Chapter 2: The Khalari Desert

Applejack squinted to keep the harsh desert sun from blinding her. In every direction she saw the same thing: mountains of sand. An occasional breeze of hot air swept some of it around, and that was the only variation she ever saw. The blue sky, which was a painful reminder of water, was barren. A cloud of any size, as long as it could provide shade, would have been a blessing. “Sure hope the others are okay,” she whispered to herself.

Maybe Twilight’s spell had worked, maybe it hadn’t, but right now Applejack couldn’t care less. Her only concern was getting her and the pink mare lagging behind to safety, wherever that was.

“Applejack,” Pinkie panted and dropped her saddlebag onto the sand, “can’t we take a break? We’ve been walking all day.” She opened the bag and searched for a snack, but even she thought the sweets inside looked unappetizing. Right now, nothing sounded more delicious than a tall glass of cold water.

“Sorry Pinkie, but we should keep moving.” Applejack gave the dunes another despairing look and whispered, “We need to keep moving.”

As Applejack trudged down the hill, Pinkie struggled to put the bag back on. It felt so heavy, and at last, Pinkie abandoned it to catch up with her friend.

The day dragged on, getting hotter every minute, but the nights were just as bad. During the burning hours of the day, they’d pant and sweat profusely; at night, however, they shivered together, doing their best to keep the other warm. It was Pinkie’s idea to bury herself under the sand for warmth, but that proved a terrible idea. A gust storm had buried her under so much sand that Applejack had to dig her out. By the time they’d gotten moving again, the desert had warmed to a blistering temperature. The two had to tread lightly or their hooves would sink too deep and the sand would burn their skin.

“Ow, owwowowowowow," Pinkie exclaimed after she tripped face first into the sand. Her face felt like it had been set on fire, and rubbing her cheeks did little to soothe her pain. She looked to her friend for support, but she was hurrying away. Pinkie was ready to ask what she’d seen, but then she saw the well.

Pinkie summoned her strength and bounded after Applejack, who was already peering into the well. And what luck- A rope was hanging over the edge just waiting for somepony to pull it up. Together they bit down and took turns pulling the rope up. She could almost taste the sweet liquid in her mouth.

“I’ve never been so happy ta’…” Applejack’s joy died away as Pinkie gave the rope one last tug and raised the pale to the surface. It was full of sand. A weak croak escaped her throat and she lowered her head in dismay. One tear, her last, ran down her cheek and evaporated before it hit the ground. She wanted to crawl into the well and sulk until the end, but she felt a hoof settle on her shoulder and Pinkie hold her close.

“Keep moving, right?”

Applejack was silent for the rest of the day, despite Pinkie’s attempts to cheer her up. Pinkie spent hours singing songs that not only weren’t uplifting, but aggravating. When the moon had risen above a large sand dune, Applejack finally turned to her and shouted, “Pinkie, fer once shut yer darn mouth!”

Applejack immediately apologized, and Pinkie forgave her, but she still felt ashamed. All Pinkie was trying to do was cheer her up, and she’d paid the kindness by nearly biting her head off. Applejack just wanted to get them home. It had only been two days, but she longed to see her family again. Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, they were waiting for her, and she was going to see them. And Pinkie was getting back to Sugarcube Corner!

All through the night and into the morning, Applejack told herself that, but it was no use. The scorching sun beat her down until, finally, she couldn’t go on. They were going to die here.

Pinkie wasn’t sure how long they’d been lying in the heat, and when she opened her eyes, the glare coming from the dunes nearly blinded her. Her mouth was filled with sand, but it was too dry to spit out. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and go to sleep, but something else was telling her to get up. She had to know what was on the other side of the dune before her…The large, towering, white hot dune.

She drove those thoughts from her mind and pushed herself to her feet. Getting to the top of that hill was the most difficult task she’d ever faced. More than once her legs gave out and her skin burned horribly, but she couldn’t stop. She mustn’t stop.

With a grunt, Pinkie forced herself to the top and gasped at the sight. There, amidst the ocean of white and red, was a town. “Applejack,” she whispered dryly. Her head turned to the orange body below her and Pinkie collapsed to the base of the hill. “Applejack,” Pinkie whispered again as she moved to her side.

The mare didn’t move.

“Applejack…Applejack, wake up.”

Pinkie shook the mare and listened for a breath. She couldn’t hear one.

“Applejack, can you hear me?” she panicked.

Again, there was no response.

“Please wake up Applejack,” Pinkie begged. If there was any water left for tears, she would have been sobbing. “Applejack, please don’t leave me, I need you.”

