to move fast. Safety was no longer a concern, they had to get away from these Buffalo Men. They had the advantage that the Buffalo Men didn’t have horses but then they were also stuck having to follow the trail. And two horses couldn’t pull a wagon like this too terribly fast.

Applejack fired at the nearest Buffalo Men, her aim being as true as ever and dropping the closest three. Unfortunately she would have to reload soon and there were still a number of them left. They were all running hard down from the rocks trying to cut her off at the trail, and they might have been able to do it. Looking ahead, Applejack could see other Buffalo Men further down their path. This wasn’t good.

“Shit, don’t think we’re getting out of here...” Applejack muttered as she pushed a few more bullets into her gun. “Diamond! You hang on back there, I’m gonna try something!”

“Try what?” Diamond yelled back at her.

“You know those burial grounds all around here? Buffalo Men aint allowed to spill blood on them. I’m gonna take us inside one and—well—that’s as far ahead as I’ve thought, but it’s better than dying out here,” Applejack explained.

“But won’t we just get stranded in it then?!”

“Maybe, but it’s the best idea I’ve got!”

Applejack made sure the horses knew exactly where they were going and she meanwhile kept her gun aimed at the Buffalo Men coming at them. She couldn’t afford to take any potshots to drive them off with the limited ammo she had, so she had to be careful and make every shot she did take count. Which was a little difficult to do even for an expert marksman like herself in this situation. Anytime things were steady she made sure to get off a shot and take down one of the Buffalo Men. But they weren’t dissuaded by any losses, so brave they were almost suicidal, and confident enough in their numbers to take the wagon, they just kept coming at them.

Higher up the mountain on a ridge overlooking this entire debacle, a lone woman stood. A young thing in her mid-twenties, she sported a confident, near-predatory, grin on her face as she watched what was going on. Black leather boots came up high on her shins before giving way to tight blue jeans and a black shirt tucked into them. On top of her head she wore a black cowboy hat. It was easy for others to tell what kind of message she was sending with these clothes.

Her cyan eyes glinted in amusement and she reached up to toss a tuft of fiery red and yellow hair behind her ear. The same hand then fell down to her waist and thumbed the butt of the revolver she carried in cross draw style.

“This is perfect,” the girl said to herself and hopped off from where she was standing, heading down the ridge.

A tomahawk from one of the Buffalo Men was thrown not at Applejack driving the wagon, but at the horses pulling it. Despite the fever still alive in her, Applejack made perhaps the best shot of her life when she shot it out of midair. That was still one more bullet lost though. And she already didn’t have enough to kill all of these Buffalo Men.

“Applejack!” Diamond Tiara yelped from behind her.

“I know! Just calm down, ya hear?!” Applejack shouted back at her.

She could see the burial grounds that she had been gunning for up ahead. All the while the shouting and hollering of the Buffalo Men increased in volume around her. Applejack wasn’t sure how many were left, maybe half a dozen to a dozen, and she didn’t have but five bullets left. Directly ahead of her a warrior had gotten onto the trail with a bow and arrow. He was aiming right for Applejack and with it coming straight at her she’d probably be unable to avoid it if he let loose. While he was in the middle of pulling the string back she flicked her sights to him and unleashed a half-praying shot at him.

Her prayers were answered when his throat exploded in a spout of blood, twisting around before he fell to his knees only to be trampled and finished off by Winona and Silver. Back in the wagon, Diamond Tiara whimpered when she felt the bump from the wheels going over his mangled body.

“Just hold on, sugarcube! We’re almost there!” Applejack shouted.

Though both of them knew that “there” wasn’t exactly safe. It’s not like they were riding towards salvation. At best they were giving themselves a chance to starve to death instead of get riddled with arrows or cut up by tomahawks. Applejack would take the chance though, if an opportunity presented itself by getting to live a little longer then she wanted to take it. Another pair of Buffalo Men got too close to the wagon for comfort and Applejack had to shoot them. Two bullets left.

Couldn’t I be blessed with a full ammo belt right now? She bit her lip in consternation.

But now they were close. The burial grounds were just slightly off the trail, the wagon wouldn’t like it, but Applejack could probably force it onto the uneven ground for just a bit. She whipped the reins and pulled, getting Winona and Silver to start heading over brush and rock straight to the burial grounds. The circle was wide enough that a couple of wagons could fit in it so Applejack didn’t need to worry about being too careful when having Winona and Silver run in there. She hoped.

