All was quiet in Twilight’s cottage when the unicorn returned home, saddlebags laden with various food supplies. The wooden floor creaked under her weight as she trotted over to her cupboard. Now that she returned with her food, it was time for her to take stock. After all, she didn’t want to come up short.
With a flick of her magic, she simultaneously dropped her saddlebags and opened the cupboard door. Another flash of lavender, and a quill and parchment made its way over to her. With her checklist at the ready, she lifted food out of her bags one by one.
“Let’s see,” she muttered. “Milk? Check. Daisies? Check. Bread? Check.” Twilight checked off each food item as she placed them in her cupboard. “Lettuce? Cheese? Oats? Check. Check. And check.”
It was of utmost importance that she had everything that she needed. Food was something that became scarcer with each passing day. With so many ponies—all of them just as desperate and hungry as she was—scrambling to find food, it was a miracle that she was able to find any at all, let alone as much as she did. Now she just had to make it last, at least until there was enough around for her to restock. When that was going to happen, if at all, was up to fate. Holding out for a month or two had to be enough.
Twilight, nearly finished taking stock, only had one more item on the list to account for. “And apples.” She had one more item, but unfortunately, her saddlebag was empty. “Apples? What? Oh, no, no, no! Don’t tell me that I forgot!”
Twilight upturned her saddlebags, violently shaking them as if it would magically make five juicy apples fall right out of the fruity ether. That possibility was more believable than Twilight forgetting to get more apples. She clearly remembered stopping by the apple cart earlier today. Those apples were one of the most important items on her list. Without them, it left them without food for at least two weeks.
“Where did they go?!” she asked, growing frantic with each passing second. A loud burp from behind her both answered her question and sent an indescribable sense of panic shooting through her heart. Whipping around, she quickly found the one responsible.
Not even ten feet from her was a young, purple and green dragon sitting in a ring of five discarded apple cores.
Twilight’s face twisted and contorted into an expression of fear, panic, and anger as she glared at the dragon. “Sp-Spike!” she sputtered, the sheer shock making the simple task of forming words a formidable one. “Those apples were supposed to last us for weeks! Why would you eat them all?”
Spike visibly shrunk under her angry gaze. He couldn’t even look directly at her, lest the fire in her eyes bore holes into his skull. The regret was plain for her to see, but that didn’t quell her desire for an explanation.
Spike twiddled with his fingers as Twilight continued to wait for an answer. “I-I’m sorry,” he finally said, his eyes not leaving the wooden floor.
The apology did little to calm Twilight. “I understand that you’re sorry, Spike, and I accept your apology, but I want to know why you did it knowing how important those apples are to us.”
For a brief instance, Spike’s eyes looked up at Twilight’s, only to shoot back down to the floor once they saw her agitation. “It’s just that… well, I haven’t eaten in days. I had trouble getting out of bed. Then I saw the apples you got and I… I just couldn’t control myself.”
Despite her day becoming much more complicated, Twilight’s face softened. She couldn’t, in clear conscience, stay mad at him, especially when seeing the state he was in. At his age, Spike was supposed to have a nice, chubby stomach; a reliable pit of fat and energy that he, as a dragon, quickly burned through. In fact, he was supposed to eat all of the time, but for obvious reasons, was unable to.
As a result, Spike had no such pit of energy. His stomach was completely flat, more like a sheet of paper than anything else. His arms and legs were little more than twigs, and the effort to keep his head up high became more strenuous every day. The fact that he was able to move at all was a miracle.
Twilight hardly looked any better herself, with her sunken eyes and disheveled mane. Her legs, weak from fatigue and lack of nutrition, always trembled underneath her, threatening to give in at any moment. And they were doing better than most others out there. If it weren’t for her staying on top of their food supply, they’d have been at death’s door long, long ago. As things were, they were only a few steps away from it.
With a soft sigh, Twilight dispelled the rest of her agitation. “It’s okay, Spike. Stockpile’s house isn’t that far away. I’ll just go get more from him.” Twilight let out another tired sigh. “If he still even has any.”
With a flick of magic, Twilight shut the cupboard door and trotted over to her saddlebags. Spike, however, was still bothered about something, if his worried frown was any indicator. “But what if somepony breaks in while you’re gone?” he asked.
Twilight began strapping the saddlebags to her back. “Don’t worry. I’ll put up a defensive ward like I always do. Nothing will be able to get in.”
Despite that answer, something still ate away at the young dragon. “What about you? You know the ponies around here aren’t real friendly. What if you get mugged?”
Twilight stopped at the door. Slowly, she shut her eyes as she considered the possibility. She was mugged once in the past, robbed of all of her food for that month. With significantly less food than she planned, and with no bits to buy more, she and Spike had to eat even less food per day than they already did. The inevitable hunger was unbearable. Sleep was impossible. Moving felt improbable. It was the most brutal thirty days of her life.
She didn’t want to believe that anypony was capable of doing something so cold, but desperation and the will to survive overrode compassion and sympathy. That was something that Twilight needed to accept, lest her life get cut short.
