Chapter 4: Sangoire Orchards
Sugar Sweet's Apple Treats confection shop, Two Days after the Ponyville Incident
An Alicorn, an Earth Pony farmer, and a Pegasus filly walked into a confectioner shop. Twilight grinned wryly, if this wasn't the beginnings of a joke, she didn't know what was. Sadly, the humor of the situation was lost on the pair of ponies that were behind the counter, clearly the filly's parents, given the red coat on the Earth Pony stallion and the rarity of the Pegasus mare in the town. The mare whispered something to her partner, then turned a nervous smile back on the Princess in the room, "Welcome to Sugar Sweet's Apple Treats, is there anything at all I can get for you tonight, your majesty? I have caramel apples, chocolate apples, fudge apples, red candied apples, sour candied apples-"
The mare was cut off by her daughter jumping up and down, getting extra air with little flaps of her wings, "The sour apples are the best! I made some just this morning, too, so they're still all fresh and a bit gooey, just like I like em." Candy seemed to have gotten into her element with the introduction of apples of the sweetened variety. Now that she wasn't cowering, a yellow apple dipped in a green candy coating was visible on her flank, clearly the sour apples in question were without compare.
Twilight grinned at the exuberance, "Thank you for the advice, Candy. I'll take one sour apple, then. How much do I owe?" She held up her hoof as the mare began the all too familiar dismissing wave, "I insist, I'd feel like I was taking advantage of you otherwise. Besides, I wouldn't want to just take things for free from the relatives of a friend. That would feel too much like mooching." She gave a friendly smile to answer the nervous one from the Pegasus. Bits were exchanged, and Candy was sent to get her namesake. She came back with three, one for both guests and one for herself. Twilight's eyes widened as she bit into it, then one of them twitched, "WOW! That's…" She coughed, "That's rough!"
The filly's ears went back, and the mare behind the counter flinched, "Is it not to your liking, Your Majesty? I can-"
"No no no," She coughed again, "I just wasn't expecting it to be so… STRONG! That's probably one of the best candied apples I've ever had, but when you said sour, you MEANT IT!" She laughed as she took another bite, her eye twitching and her mouth puckering a bit. It seemed to drain the tension that the room had slowly been building from the nervous mare behind the counter, but it instantly built back up a moment later.
"RAIDERS! RAIDERS ARE COMING IN FROM THE BADLANDS!" There were panicked screams and yelled instructions as those outside prepared to hide or fight. The ponies in the room looked up at each other, fear evident in every eye.
The mare swung open the gate to the back, "Candy, get in the cellar."
"But mommy, I-"
Twilight looked out the window, "Do as your mother says, Candy." The filly nodded and bolted to the back room, quickly followed by her mother.
Braeburn licked his lips nervously, "So, you can just Princess power us free of this, right?"
"I'm sorry, I've been out of magic for days, I haven't had a chance to rest and recharge since… since I left."
Braeburn nodded, "So it is true, them dragons attackin you back in Ponyville. Thought it was made up, seein as you're out travelin. Tell the truth, you ain't headin out to do research, are ya?"
Twilight looked up at the moon as it was rising, "Braeburn, I did something defending Ponyville. Something I never want to do again. I broke a law to drive off the dragons, a law older than the Sisters themselves, but I don't regret it. I regret that I'll never see my friends or family again, but not that I saved Ponyville."
Braeburn nodded, "Good, you shouldn't regret it, if it was done for good reasons. But, now ain't the time for talk, now we gots to get down to the Sheriff to help defend the town!" He bolted out the door, Twilight on his heels.
"But I already told you, I'm out of magic!"
Braeburn grinned, his hoof on the door to the sheriff's office, "The raiders don't know that, though!" He shoved the door open to find a good number of stallions arming up for the oncoming raiders. They all turned to look at the newcomers, and all eyes instantly went to Twilight, "Sheriff, I brought a tactical advantage for ya."
The sheriff whistled, "I'll say ya did. Probly won't even need to fire a shot with you here, Princess."
Twilight wilted slightly, "I'm sorry, Sheriff, I'm all tapped out. I haven't had any rest in two days, so I couldn't so much as conjure a light show to distract them."
The sheriff spit in the corner, "Well, that's unfortunate, but mayhaps ya won't need to, if we can convince em you COULD blast em from here to the sun… or… whatever it is you're the princess of. No offence."
