"Just a little more, Aaron! Ten more push ups!"

"C-... Come on Applejack, we did fifty already. I'm dying here." Aaron struggled to meet Applejack's demands as sweat beads were present on his face. His arms burning under the continuous exercise she had put him through since yesterday and all morning thus far.

"I know ya did, I've counted. And after that, I'm gonna have ya do sixty squats, twenty-five sit-ups, and maybe finish off with a few sets of some good ol' jumpin' jacks." Aaron's face paled as she listed off what was to come next. He had asked her to teach him how to fight and thus far she had exercising. His arms forced him off the ground, and he could feel himself grow heavier each centimeter off the ground. Each of his muscle cells screaming in stinging agony.

"W-... Why doesn't Twilight... have to do this... with me?" He said between gasps as he finally made it to the top then slowly lowering himself down. Applejack made it clear that if he touched the ground he would have to start from scratch.

"Cause Twilight can fight and she's already busy. That and you specifically asked me to train you. Now if you want to be able to defend yourself, you best be in the right shape for it." Aaron groaned in pain and of frustration as he started to make his way up. His body strained to meet her demands.

"Wh-... haaah... When do I get to do the actual fighting?"

"When I say so. Now, two more sugar cube!" Whimpering softly, Aaron slowly made his way up then back down. As he was making his way up to his last push up, he soon began to shake and shamble before making it to the top. Once he had made it, he had collapsed onto the hardwood, never so grateful to feel the cold floor calming his burning muscles. "Way to go. You movin' along a lot faster than I thought. You're even almost as far as me when my brother taught me to fight." Aaron didn't bother talking, he would rather take in the cold of the floor into his body to cool him down.

"So, lets take a five-minute break," And at that moment, Aaron heard angels trumpet down from the heavens with the utterance of six holy words. "And then we'll get on with the sit ups." Only to be torn down to the bowels of hell with two more. Taking their break, Applejack went into the kitchen to fetch Aaron a cold drink, thinking he had earned it at this point.

Hearing the clinking of ice against glass, Aaron looked up to see the orange mare in the kitchen bringing him a glass of water from the tap. She sat his down on the coffee table and sat back on the couch, waiting for Aaron to recover. Sitting up with a groan, Aaron took the water from the table and downed it as if it were the last water left on the planet. He was grateful for it, he could feel the waters flow through him, cooling his muscles and replenish his strength. He'd be needing it soon enough.

"Before we continue, I'd like to do a little test."

"For fuck's sake, Applejack. Just a few more minutes, just give me that before we continue." Applejack responded with a chuckle.

"It won't be that hard. If you pass, we won't do any of the other stuff. Then we can move on to the other stuff." That had gotten his attention, but he wasn't in any mood to do anything too strenuous. "Okay... Okay, I'm game. What sort of test?"

"Simple." Applejack got up off of the couch and stood in the middle of the room. "I want you to hit me." Aaron didn't respond, thinking she had suddenly had a small fit of insanity.

"I-I'm sorry. What?"

"Hit me. As hard as ya can, anywhere ya want." Aaron just looked to her with a worried look, he didn't know what to make of this test of hers but he was not comfortable hitting one of his friends for any purpose.

"Um... As much as I would love to avoid... that workout from hell, but I would rather take that over hitting you."

"Ya sure? Cause I was thinking of adding on a few more squats to the list."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Aaron sighed as he sat back against the couch. "Alright, let's get this over with.'' Aaron got up to his feet, only to lose his balance as he felt the wagon slow to a halt. The sound of the brakes could be heard throughout the wagon, alerting everypony in the wagon that they had arrived at their destination.

Trixie's door opened as she and Twilight came out to confirm their suspicions, shortly followed by Zecora. All three of them were directing their attention towards the door. They all knew this would be coming today, Twilight only wished they had some more time to relax before they were to head back into the dangerous world they lived in. Applejack sighed to herself, disappointed that she wouldn't get to train with Aaron for a while. "Alright y'all. Lets get our stuff and move on out. We got us a friend to save." Applejack was quick to get their things ready, tossing Aaron a bag to carry and handing Twilight her personal bag. She didn't take it at first, though once she heard Aaron's voice, she seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in.

