A New Begining

Chapter 10: Past Horrors

"W-What?" Applejack exclaimed. She, and he five friends were standing at a cliffs edge, looking down upon a small town. Trees lined both sides leaving a small clearing. A faint breeze blew through her mane, bringing with it the sweet smells of apple pie. AJ’s mouth watered, but she soon forgot the irresistible temptation when her gaze drifted to her right. Parked there looked to be a humongous black carriage. It had four doors and the back of it was empty, leaving room to place large items in it. The wheels were made of thick black rubber. But what really caught her attention were two humans laying on the front of it, staring up into the clear blue sky. The boy was John, but the other one AJ didn’t recognize.

"John, why do you have to move?" Her mellow voice was filled with sorrow; her eyes reflected it too. "It’s not fair, it’s not your dad’s fault he can’t get a job. It’s just not fair." She sighed and gripped Johns hand in hers.

"Ah know, but..." he sighed too. "Ah’ll stay in touch, no matter what."

"I know you will, just, come back to me. Please." She rested her head on his chest, her blond hair cascaded down his chest. "I’ll miss you."

"Ah’ll miss ya too." He wrapped his arms around her, and together they sat, staring off into the empty sky. A flash of light streaked across the sky, followed by a roar of booming thunder. The two humans whipped their heads in the direction of the noise, and listening intently for any other noise.

"John, what was that?" she hopped off the front of the black carriage along with John.

"Get in the truck Elizabeth." She objected at first, but after another crack of thunder she hurriedly climbed in the passenger seat. John strode over to the edge of the cliff and peered out towards where the flash of light had come from. The earth shifted under his feet, knocking him off balance. Raging fires consumed the forests and towns nearby. Meteorites crashed down and destroyed anything the fires could not reach.

John ran for the truck and climbed in beside Elizabeth. The truck roared to life and sped away, then another meteorite crashed right in front of them. It sent them flying backward with the truck upside down in the dirt.

"Elizabeth!" John screamed with horror. "No, no, no, no, no." A large jagged piece of the windshield was protruding from her chest and trickles of blood ran down her face. She weakly turned her head to face his and smiled at him.

"Go get them tiger." She whispered; then her breathing faded to nothing. John screamed a menacing roar. The door to the truck blew off and clattered across the torn earth. He stepped out, rage burned in his heart and soul. Darkness consumed him until he was pitch black. He let out one more scream, louder than the last. The darkness shot straight up and tore the land around him.

"YOU WILL DIE ARAK’ARAHM!! AAAAH!!"

Applejack blinked, she was no longer on the cliff side with younger John. Instead she was in a black void, standing on nothing. "That was...um...different." Twilight couldn’t find the right words.

"Ya, I wonder what happened." Rainbow muttered to herself.

Pinkie Pie’s hair had deflated and she seemed to have lost her color. "John lost the love of his life; that’s not fair."

"Now, before we proceed, do any of ya have any question?" Everypony turned around to see where the voice was coming from. It was John and like always, his features were emotionless and dull. "Now ya know what happened ta mah race."

"What does any of that have to do with you not wanting to use your power?" Twilight asked as everypony nodded their head in agreement.

"Mah power..." he paused, "is the reason Arak’arahm came in the first place. He wanted mah power." He folded his arms. "Any other questions?" The ponies shook their heads. "Ok then, let’s go."

AJ blinked, they had gone somewhere else again. This time, it wasn’t as cheery. It was dark, very dark, but faint light from the moon made it easier slightly easier to see. There was a blizzard, though strangely enough Applejack couldn’t feel the biting cold she thought she would have. She looked around, her right were towering mountains, to her left, were millions of lifeless trees. It didn’t feel right to her; it felt dead. There was a noise in the trees. AJ crouched so she would not be seen, though what would do her little good. Emerging from the forest was a man, as John had called them, wrapped tightly in coats and clothes. Strapped across his back was the long weapon John had shown them this morning, along with his sword on his hip. There was also a canister and a tube running to his mouth. He wore a pair of goggles that he often wiped clean of ash and snow. The human paused as he stared off into the mountains. A puff of white steam shot out of his face mask and dissipated in the wind.