Opening her eyes, Twilight turned back towards Spike. “Like I said, don’t worry. I’m prepared this time.” With her magic, she reached into one of her saddlebags, the lavender aura wrapping around the handle of a small dagger. She found it during one of her searches for food, ‘borrowing’ it from a pony who didn’t need it any longer. Simply carrying it around left her in a never-ending state of anxiety. The thought of using it made her physically ill.
Twilight felt her breaths growing more and more erratic with each passing second. A few deep breaths managed to put her back into ease. She had to keep it together. If she grew so frantic from mere thoughts, then how was she supposed to last out in the wild, where the weak-minded were mere playthings for those with the will to survive? She had to get a grip.
Go to Stockpile’s. Grab some apples. Come home. Three steps. Easy, she thought to herself. But before she could leave, she felt something wrap around her leg. She looked back and found Spike squeezing her leg in a tight hug, tears streaking down his face.
“Just come back, okay?” he said, not loosening his grip for a moment.
A smile capable of melting even the coldest of hearts appeared on Twilight’s face. She freed her leg and faced her loving assistant. She leaned in close and nuzzled him, something that Spike was quick to return, wrapping his arms around her neck. “I’ll come back,” she whispered, her own eyes watering at the corners. “I would never leave you alone. For anything. Understand?” She felt Spike’s scales rub against her cheek as he nodded.
After a moment that couldn’t have lasted long enough, the two separated. “Oh, and by the way. I wasn’t crying,” Spike quickly clarified, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. “Your fur just… It, uh, got in my eye.”
Still smiling, Twilight could do little more than shake her head. “I’ll be back soon.”
The young dragon saluted her. “Good luck. And be safe.”
After a final nod, Twilight stepped outside, leaving the safety of her home.
Once outside, whether it was out of habit or her own self-delusion that things would be different, she looked up into the sky.
Black. That was all Twilight saw when she looked up; a vast, endless void of darkness. It was all she ever saw. That, and one other thing. Hovering above the land of Equestria for all to see, and for all to fear, was the moon, a bright, white circle in the otherwise pitch-black sky.
Just looking at it made Twilight’s skin crawl. There was just something unnatural about it; a strange, shadow-like aura rippled across the white surface, distorting its features. But that wasn’t all. Twilight couldn’t put her hoof on it, but something about that white orb in the sky felt completely and undeniably malicious. Evil. As if just staring at it long enough would cause some kind of harm. Whether or not that was true, Twilight didn’t want to find out, and looked back down at the land before her.
It was the same sight every time. A series of crudely built, wooden cottages dotted the grassy plain. Any ignorant passerby would’ve likely said that it was a village, but that would've implied that there was a sense of community amongst its dwellers. That couldn’t be any further from the truth. It wasn’t a village; simply a series of houses that happened to be built within proximity to each other.
None of the ponies showed an ounce of compassion towards each other; they were all only concerned about themselves, and would do anything to ensure their own survival, no matter how cruel the task. Twilight knew that all too well.
It hurt to admit it, but if she wanted to make it far in such a world, she couldn’t trust anypony. She’d have to keep a close eye on anypony passing her by, and turn a blind eye towards any in need, no matter how helpless they looked. For all she knew, it could always be another trap.
The only pony that Twilight could consider feeling safe around was Stockpile. He certainly was an interesting pony, one that not many could understand, not even her. Seeming to spit in the face of death, he rarely seemed to use his own supplies, but rather sell them off to any willing customers, assuming they had any bits to buy with. Nopony could explain how, but he always managed to gather a substantially larger amount of food and such than anypony else. Of course, this led to multiple attempted robberies, but oddly enough, those robbers were never seen again. It certainly earned the stallion a bit of respect in the area. To most ponies, he was the only thing standing between them and death’s door.
Despite what Twilight would’ve liked to believe, however, they weren’t necessarily friends, merely associates. She gave him bits and he gave her whatever she could afford with said bits. That was it. There were numerous other ponies did the exact same thing. Still, Twilight couldn’t deny that it felt nice to have at least one pony in that bleak world that didn’t try to attack her on sight. It gave her hope that if he existed, then there must’ve been others like him, others who didn’t resort to violent as a means of survival.
Twilight quickly scanned the area around her. Thankfully, it seemed clear for the time being. Ponies were either asleep or off on their own errands. That gave Twilight some peace, something she could never have too much of.
Stockpile’s house wasn’t a very hard one to spot. It had always been right across from Twilight’s, and always had the candles lit. At least she knew that he was still awake, assuming that he ever went to sleep. It looked like it wasn’t going to be a very long trip at all.
Of course, she couldn’t get too ahead of herself. She still had one thing left to do before she set off. Turning back towards her own cottage, Twilight channeled magic into her horn. The glow that encased it covered the entire area in a faint, lavender light. Twilight steeled herself, gritting her teeth as the strain in her head increased.
Once her magic reached its peak, she released the spell. In an instant, her entire cottage was wrapped in a protective, magical bubble. With the amount of magic put into it, a herd of stampeding buffalo could crash into it, and it wouldn’t falter. Nothing would get in while she was away. Now, she just needed to focus on getting the apples.