"O-Oh. Um... thank you Aaron." Twilight took the bag and held it close to her as she mentally prepared herself for what was to come. Applejack and Aaron got the other bags together, thrown over their shoulders and placed on their backs. With their stuff gathered up, Twilight and her friends made their way outside. As before, they were met with the same desert they had traveled over the past few days, but this time it wasn't all a desert landscape. In the distance was a town, a familiar town.

Twilight's doubts had begun to eat away at her, far more than when she was in the wagon. "That's it, huh." Aaron stated, looking off into the distance. Twilight nodded slowly in confirmation. She had no idea what to expect from this town now. It was once a still developing settlement last she saw of it. Now there were too many stories to count about how bad it had become. Taking a deep breath, Twilight put on a confident face and turned to Trixie and Zecora.

"I just wanted to tell you, thank you. I couldn't thank you enough, Trixie."

Trixie waved it off, not needing her thanks. "You have repaid me in full. I shall use this new magic trick of yours to boost my popularity among the civilians and claim my fortune." Twilight let out a chuckle, amused with her confidence. In a way, she envied her for such a trait to have these days.

"Regardless, thank you for the ride." Zecora stepped out of the wagon and approached Aaron, holding something in her hand.

"I have a gift for you stranger. Something to help ward off danger." Aaron looked at the zebra. Her hand revealed a charm with an orange feather. He had never seen anything like it. "A ward to keep you safe from harm, so there will be no need for alarm." Aaron was hesitant at first from taking it. Not because he was untrusting of her. He was just a bit put off by the bones she had decorated it with. Yet, he took it, not wanting to be rude.

"Thank you, Zecora."

"You are most welcome." He smiled at her, only for the tribal pony to bring him in for one hell of a bear hug. He could have sworn he felt a bone pop somewhere. In the midst of her hug, she whispered into his ear. "Beware, a dangerous challenge will soon come." The warning came to him as a surprise, finding it rather forboding. He took it to heart and would remember it well. She sat him down with Applejack and Twilight. "I wish you all luck on your quest. I wish luck for nothing other than the best. And Aaron," She had caught her attention once more. "Though your purpose may be blurred, I wish you the best of fortune and luck on your herd." Applejack and Twilight felt their faces turn a shade of red, leaving Aaron in a state of confusion about what a herd was. Before he could ask, Zecora and Trixie retreated into their wagon, not wanting to be around when whatever it was Twilight had planned to move into motion.

"So... I guess we start walking again." Twilight said as she took the lead. Their path was clear now and it would take them little time to reach their first destination. Applejack and Aaron wasted no time and followed. Aaron's feet were protected from the scorching sands while Applejack adjusted her shades to better help her with getting acquainted to the sun again.

"Hey, Applejack. What's a herd?" The orange mare smiled, amused at the naïvety Aaron possessed.

"Well, sugar cube. That all depends."

"On what?"

