Chapter 12:

'Honesty and Bravery'

Applejack continuously dwelled on the events that had transpired yesterday. Her little sister, Apple Bloom, and her friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, were foalnapped by Blitz Bolt, the silver Pegasus with the short spiky mane and tail. She wanted nothing more in the world right now than to see her sister again, to give her a big hug tell her how sorry she was that she wasn't there to protect her like an older sister should.

Of course, another part of her wanted to find Blitz Bolt and strangle him to death. The silver Pegasus made a major enemy out of her and her friends, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna included.

She recalled the short conversation she had with Princess Celestia earlier in the morning. The Princess had told her not to worry about her little sister, and only to focus on finding her Element, as she assured Applejack that Apple Bloom would be okay. The Princess also stated back then that if by some chance she were to encounter one of the Iron Five, she was to avoid them if possible.

In all honesty, Applejack would have no problem avoiding them. If it was Blitz Bolt however, she had no idea if whether or not she'd be able to hold herself back from beating him up. She didn't doubt for a second that she would encounter one of them. The last one she wanted to encounter was Vanisher, as she was told that the blind and silent Unicorn had given both Celestia and Luna a tough fight.

"Ah can feel mah Element comin' from this direction..." She said to herself as she stopped for a moment to look around. "Somethin' about this place seems familiar though...ah think ah might have been here before."

True enough, the area she was in looked very familiar to her. A large open field, nothing but dirt, dirt and more dirt.

Concentrating on her Element, she followed the direction she could feel it calling from.

She took a quick moment to look at the pink bow that was tied to her mane, Apple Bloom's bow. "Don't worry little sis', ah swear, no matter what happens, ah will save ya."

Trying to focus on her Element was hard when the thoughts of Apple Bloom continued to enter her mind. No matter how much she tried to focus, she just couldn't stop thinking about her little sister. Nopony could blame her to be honest. After all, her little sister was foalnapped by a sadistic Pegasus who follows a cruel and ruthless conqueror who has defeated and killed all who have stood in his path. Knowing that, it'd be a miracle if Apple Bloom was able to stay sane.

There was a nice clean river nearby, Applejack took a moment to rest and get a nice wash, considering it was really hot thanks to the sun. She had placed her hat and Apple Bloom's bow by a large rock while she let herself float in the water.

"Ah wonder how the others are doin' right now..." She muttered to herself as she looked up at the light blue sky. "Ah'm pretty sure Twilight's already found her Element by now. Ah wouldn't doubt Fluttershy is probably still lookin' for hers too." She closed her eyes and let herself drift away in her thoughts.

One of the important questions going through her head was, what happens after they get back the Elements? Do they wait until the Iron Empire makes their move? That was honestly the only thing they could do after finding the Elements. After all, they had no idea where the Empire's main stronghold was. Whatever it was that Celestia and Luna were discussing with Dusk, she hoped it involved saving her sister.

She knew finding the Element was important, and that resting right now was only wasting time, but she couldn't afford to exhaust herself. If she ran into one of the Iron Five, she needed to be fully prepared and ready.

Deciding she stayed in long enough, she got out and let herself dry off. After putting her hat and bow back on, she focused on her Element again before going in the same direction as earlier.

Atleast thirty minutes must have went by after leaving the river, and finally, Applejack could feel her Element getting closer and closer with every step she took. Cutting through a few trees, she eventually came to another large dirty field. "Again...very familiar..." She muttered as she headed out.

Heading further out, her connection was getting much stronger. Finally, she arrived at the exact spot she could feel it in. The only problem was, she couldn't see it.

"Where is it? Ah swear ah can feel comin' from this exact spot." She said as she looked around.

Again, she looked around but couldn't see it anywhere. She looked harder, she even went on further ahead, but that was no good either. She went back to the exact same spot where the connection was at its strongest. Still though, no Element in sight.

"Where IS IT?!" She stomped her hoof on the ground...and ended up clutching her hoof in pain when she struck something hard. After blowing on her hoof, she looked down and noticed a small sparkling light in the ground.

Eyes widening, she wiped some of the dirt away and started kicking herself for not noticing earlier. There in the dirt, was a gold necklace with an apple-shaped gem. Her Element.

"About time ah found ya! Can't believe ah didn't realise it sooner!" Applejack said as she wiped away the rest of the dirt.