Twilight trotted up to Stockpile’s door. As she raised a hoof to knock, however, the door immediately cracked open.
“What is it? What do you want?” an old, harsh voice impatiently demanded.
With a sheepish giggle, Twilight brought her hoof back down to the ground. She’d never be able to get used to the stallion’s… interesting behavior. “Er, Stockpile? It’s me. Twilight Sparkle?”
A few awkward seconds of silence followed as the unicorn nervously scraped the ground with a hoof. Finally, the old stallion spoke up. “Never heard of you.”
A tired sigh left Twilight’s lips. Somehow, she knew that dealing with him was going to prove to be unnecessarily difficult. “I bought apples from you earlier today?”
“Hardly rings a bell. A lot of ponies did.”
The unicorn’s hoof found its way up to her face. She was really going to have to bring up that incident, wasn’t she? “When we first met, you grabbed my butt and said, and I quote, ‘I didn’t know that they came in purple.’ I immediately slapped you afterwards.” Yes, their first meeting wasn’t necessarily what Twilight would’ve considered pleasant.
She supposed that it worked, though, as she heard a cackle from the stallion. “And what a slap it was!” Stockpile exclaimed. He opened the door, beckoning Twilight to come inside. “Please, Twilight. Come in, come in! We continue to grow old while the night remains young.”
Twilight only rolled her eyes as she entered the stallion’s humble abode. She had to admit, compared to what average house looked like, Stockpile was rather well off. A warm fire burned in the makeshift fireplace in the middle of the shack. An old, worn mattress rested off to the side, a few blankets accompanying it. It may not have been much, but it was certainly better than Twilight’s bed of bug-infested hay.
However, what truly caught her attention were the numerous shelves lining the walls throughout the tiny shack. These shelves held anything from food, to medicine, and even a few weapons if a customer was lucky. Anypony could’ve found anything that they wanted in those shelves, and Stockpile had more than enough to share.
Twilight, however, was only interested in one thing. She scanned the shelves, searching for anything that even remotely resembled an apple. However, as her eyes looked over the various items, a frown crawled onto her face.
“So, what brings you here so soon?” Stockpile asked, capturing Twilight’s attention. “As I recall, you purchased everything that you needed already. You shouldn’t be due for another few weeks.”
“Well, that’s just it. My friend, Spike, ate all of the apples that I bought.”
Stockpile’s own small frown appeared on his face as he nodded his head. “Ah, I see.” A somber sigh passed through his muzzle. “Well, it pains me to say this, but I do not have any apples to give. I ran out.”
Twilight could only slouch over, dejected. “Yeah, I figured that would be the case. Well, sorry to bother you. I’ll manage to get by somehow.” Twilight turned towards the door, only to feel a hoof on her shoulder.
Stockpile spun the unicorn back around. “After what happened to you the last time when you fell short on food, I highly doubt that.”
“How am I supposed to get more apples, then?”
A small smirk appeared on the stallion’s face. “From where I get mine. There is an apple farm not far from here. The path leading out of here will take you directly to it. You will surely find the apples that you’re searching for there. I would come with you, but I can’t afford to leave this place unguarded.”
“An apple farm,” Twilight repeated. Without warning, a smile broke out onto the unicorn’s face as she wrapped her hooves around the stallion’s neck. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Stockpile had to admit, for a mare, she had an undeniably strong grip. “Please, Twilight. Keep your voice down,” he whispered. “I’m only telling you its location because I know that you have no malicious intentions. However, it will not be as simple as walking in and getting your apples. The family that owns the orchard is very, very high-strung. If they perceive you as a threat, I doubt that you will walk away. So, be careful.”
Twilight nodded. It wouldn’t have been her first brush with danger. “I will. I’ll be fine, Stockpile. Thank you.”
“It is the least that I can do. Now, go. I’m certain that Spike is already worried sick about you.”
A small chuckle left Twilight’s muzzle. “I’m sure he is.” After a final hug, Twilight left the stallion’s home, making a beeline for the apple farm. The sooner that got this over with, the better.
Twilight slowly walked down the lonely, dark path before her. Her body shivered in the cold, every puff of breath appearing as white mist in front of her face. She was flanked on both sides by dry, dead grass and legions of grey, gnarled trees, their bare branches resembling arms ready to ensnare her. She couldn’t even describe the absolute terror rushing through her. Every little thing, from the snapping of twigs to the slight rustling of the surrounding underbrush, sent another pang of panic through her heart.
She had never been out at such a late time before; it went against everything she already had scheduled. She was supposed to be preparing her and Spike’s supper, but instead, she was back out in the wild, virtually defenseless.
The already oppressive and encroaching darkness felt even worse somehow, practically leaving her blind. She needed to cast a light spell, the glow on her horn allowing her to see where she was going. Of course, that created the obvious problem of her being far easier to spot, which did nothing to calm her nerves.
All of this stress, and she had only been walking for around five minutes. She wasn’t even halfway there yet, and she already wanted to turn tail and run back to the safety of her home. She wanted to, but knew that she couldn’t. She might’ve been able to make it through the month with what she had, but she couldn’t say the same for Spike.