"How hard you can hit me." Aaron's interest soon faded, immediately dropping the subject as they walked to the town. It was a shame too, he was looking forward to killing time on the way there. Though in the time it would take to make it there, Twilight could feel her insecurities rise with each step her hooves took. How she could fail. How she would fail.

~~~~~

The sun was starting its descent into the horizon. High noon had just passed Twilight and her friends as they came upon the settlement. No longer a shimmering town from the heat, now had taken shape as solid structures. Once they had gotten close enough, Aaron had eagerly taken point in anticipation for what he would soon see of pony culture. Applejack and Twilight watched him from behind, finding his positive attitude to the situation to be rather refreshing.

The walk didn't take long, an hour and a half at best. By the time the town could come in clearly, they all ceased talking as to maintain a stealthful approach. They didn't know what to expect in Appleoosa, but whatever it may be, they'd rather have the advantage of surprise on their side.

Twilight, Applejack and Aaron stuck the closest wall to them. The town was quiet, a little too quiet for Twilight's liking. "Aaron," Twilight whispered. "What can you see?" Since Aaron was the closest to the edge, he was the one who peeked over the edge. With a nod, Aaron did as he was asked and scouted out the city for a total of four seconds before turning to Twilight and Applejack with his surveillance of the town.

"No one's there." The news took a moment for Twilight to register it, but it didn't matter as Applejack was the first to answer.

"What do ya mean no one's there?"

"I mean that there isn't anyone there. As in devoid of life. By the look of these buildings, they've been like this for some time as well." I'm no safety inspector but I'm pretty sure this place isn't up to code." Throwing caution to the wind, Twilight went to take a look for herself. SHe bolted to the center of the road to take in the full scene of the town.

As Aaron had said, the town was devoid of all life. All the Twilight had heard of about the town had been proven false. Stories of a dreadful prison that holds enemies of the dark crown where unspeakable atrocities would occur on a daily basis had been thrown aside for this. A ghost town left for the desert to consume. Not a soul was in sight and it looked as if there hadn't been for some time now. The buildings were run down and falling apart at the seams. Massive holes in some of the buildings allowed Twilight to see inside and the insides were even worse than the outsides.

Applejack and Aaron soon joined Twilight's side, looking on at the decimated town. Applejack and Twilight could still remember when this place was a developing settlement. It had always been small but the ponies who once roamed the streets made it feel so much bigger. Now the two could see just how empty the once thriving colony settlement once was. Aaron could see somber looks on his friends faces, mixtures of regret and sorrow. With a deep breath, Twilight looked on at the ghost town then to her friends. "Come on. We made this journey here. And I'm not yet ready to give up. Lets split up and investigate. I don't believe ponies would just make up stories of a hell come to life for no reason."

"Sure thing Twi." Applejack said with a reassuring smile. "I might as well find out what happened here."

"Thank you. Aaron, be not to go far. Just because nopony is here, doesn't mean that danger isn't present."

"I'll keep a look out." Aaron, still curious about the town, left Applejack and Twilight to look around. Hopeful that he would be able to find something. Applejack watched him leave, eyes drifting down only to snap out of her trance to turn to Twilight.

"Okay, Twilight. What shou-... Twilight?" Applejack found that Twilight was gone, only to see a faint image of her purple tail disappear into the saloon. It didn't take long for Applejack to follow suit. Applejack pushed the doors of the saloons aside to find Twilight leap over the bar. "Twilight? What are you doin'?"

"What's it look like? Looking for a drink." She started to check bottle after bottle of drinks below the bar, only to find them to be either empty or busted. But it didn't take long to find a bottle that was untouched by the passage of time. Taking the bottle the bottle and a shot glass to the bar where she immediately popped the cork off the bottle to pour herself a glass. While the label was faded the words to the point where it was impossible to read, she knew it was alcohol due to the smell.

"No, I mean, what are you doin'? You don't seem like yourself." Twilight swirled the liquor a bit before downing it, only to pour herself another one. She didn't seem like talking at the moment, at least not without a little alcohol first.

"I don't know, AJ. I just don't know anymore. It seems that most of my time in this new Equestria has been failure after failure after failure." She downed her second shot of unidentified choice in drink, not bothering to refill it. "I've come so far in the last three years and yet everything I ends up in failure. The only reason I can come up with as to why I'm still alive is due to dumb luck."

"Oh come on, Twilight. You and I both know that you've done so much before that Tirek fella took over. You've fought other villains down before."

"With your help. With everypony elses help. Alone, I just can't do it."