The human cocked his head from side to side and unstrapped his "gun" from his back. He held it ready as he strode into the depths of the mountain. AJ followed, still crouching for some odd reason. Then she stood up the rest of the way and trotted in after him. The mountains were like nothing she had ever seen. On each side towering cliffs rose of her, piled high with ash and snow. In a few places, the skeleton of an animal was hangin off a ledge or right in front of her. She let out a yelp that echoed throughout the canyon. She would have thought for sure the human would have heard, but he kept on his way as if nothing had happened.

They were further in now; AJ estimated about an hour since they had entered. The man crouched behind a rock and brought the scope to his eye. He lowered the gun and pulled out a black cylinder which he screwed on to the end of his gun. Aiming his gun again the human took a deep breath, then pulled the trigger. He pulled it again and again, and soon after each shot an unearthly scream would echo. The human stood up and trotted over to where the screams had come from.

AJ followed, trying to keep up with the humans long legs. It was a far shot he had just preformed, because it had taken at least ten minutes of running until he finally stopped. Lying before them, were the corpses of—AJ gulped—laying right there on the ground was a manticore. No doubt it looked different from the ones they had in Equestria, but it was still a manticore nevertheless. She pulled her eyes from the body, back at the human. He had his sword drawn now, and he was slowly advancing toward a crevice in the mountain. It was then she looked back for the comfort of her friends, but they weren’t there. A blizzard and mountain was all that remained. She gulped again and followed closely behind.

It was pitch black in the depths of the rocky prison. The one source of sanctuary was the small flashlight held in the humans gloved hands, its beam, lighting the path before them. Again the humans mask puffed out white fog, which could be heard echoing throughout the cavern. Otherwise it was quiet; it was an unnerving silence that engulfed them. Further off in the distance, through unnatural opening in the cave wall, shone the yellow light of torches. AJ felt a feeling of comfort from the fires; but not when the human crouched lower and walked slowly toward it. The clomping if her hooves reverberated off the walls, she winced even though she knew no one could hear her.

The human pressed his back against one of the pillars making up the entrance. He removed his mask and set it down, along with the tank, on the ground. Taking a deep, foggy breath, he continued through the archway. AJ peered around the edge then followed after him. It was a room they had walked into. Torches lit every corner of the room. Old books and relics lined the shelves along with rickety old furniture in the middle of the room. A deep throaty chuckle came from the far corner. The figure turned around, showing himself to be a human too. Though plainly older than AJ by many years, the old man walked with graceful strides toward a wooden table.

"So, Soulslayer. You’ve come at last." His voice was deep and marked him as powerful.

"Don’t call me that." The other human threatened. "Mah name is John." AJ’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. She had been with John this entire time. Walking across the room, AJ sat to view what happened next.

"Oh yes, that’s right, you think you have a say in what you are. How pleasant." John eyes turned black. Sparks of black lightning ran up and down the blade of his sword.

"Now it’s time ah take you down." John stated as he rushed to the man. In an instant, the man pulled a potion out from his thick blue cloak and threw it at the ground. With that a swirling portal grew out of the stone floor, sucking John in. "AH WILL GET YOU YET ARAK’ARAHM!! YOU JUST WAIT."

"I plan on it Soulslayer." He chuckled menacingly as the portal closed. "And you." He pointed a gnarled old finger at Applejack. She looked around confused, wondering who he was talking to. "Applejack," he said slowly. "I see you’re doing a little dream walking yourself." He laughed again. "Please tell John when you wake up that, I’m back."

With a scream AJ woke up, writhing on the floor of the bedroom. Her five friends were staring at her in horror. She struggled up to her hooves and saw John still lying on the bed. Celestia gave her a questioning look.

"AJ, what in Equestria happened to you?" Twilight asked. "After John’s apocalypse, we all woke up, but you. You wouldn’t wake up. What happened in there?" AJ stared at John, her vision getting blurry, until she finally collapsed on the floor. Rarity gasped and the five friends looked at their princess for assistance. She just looked at them, unsure of the events that had taken place herself.

"Um..." she began. "Lay Applejack on the bed beside John. I’ll have one of the servants come in and take care of them." She strode toward the door. "Until they awaken, I suggest you five get some sleep yourselves. Good evening." Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow followed her out the door. Twilight stayed a moment longer, then left herself. What happened in there? She wondered. She closed the door and left the two alone to rest.