If she didn’t get those apples, if she didn’t get a hold of as much food as possible, chances were high that he wouldn’t make it. There wasn’t a snowflake’s chance in Tartarus that she’d allow such a thing to happen, not while she could still breathe. She had to press on for both of them.
A cold breeze brushed over Twilight’s body. Every single muscle in her body grew tense at the chill. She should’ve worn some type of clothing; the night was growing colder than usual. But through the cold, through the terror, there was something else. Perhaps it was her crippling paranoia, but she just had the feeling that she was being watched, a feeling that she couldn’t shake.
She risked a few glances around to try and spot her possible stalker. It was a fruitless endeavor; if something was there, she wouldn’t even be able to see it through the darkness, at least not without straying from the path. Twilight wasn’t going to do that.
Instead, she quickened her pace, focused only on placing one hoof in front of the other. She tried to ignore the uneasy feelings, but those feelings only grew more intense with each passing second. Her heart pounded against her chest in near perfect synch with her hoofbeats. She couldn’t take much more. The sooner she got to the farm, the better.
Twilight broke out into a trot, but she still couldn’t shake those feelings of paranoia. Whatever she thought was following her, it felt like it was right on top of her, right behind her, breathing right over her shoulder. She swore that something brushed up against the back of her neck.
Her hair stood straight on end. Not only did her breathing grow more erratic, but it became harder for her to draw in breath at all. The surrounding darkness was practically palpable, as if it wrapped itself around Twilight’s nose and mouth. She was suffocating.
Just when she thought the panic had reached its apex, Twilight heard it. The unmistakable, undeniable, unnatural howl of something not of her world. Something demonic. Something that was right next to her.
If Twilight had any remaining restraint, it snapped, and she flew into a full-fledged panic. She whipped her head to the right, where she heard that howl come from. She didn’t even bother aiming, and shot a magical beam into the undergrowth. It was a decision that she immediately regretted.
Whether or not she actually hit it, she didn’t know. What she did know was that something—whatever it was—was there, and that it decided to reveal itself.
Twilight felt a lump build in her throat. She couldn’t even make out what it was; she only saw a vague outline of it in the dim moonlight. All she saw was a large, black mass rise out of the brush. Its movements were unlike anything she ever saw before, as if it wasn’t constrained by the limitations of skin and bone. It swirled, twisted, and churned in ways that made Twilight sick to her stomach.
All the while, the chill that she felt before grew even colder as that monstrosity inched its way closer to her. The cold wrapped itself around her like some kind of malevolent shroud. It left her shivering out of both fear and the cold. She couldn’t muster up the senses to do anything. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t scream, she couldn’t do anything. The sheer terror left her paralyzed as that thing grew closer.
For nearly all of her life, Twilight had been worrying about other ponies and dangerous animals. Never did she consider coming across anything like the thing in front of her.
Only when the demonic entity towered over her, prepared to engulf her, did Twilight’s will to survive penetrate her fear. At the last possible moment, she dove out of the way just as the creature lunged. She felt a deathly cold chill on her hind leg where it brushed past her. She didn’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened if that thing caught her.
Twilight slammed into the dirt, but didn’t even register the pain before she got back up and galloped down the path as quickly as she could. The howling winds rushing past her roared in her ears and left her eyes watering. She couldn’t even see where she was going, but as long as she was running away from that monstrosity, she didn’t care.
She didn’t even want to risk a glance back. She just kept running. She ran until her legs stung with each beat against the ground. Until her lungs burned with each breath.
She didn’t know how long she galloped for, but her mad dash was brought to an abrupt end when she tripped over a rock in her path. She crashed to the ground yet again, but this time, she didn’t get back up. Couldn’t, rather. That sprint of hers left her body completely burned out. Even if she kept a healthier, heartier diet, it’d have been pushing her limits. As she was now, though, she burned through energy that she didn’t even have.
As she lay there, only one question raced through her mind: did she get away? She wanted to look behind her to see if that thing was still behind her, but her body was not up to the task. Simply moving her legs was a taxing effort. However, as the seconds of peaceful silence ticked by, she decided that it was safe to assume that she got away.
That being the case, she also decided to take the moment to rest, hoping that she’d get more energy soon.
“Psst. Hey, you. Little unicorn.”
Unfortunately, that moment of rest didn’t last for very long before she heard somepony call out to her. Using what little energy she had regained, she lifted her head and looked over to the caller. Through her tired haze, she saw a stallion waving at her from behind the grey trunk of a dead tree. She could barely even see him in the cover of night, his dark blue coat helping him blend into the darkness.
“Don’t just lay there!” he hissed. “Get into cover before they spot you!”
Twilight’s head still spun on her shoulders, only barely hearing what the stallion said. Slowly, she forced herself back up to her hooves; at least she had some of her energy back. Now, she had this new pony to worry about. She didn’t know his intentions or if he was another mugger waiting for his opportunity. All she knew was that she needed to keep her guard up.
At the moment, Twilight kept her distance. “Before who spots me?” she croaked.
“Those crazy ponies running the farm! Who else?”
