Resparked

Pinkie Pie carefully added another stone to the stone pony she was building. This practice, deeply rooted in the earth pony tradition, honored her heritage.

Nearby, Applejack led Rainbow Dash through the first stages of relaxation training. Despite Rainbow's natural athleticism, which helped her learn the techniques quickly, Applejack was determined to make her stronger with additional training. It wasn't just about physical strength, but also about helping Rainbow find balance and resilience in the face of her challenges.

They stood together on the grass below the hill and made synchronized movements. They breathed in and out at the same time. It was balm for the soul, Applejack said. Rainbow Dash had a feeling that it wasn't just her mind that was relaxing.

Trixie thought it was complete nonsense, but Applejack ignored her mouthing in the meantime. The unicorn mare rolled her eyes and continued writing her daily report.

Rainbow Dash finished the exercise with one last rhythmic movement and stood there like a statue. Applejack was happy to see that.

“How ya feelin’, sugarcube?”, she asked.

“Nothing. I am completely empty, but I feel a certain loneliness.”

Applejack laughed and put his hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. “You still have us, Buddy!”

“I don't think this feeling only comes from myself.”

The corners of Applejack's mouth sagged in dismay. Rainbow Dash slumped onto the grass, strands of her mane cascading over her face. With a frustrated huff, she blew them aside.

"What do you think, AJ? What would Twi do if she was alive again?"

Applejack smirked a little. “Well, she’d do what she always did! She’d dig into her books, studyin’ and learnin’ all she could ‘bout friendship!”

Rainbow Dash grinned. “Of course she would!”

Trixie looked angrily at the two ponies and rolled up the parchment roll very roughly. “There, enough with the silliness! If we keep dawdling like this, we'll reach Dodge Junction tomorrow.”

The friends had visited the desert town of Dodge Junction once before, when Applejack had set his mind to looking for a job. Despite the dirty, muddy streets, the mares were glad to see some civilization. Next to Appleloosa, it was the second largest town in the desert.

They stood in front of the town's angular archway. The first saloons and stores were mostly made of wood and offered good quality goods. There was a boutique and a tool store where they looked around. The clothes store sold simple, cheap everyday clothing, where Rarity scored a bargain: a chic red coat.

“We’re on a journey of no return and you're buying clothes?” Trixie remarked.

“I disapprove of your tone! Who passes Dodge City a second time,” replied Rartiy.

The tool store was more interesting, not the store itself, but a customer. Applejack walked through the ringing door to buy a new rope when she suddenly found himself standing next to him. The rope she wanted to buy was suddenly forgotten. “Braeburn!?”

Applejack's yellow-furred cousin turned to her. His face turned into a mixture of joy and surprise. “Cous! What in tarnation are you doin' in this town?”

“I'd like to ask you the same thing,” replied Applejack.

Braeburn spotted her friends and avoided her cousin's gaze. “Howdy! You're here too!”

“Braeburn, I asked ya a question,” shouted Applejack.

“And who's that good-lookin' blue mare standin' there with ya?” Braeburn turned to Trixie, who puffed up proudly.

“Unimportant!” Applejack said shortly and Trixie glared at her.

“But what the hay are ya doin' here, Braeburn?” the farmer asked repeatedly. Braeburn sighed deeply and surrendered to his persistent cousin.

“Well, if it were that simple to explain to ya, AJ. I got a mighty urgent order from the Appleloosa mine. Need a wagon that can haul a heap of goods, that's all. But what 'bout you, cous'? What brings y'all here?”

“Well, if it were that simple to explain to ya…” Applejack purred Braeburn's words and he grumbled to himself.

“Good, let's meet at the saloon across the street after I buy the wagon.”

After half an hour's wait in the saloon “To the Dancing Monkey”, Braeburn came exhausted through the swinging doors, which rattled back and forth after he stepped through. Applejack was tired of the stench of fermented apple cider and wanted to finally get Braeburn to talk: “Well, here's the sitch, Applejack. The water well for the apple trees in Appleloosa's run bone dry ‘cause the waterway got blocked durin' the mine work. We can get it flowin' again, but we'll have to replant some of them apple trees. So, I'm lookin' for a sturdy cart and some good, new shovels and pickaxes to get the job done right. Can ya help a cousin out?"

Applejack was pained by this news. She wanted to help her cousin too much, if it wasn't for this thing with Twilight. In general, she wouldn't have been able to out of grief. No matter where you looked, bad news.

When Braeburn asked what she was up to, Applejack didn’t want to reveal too much, especially for Rainbow Dash’s sake. So, she simply told him that Twilight Sparkle had fought against an Ursa Major and tragically lost her life in the battle. Braeburn expressed his deep sorry for their loss.

Applejack looked Braeburn in the eye and said firmly, “And now, we’ve head to paradise to bring ‘er back.”