Just as she was about to pick it up however, a small boulder came flying towards her. With no time to pick up the necklace, she leaped out of the way. "WHOA!"

The boulder just barely missed, landing right behind her.

"Phew!" Applejack took in a deep breath of relief before turning to the source of the boulder. "Ah shoulda figured ah'd run into ya again!"

Emerging from the trees, was a large blue Earth Pony. There were bandages around his chest and legs and he wore an eyepatch over his right eye. He glared at her with his one piercing yellow eye before slowly making his way towards her, each step he took was hard and loud. "I ain't surprised that I'd run into you. But I suppose I should be grateful, after all, I still owe ya for that kick when we first met."

Applejack got to her hoofs and narrowed her eyes at Air Break as he stopped a good distance away from her. She looked down and noticed her Element was in between them, the two of them were at equal distance away from it. "So Air Break...ah'm guessing yer pals are also lookin' for the other Elements too?"

Air Break narrowed his eye back at her. "That's right, and I'm here to take yours, as I'm sure ya noticed." He took a step forward, she did the same. "You don't stand a chance against me Applejack, so I suggest that you do yourself the biggest favour of your life and just leave right now." He said with a slight growl in his voice.

"If ya think ah'm jus' gonna let ya have mah Element, ya got another thing comin' partner!" Applejack replied.

The two glared at each other, narrowing their eyes at the Element between them and then back at each other. Applejack kept a confident look on her face, Air Break however looked like he was ready to explode.

Neither of them moved. They remained in the same position for a good few minutes. It was just like one of those western standoffs, only this time the two Ponies who were facing each other were after a necklace and not trying to kill each other. Then again, Air Break probably still intended to kill her.

"Your move." Air Break said with a grin.

Applejack smirked. "Alright then...partner." She raised her hoof up and tipped her hat down a bit.

The wind blew against their manes and tails, making them dance in the air as the two continued to stare each other down.

"DRAW!" Applejack shouted and immediately sprinted towards her Element.

Air Break rushed towards the Element aswell. Because of his muscular body though, he was much slower, which gave Applejack a head start.

Just as the mare had reached the necklace and picked it up from the ground, she saw Air Break sliding towards her. He rammed into her, swinging his hoof forward and knocking the Element out of her hoofs.

The two watched as it landed not far away from them. Getting back to their hoofs, they turned and glared at each other, after which, Air Break started swinging his hoofs at her.

Though Air Break was stronger, Applejack was much, much faster, thanks to her shorter height. She dodged every punch he threw and more, eventually she saw an opening and managed to land a good hit on his side.

Air Break grinned however, the hit barely fazed him. He then swung his hoof at her again, but she ducked just in time, almost losing her hat. Jumping around him, Applejack quickly positioned herself and kicked him with her rear hoofs just like she usually bucks a tree.

She got a perfect hit on his side again, but this only forced him back a few steps. Air Break let a low growl as he glared at her. "You're really annoying, you know that?"

Applejack fully turned to him and smirked. "Not mah fault ya can't hit me."

Air Break narrowed his eye at her. "Consider yourself lucky Applejack! If it wasn't for these injuries that I'm still recoverin' from, I'd crush you in less than a second!"

"Well partner, you deserved 'em after what ya tried ta do yesterday." Applejack replied. "And considerin' your pal Blitz Bolt foalnapped mah little sister and her friends, those injuries are the least of yer worries."

No reply came from the blue Pony, instead he just glared at her. Applejack continued. "Speakin' of which, atleast have the decency ta tell me how mah little sis' is doin' Air Break."

Deciding to satisfy her with an answer, Air Break said, "Your little sister is doin' just fine, all three of the fillies are fine in fact. You should be grateful that Cloud Hunter offered to watch after 'em, because if he didn't, well, let's just say neither I nor Kickback would have stopped Blitz Bolt from doin' what he wanted to 'em." He said with a grin.

Applejack narrowed her eyes at him. "How can ya say that? Why do things like scarin' fillies and killin' other Ponies make you so...so thrilled?"

Air Break chuckled. "When you've been through the kind of life that me and the others have, you tend to enjoy watchin' others suffer. I still remember the day when I killed my first Stallion, ah, the look on his face as I was about to finish him off...priceless."