"Which is why we're goin' to save the other's Twi. You found me after all and we can find the rest of our friends."

"I don't know if I can anymore." Twilight filled the glass again, only for Applejack to take it from her.

"Yes you can Twi. I know you can, I've seen you do it before. You're stronger than anypony I've ever known." Twilight didn't seem to be buying it. "So what if you've made a few mistakes in the past. No pony is perfect. I've made my fair share of mistakes."

"But you don't have an entire nation resting on your shoulders. Not like this. If we fail, if I fail... then-"

"Then everythin' stays the same as it is and nothing will ever change. Ponies will still be miserable and Tirek will stay on the throne. It can't get any worse than that. If you wanna mope about, that's fine. But I joined up with ya in hopes of fixin' this mess." Applejack didn't know if she was getting through to her friend, regardless Twilight needed to hear her say it. Twilight didn't bother responding, she didn't feel like talking anymore. Applejack sighed to herself and drank the contents of the shot glass. "Meh. That's some weak stuff."

"But it's all we got at the moment." Twilight said, looking to the bottle to see that it was nearly depleted."And not much left."

Applejack chuckled a bit, joining her behind the bar to fetch another shot glass. She poured herself a glass and took another shot. "Twi. Do ya remember the time... that I ran away from Ponyville to work for a cherry orchard?" Twilight knew exactly where this was going. "How I left Ponyville because I felt I would disappoint my friends, my family because I couldn't do what they expected me to do?"

"Applejack, that's dif-"

"Oh, I don' think so. I learned that day that ya can't run from your problems and not everything is going to be like ya hoped. That in tough times, your friends and family is there to help you out when you need it most." Applejack turned to Twilight, now slouching over the bar looking into her empty shot glass. "Do you know who helped me realize that?" Twilight looked up to Applejack for a split second then back to her shot glass.

"I-... I do. But what can we do? The prison isn't here, nor is Dash. How are we going to find her?"

"I think I can help with that." Applejack and Twilight froze in shock, a mysterious voice had spoken to them, a voice they didn't know. Stepping into the bar was a pony. He was a pegasus with a thick green scarf covered in dirt and sand as it masked his face. Other than that, there wasn't much they could make out. He was draped from head to hoof in desert protective clothing, hiding his body say for his oak colored coat. Twilight and Applejack looked to him wearily, slowly reaching for their weapons for a fight.

"Wait! Wait, there's no need for that." They didn't know if they could trust him yet, but kept their hands at the ready. "How cool are you guys?" He asked. Twilight's eyes shot open in surprise.

"About 20%." Twilight answered, waiting for the right reply.

"Awesometacular." The pony responded. Applejack didn't know what was going on, but Twilight did.

"Who are you?" The pony merely chuckled as he pulled his desert clothing away to reveal himself to them. Standing before them was a stallion with a golden mane and brilliant silver eyes. He looked ragged as if he had hidden out in the desert for some time now, but that wasn't what they were focusing on. They were more interested in the fact that he was wearing the uniform of one of Dash's resistance movement. A scouts uniform specifically. A black vest with what was once Dash's cutie mark stitched into the right side. The rest of his clothes were casual wear, a plain shirt and shorts.

The stallion saluted Twilight out of respect of her royal status, whether it was still in play or not. "Ma'am, head of Recon Squad Lunar. Lieutenant Draco O'Malley, Ma'am." Twilight never liked the military formalities, but she pushed her gripes aside for his name.

"Draco? Wait, I remember you. You were at the Crystal Empire."

"That I was, Ma'am. I'm glad to see you've made it out alive yourself an-" As his eyes scanned them, he froze in shock as to who was with her. His saluted hand fell from his head as he saw the orange earthpony with her. "A-Applejack?" He said in a shocked tone of voice.

"Uh... I-I'm sorry, do I know you?" Applejack couldn't help but feel that there was something familiar about this stallion.

"Heh, you should. We dated for some time back in the day. I believe you called me, gah what was it now?" Draco began to try and remember his nickname. "Ah, now I remember. You used to call me Foal-face cause of my foalish looks when we were young." The name hit hard on Applejack's mind, the memory of the farm hand/school bully/and childhood crush returned to her. "Heh, nice to see you again." Applejack gulped as she remembered him more and more, turning a bit flustered at several heated encounters they had.

"H-... H-Hi." That was all Applejack could muster. Twilight could only look between the two as it was her turn to be confused.

"Ooookay then. Draco, what is your purpose here?" Twilight demanded, recalling what he said about helping.

"O-Oh. Sorry, your highness. My team and I are stationed here to ensure the safety of our leader, Commander Dash." Twilight had a burst of energy from that explanation. She was so ready to give up on her journey, now she was renewed and ready to take on anything.

"Tell me what you know, Draco. And start from the beginning."