“Come on, girls! Move it!” Applejack yelled to the horses.

Winona whinnied in annoyance but picked up the pace as best she could. Her heavy hooves clopped over the uneven ground, struggling to pull the wagon faster with Silver. Screams of Buffalo Men came from behind them and Diamond Tiara crawled over onto from inside the wagon and onto the bench with Applejack, wrapping her arms around her waist in a death grip. Applejack didn’t mind since they were almost there. In just a second they would pass into the burial ring and hopefully the Buffalo Men wouldn’t do more than seethe and try and wait them out. She really, really hoped her information on them not being able to spill blood on their burial grounds was right.

While the screams of the Buffalo Men got closer, the horses finally made it to the outer circle of the burial grounds.

“Alright!” Applejack cheered with a relieved smile on her face.

That changed when the front right wagon wheel went over one of the smaller rocks that made up the interior ring. It popped the wheel loose and made it roll right off the wagon, sending the whole thing tipping to the side and almost taking Winona and Silver down with it. The horses managed to stay standing even as the wagon sharply turned and the wheel less front rod dug into the ground, temporarily bringing the wagon to a halt. Applejack and Diamond Tiara weren’t so lucky. The moment the wagon lurched they were both thrown from it onto the ground, after that it rolled slightly past them and left them exposed. Neither of them were injured and they were inside the burial ring but Applejack wasn’t entirely sure they were safe yet either. After all, the Buffalo Men were still yelling and running for them.

Applejack stood up, grabbing Diamond Tiara by the hand and pulling her up with her. Only two bullets were left in her gun. How many Buffalo Men were there still?

She looked—standing there in the open in the middle of their sacred burial grounds—and saw four Buffalo Men approaching with tomahawks in hand. They were still right outside the outer rocks, so Applejack was going to show them she meant business. She raised her gun at the one leading the other three, he saw her and raised his tomahawk as well in preparation to throw it at her but he never got the chance. A bullet hit him in the forehead and blew out the back of his head, sending bits of skull, brain and blood across the ground right outside the burial grounds.

The other three paused as Applejack cocked the hammer back on her gun and kept it leveled at the three.

“The three of you stay right there!” Applejack threatened them. “You come any closer and I’ll kill you too! I know you can’t spill any blood on these here burial grounds of yours so let’s just cool our heads for now, got it?”

She was really hoping they wouldn’t call her bluff. Only a single bullet was left in her gun. With luck, they would be too worried about blood getting onto their sacred burial grounds and they’d leave Applejack and Diamond Tiara be. A quick glance over her shoulder showed Applejack that Diamond was standing by the temporarily broken down wagon. She was white as a ghost with her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Applejack really needed these damn Buffalo Men to back off, she didn’t want herself, and especially not Diamond Tiara, to go through what would happen if they didn’t.

The three Buffalo Men stopped right outside the outer circle formed by the six bigger rocks, their tomahawks by their sides. They were peering right at Applejack with stony frowns on their faces. She had to wonder what they were thinking, if they were just going to wait there for her and Diamond Tiara or if they were planning something. They couldn’t know about her lack of bullets at least. Despite everything, Applejack still felt like she had the upper hand at the moment.

Applejack grinned at them. “That’s right. You just stay there and leave the two of us alone.”

The center Buffalo Man flicked his wrist and flung his tomahawk at her at such startling speed that she couldn’t react in time. She was in the middle of pulling the trigger when the tomahawk hit both her gun and the back of her hand, knocking the gun onto the ground and leaving Applejack with a nasty gash.

“Applejack!” Diamond Tiara yelled.

The cowgirl grasped her hand in pain and watched in disbelief as blood flowed from it onto the supposedly scared burial grounds. Looking up she saw the three Buffalo Men now steadily walking towards her, ready to capture their prey.

“B-But I though you couldn’t spill blood on these grounds...” Applejack panted.

Tomahawk-thrower shook his head with a dispassionate and merciless expression on his face. “Knew wrong. Can’t kill on sacred grounds. Spill blood okay.”