When the mare gave no reply, Pinkie dropped to her knees, ignoring the burning, and held Applejack’s head as she wept. In a hoarse, nearly inaudible whisper, she heard, “Pinkie? That you?”

“Yes, it’s me,” she cried in relief.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save us sweetie,” Applejack said weakly.

Pinkie stroked her friend’s mane and held her tighter. “It’s alright, but you need to get up. We’re almost there.”

“What’re ya’ talkin’ about?”

“I saw a town,” she said excitedly.

“It’s probly jus’ a mirage.”

“But it might not be,” Pinkie argued. “We should see, just to be sure.”

Applejack pushed Pinkie away and dropped back into the sand. She closed her eyes and sighed weakly. “Face it Pinkie, we’re not gettin’ out’a this one.”

“Now that’s not the Applejack I know,” Pinkie said and pushed Applejack upright. “She’d never quit this easily; in fact, I’ve never known her to quit anything at all.”

Pinkie let her friend lean against her and nuzzled her neck reassuringly. “We’ll do this together, alright? Just put one hoof in front of the other…that’s it,” she said encouragingly, “you’re doing it.”

The trek up and down the hill was a long and arduous process, but Pinkie refused to give up. Applejack had been there for her countless times, and Pinkie’d be darned if she let her friend down now. Not even the blistering desert, with its blinding white hot sand that radiated heat, would stop her.

“Where is everypony?” Applejack asked as they came into town. It bared a striking resemblance to Appaloosa, but it felt utterly foreign.

“I don’t know,” Pinkie said uneasily. A large stone statue of a pegasus stood in the center of the town. One wing was spread out proudly while only a stump remained of the other. The unfurled wing cast a shadow on a small colt between the stallion’s forelegs, and an inscription on the base read, “’Our sacrifices determine who we are.’”

On the other side of the statue was, to their relief, a watering hole, and the two hurried inside. Applejack couldn’t hold it any longer and dropped to the floor. At least it wasn’t that hot. “Hang on AJ,” Pinkie said and headed for the counter in the back.

It was a large building, large to seat a dozen wooden tables, and the fans hanging from the low ceiling provided a welcome breeze. The one downside was the white glare that shined through the windows and entrance. The light was too much for Pinkie, and she pulled the flowered curtains by each window on her way to the back. With each curtain, the room felt a little cooler.

The shelf behind the counter was barren, save for a few bottles. Pinkie uncorked and sipped every one, only to cringe at the awful taste. Alcohol was no stranger in Equestria, but these drinks were stronger than anything she’d ever tasted. She set each one back and coughed as she tried a bottle of whiskey. There was no way these ponies could survive out here on this stuff; there had to be water around somewhere.

Pinkie searched under the counter and found a dozen mugs and some broken glass. Somepony must have dropped a glass bottle in a panic. Beneath the shards, to her curiosity, was a metal ring attached to the floor. She carefully swept the glass away and pulled on it, revealing a hidden compartment. It was large enough for two or three ponies, maybe more if the barrels inside were removed.

Her heart raced as she dropped down and pulled the nearest spigot. It was bone dry, as well as the four next to it. Only one remained, and Pinkie was almost too scared to pull its spigot. At last, Pinkie took a deep breath and pulled. “Thank Celestia!” she exclaimed and held her mouth under the running water. It was more delicious than anything she’d ever baked. If it was up to her, she would have emptied the barrel for herself, but then she remembered her friend and tore away.

Pinkie grabbed the cleanest mug she could find and filled it to the brim. Every drop that spilled over felt like a death sentence for her friend. Cautiously, she set it by Applejack and nudged her side. “I found water,” she said gently.

Applejack tried to respond, but could only manage an incoherent mutter. Wasting no more time, Pinkie held Applejack’s head up and tilted the mug. The sight of her friend nursing the water like a foal made Pinkie want to cry. She’d come so close to losing her best friend.

“How do you feel?” she asked once Applejack had finished the glass.

“Kind’a hungry now that ya’ mention it,” Applejack joked. She tried to stand, but Pinkie held her down.

“Wait here,” Pinkie told her. “I’ll see what I can find.”

Pinkie refilled her friend’s mug and searched for something to eat. She’d been so focused on water that she’d completely forgotten how hungry she was. The growl of her stomach was loud enough to make Applejack raise her head in concern. “Everything’s a-okay,” Pinkie reassured and went back to searching. A bowl of peanuts, something, anything would be welcome. For a fleeting moment, she even considered swallowing a mouthful of dirt; Applejack, however, advised against it.