~~~~~

Aaron wandered the town and what little it had to offer. As he walked he looked into the abandoned buildings to find anything of use to him or his friends. Thus far, he had turned up nothing. While on his search, he managed to find something that interested him personally. Across the way was a run down building, much like the rest of the town, but he saw something that caught his eye. Racks of comic books. A childish smile crossed his face as he went in to see what ponies qualified as geek culture.

Leaping the busted display window, the shirts protecting his feet from the glass, he began to wander the abandoned store. Comics littered the floor, most of which were destroyed and torn to pieces. But there were plenty to read that were still intact due to the coverings.

Unsure as to where to start first, he reached out and grabbed one at random. Carefully pulling out the comic, his glee soon faded to one tragic realization. He couldn't read it. The language the ponies used was unfamiliar to him. There language was far more different from his own. He let out a groan and carefully placed it back inside the covering then back on the shelf. Hopeful that it was a foreign comic, he began to search the store for something he could read. Maybe a silent comic with no dialog.

He went through title after title, comic after comic, and still came up with the same conclusion. He was illiterate in this world and couldn't read a single thing in the store, maybe anything in this world he was in. Frustrated, he continued to look through the store, flipping through comics to find something, if not to read, maybe to look at. Aaron looked through row after row, searching for something of interest. Though he couldn't read it, he was interested at some of the characters he saw. One with a team of super ponies fighting a crazed green mare, a reptile woman fighting other reptile people, and others as equally strange.

As he flipped through the books, he soon stopped. As he took down a comic to flip through, he found that someone else had the same idea. As he saw the other hand, or in this case talon, he slowly followed it to the owner. Beside him was a new creature as it was obvious she was female. She had a sleek figure protected by a silver set of armor. Her body was covered in a thick brown fur, leading up to fluffy white feathers on her head. Instead of a muzzle, she had a thin yellow beak. Her blue eyes showed that she was just as surprised at his presence as he was.

The two held onto the comic in silence, neither of them making a move. Aaron's eyes scanned her form and saw that she was well protected, even having a sword on her belt. The sight of which prompted a small squeak from him. Neither knew what the other was, having never seen anything like it before. But in a matter of seconds, Aaron saw the woman's eyes furrow into anger as she let out a bestial roar and leapt for Aaron.

Reacting, Aaron ducked just in time to dodge her. Turning around, he saw her draw the sword on her side as a pair of wings unfurled in an aggressive manner, much like the rest of her body. "I- You can have the comic, I can't even read it!" He shouted, throwing the comic at her. She cut through it with ease, only to find Aaron was gone. But that wouldn't stay that way for long. The creature sniffed the air around her and for Aaron. It didn't take long to. Aaron was a new creature to her and as such had a new stench. She followed it around and soon discovered him cowering under the front desk.

He gave her an awkward smile and held up a coupon book. "Eh heh... want one?" She was not amused and prepared to drive her sword into the desk. Aaron yelped as he rolled out of the desk, avoiding the sharp edge of the sword. "Lady, what is your deal!?" He shouted, dodging a few more swings from her sword. The creature roared again, annoyed at how Aaron wouldn't sit still long enough so she could kill him. Aaron hid behind a comic stand, only for it to be lifted and tossed aside as if it were made from styrofoam. Aaron was about to run again, only for her to pick him up with her sharp talons. He would have to think fast if he wanted to survive. Acting on instinct, Aaron hawked a large wad of spit into the beasts eyes, making her roar in anger and pain. He had scored a direct hit and was rewarded with freedom, but not safety.

As the creature was rubbing its eyes to ease the pain, she regained her sight just in time to see Aaron run out of the store. That was when she decided that whatever that thing was, it was going to die by her hands.

Aaron was no fan of running, but when it came to running for his life, he was the number one fan. As he ran, he swore under his breath, trying to find his friends. He suddenly ran faster when he heard the beast roar once more. He turned the corner and ran into a face he was so happy to see. "Twilight!?" Aaron said as he bumped into her. The two grunted as he came to a full stop thanks to her body.

"Ow! Aaron, what the hell?!"

"Sorry, sorry. I'm uh... I'm being chased." Aaron tried to catch his breath, the adrenaline of near death starting to fade.