Feeling her anger rising, Applejack said, "Yer a monster! Ya'll are monsters!"

Air Break looked at her, his eye was showing an emotion Applejack never thought she'd see in him, sadness. "Monsters? You're gonna call us monsters?" Looking at the ground for a second, he glared back at her, his eye showing complete and utter rage. "What do you know?! You've never been through what WE'VE been through! You Applejack, you and your sister, and ALL of your friends, every last one of you had it easy! YOU STILL DO!"

Applejack was taken aback by his sudden outburst. Air Break took a step forward. "You grew up with parents who didn't throw you away! You grew up with a family who accepted you for who and what you were! They didn't throw you away because of it! They accepted it! They adored you! They weren't afraid of you! They kept you by their sides instead of giving you away in an attempt to change you against your will!"

Air Break started to pant heavily as he unleashed his onslaught of words at her. Applejack, meanwhile, just stared at him in shock. "Air Break..."

Glaring back at her, Air Break said, "You and all of your friends had your lives from the very beginning. As for us...we were GIVEN our lives."

She found herself taking a step towards him. After what she had just heard, she started to feel an emotion rising up inside her. Pity.

"Air Break...ah...ah didn't think..." Applejack was about to continue but found her attention being dragged by something at the corner of her eye.

Something was standing over the Element. Its back was facing her so she was unable to make it out. "Yes...YES! This apple-shaped gem will do nicely! A necklace too! What a treat!" It said. It was a voice Applejack was actually familiar with.

Air Break turned to it and narrowed his eye. "What's that?" After seeing it pick up the Element, he shouted. "HEY! THAT'S MINE! DROP IT IMMEDIATELY!"

When it turned to them, Applejack finally realised why the area she was in was so familiar. The thing standing before them was Rover, one of the Diamond Dogs. "Ah great, not this again!"

Rover grinned at Applejack. "I remember you! You were with the Pony who cheated us out of all of our gems! I'll take a wild guess that this is yours?"

"Yer darn tootin' right it's mine!" Applejack said.

Air Break stepped forward. "No! It's mine!"

Rover looked back and forth at them before snickering. "Well then...TOO BAD! It's mine now!"

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Air Break rushed towards the dog...only for the ground to collapse beneath him.

Applejack watched as the blue Pony fell into a small hole. She glared back at Rover and said, "Ah suggest ya give it back right now! Or else!"

"Is it important?" Rover asked.

Applejack nodded. "Yer darn right it's important."

"Then I'm definitely not going to give it to you!" He snickered again.

Refusing to let him get away with the Element, she sprinted towards him. The ground beneath her collapsed, but she already saw it happen to Air Break so she was able to avoid falling into a hole. As soon she reached the dog, she raised her hoof at him. "Don't me repeat mahself! Give it to me now!"

Rover stepped back and snickered again.

Their attention was then caught by Air Break, who jumped out of the hole he fell in. "Now you're gonna pay." He said as he slowly approached the two.

Rover backed away a little. "You're a tough one aren't you?" He turned to Applejack. "This your big coltfriend? You gonna get him to beat me up eh?"

Applejack and Air Break's eyes widened when he said that. After facing each other, they quickly looked away, blushing madly. "N-Not even close!" Applejack said.

Air Break glared back at Rover. "Now shut up and give me the necklace!"

Snickering at them again, Rover whistled.

It was only after something behind them appeared from the ground that Applejack remembered. "How could ah forget-" She turned and found herself staring into the eyes of Spot, the smallest of the three Diamond Dogs.

"Hello again!" Spot said before shoving Applejack into a hole.

Air Break found himself staring into the largest of the Diamond Dogs, Fido. "You think that just because you're bigger than me that you-" He wasn't allowed to finish, as Fido had smacked him aside and right into the same hole as Applejack.

Snickering once again, Rover motioned for his fellow dogs to follow him before running off.

A few minutes after they left, Applejack crawled out of the hole. "Those...those rotten...no good..."

Air Break crawled out next to her. "Those little...when I get my hoofs on them..."

The two looked at each other for a moment. Knowing full well what situation they were in, they decided to resort to the only possible solution. Applejack was the first to say it. "Truce?"

Air Break nodded. "Truce."

They shook hoofs and ran on ahead to catch the gem thieves.

