//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: From the Ashes of Hope // by Zelda Spectrum //------------------------------// Somepony once said ‘A true friend will never abandon and never betray.’ Sadly, that statement does not apply to everypony. Chapter 5 ********* “AH’LL KILL YOU!!!!” Apple Bloom darted towards the two ponies filled with anger and hatred. She then tried to pounce Scootaloo, but the orange pegasus nimbly dodged the incoming attack without even looking at the cowpony, sending Apple Bloom face first into the dirt wall. When the cowpony turned around, she had three diamond daggers pointing at her. “Well, well, well, long time no see Apple Bloom.” Scootaloo said with a grin, “It’s good to see you again, old friend.” “Ah wish ah could say the same fer you.” Apple Bloom retorted coldly. Scootaloo waved a hoof to Mammon, telling her to put away the daggers. With a grunt, she made the daggers disappear. “I didn’t actually think you would have survived the explosion in the library, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; considering the Apple Family is known for their strength and stamina and the fact you were farther away from where the bombs were planted.” Scootaloo paused, “Tell me, is Sweetie Belle still with the living, or did she turn in the explosion?” “She’s fine,” Apple Bloom answered, “but ah wouldn’t go lookin’ fer her if ah were you; she’s probably as eager to kick yer traitorous flank as ah am!” “Right,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes, “so what brings you down here? Surely you’re not a slave to these dogs; you’re will power is too great.” “If ya must know, ah’m here lookin’ fer Twilight and the others.” Scootaloo tried to contain her laughter, but to no avail. “You actually believe the Elements of Harmony are still alive?” she asked, ending her laughter, “Believe me Apple Bloom, if they were alive, we would have tracked them down by now. They are dead. No pony could have survived that explosion standing in the middle of the library, not even a pony with the stamina your sister had.” Apple Bloom became enraged at this statement and tried to pounce the pegasus again. “YOU BI-” she was interrupted by a kick to her stomach sending her back against the dirt wall. “I have had enough of your bickering you little brat,” Mammon scolded, “and I will NOT tolerate such sailor talk in my presence!” She re-summoned her daggers and pointed them at Apple Bloom. “I don’t think anypony will miss a rude little brat such as you. Now die you filthy peasant!” Pip, who had been watching the display, quickly reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a slingshot. Picking up the nearest stone, he quickly armed it, mentally calculated the trajectory of his shot, and released. The stone hit Mammon’s horn, interrupting her flow magic for a few seconds and dropping the daggers. Apple Bloom took this opportunity to deliver a blow to Mammon along with a kick. She then turned around to try and attack Scootaloo yet again, but just as before, the pegasus dodged the blow with little effort. Apple Bloom managed to recover quickly this time and turned back to Scootaloo with a battle stance. “Who the devil dares throw a rock at the Great Mammon?!” the green unicorn yelled, enraged. She traced the path of the rock back to Pip who was rushing over to try and help Apple Bloom. Mammon used her telekinesis to pick up one of the daggers and launch it towards the brown-spotted stallion. Pip, however, saw the dagger coming through the corner of his eye and dodged the dagger by turning his body and sliding on his back. The dagger zoomed by, barely splitting a hair on his neck. “No pony throws a rock at me and gets away with it!” The general picked up the remaining daggers and pointed them at Pip. “NO PONY!!!” She launched the daggers at the stallion, aiming for his head and chest, but he quickly dodged and weaved through every one of the crystal blades. As he was dodging them he managed to find another rock near his right. He rolled to his right picking up the rock with his teeth and jumped up onto his back legs and hurling it from his teeth. The rock hit Mammon on the side of the face causing her to stumble a bit. “Oh, it’s on now punk!” Mammon roared. Her horn began to glow a bright golden color as she prepared to use another spell, but before she was able to cast it, she was surrounded by a sudden burst of green fire. “Try it again, and you’re just going to get burned!” Spike said, stepping into the battle along with Fido, who was now carrying a steel mace. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom was still busy fighting Scootaloo not too far from the others. She swung her fore-hooves wildly at the orange mare trying to land a blow, but rather than fight back, she just kept dodging the blows with very little effort. “Gee Apple Bloom, I thought all that hard work in Alcatraz would have made you stronger, but I guess I was wrong.” The pegasus taunted. Apple Bloom grew angrier and punched harder trying to hit her purple maned target to no avail. “Don’t you dare talk ‘bout that place like it’s some sort of gym,” Apple Bloom retorted angrily, “y’all have no idea how much we’re sufferin’ ‘cause of yer betrayal!! Ah’ve waited eight long years to avenge mah sister an’ her friends, and ah’m not gonna let it slip by! Yer gonna pay fer what you’ve done, ah’ll kill you if it’s the last thing ah ever do!!” Back at Mammon’s battle, Mammon extinguished the green flames by summoning several aquamarines and turning them into water. “Whadda ya say we teach this general what happens when she tries to kill our friend?” Fido asked Spike as he readied his mace. “With pleasure!” Spike answerd getting ready to charge. “Hmph, it looks like I’m going to have to leave this section of the mine after all.” Mammon pouted, mumbling to herself. “Hey Scootaloo, it’s time to go.” As Scootaloo heard this, she jumped over the raging Apple Bloom and hurried over to Mammon as she summoned and blew a silver whistle. “Aaaaahhhh!” Fido yelped as he covered as he covered his ears and fell to his knees. “Come back here!” Apple Bloom yelled turning around and running toward Scootaloo, “Ah’m not finished with you yet!” “I’m afraid you’re revenge will have to wait for another day,” Scootaloo said, “I can tell when the odds are not in our favor. Besides, I think you have bigger problems to worry about.” Mammon raised a fore-hoof to the ceiling a created a new tunnel with a blast of magic. Using her magic, she quickly levitated herself out of the mines and up to the surface. “See you guys later.” Scootaloo said with a smirk. With that, she opened her wings and launched herself up the newly formed tunnel and flying to the top. “She can fly?!” Apple Bloom said, becoming even more infuriated at Scootaloo’s method of escape. She looked up at the escape route and yelled, “YOU DAMNED US ALL TA HELL JUS’ TA GET A PAIR OF USEABLE WINGS?!?!” Suddenly, the group heard the sound of barking quickly approaching. “There’s no time,” Fido said, getting back on his feet, “that was a dog whistle Mammon used just now! The guards will be here in a matter of seconds; we need to find a place to hide.” “Quick over here!” Spike told the others, leading them to a set of dusty wall lockers, “They won’t think of finding us here!” He had to lead Fido, who did not seem to hear him, towards one of the lockers. “Come on Apple Bloom!” Pip yelled as he ran to hide. Silently swearing, the yellow cowpony kicked up some dirt and ran to hide in one of the lockers. =============================== ********* For the next five minutes, guard dogs filled the room searching for any sign of foreign life. Finally, one of the guards spoke up to another dog in silver armor. “We are wasting time sir! There’s no one here!” “Silence!” the dog barked, “I’ll decide when we stop the search; that is not for you to decide! Besides, why else would General Mammon use the whistle to summon us here?” “She could have just used to toy with us and watch us search for someone who isn’t real.” “I said-” the high-ranked dog paused, “Grr, you’re probably right. She’s been doing this for years; I should know this trick by now; back to your posts!” The guards immediately exited the room doing as they were told. The dog in silver armor sighed as he, too, exited the room. “I swear, I’d like to give that General a piece of my mind!” After waiting another minute, Fido finally whispered loudly to the others, “They’re gone.” They all stepped out of the lockers, double-checking to make sure there was not a single guard still around. “Finally, I can hear again.” Fido stated, playing with his ears, “I swear that dog whistle is going to make me go completely deaf one of these days.” “So what do we do now?” Spike asked. “Now, we need to return to Ponyville to determine our next move.” Pip answered. “However, now that both Scootaloo and Mammon know what we are up to, we will have to be especially careful.” “Well, so much for traveling under the radar.” Spike remarked. The two earth ponies and put their cloaks back on when the juvenile dragon caught something out of the corner of his eye. “Hey wait a minute, what is this?” He walked over to the object to find a wrinkled piece of paper. “What is it?” Apple Bloom asked as she, along with Pip and Fido, gathered around Spike. “It looks like some kind of letter,” he answered, “from Scootaloo.” “What?! Lemme see that!” Apple Bloom snatched the paper out of Spike’s claw and laid it on the ground to get a better look. ********* Dear Apple Bloom, It sure was good to see you again; I just wish we could’ve met under different circumstances. As much as I would