“Farm?” Twilight took another look around her environment. It looked like her frantic gallop got her to where she wanted to go. She was surrounded by dozens and dozens of grey, dead trees, with even more spanning for as far as the eye could see. And through those trees, Twilight could see her destination. The apple farm. It couldn’t have been more than a few hundred meters away. And just like the trees surrounding her, it didn’t look like it was in the best of shape.
It was clear that the both the barn and farmhouse were built from the same weak, rotting wood that made up the decaying trees. Numerous holes riddled the farmhouse, with most of the roof missing due to either disrepair or poor building materials. It was grey and decrepit, looking like the shell of what used to be a proud structure. If it weren’t for the faint candlelights glowing in the windows, Twilight would’ve thought that it was abandoned. Regardless, it didn’t look like she was going to get her apples, and that new stranger wasn’t raising her hopes.
“What are you waiting for? Move!” the stallion snapped.
Hopelessly confused and with not much else to go on, Twilight staggered towards the nearest tree. That tree just so happened to be next to the stallion’s own hiding spot. “I don’t understand. What’s happening?” she asked.
“Don’t play stupid. We both know why you’re here.” The most that statement got out of Twilight was a confused look. After slapping his face with a hoof, he took it upon himself to elaborate. “You’re here for apples, right?”
Twilight took another look at the farm. It didn’t look like the ‘orchard’ surrounding it provided a bountiful amount of fruit. In fact, it didn’t look like it provided anything. Twilight couldn’t spot a single speck of red from where she was, only more gnarled, barren branches. “Well, yes, I am, but—”
“Then you’re gonna have to get past those farmers to get ‘em.” The stallion looked out at the farm himself, darting his eyes from side to side, scanning the area before him.
Twilight couldn’t help but feel confused by his actions. “I can’t just go and ask them? I have bits. Maybe I can talk to them and work something out.”
That idea of hers only elicited a chuckle from the stallion. “Geez, you don’t get out much do you? If those lunatics spot you, there won’t be any talking.”
Twilight took another fearful glance out at the farmhouse. “What would they do if they saw me?”
The stallion looked Twilight dead in the eyes, his expression deathly serious. “Take another look. Look at that farmhouse out there. Closely.”
Twilight did just that. Looking back out at the farmhouse, she squinted her eyes as she tried to focus in on anything out of the ordinary. It took her a moment, but she did eventually spot something. Amidst the destroyed rooftop, through one of the holes, she spotted a faint glimmer in the moonlight.
She didn’t want to believe it, but it looked like some type of weapon mounted on a makeshift balcony. A crossbow, it looked like. Even worse, there seemed to be a pony operating the thing, occasionally swiveling the weapon back and forth as she scanned the environment. If Twilight hadn’t have taken another closer look, she would’ve completely missed it. Now she truly had second thoughts.
“Hey,” the stallion called, recapturing Twilight’s attention. “If you wanna leave, then leave, but don’t stick around and blow my cover.”
For a moment, Twilight did consider leaving. The thought of what would happen to her if she did go out there nearly made her turn tail right there. But as much as she feared for her own life, she knew that backing out was out of the question. She couldn’t do that to Spike. She wasn’t just doing this for herself; she was doing it for him as well, and could not let him down.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “But why are you telling me all of this?”
The stallion didn’t take his eyes off of the barn, specifically, the mounted weapon. “Because if you get caught, it’ll make it harder for me to get away. Don’t get it wrong. I’m not playing Mr. Nice Guy here. I just don’t want numbskulls giving me even more trouble than I already have.”
“But if we want the same thing then shouldn’t we work together? We’d have a better chance that way.”
Once again, the stallion chuckled at her idea. “Fat chance. I already told you, I warned you because I don’t want you getting me caught. That’s where our interactions end. From now on, just stay out of my—” The stallion never got the chance to finish his sentence.
There was no warning, no signal. Twilight didn’t even have the time to warn him. In the blink of an eye, a sharp metal rod pierced the tree that the stallion was hiding behind, impaling him clear through his head.
In Twilight’s mind, she was screaming her head off, but in reality, all that left her mouth was a continuous, high-pitched squeak. In her relatively short life, Twilight came across her fair share of corpses, some more gruesome than the sight before her. Each of those corpses, the decaying bodies of unlucky souls who were overcome by the harsh wild, burned themselves into her mind. To see a life end right in front of her, however, left her in a state of shock she had never felt before.
All she could do was stare. She stared at the metal rod, glistening red in the moonlight, its end spotted with bits of skull and brain matter. She stared at the blood dribbling down the side of the stallion’s head and out of his mouth. She stared at his limp body dangling from the bolt that ended his life.
Her mind had simply shut down. She could only stand there and stare; she couldn’t regain enough of her senses to move a single muscle. The only thing—the one thing— that snapped her out of her shock-induced trance was another metal bolt flying past her face, missing her by mere inches.
Twilight’s heart nearly burst out of her chest as the rod embedded itself into the ground. She wasted no more time and flattened herself against a tree trunk. Her body shook all over. Breathing grew more and more difficult with each passing second. All she could do was pray that the next few seconds weren’t going to be her last.