Twilight perked up a little, "None taken. And I hope you're right…"
Canterlot Castle, Two days since the Ponyville Incident
Shining rushed through the halls, he had discovered something in his studies, already, and he had to find Twilight, and quickly. It had first come up during the final clash of the Silver Wing novel, but he had confirmed it with some further research. He had spent the remainder of that day formulating plans, then getting to Canterlot as fast as he could. It was vital that he get everything set up properly, and each moment wasted was a breath closer to his sister's potential death.
He rushed past a line of disgruntled and tired nobles waiting to petition the Night Court, and burst through the door, "Princess Luna, I have an urgent request regarding my investigation!"
Luna's eyes widened, "Everypony out!" She glared as the noble in front of her lifted his hoof, "EVERYPONY!" Her voice pushed him back a few feet on the polished marble before he turned tail and fled the room, her guards immediately, but much less fearfully on his tail, "What, pray tell, is so important, Captain and Prince Shining Armor?"
Shining took a deep breath, it was now time to attempt to fool the goddess of the moon, "I need you to make the nights longer for a short time. It would lower the resource requirements for a search mission into the Badlands, due to the temperature drop. It would also allow us to potentially ambush the… suspect in the dark, I believe."
Luna looked thoughtful for a moment, "And this wouldn't at all give Twilight an easier time surviving with the limited supplies she was able to gather and the lack of practical survival experience. Nor would it aid in her hiding from any investigators, would it?"
Shining swallowed, but kept his course, "I believe the risks are outweighed by the rewards, Maam."
He was rewarded with a smile, "Good, good. I trust your tactical decision in this, of course. I'll discuss it with my sister. Also, while we are on the subject of your investigation, I know that, as a class S mage, you are generally allowed to be considered a completely autonomous squad all by yourself, I am forbidding you from doing so during this mission." Shining flinched slightly, "That is why I have already assigned Silver Crescent to be your partner. She will go with you at all times, and you will assist each other in any case that may be required. The Badlands are a harsh place, and you may need her martial prowess to compensate in situations where magic is nullified."
She stood from her throne and walked down to the guard captain, putting her mouth close to his ear, "And, for future reference, when you are going to blatantly ask my help in assisting your sister, do so in private, and use more veiled language. You may not be mystically bound to the laws of my father, but some of us are not quite so lucky. We can only delegate to those that we know will perform in a way that aligns with what we actually want to happen. Now, I am pardoning you on your first offence, as is my right with this particular law, but Father was very specific with some of these things, and loopholes only work so well. Be cautious." She returned to her throne gracefully, "Oh, and your partner is not here yet, she was visiting family, so you will not be allowed to leave until tomorrow night, I apologize. Good night, Captain."
Edge of Appleoosa, Two Days since the Ponyville Incident
Twilight, Sheriff Silver Star, and Braeburn walked at the head of a group of armed ponies to meet the raiders at the edge of town. Twilight marched with a confidence that didn't reflect her internal turmoil, wings spread and head held high. Tonight, she was a Princess of Equestria, one of the four Goddesses in mortal form that would protect their subjects at all costs. The Raiders drew up more cautiously than they had started once it became clear that they would be facing off with something a bit more challenging than a group of Earth Pony farmers with cobbled together firearms.
Their apparent leader stepped forward, a black Pegasus with a white mane and a black western styled hat atop it. He removed the hat and bowed respectfully, "Well well well, I hadn't expected we'd be meetin royalty tonight. I'd have brushed up my old tux back at the hideaway. Really sweep ya off yer feet, if ya fancy. The name's Dark Wind, my beautiful dove. What brings a lovely little lady like yerself out to this here inhospitable spit'o desert? Come to pick you up a pretty cowpoke for yer collection, eh?" He gave a teasing grin as though he were her best friend poking fun at a childhood crush she had.
Twilight gave an indignant huff, "I am, in fact, here visiting good friends. Some of said friends have told me that you have been harassing them lately. Ransacking their stores and abducting their ponies. What have you to say for yourselves?"
Dark gave a friendly chuckle, "I'm terribly sorry, ma'am, we don't have real school trainin, so we don't rightly know what most'a them things is. Sad story, that, only learnin I really got was my father showin me manners. I learnt'em right well, though, I think."
"Well, to put it simply, you're stealing their things, and taking the ponies that live here. We want you to stop and return the ponies. If you don't, then I will be forced to intervene personally on their behalf."