“Fuck me...” Applejack grinned humorlessly as she looked down at her gun. What was the point? Even if she could grab it before the other two impaled her with their tomahawks she could at best take one of them with her. Or… she could use it on Diamond and spare the poor girl the horror. Applejack’s eyes drifted to the terrified young girl. The world seemed to freeze as Applejack spent more time than she’d like to admit on considering shooting her young, unfortunate, companion.

Calm steps that heralded death were coming towards her and Applejack looked back up at the three Buffalo Men. Well, if she was going to die she might as well stand tall and face them head on. There would be no begging and crying from her. If they needed to push her or drag her out of the circle then so be it. This was it and she wasn’t going to fight back pointlessly.

The central Buffalo Man reached down to pick up his tomahawk.

When he did, a bullet impacted his right temple and blew his brains out. The Buffalo Men fell over deader than a doorknob while his two comrades wheeled about in the direction the shot came from—only to be instantly felled themselves by two more deafening shots. Applejack gawked in disbelief at the bodies. What had just happened? Who had just saved them.

She looked over to where the gunshots had come from and saw a young woman just about the same age as her casually strolling down through the rocks towards them.

When Applejack recognized who it was, her short-lived joy at being rescued was replaced by worry and fear. Things may not have gotten better for her and Diamond at all.

“T-Thank you for saving us!” The oblivious Diamond Tiara shouted, practically crying, and began to run up to Applejack’s side.

“Stop, Diamond! Stay back!” Applejack shouted.

Diamond Tiara froze, looking between her and their “rescuer” in confusion. “But... I don’t understand-”

“You should listen to your friend,” Sunset Shimmer said as she hopped into the burial grounds, revolver still held steady in her hand even as it was aimed at the ground. She smiled warmly at Applejack, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Been too long, hasn’t it?”

Applejack shook her head. “Not long enough for my tastes.”

“W-Who is she, Applejack?” Diamond Tiara asked as she stood behind them.

Sunset Shimmer laughed as she kicked a small pebble on the ground. “I hope she at least recognizes my name, otherwise I’m doing something wrong.”

“Well, Diamond. Our rescuer is probably someone you’ve read about or heard someone else talk about before,” Applejack said as she ignored the pain in her hand, briefly glancing down once to check on her gun, but otherwise not taking her eyes off Sunset. “The notorious criminal and murderer—Sunset Shimmer.”

Diamond Tiara’s eyes went wide and she gasped. “T-That’s Sunset Shimmer!” She pointed at the black clad criminal. “But why did she rescue us?!”

“Because, cute thing,” Sunset Shimmer winked at Diamond. “Applejack and I have unfinished business. See, it’s just part of my reputation but I simply can’t let people say someone got the better of me. Rumors and stories floating around like that are bad for a girl like me.”

Applejack grimaced. “I never once told a story like that. That’s just people telling tall-tales and taking things out of context. Anyone who was actually there knows it’s not like I really beat you in a fair fight or nothing, we hardly even saw each other.”

“Doesn’t matter. What people tell is what’s important. And they’ve been saying that Applejack the wandering hero got the better of Sunset Shimmer. And I can’t have that,” Sunset was still smiling but she narrowed her eyes threateningly at the blond. “You know I wasn’t thinking of looking for you at first, cause I didn’t even want to acknowledge a dumb girl like you. The first thing I did was go looking for Spitfire on account of everyone saying she was the fastest gun in Equestria. Found her in some podunk town drinking herself to death. Apparently someone had gotten to her first.” Sunset Shimmer held up her hand and wagged her finger back and forth. “They shot off her trigger finger. So for a little while I was looking for the lady Spitfire said did that to her.” She shrugged. “But I couldn’t find a single trace. So by that time I was getting pretty fed up, especially when I had to hear shithead locals everywhere I went talk about all the amazing and heroic things Applejack had done lately. And now here I’ve found you again, and there’s no one else around who has your back.”

She chuckled and briefly glanced over at Diamond Tiara. “Cept for the kid. Who’s she anyways? A fun toy for the road? She’s pretty cute.”

“Shut the hell up,” Applejack darkly glared at her while Diamond Tiara paled.