“Ah know you’re back there!” a mare called. “That was only a warnin’ shot! If you don’t come out here right now, the next one won’t miss, Ah guarantee you that!”
This isn’t good! This isn’t good! This isn’t good! Twilight kept repeating that over and over again in her mind. In one fell swoop, her situation went from risky to life-threatening. The owners of that farm weren’t hesitant at all to kill, and now Twilight found herself at their mercy.
Part of her wanted to comply. At least then, she had a chance of getting through the entire thing unscathed. The other part wanted to take her chances and run. Run as fast and as far as she could. There were plenty of trees, plenty of cover. She could use those to her advantage as she made her escape.
“An' don’t think about runnin’, either!” the mare cried out. “You might think you got a lot o’ cover in them trees, but Ah’m a crack shot with this thing, so don’t even try it.”
And just like that, Twilight’s escape plan flew out of the window. There was the possibility that it was just a bluff, but after seeing what became of that stallion, she wasn’t about to take any chances. Still, she wasn’t dead yet. She may have just been able to walk away, but only if she played it smart. It was just like what Stockpile said; as long as they didn’t perceive her as a threat, she would be fine. Taking a deep breath, she slowly, and calmly, stepped out from behind the tree.
“Stop right there!” the mare ordered.
Twilight did just that. She found herself standing right in front of the farm, out in the open. From there, she could more clearly see the weapon, and the mare controlling it. Much like everypony else, it looked like she’d seen better days. Splotches of dirt and grime spotted her orange coat and matted down her yellow mane. A light brown Stetson, its brim and crown riddled with ragged holes, sat atop her head.
Knowing that the mare had her in her sights, that the weapon was lined up right with her head, Twilight wasn’t about to give her any reason to fire.
“Heh. So you actually went an’ listened,” the mare said. “At least you’re smarter than them other bandits.”
“Bandits?” Twilight muttered. She took a sidelong glance at the trees. She could still see blood pooling around the trunk. Her stomach churned at the sight, but it was one that she saw too many times before; another casualty in the eternal effort to survive. She looked back up at the mare. “I-I’m not a bandit!” she shouted.
The mare shifted in her seat. “If you ain’t a bandit, then what're ya doin’ here?”
“I came here to purchase apples from you!”
“You’re here t’ buy? Ah don’t see no bits!”
“Oh, o-of course!” Things still looked shaky, but it seemed like Twilight had a way out of her predicament. The glow that wrapped around her horn illuminated the night as she reached for her bits. “Just let me—”
“Hold your horses there, Twinkles!” the mare ordered, shocking Twilight back into attention. “Whatever you’re reachin’ for, Ah advise takin’ it out slowly.”
“You tell her, sis!” a little filly cheered.
The older mare glanced down at something next to her, something down inside the farmhouse. “Hush now,” she whispered. “Big ponies are talkin’.” She put her attention back on Twilight. “Ah still don’t see any bits, sugarcube, and Ah ain’t one with a lot o’ patience, ya hear?”
Twilight could only nod as she wrapped her magic around her bits bag. Just like the mare ordered, she slowly, agonizingly so, took it out of her saddlebag. She clamped her eyes shut, a million different scenarios racing through her head. What if she mistakes it for a weapon? What if she loses patience? What if she kills me and takes the bits?
By the time she finally got her bits out, she was trembling all over. That was the moment of truth. Whatever happened next happened. Twilight could already feel a sharp rod penetrating her skull. She already felt the faint, burning sting of the killing blow. She expected it. But it never came.
Twilight opened a single wary eye. The mare still had her sights set on her, but had yet to fire.
“Um, excuse me.” a small voice said.
Twilight perked up for a moment. She heard the voice, knew it was near her, but looking around, she saw nothing.
“Down here.”
Twilight looked down and found a young filly smiling right up at her. Just like the older mare, her coat and mane were splotched with dirt. Even the bow decorating her mane was tattered and dirtied from time. But despite her outward appearance, her smile was just as bright and radiant as any light Twilight’s seen.
For a moment, all the unicorn could do was stand there, glancing back and forth between the filly in front of her and the mare up above. She had to admit, out of all the different ways she thought the situation would go, standing there, looking down at a smiling filly never crossed her mind.
“Um, h-hello,” Twilight hesitantly said after an awkward silence.
“Hi!” the filly chirped. “Ah’m Apple Bloom!”
Seeing such an energetic and cheerful filly helped Twilight calm down herself. She nearly forgot that she was only one mistake away from a very, very bad piercing. “Oh, hello, Apple Bloom. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
“That’s a pretty name,” Apple Bloom said. “That's mah sister, Applejack, up there. Sorry if she's bein’ a bit mean with ya. She’s just worked up about the bandits an’ all.”
Again, Twilight took a glance back at the fallen stallion. “I noticed.”
“But don’t worry, though. She’s real nice once you get t’ know her.”
As much as she wanted to believe the filly, after seeing what her sister was capable of, Twilight couldn’t help but roll her eyes ever so slightly. “Yes, I’m sure she is.”
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack called from her perch. “Quit foolin’ around an’ do what you’re supposed to!”