________________________________________________________________________________________

The two Earth Ponies ran for atleast twenty minutes, it was only after they noticed smoke up ahead that they started to slow down. They took cover behind a line of trees and saw a campfire up ahead. There were bags of gems everywhere, clearly the Diamond Dogs were still up to their same old routine.

Applejack narrowed her eyes when she saw Rover approaching the campfire, he was still holding onto her Element. Fido and Spot were sitting on the other side, roasting some marshmallows, while at the same time, admiring the necklace that Rover showed them.

"Just so we're clear...when we kill those idiots...it's back to fighting each other." Air Break said.

Applejack looked at him. "Kill? We're not gonna kill 'em!"

Air Break chuckled. "What...you think they're just gonna return it if you keep askin' them?"

"Ah know they won't. But we don't have ta kill 'em Air Break. Maybe yer used to that by now, but ah don't plan on sinkin' to yer level." Applejack said.

"Whatever." Air Break replied.

Looking back at the three dogs, Applejack said, "Ok. Now listen, me and mah friends have dealt with these guys before. They're really, really stupid, but that still doesn't mean we shouldn't come up with a plan."

Air Break smirked. "I got a plan. We rush down there and smash them before they even see us coming."

Looking at him with a raised brow, Applejack said, "Uh...no." She turned to the dogs again. "Ok...you go right down there and distract 'em, while yer doin' that, ah'll sneak around and grab a hold of the Element. How does that sound?"

Air Break looked at her. "What? So you can leave me to fight 'em by myself while you get away with the Element? I don't think so."

Applejack knew that Air Break would try and take the Element by the time they got it back, and right now he wasn't making things any easier by refusing to go along with her plan. "Listen, ah won't run away. Ah'd never do that, even if...even if ya did try ta kill me and mah friends."

"Hmph. You ain't foolin' me Applejack." Air Break said.

Suddenly, Air Break felt something soft over his hoof. He looked down to see that it was Applejack's hoof. When he looked back at her, he was taken aback by the sad look she was giving him. "Ah won't leave ya down there to fend for yerself. Honest. You can count on me, ah swear, ah won't abandon ya Air Break. Ah promise."

Air Break just looked at her for a moment. 'What's her deal? She knows that we're enemies, or, rather, she knows that as soon as we deal with those idiot dogs down there, it'll be back to fightin' each other. So what is her problem? Why is she bein' so kind to me that she'd make a promise? Heh, that's a pretty cute look for her though. Wait...did I actually just think that?'

"Air Break?"

The blue Pony's attention was caught back to Applejack, who was mere inches away from his face. "You okay?"

Air Break shook his head and backed away from her. "I'm fine. Let's hurry this up so we can get out of here."

Smiling at him, Applejack stood up. "Alright, ah'm gonna go and sneak around, you rush down there as soon as ah'm out of yer sight." With that, Applejack rushed off.

Air Break kept his eye on her as she took the long way around in order to avoid being seen. He shook his head again in order to clear his head before turning back to the Diamond Dogs.

When Applejack was no longer in his sight, he jumped out of the trees and rushed towards the three dogs, intent on getting the Element and completing his task as quickly as possible.

The three dogs were already on their feet by the time he arrived, his loud hoofsteps no doubt caught their attention. Rover backed away until he was behind Fido and Spot. "You again? You never learn do you?"

Air Break tried to think of a way to keep them distracted. Normally he'd just rush them right now and break their bones, but he agreed to Applejack's plan and wasn't going to change it now. "Well ya see, that's the thing. I never was one to learn, I just pick things up as I go along." He said with a smirk.

Rover snickered. "You're persistent, I'll give you that much. Who exactly are you anyway?"

That was a question he had no problem answering. "I'm Air Break. Captain of the Iron Empire's frontline and one of the Iron Five officers. If you know who the Iron Empire is, you'd be smart and give me that Element."

Rover's eyes widened a little upon hearing the blue Pony's words but he managed to keep a confident look on his face. "The Iron Empire is just a rumour from what I heard, you're just trying to trick us. But it won't work! This gem is ours!"

"Actually! It's MINE!"

The three Diamond Dogs quickly turned around but were already too late to avoid Applejack. She jumped at Rover and knocked the Element out of his paw. Not wasting any time, she picked it up and put it on around her neck before running towards Air Break.