Braeburn reacted with astonishment. Even the gray bartender at the bar pricked up his ears. Braeburn looked at Applejack with wide eyes. “Y’all are doin’ this for Twilight? You’re leavin’ Equestria? Do ya even realize you might never come back, cous?”

Trixie crossed her hooves with a smile. Somehow, she agreed with this stallion.

“I’m aware of that!” Applejack replied.

Braeburn put his hat on his chest and prayed inwardly to Celestia that his cousin had not lost her mind. The old saloon keeper, hunched over on a blade of grass, came up to them. “I've heard that whoever enters paradise is considered gone. It is the entrance to the world of the dead. What's more, terrible creatures are said to guard the gates.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at the stallion unimpressed.

“So, is that supposed to scare us off?” asked Rainbow. She could see Fluttershy's intimidated face out of the corner of her eye.

“Is it worth dying for a deceased friend? You're all so young, why so wasteful?”

Rainbow Dash thumped her hoof on the round, wobbly table. The others flinched. “Of course! I saw what Twilight did, what she did for all of us, and she was senselessly and violently killed for it! I won't let it stand like that! She deserves her life back!”

The barman was so surprised by Rainbow's reaction that his culm fell out of his mouth. Then he had nothing more to say and returned behind the bar. Trixie looked at Rainbow Dash skeptically.

“Really, y’all oughta think this over again!” Braeburn said, his voice full of worry.

“We already have,” Applejack replied and stood up. “We’re gonna bring her back!”

Braeburn's eyes had grown watery, as if he already knew that his dear cousin was as good as dead.

Braeburn left the bar with his head hanging low. His stomach churned at the thought. Knowing Applejack, he realized she wouldn't be swayed from her path. She must have been desperate. Why wasn't she thinking about her brother and sister? Big Mac would be devastated, and Apple Bloom had always looked up to her big siblings. Applejack was really going to leave her family behind to bring back a friend. It just didn't seem like her.

He walked over to check on the new cart he had left next to the saloon. Suddenly, a terrible chill ran down his spine.

“Dang it, bloody thieves!” he cursed loudly and started running back. The brand-new wagon, along with the tools, had been stolen. He noticed a trail of wheel marks leading toward the mountains.

The friends sat on the stools in silence. Rainbow Dash was deep in thought. They had come so far now and the border of Equestria was within reach. She denied inwardly that paradise was a place of no return. She had to get there, there was no other way. But what if it was true? Trixie stared grumpily around the room.

Suddenly Braeburn stormed back into the bar, his nerves on edge. “My new wagon's been stolen!!!”

The stallion was simply desperate. He didn't have enough money for a new cart. Now he was sitting dejectedly on the cheap wooden stairs in front of "the Dancing Monkey". Applejack tried every way to comfort him while Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy investigated this case.

“The way it was stolen, the thieves were in quite a hurry!” said Rarity to the others.

“How in the hay am I supposed to get new tools to Appleloosa now? Our apple trees will wither away without 'em!” Braeburn complained.

Pinkie Pie looked thoughtfully at the streets, then turned to the farmer. “Poor Braeburn! We should help him!” She slapped her hoof on the other.

Rarity already suspected what she was up to. “You're not going to pull that ridiculous detective thing again!”

Pinkie Pie dug out a green plaid hat and put an old-fashioned pipe with bubbles coming out of it in her mouth. Rainbow Dash had something against the plan. “We can't! Even though I'd love to help, we have another mission!”

But the majority voted in favor, Trixie didn't care.

“Please Rainbow! Do it for the Apple family!” pleaded Applejack.

“Well, good! You outvoted me anyway.”

After a long chase, they reached the other side of the town. Pinkie Pie walked in circles with the magnifying glass pointed at the sand, then stopped and pointed at the gray mountains in the distance. The tracks in the sand led straight there. “That way! The car was dragged into those mountains!”

“This here's the Macintosh Mountains, right on the edge of the badlands. You ain't tellin' me those varmints went that way and got clean away, are ya?” Braeburn said. Applejack, however, disagreed. She tugged resolutely at her cowboy hat.

The sun was directly overhead, which meant that this was also the way to the distant paradise.

Braeburn left the little wagon to them. Pinkie Pie and Applejack pulled it with Trixie, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Rarity on board. Applejack promised Braeburn that he would bring the things back safely.

“Will ya promise not to head off to paradise too?” asked Braeburn.

But Applejack just looked at him sadly. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold it. “Sorry!" was all she said. Then the friends rode off south.

The vehicle rumbled through the desert landscape. Applejack and Pinkie Pie snorted vigorously. Rarity's coat flapped in the wind of acceleration. He had already gotten a bit of desert dust. The landscape became rougher. Then the trail disappeared. The ponies crossed a narrow pass. The pulling earth ponies slowed down as the path became uneven and the wagon rocked uneasily back and forth. Fluttershy felt sick.