The yellow filly looked back at her sister, her scrunched face a perfect blend of annoyance and worry. “Yes, sis!” She immediately looked back at Twilight. “Sorry, but Ah’m supposed t’ make sure you actually have the bits an’ ain’t just pullin’ our leg.”
“Oh, of course. Here.” Twilight gently placed the bits on the ground, allowing Apple Bloom to inspect its contents. As the filly pawed at the bag, rummaging around inside, Twilight couldn’t help but feel uneasy about something. She already felt uneasy thanks to the mare training her sights on her, but there was something else. Something that she felt. Sensed, even.
She felt an odd tingling sensation right in the back of her skull, enough to be noticed, but not enough for Twilight to determine if it was actually there or not. For all she knew, her crippling paranoia could’ve been playing tricks on her again. But as time went on, that sensation only grew stronger until Twilight knew for a fact that it was real and close.
It was a feeling she only sensed around other unicorns, especially when they cast spells, a result of her sensing their magic. If that was the case, if Twilight sensed another unicorn’s magic as she stood there, then that meant she wasn’t alone. Another pony, ‘bandits’ as the mare called them, was out there, lurking in the shadows.
All the while, Apple Bloom still had her nose in the bits, slowly counting out each coin. “Thirteen… Fourteen… Fifteen.” Her inspection finished, she looked back up at her sister. “She’s got fifteen bits, sis! That enough?”
“Bring it on up," Applejack said. "Ah’ll be the judge o’ that.”
Apple Bloom picked up the bag in her teeth before trotting back towards the farmhouse. By that point, Twilight wasn’t even focused on that; she was far too concerned with the energy she felt. That errant unicorn was somewhere nearby. She just needed to find him.
A quick glance around confirmed her suspicions. Off to the right, amongst a thicket of trees, was another unicorn. A unicorn with a knife floating in his magical grip, and with his eyes set right on Apple Bloom.
“Apple Bloom, look out!” Twilight shouted. The filly froze in her tracks, the bag dropping from her mouth. Twilight didn’t even think about what to do next, nor did she pay any more mind to the danger already present. Reaction was the only thing fueling her action.
Without hesitation, she formed a protective barrier around the filly just as a knife flew out from the trees. It bounced off of the barrier with a metallic clank, leaving Apple Bloom unharmed. Despite it being a relatively small weapon, however, Twilight still had to strain herself in order to maintain the barrier against the collision. If she had let up even for an instant, a mere pebble would’ve been able to tear through it like paper. The hunger and fatigue had clearly taken its toll on her.
Thankfully, she didn’t need to worry about retaliating; Applejack seemed to have that covered. The moment she spotted the knife flying from the trees, she swung her weapon around to face the source. There was no warning; after stomping on some hidden trigger, a bolt went flying into the trees. Its path was slightly off, however, and it embedded itself in one of the trunks, leaving the intruder unscathed.
Seeing an opportunity to escape, the unicorn darted away from the farm. The farm pony, however, was persistent.
“Ah don’t think so!” she shouted. “You wanna come after mah apples, mah kin, then you get what’s comin’ to ya!” She kept a keen eye on the escaping unicorn as he grew further and further away from the house. She took aim, following the intruder’s every movement, adjusting her aim ever so slightly. With another stomp, she sent another sharp bolt flying into the thick of the orchard.
The projectile whizzed past tree after tree, missing trunks by mere inches. Its path remained undisturbed as it sped towards the stallion, growing closer with each passing second. He thought that the trees would offer sufficient cover from fire. He thought that he was safe. He was wrong.
Twilight didn’t see the killing blow, only the bolt speeding into the orchard. However, the sound of metal piercing of flesh coupled with a pained grunt told her everything that she needed to know.
Gulping down the lump building in her throat, Twilight lowered the barrier protecting Apple Bloom. The poor filly was visibly shaken, trembling all over, but was otherwise unharmed. Twilight trotted up to her, trying to keep from shaking herself. “Apple Bloom, are you okay?”
The filly snapped out of her shocked stupor and looked up at Twilight, a small smile on her face. “Oh, yeah. Ah’m fine.” She wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead. “Whew. That was a close one, huh?”
“I’ll say. And I think he would’ve come back for more if it weren’t for your sister.” Twilight looked back up to thank the mare for her assistance, grotesque as it was, but couldn’t find her. She was no longer planted behind that weapon of hers, something that both relieved and worried the unicorn.
“Apple Bloom!” Both Twilight and Apple Bloom looked back down at the house. Applejack was trotting towards them, her face scrunched into a worried frown.
Apple Bloom immediately perked up upon seeing her sister and ran up to meet her. The two shared a long nuzzle before separating. “You had me scared half to death,” Applejack said. “You’re okay, right?”
The yellow filly nodded. “Yeah, Ah’m fine, but I don’t think Ah would be if it weren’t for her.” She pointed over at Twilight, who only stood there, watching the two.