“Hahahaha,” Sunset full on laughed. “Prude. And whatever, honestly I couldn’t care less about her. You’re the only one I have business with.” Sunset cracked her neck and casually put her gun back in its holster, where it rested in front of her waist. She then smiled and nodded to Applejack’s gun on the ground. “Go ahead, pick it up and put it back in its holster.”

Applejack frowned at Sunset Shimmer, looking at her grinning face and then down at her gun. “Why?”

The grin on Sunset’s face got even wider. “Because we’re going to have ourselves a duel. A good ol’ fashioned one on one. It’s just about noon so that makes it even more perfect.”

Applejack looked up and saw that the sun indeed was hanging pretty much directly above their heads. She looked back down at her gun and considered picking it up, but she was worried Sunset would immediately shoot her if she tried. Sunset was a callous, heartless murderer. Applejack and everyone else knew that. But she had a lot of pride too. It made Applejack think that maybe she was intending to have a real, fair, duel so she could say for herself that she beat Applejack. If she shot Applejack in the back or something that would leave a sour taste in her mouth, and she had had plenty opportunity to kill Applejack already.

“So what?-” Applejack said as she reached down and grabbed her pistol, putting it back into its holster on the right side of her waist. “We get back to back and take ten steps each and turn?”

Sunset Shimmer shook her head and stuck her thumbs in her pockets, showing no fear whatsover. “Nope, we’re having a real quickdraw. Guns will stay in our holsters the whole time until the moment comes. And then we’ll see who’s got the fastest hand.”

Applejack fought back a gulp and instead just licked her lips. “So when’s the moment?”

Sunset tipped her hat back and glanced up at the sky, Applejack’s eyes following hers. There was a large cloud floating by and soon it would temporarily cover up the sun and cast a shadow over the three girls here. “The moment that cloud fully passes over the sun. Once its shadow disappears, we draw.”

“But… but...” Diamond Tiara started, interrupting them. “A-Applejack’s hand is hurt, t-this isn’t fair.”

“Nothing but a scratch. Won’t stop her draw at all,” Sunset grinned.

Diamond Tiara gulped for Applejack and looked up at her with wide, imploring eyes. “A-Are you going to be alright?”

And the truth was, Applejack didn’t know. Like she had said to herself before she wasn’t the quickest draw around. She had good aim, that was her skill. Meanwhile she knew from rumors and from seeing her in person a long time ago that Sunset Shimmer was one of the quickest draws out there. Despite this ostensibly being a fair duel… in reality it really wasn’t. Sunset had given herself the advantage. Maybe it’s something she saw fit to do in the first place what with having all the cards in her hand to begin with. She had the power in this situation from the beginning when she saved their lives from the Buffalo Men and sauntered on over with her gun still in her hand. And putting that gun away showed her confidence. Not just in her own drawing skill but in Applejack’s honor that she wouldn’t try killing her before the time came.

Still, there was only one thing Applejack could say.

“I’ll be alright, now you just stand back, Diamond.”

She stepped towards the girl and patted her head, then put a stiff hand on her shoulder and told her to step back. Diamond Tiara nodded, though she was shaking, and stepped back closer to the wagon.

“Alright,” Sunset Shimmer chuckled as a shadow passed over them, the cloud just now reaching the sun. “Now we start.”

Applejack stayed right where she was with her hand held by her side but Sunset Shimmer took a few steps back towards one of the larger rocks on the outside of the burial grounds. That damn smirk never left her face. While Applejack’s heart was pounding in her chest and she was sweating, Sunset looked supremely confident and relaxed. Her hands weren’t anywhere near the gun she carried in her crossdraw way, one of the only people Applejack could remember seeing that not only carried it like that but could still draw faster than most anyone. Dressed in all that black she sure looked threatening too, which was all part of the effect for her. Sunset knew the power of intimidation and it was also why she was adamant on saving her reputation, she knew how important that was for a gal like herself. If no one feared her then something was wrong. It would only lead to problems and stupid people causing her trouble.

So Sunset Shimmer was going to kill Applejack here and take her gun. The first major city she visited next she could start spreading the news in.

There was the fact that Applejack only had a single bullet left though, something the blonde thought about as she tried to wonder how this duel would play out. If she didn’t kill Sunset in one shot what then? But a duel like this still worked better for her than an elongated shootout. In something like that, Applejack probably wouldn’t stand a chance. Applejack mentally shook her head, there wasn’t anything for her to really think about in a situation like this. She just had to be miraculously quicker on the draw than Sunset Shimmer.