"By what?" The ground shuddered as something fell from the heavens, kicking up a cloud of smoke as she did so. As the dust cleared, they saw what it was. "Griffon!" Twilight said in shock, pushing Aaron aside to go into attack mode with Applejack following suit as she drew her weapon from her back. The two mares rushed for the griffon in a loud war cry, fully intent to kill. The griffon met them in kind with her sword drawn and her talons at the ready.

"Wait!!!" They all stopped mid rush as a pony came between them.

"Draco, get out of the way!" Twilight commanded, daggers in her eyes as she looked to the griffon.

"I can't let you do that, ma'am. She's with me." Twilight looked to Draco with a look of shock. Draco soon turned to the griffon.

"Gilda, stand down!"

"Gilda?" Twilight and Applejack said at the same time. Gilda growled at Draco, trying to make herself look as big as possible.

"I don't think so. That... thing, spat in my eye. It's going to die, like it or not." Draco turned to Aaron, hiding behind Twilight.

"Is he with you?" Draco asked.

"Yes, Aaron is a friend of mine and a traveling companion."

"Well then, if he is with the princess, Gilda you are hereby forbidden to do harm to... Aaron."

"Bull fucking shit! That thing, is going to die and then I'm going to fucking eat him!" Aaron felt his gut sink in fear.

"Sorry, but if you touch a hair on him, I'll be sure to cut down your rations."

"Fine. I'll eat him then. Little by little. Something his size should last me a month." Applejack stepped forward now, angered by Gilda's threat.

"Then yur gonna have tah kill me first." Applejack placed her blade in front of Gilda threateningly, letting the griffon know she meant business. Gilda would welcome the fight, to rid herself of boredom, even for a minute would be worth it. Her eyes then turned to Draco, who was giving her a stern look. With Applejack and Draco staring her down, she sighed in defeat and put her sword away.

"You dweebs and worth my shit."

"Thank you Gilda."

"Suck my dick Draco." He merely chuckled at Gilda's insult.

"That's suck my dick, sir." She flicked her beak at him, an obvious rude gesture but one Aaron didn't know of. Gilda unfolded her wings and flew off. "Sorry about that, she's a little rough around the edges."

"Clearly." Twilight turned to Aaron to help him up off the ground, dusting him off a bit. "Draco, this is my friend. Aaron." The stallion looked up at Aaron, eyeing him and sizing him up.

"Nice to meet ya. Name's Draco O'Malley." He held out his hand to shake. Aaron nervous took it, thinking it was a trap.

"A-Aaron. Aaron Trinkle."

"What kind of name is Trinkle?" Draco asked in a teasing way.

"What kind of name is Draco?" Aaron shot back, obviously a little sore about his last name.

"Heh, okay, okay. No need to get testy." Draco said with a friendly smile. "We were on our way to our base. Would you like to come with? We got plenty of water. You must be thirsty after your encounter with Gilda." Aaron couldn't lie. Gilda had drained him with the fight for his life, short as it may have been.

"Sure. I could go for some water."

"Awesome. Come along then." Draco continued to escort Twilight and Applejack with Aaron following close behind. He was unsure about this guy. After he had met Gilda, he was unsure about anyone associated with her, let alone anyone who could stand up to her.

"Twilight." Aaron whispered. "Who is this guy."

"He's a friend, Aaron. He's going to help us rescue Rainbow Dash." The walk didn't take long. Since the town was so small, there wasn't much to choose from for a base of operations. Though the choice was rather obvious. Draco had led the three into town hall. A large building that seemed to be the less damaged out of the selection of ruined walls that were once livable homes.

Once inside, the three were then greeted by a gust of cold air. Town hall was actually suitable to host ponies in, even if the walls were not pleasant to look at. There was no rot, no sand, nor any signs that the desert had touched the indoors. However, it was painfully obvious what was repaired and what wasn't. Most of the wood looked salvaged from the other buildings, explaining the massive holes.

Draco led them past the waiting room and into a large lobby where a few other ponies were sitting back and waiting for Draco to return. Once they saw him, and with company, they stood up in attention.

"Everypony, we've got guests and- Sneaky for Celestia's sake, put some pants on!" Their attention turned to a dark blue stallion in the nude, blushing heavily at the sight of Twilight and Applejack.