With the attention suddenly back on her, she could do little more than awkwardly shuffle her hooves on the ground, occasionally breaking the silence with a nervous cough. She thought that she’d feel more relieved, but the glare she received from Apple Bloom’s sister made relief an impossibility. Her furrowed brow and slight frown was a look that Twilight knew too well; one that she used many times before herself. A look of distrust.
When it became clear that neither Apple Bloom nor her sister would break the silence, Twilight decided to do it herself. “Um, I-I’m glad that your sister’s okay,” she said.
Despite the sentimentality, it only made Applejack narrow her eyes. “What’s your game?” she asked.
“My… my game?” Twilight repeated, cocking her head off to the side. “What do you mean?”
Slowly, Applejack walked towards Twilight, stalking towards her like a predator ready to pounce. “You come onto mah farm, sayin’ that you wanna ‘buy some apples’. Ain’t nopony ever done that before. They always try t’ take what little we’ve got without so much as a ‘thank you’.”
Twilight was tempted to back away as she grew closer and closer to her, but with a deep breath, she calmed down and stood her ground. “I decided to do something that would benefit us both.”
“Mhmm,” was all that Applejack said, her tone thick with doubt. “And what about mah sister? What made you wanna help her? What could you possibly get outta helpin’ her?”
Twilight could only shrug. “I just like to help ponies, is all.”
“You like to help ponies,” Applejack repeated. “Well, if that ain’t a rare thing t’ hear these days. Either you’re a real good liar, or you ain’t foolin’ around.”
“What would I have to do to earn your trust?” Twilight asked, growing more at ease.
Applejack’s hardened expression finally softened. She stood straight up and let out a deep sigh. “Listen, sugarcube. Don’t get it twisted. Ah appreciate what you did for mah sister. If it weren’t for you, she woulda been an oversized pin cushion.”
Twilight’s mouth curled up into a small grin as she scratched the back of her head. “Well, it was the least that I could—”
“But,” the farm pony cut in, “that don’t mean that Ah’ll just take ya in an’ treat ya like family. Can’t just go around trustin’ anypony like that, ya know?”
“Yes, I suppose that’s a—”
“But!” Applejack cut in again. “Lemme finish, honey. But that don’t mean that I can’t give you a lil’ reward.” She looked back towards her little sister. “Apple Bloom, you know what t’ do.”
The younger sibling gave her sister a quick salute before trotting back into the house. A few moments, she returned, dragging a small burlap sack across the ground by her teeth. She dropped the sack at Twilight’s hooves, and out rolled five plump, red, delicious apples.
Twilight had always held a deep appreciation for food, but never did she think that she’d be so shocked, so dumbstruck, by such a sight. She came for apples, yes, but she thought that she’d only be getting a few shriveled up pebbles, not those mouth-watering morsels.
She was only snapped out of her trance when she felt something prod her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Applejack back in front of her, with Twilight’s bits dangling from her teeth. She placed the small sack down at Twilight’s hooves. “Ah think that belongs to you.”
Twilight glanced down at the bag. As grateful as she was, she couldn’t help but feel hesitant to take her bits back. It just didn’t seem right. “But I thought you’d want to sell them. You don’t want the bits?”
Applejack tried and failed to hold back a chuckle. “And just what the hay am Ah gonna do with bits? Ah ain’t goin’ anywhere anytime soon, so what would Ah need t’ buy?” She gently pushed one of the apples towards the unicorn. “Now just take ‘em and get outta here. You an’ Ah both know how dangerous it is out here.”
Still scarcely believing what was happening, Twilight took each of the apples up in her magic before gingerly placing them in the sack as if they were priceless gems. After placing them in the safety of her saddlebags, she picked up her bits as well. “Wow. I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Ms… Applejack, right?”
“Yeah, that's right,” the farm mare stuck out a hoof. “Pleasure t' meet ya.”
Twilight shook hooves with the farm pony. “Same here, Applejack. I’m Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.”
“Well, Twilight, Ah gotta say, Ah wish we coulda met under more, er, pleasant circumstances, but Ah guess ya can’t ask for much in these parts.”
“No, I suppose not.” Twilight took a moment to make sure that her bags were secure. “Well, I guess I’ll get going now. Again, thank you for the apples. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Ah, don’t mention it,” Applejack said with a dismissive hoof. “It ain’t easy t’ grow ‘em, but we’ve got enough food to get us by.”
“And what about the, um, bandits?” Twilight asked.
Again, Applejack nonchalantly waved her hoof. “Don’t worry about us. Ah’ve got it covered. You’ve seen what Ah can do on that thing.” She pointed up at her makeshift crossbow. Just looking up at it again sent a chill down Twilight’s spine. And to think that she was on the business end of that thing.
“Right. Well, I suppose this is goodbye for now,” Twilight said.
“Yeah, Ah guess. See ya later, Twilight, and stay safe out there.”
“Thanks. You too.” After sharing a final nod, Twilight turned around and walked away from the farmhouse. Aside from the deep pit of anxiety boiling in her gut, she walked away from that entire situation feeling something else. Something warm. Something comforting through the layers and layers of despair. A beacon of hope. While her first impressions weren’t the best, Twilight saw something in Applejack that she’d only ever seen in Stockpile.
She saw a friend.