With her thumbs still in her pockets, Sunset Shimmer reached the rock and leaned back against it. She yawned and reached up into her breast pocket while Applejack and Diamond Tiara watched. Out came a scratch of paper and tobacco along with a match. Not even looking in Applejack’s direction anymore, Sunset Shimmer rolled a cigarette using the surface of the rock. Diamond Tiara’s eyes darted to Applejack, wondering if Applejack would try to shoot her while she was off-guard. But Applejack’s figure was totally frozen. Was she even thinking right now? Diamond Tiara couldn’t tell. She had no idea what might be going through the heads of these two woman about to gun down each other. All Diamond Tiara knew was how much her heart was pounding in her chest and how afraid she was for Applejack. She didn’t dare make a sound.

Sunset Shimmer hopped up a little to sit down on the rock completely and crossed a leg over the other. She had the tobacco inside the paper and folded it up, bringing the makeshift cigarette to her lips and lightly running her tongue across it to get it wet and make it stick in place. When it was rolled up to her satisfaction she stuck the one end into her luscious red lips and held it there. A quick flick of the match against the rock lit it, and Sunset brought it up to light her cigarette with her hands cupped around it to keep the flame from dying in the breeze. The flame caught the other end of the cigarette and Sunset quickly shook the match to extinguish it and carelessly flicked it onto the ground. A weak orange flame now burned at the end of Sunset’s cigarette, the slightest wisp of smoke rising from it. She took a long slow drag of the cigarette and took it out of her mouth, holding it between two fingers, and blew out a ring of smoke.

Applejack watched her smoke while the cloud continued to drift overhead. The sun was now fully blocked by it and a shadow covered the burial grounds. Her fingers twitched ever so slightly and she felt her palm sweat. The pain from the cut on her hand was forgotten, totally replaced by adrenaline and fear running through her veins. Compared to Sunset’s casual demeanor, Applejack looked a nervous wreck. She was sweating all over, red in the face, her body was shaking, and none of it was due to a fever this time.

She was afraid. Probably deep down she already thought she was going to lose and die. Did she believe at all that she could win?

No. Applejack was certain she would die here. She was terrified of that, and of what would happen to Diamond Tiara afterwards.

Sunset kept puffing on her cigarette, staring off into the distance and occasionally glancing up at the cloud. Her loaded gun sat there on her hip just begging to be used. Applejack meanwhile kept her big green eyes focused right on her, her breath coming out ragged and her shoulders heaving. It was a wonder she hadn’t collapsed despite her legs feeling numb. Her hand slowly inched closer to her pistol, ready to try and pull it out of its holster as fast as possible. Faster than she had ever done so before in her life. All the while, Sunset still paid her no mind. Smoke drifted up from under her hat, floating and floating into the air. Applejack’s chapped lips and frown was matched by full and beautiful red ones and a happy smirk. Her narrowed eyes and furrowed brow matched with a calm face.

Diamond Tiara on the sidelines kept looking back and forth between the two of them, her hands now clasped together and shaking in front of her chest.

When the cloud had passed more than halfway past the sun, Sunset Shimmer took her cigarette out of her mouth and smooshed it against the rock. The ash and embers left over crumbled to bits and fell down into the dirt with the butt of the cigarette. She then stood up off the rock and tilted the black rim of her hat back down, staring at Applejack from under it. Finally fixing her prey with a cool and steady gaze. She didn’t blink. Only smiled.

Sunset’s hands were on her gun belt. Left fingers gently massaging the end of her black leather holster while her right hand ever so slowly inched over a row of tucked in bullets getting closer to the gun itself.

Seeing this, Applejack’s hand twitched and also brought itself closer to her gun. Both were ready to draw.

Applejack’s eyes flickered down for an instant to her gun and then right back at Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset Shimmer’s lips twitched as her smirk grew and the confident gleam in her eyes seemed to swallow up Applejack.

Diamond Tiara stopped breathing, her jaw clenched so tightly her teeth might shatter.

There was no wind. The sun had started to peak out from behind the cloud again but it hadn’t fully passed yet and the shadow still dragged slowly across the burial grounds.