"S-Sorry boss!" The stallion shouted, running off to fetch appropriate clothing.

"Ugh. Sorry about him. Sneaky Quick is a nudist, but he's the best spy anypony could ask for." While he spoke, Aaron tried desperately to unsee what he had just seen, while Applejack was trying to remember it as best she could. "So, you met Sneaky, lets meet the rest of the line up." Draco went to the closest soldier to him. First up was a massive pony who looked to have eaten one too many candy bars as a child. "This load of muscle is my demolition's expert; Boom Chew. Don't let the gut fool you, most of it is muscle. Trust me on that one."

"Nice to meet you all." Boom Chew was a large pegasus stallion with a pair of small wings on his back. A massive gut protruding from his body as if it were filled to the brim with gelatin. His coat was a pure white, or at least it was long before he came to the desert. His head had a small buzz cut of a mane and a tail to match.

"Next up is my tactician expert and the brains of the operation and my second in command." Draco stood before a towering pony, barely able to stand in the room as he looked down at them with an uninterested gaze. "This is Knit Pick. He's a cool stallion once ya get to know him. And he's not all that scary, he's actually a big softy."

Twilight and the others looked up at the stallion. The clothes he wore barely fit him but they did the job of covering him up. He had a light brown coat and a short shaggy mane with a scraggly tail popping out of the top of the shorts that were once called pants that he was wearing.

"Since you both met Temper Tantrum and Hanging Loose, that just leaves my sniper." Draco went over to a ladder leading up. "Hey, we got guests!" Draco shouted, calling down whoever was up stairs. In no time, they could hear some pony coming down the ladder. What came down wasn't a pony but something else entirely. She had hooves but it was obvious she wasn't a pony. Her coat was a thick brown and her mane was a patch of curly brown hair with a small feather head dress. Aaron saw that her choice in outfit looked tribal, while not as revealing as Zecora's, it did have a strangely native feel to it while mixing in a bit of modernity to it. On her back was a bow and quiver, decorated with what looked like turqoise. "Last and certainly not least is-"

"Strongheart!?" Applejack shouted in glee, catching the room off guard. The woman in question looked to Applejack, only to gasp in surprise.

"Applejack?" She questioned.

"Yeah, it's her." Draco confirmed.

"W-What? I thought she was dead."

"Yeah, I seem to get that a lot these days."

"Well, I am happy to see you are okay. Maybe luck will be on my side and return Braeburn to me." Aaron could hear a loud gulp come from Applejack as she kept her smile up, but Aaron could see the sweat on her head.

"Y-Yeah. Maybe so." Applejack said, failing to keep herself from stuttering.

"Well, now that you all know the gang, you wanted to know where Rainbow is, right?"

"Yes," Twilight started, stepping forward eagerly to have her questions answered. "You said you could help us, so where is Dash?"

"She's in the prison."

"What prison? There is no prison." Draco chuckled as he waved his hand to gesture them to come over. He pulled a curtain aside to show her. Applejack and Aaron followed close behind her to see what Draco wanted to show them.

The moment they looked out the window, they could see it in the distance. Out in the wasteland of the desert were several obstructions. By the look of them, they were look-out towers. "Where's the prison?" Twilight demanded.

"About several feet below the ground." Draco said in a serious tone. "The place is called The Gem Fields. None of us have ever seen inside before, and we don't know how far down it goes. Gilda told us that prisoners go down and mine whatever gems they find. Its their job to take them to a distributor. But once a pony goes in, the Diamond Dogs are the ones in control. That's all we know thus far about what goes on in there." Twilight looked out at the structures in the distance, her goal seemed so far yet right in her reach.Her brow furrowed bit as she turned to Draco, a renewed look of determination in her eye.

"How do we get in?"

Author's Notes:

Strep throat really kicks your ass. Really hindered my writing time. Thus destroying my chapter-per-month quota. As punishment, I shall now subject myself to two hours of Twilight movies and generation 3 MLP. I am sorry for being so late on the chapter.

But, thank you guys for sticking around thus far, I have no idea why but thanks anyway. You guys are awesome for the positive and negative feedback.