Once she’d thoroughly overturned the first floor, she ascended a staircase to keep looking. On the last step, her knee began twitching violently, and she looked down at it quizzically. What could her Pinkie Sense be telling her? There couldn’t be anything scarier than the loss of a friend.

Pinkie looked out a nearby window and paused at the stone ponies. The statues still looked as elegant and powerful as before, only now, waves of heat were wafting off of them. It only improved their image; despite the hell they were standing in, they didn’t let it change them. The two also had a clear view of the desert, as if they were looking at a formidable enemy. Anypony that chose to live out here must have been brave.

The white desert certainly seemed scary to Pinkie. It had taken her and Applejack in and done everything in its power to crush them. This town, however, was a savior, and the statues were its protectors. Pinkie gave the desert one last glance and turned away, but something in the distance made her stop.

It was difficult to make out the silhouettes coming toward her, and the glare of the desert certainly wasn’t helping. As the figures galloped past the first building, she felt the air escape her lungs. A unicorn and an earth pony, each covered in white sheets, were heading for the watering hole. A metal cage levitated behind them as they ran.

Without hesitation, Pinkie rushed downstairs and pulled Applejack to her feet. “C’mon AJ, we need to hide!”

“What’s-”

“No time,” Pinkie interrupted and hurried her friend upstairs. “We need to hide now!”

The stairs led to a small hallway lined with four doors, and Pinkie rushed to the farthest from the entrance. She bit onto the doorknob and twisted it frantically before rushing her friend inside. What they found inside made Pinkie gag.

They were standing in a child’s room, and a dead body lied in the center. The stallion had a bullet hole in his forehead, but any blood had dried up days ago. Maggots wriggled in his skull as flies swarmed around his mouth. What was left of his eyes stared into Pinkie’s soul, and she heaved violently.

Pinkie averted her gaze, pushed Applejack to the bed, and followed her underneath. The foul smell of the rotting corpse filled her nostrils, and even after she’d covered her nose, it lingered horribly. She wanted to scream, but the clopping of hooves on wood warned her not to.

Pinkie barely stifled a yelp as Applejack held onto her hoof. “Giggle at the ghosties, right?”

“Mmmhmm,” Pinkie nodded beneath her hooves. She squeezed closer to Applejack and breathed the rhythm of the old song.

“Fuck it’s hot,” a voice shouted from below.

“Yeah, just imagine what summer’s gonna’ be like,” another responded. “Let’s take a thirty minute break and head out.”

“Can’t we stay till the night?”

“Hell no! I’ve been waiting to see Blitz for months and I’ll be damned if I miss him.” Pinkie could hear hoofsteps heading for the water. She’d forgotten to close it. “Woah, woah, woah.”

“What?”

“We’re not alone,” the voice whispered. Pinkie squeezed tighter as the stallions ascended the steps and bucked the first door. She breathed the melody louder and tried to remember the words, but the vision of her and Applejack being shot like the stallion refused to leave.

Another door was kicked in and Pinkie broke into tears. The hoofsteps moved closer and the third door was bucked in. Applejack held her hoof tighter than ever. Pinkie abandoned the song and struggled to keep from crying out.

A violent thud pounded on Pinkie’s eardrums as the door of the child’s room flew off its hinges and splintered against the wall. Pinkie held her breath as four legs wrapped in white cloth walked inside. They paused at the dead body, stepped over, and proceeded to the bed.

Without warning, the mattress was swept into the air and Applejack lunged. The mare barely made it off the ground before the unicorn tossed her across the room. “Hello,” he greeted and ripped their Elements from their necks.

“It’s our lucky day!” the earth pony cheered while he restrained Applejack. “Break’s over.”

The unicorn lifted Pinkie and her friend into the air and carried them to the metal cage outside. Applejack thrashed and bucked at the earth pony, who leaned in close to taunt her before ducking away. “Pretty feisty, this one,” he told the unicorn.

“Put us down right now!” Applejack ordered.

The stallion unlocked the cage and tossed the mares inside. “There, I put you down,” he said smartly.

“Please let us go,” Pinkie begged between sobs.

“When I get out’a here you’ll be sorry!” Applejack shouted and bucked the cage furiously.

“I’m terrified,” said the earth pony as he attached his harness to the cage. Applejack gave the bars another violent buck as the unicorn lifted the cage into the air.

“Help!” Pinkie screamed as they were carried back into the desert. “Somepony, please help us!”

It was no use. Nopony was coming.