Applejack was sweating and couldn’t keep her hand steady.

Sunset Shimmer narrowed her eyes slightly.

Applejack’s eyes were wide.

Sunset Shimmer thumbed the side of her trigger finger.

The barest bit of cloud was remaining over the sun.

They were close to thirty feet away from each other but Applejack could see her shaking and uncertain visage reflected back at her from the narrowed and confident eyes of Sunset Shimmer.

Both their hands were nearly grasping their guns.

There was no sound but the heavy breathing of Applejack.

Green eyes and cyan eyes locked together.

The cloud drifted past the sun and the shadow on the ground disappeared. Applejack and Sunset Shimmer’s right hands moved like lightning. Both guns were drawn.

Applejack fired first and shot Sunset Shimmer’s gun out of her hand.

“Motherfucker!-” Sunset yelled and on reflex went to quickly try and pick up her gun.

“Hold it right there!” Applejack said and cocked the hammer on her gun back. “You leave that gun right there, Sunset Shimmer!”

Sunset glared at her with a maddened expression on her face, but suddenly the adrenaline for her wore off and she had to grab her right hand as pain lanced up from it. It was red and sore from Applejack shooting her gun out of it. “Fucking damn it… are you fucking kidding me...”

Diamond Tiara let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding in, sweat broke out on her forehead as her hands dropped to her side. “Thank heavens...”

“That’s it, this duel’s over,” Applejack said to Sunset, still aiming her gun at her.

Sunset grit her teeth angrily but stood up straight and faced her all the same. “Alright, then do it. Shoot me already.”

Applejack slowly shook her head. “No. I’m not going to kill anyone I don’t have to. Just get out of my sight, Sunset. Turn around and walk away.” Of course it was a bluff. She had no more bullets left. If Sunset knew that she could’ve easily grabbed her gun and killed Applejack and there would’ve been nothing Applejack could do. So Applejack had to act like this and make sure Sunset didn’t figure out the truth.

“Bitch. You think I’m going to forgive you for sparing me? I’m going to make you regret this. Things aren’t over between us,” Sunset spat at her.

“They are today. Now get out of here,” Applejack tossed right back at her.

Sunset Shimmer shot one last glare at both her and Diamond Tiara before she made a sudden about face and started to angrily stomp away. Her boots crunched over the dirt as she simply walked and walked over the uneven ground of the mountain, not going anywhere in particular. The gun she had was left behind. Applejack continued to hold her gun steady at Sunset’s back until the other girl completely disappeared from view, and only then did she drop it and sight in relief.

She almost didn’t have time to catch her breath until Diamond Tiara crashed into her, hugging her tightly and damn near crying into her side.

“I’m so glad you’re okay! I was s-so scared that-” Diamond couldn’t finish as she choked on the remainder of her sentence while Applejack just stood there and chuckled.

“Yeah I was a mite bit worried too...” Applejack was still sweating and shaking quite a bit.

“That was incredible though, you shot her gun right out of her hand!”

Applejack smiled wryly in amusement and shook her head. “Blind, dumb luck. That’s all that was. I can’t believe I was quicker on the draw than her...”

“You still won though. You saved both of us,” Diamond Tiara said as she buried her head into Applejack.

Applejack holstered her empty revolver and wrapped her arm around Diamond. Hugging the girl close and affectionately rubbing her shoulder. “Thank you, I-I think I needed to hear some words like that. Right now I’m still just… maybe a little out of sorts. I really thought I was about to die.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” it was nearly a whisper.

“Well, that definitely makes two of us,” Applejack smiled.

The two stood there for a little while longer until they had both calmed down. The sun was still high in the sky and there was a lot of time left in the day that could be better spent. They were still stuck in these mountains after all and didn’t exactly know where to go next. And their wagon was temporarily out of commission. But that was the kind of thing Applejack was very handy with. She walked shoulder to head with Diamond Tiara over to their wagon and the horses and got to work unhitching Winona and Silver.

“Come on, I don’t think anything actually snapped or broke so it shouldn’t be too tough but we’ve gotta get that wheel back on the wagon,” Applejack told Diamond.

Diamond Tiara smiled brightly at her, no trace of annoyance or exasperation on her face. “Okay!”

Author's Note

Insert Ennio Morricone music.