Dark raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder, "Ya hear that? The Princess decided to get her hooves dirty protectin a bunch'o Dirt Ponies. Must be gold stored in these here storage sheds, eh?" There was a rumbling of discomfort from the seemingly nervous bandits, but Dark just chuckled, "I gotta ask, though, Miss Alicorn, what're ya gonna do if we don't?"
Twilight gritted her teeth at the disrespect for the honorable Earth Ponies, "Well, Mister Windy, I might have to blast you from here to the middle of the nearest ocean. You smell like you might need the wash."
Dark threw his head back and laughed a good hearty laugh, "Oh, that's perfect. Let me ask you one more thing, Princess, do you play Poker at all?" Twilight flinched, "Yeah, I thought not. Listen, you seem smart, you seem nice, and you're real pretty to look at, but I know what all three of the Alicorns look like, and you ain't one. I know I may look like some uncultured bumpkin to you, but if you're gonna cast a glamour to pretend you're a goddess, at least make yourself look like a real one. Not that you'll get the chance." He pulled a pistol with one of his wings and shot, the bullet grazing past Twilight's cheek, drawing red out like a burning trail of red fire.
Twilight hit the ground as bullets flew out from both sides, the Sheriff and Braeburn putting themselves between the bandits and their Princess. The group was chaos and shouting for several seconds before a small voice brought utter stillness, "Princess! Princess, I came to help you!" Every Appleoosan head whipped around to see the small candy apple red filly running towards the newly christened battlefield. For a split second there was no other movement besides the running hooves of the tiny filly, then there was a crack like a thousand claps of thunder as the tiny form fell and tumbled forward.
"CANDY!" Twilight couldn't tell who screamed the name, but it was more than just her as she ran to the side of the little Pegasus on the sand, one hoof under the little head, "Come on, you'll be okay. Don't die on me, Candy, you're still not old enough to go. You can't go yet, please." She pulled on her magic, but found nothing, so she pulled on the only thing she had, the blood flowing from her cheek, as she dared not use the filly's fading life force. Power flowed into the small body, doing everything it could to heal the bullet through the chest, but Twilight's scan had told her before she even tried what the result would be. She could feel the rage building, that same red mist that had told her all the dragons had to die was whispering to her again, and she felt that it was justified. These weren't some mindless creatures doing what instinct told them they had to do, these were ponies, acting on their own, and one of them had aimed far too low to have been shooting in self-defense. She looked up and saw Dark Wind holding a pistol out, a charming grin on his face, and the whispers turned to screaming.
Twilight could feel it, the life pounding in all the ponies gathered around her and Candy, and, more importantly, in the ponies staring with looks ranging from horror and revulsion to amusement and triumph. She stared at Dark as her rage boiled, and she wasn't even aware that she had stood up and began walking towards her. He held up his gun and said something in a smug voice, but Twilight had forgotten his language. His face turned to a frown and he yelled more gibberish, then fired. Twilight's mind didn't register the shot, but her magic did, and a tendril of bloody red shot out to consume the bullet like a viper on a mouse. The tendril recoiled, wrapping itself around Twilight protectively. Dark recoiled and screamed to his men, bullets fired from all their guns, but each of them connected with the newly formed cylinder of red mist that engulfed the princess.
Several of the bandits dropped their guns and turned to flee, but the mist screamed at Twilight that none of them could leave after what they did. Tendrils snaked from the injured among them, striking out like snakes, piercing legs and bodies, leaving each that tried to run crumpled on the ground, howling in pain. Dark watched in terror as his ponies fell all around him to the red ribbons, then turned back to the enraged Princess. He began pleading, but Twilight still couldn't hear his words. A ribbon sliced his leg, and another emerged from the wound, this one wrapping around his throat. Twilight lifted him off the ground, glaring at him as he choked. She pulled him to her face, staring him in the eyes, and she saw… fear.
The outright terror in the stallion's eyes broke the trance that the blood magic had over Twilight. Language and thought returned, and she heard the hoarse whisper of Dark begging for his life, talking desperately of a repentance for all previous misdeeds. She flung him bodily to the ground, "You're all despicable, but Celestia says that almost anything can, eventually, be redeemed. Only the fundamentally corrupted must be disposed of permanently. That's why I'm here. I've done something that makes me worse than you, but just remember. I am not, and never again will be, completely above coming back to finish this. Sheriff, take them away. I have to leave before I do something I regret." With that, the red mist enveloped her, and she was no more in Appleoosa.