Pinkie examined the rocks with a magnifying glass and came across solitary beetles and reptiles. Rarity searched the area with her horn, which worked like a radar thanks to the mineral resources in the rocks. “Looks like the thieves want to dig for gems themselves. I sense some in the area.”

“What makes you so sure?” said Trixie skeptically.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie's left front leg trembled as if it was going to take off on its own. Then he led the way himself. “Oh! I think they're that way!” Pinkie shouted. The cart started moving again.

The Macintosh Mountains were a chaotic collection of brown and gray rocks. At a steel bridge, a sign warned of unsafe terrain. From here, the ponies left the civilian area again. Thanks to Rarity and Pinkie Pie's senses, they got closer to the stolen wagon. Pinkie's hoof shaking became stronger, while Rarity revealed that the thieves had already found a source of diamonds.

Finally, they saw the wagon at the foot of a mountain in front of a small pine forest. It was standing there completely abandoned. "This looks suspicious!” Pinkie muttered.

The large cart was painted dark brown. The rims had gray metal casings. It certainly hadn't been cheap. Applejack confirmed this realization with a deep sigh.

Pinkie unbuckled himself from the small car to take a closer look. Obviously, a trap, but the ponies had no other choice. Trixie told them to be vigilant.

Pinkie Pie crept slowly towards the cart. It was loaded with the tools; the thieves hadn't used them yet. Something was wrong here. Suddenly her tail twitched, but it was too late. A large shadow landed in front of her and knocked the pink pony away. Her body skidded roughly across the ground and hit a fir tree. The needles rained down on her. The detective's cap and pipe flew away.

More attackers stood behind Applejack. A claw whizzed across her face and she lay on the ground. The small wagon shook and Rarity let out a hoarse scream: “You!?”

Fluttershy shrieked in fear, but Applejack didn't see what was happening. A clawed foot had planted itself on her head, making it impossible for her to move it. More dull thuds rang out. Rarity fell to the ground before Applejack's eyes. She had lost her coat. Now she crawled back with staring eyes, her face fixed on her tormentors.

Applejack heard Rainbow Dash gasp, either someone was holding her mouth shut or she was being strangled. The cart shook again, this time Trixie fell. Applejack dared a look. A brown, leathery foot stood on her, no doubt it was a fat dragon, much older and more vicious than Spike.

Rarity looked into the yellow eyes of a red, thin dragon.

“I thought as much! Six pathetic ponies!” he laughed and stomped towards the pale Rarity. He held Rainbow Dash in a headlock, who struggled in his merciless grip.

The dragon leaned over Rarity. “I know you two!”

Rarity recognized this dragon, he belonged to a gang that Spike also wanted to intrigue himself into. The red dragon had grown quite a bit since the last time.

“First those stupid Diamond Dogs and then you, it's going to be a party! I wonder if I should do the same to you as I did to them!”

He pointed between two fir trees. In the shadows of the branches, Rarity recognized two lifeless bodies that were barely recognizable.

“But since you embarrassed us like that during the phoenix hunt, I'd love to throw you into the lava!”

“How... uncivil!” gasped Rarity.

The young dragon gang, led by the red dragon they called Garble, dragged the ponies off to the Badlands. They took the two train carts with them. The dragon territory was a volcanic landscape, brightly lit by the red of the lava. The sky was dark from the ash and only let in a few rays of sunlight.

Setting up camp near a bubbling lava lake, far from the territory of the adult dragons, Garble's gang prepared to lay low. The five young dragons were in high spirits, reveling in their prize. They threw the ponies onto the gritty ground with no more regard than if they were tossing away old toys.

Rainbow Dash struggled fiercely against a burly purple dragon holding her down, her wings flapping desperately. But a brutal slap sent her sprawling into the dirt beside her friends. She landed hard, and tears welled up in her eyes. The usually unbreakable spirit of the Pegasus crumbled as she whimpered through clenched teeth. Garble's eyes gleamed with menace as he hissed a warning to Rarity and Trixie.

“Try any magic, and your friend is done,” he growled, claws poised threateningly over the trembling ponies. Rarity's horn flickered with suppressed energy, while Trixie bit her lip, anger and fear warring in her eyes. Pinkie Pie lay unconscious, her usually bouncy mane now limp and flat against her head, mirroring the hopelessness that seemed to seep into their hearts.

Applejack's heart ached seeing Rainbow Dash in tears. Her own eyes brimmed with unshed tears. The situation was grim, and the weight of despair was almost too much to bear. She glanced at her friends, beaten and subdued, and her thoughts turned to Twilight. They had come so far to save her, but now it seemed they might meet their end here, in this desolate, scorching land, for the mare they missed so dearly.