Air Break moved forward and pulled Applejack behind him before the three dogs could get her. "Good job."

"Thanks partner!" Applejack said as she looked at her Element.

Rover growled at them. "Give us back our gem!"

"YOUR gem? This ain't your gem! It's mine!" Applejack replied.

The three dogs moved closer to them. Applejack was surprised when Air Break stood in front of her. It almost felt like he was her brother Big McIntosh, protecting her from a bunch of bullies.

"We're going to put you into the dirt and bury you after we take back our gem! Once we've dealt with you, we might decide to make the little mare our slave and have her do all of the gem finding for us!" Rover snickered at his words, as did Spot and Fido.

Air Break narrowed his eye at them. He didn't know why, but what he said just made him really angry. So angry in fact, that he didn't have control over his own words when he shouted. "OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

With that, Air Break jumped at the three dogs.

Applejack just watched in amazement as Air Break was kicking their rears around, Rover and Spot that is. Fido had managed to hold the blue Earth Pony down at one point but he managed to power out of the hold and get the upper-hoof again.

When Spot was pretty much knocked out, Rover distracted Air Break while Fido sneaked up behind him. Not allowing them to win with cheap tricks, Applejack rushed forward and kicked Fido between his legs with her rear hoofs, earning a loud scream from the dog.

Rover just watched in shock as Fido fell to the ground. He turned back to Air Break, only to be met with a hard punch to the face. He rubbed his face and growled in pain, seeing his two friends on the ground while the two Ponies stood clearly got the message through that they didn't stand a chance.

The Diamond Dog leader got back to his feet and glared at the two Ponies. "Curse you! We'll remember this!" He said before running off. Fido struggled to his feet before picking up the unconscious Spot and rushed after his fellow Diamond Dog.

As soon as they were out of sight, Air Break chuckled while Applejack jumped into the air. "We did it! We beat 'em!" She laughed as she landed back on the ground.

Their little victory however was short-lived when Applejack heard Air Break clear his throat.

She turned to face the blue Pony and noticed he looked ready to continue fighting. "Now that those idiots are outta the way, I think it's time we continue from where we left off."

Her smiled lowered. "Air Break...do we really need ta fight each other?" Her face started showing a sad expression. She didn't want to fight him, despite what he had done, she started believing that there really was hope for him.

"Of course! I came for the Element after all and I ain't leavin' without it!" Air Break said.

Applejack sighed. "Well then partner, ah hate to break it to ya but it ain't possible now."

"What are you talkin' about?" Air Break replied.

Applejack tapped the necklace around her neck with her hoof. "As long as ah'm wearin' it, only ah can take it off. You've lost partner."

Eye widening at her words, Air Break stomped the ground. "DAMMIT!" He paced back and forth for a moment before glaring at her again. "Fine then! I'll just kill you and take it from your dead body!"

Applejack shivered a little at his words. "Ya won't..."

The blue Earth Pony was already at her face, his large hoofs were around her neck. "I would." He said in a cold tone.

Applejack started to gasp for air. She started to feel his hoofs tightening around her, attempting to break her neck. 'Heh...now ah know why he's called Air Break.'

With that, she lifted up her hind legs and kicked him in the chest with her rear hoofs. She ended up striking him where he was injured, which forced him to let her go and stumble back, growling in pain.

Upon looking at the ground, she noticed he was about to step into an open hole. "Air Break watch out!"

She was too late however, as the large blue Pony had already stumbled far back and eventually fell into the hole. She ran over to it and sighed with relief, she could see him, but just barely, and he looked like he was okay. Of course, she didn't doubt for a second that he'd be as mad as a hornet when he crawled out.

Deciding not to waste anymore time, Applejack ran back towards Ponyville to meet up with the rest of her friends.

Running for a few good long minutes, as soon as the mare had reached the river she rested at not too long ago, she slowed down to catch her breath. "Well...atleast the worst is over for now."

She was wrong however. When she looked up at the sunny sky...her eyes widened in horror at what she was seeing.

The sun was slowly being eclipsed, blocking out all of the sunlight.

"What in tarnation?" Knowing it wasn't good, she increased her pace and ran on to find her friends.

Whatever that eclipse was, she knew it wasn't a good thing.