have loved to stay and chat, I have duties that I must attend to, so I will leave you with this piece of information. It turns out I was wrong about all of the Wielders being dead. A few of my soldiers have reported one of the Wielders has been seen in Canterlot recently, but they have not been able to track her down. They reported an earth pony with a blonde mane trying to snoop around Canterlot; does that description sound familiar to you? Luckily for you, Death Rose is keeping guard in Baltimare for at least twenty days. If you really do intend to seek out the Welders of the Elements, then you had best make haste in doing so. I will give you ten days before I decide to alert the Queen of your plans and fifteen days before I tell Death Rose of your presence in Canterlot. That seems like a sporting chance doesn’t it? Be warned, I am not going to give you another save of grace like this again, so I suggest you abuse it. Also, I we should happen to meet again, I will not hold back like I did with this last battle. Now you might want to get to the surface as soon as possible; that train will return to the Great Wall in about half an hour. Your former friend, Scootaloo P.S.: Tell Sweetie Belle I said “Hi”. “What do you make of it Apple Bloom?” Pip asked, reading the note over her shoulder. “Whadda Ah make uv it?” Apple Bloom asked, as if Pip had just asked a stupid question “Ain’t it obvious? It’s clearly a trap. She’s jus tryin’ ta git our hopes up so we waltz into whatever trap she’s layin’ fer us.” “Maybe we should get back to Ponyville and inform your friend about this.” Fido offered. “Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at the dog, “Why? Everypony knows they’re dead, so Ah don’t see the point uv doin’ so.” “But what if that note is true?” Pip questioned, “We might be able to reunite with your sister and-” “DIDN’T YA JUST HEAR ME?! AH SAID THEY’RE ALL DEAD AND THEY HAVE BEEN FER THE PAST TEN YEARS!!! THE SOONER WE ALL ACCEPT THAT AN’ GET IT THROUGH OUR THICK SKULLS, THE BETTER OFF WE’LL BE!!!” Everyone fell silent. Pip wanted to apologize for bringing up Applejack, but nothing came out. All he could do was just stare at the fuming yellow cowpony, clearly at a loss for words. She let out a heavy sigh and massaged her forehead. “Look, ah’m sorry Pip, but Scootaloo’s been against us from day one. Surely anythin’ she says ta git our hopes up is a trap to git us caught by the Nameless or even killed.” She began to calm down, but she was obviously still cross. “I’m just saying that I think we should ask Sweetie Belle’s opinion on this before we make any big decisions about this.” Pip said, “After all she deserves a say in this since she is part of the team.” Apple Bloom let out a defeated sigh. “Fine, but Ah’m still against this whole ordeal. Now let’s get back up ta’ the surface so we don’t miss the train.” With that, she threw her disguise back on and started back in the direction they came, leaving the guys to stare at her for a few seconds. “What was that all about?” Spike asked. “I’ll explain on the way.” Pip answered as the three followed the angry cowpony. =================== “Wow, so Ponyville is in a worse state than I thought.” Spike stated speechless. He had been listening to Pip’s story the whole way back to the elevator and even he began to lose hope of ever seeing the Elements of Harmony again. “Yeah, and it has been that way for the past eight years.” Pip answered. “Well, now I can see why Apple Bloom thinks this letter might be a trap.” When group arrived at the elevator, everyone fell silent as they rode to the top floor. Since the elevator was not very big, Pip decided to wait until they got of the elevator to continue talking to Spike and avoid angering the cross mare in front of him. “So where exactly is the train station again?” she asked Fido, “We only have 'bout ten minutes b'fore it leaves.” “I’ll be able to tell you once we step outside to get our bearings.” The dog answered as he led them to a set of wooden stairs only a few paces away from the elevator. ********* When they got outside, it took the group a few second for their eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness of the eclipse. Fido looked around the snowy terrain to the Great Wall a good distance from his left and the shattered, dull remains of the Crystal Empire to his right. “Alright, if we keep a low profile and avoid being spotted through the blizzard,” Fido pointed towards the Great Wall off in the distance, “we will reach the train station not too far from here.” “We had better be careful,” Pip warned, “the train station is most likely to be crawling with guards.” “Oh fer Luna’s sake, we don’t have time ta be sneakin’ around, the train leaves in ten minutes!” Apple Bloom retorted, “Ah don’t care if’n we have ta fight, if we can’t git on that train, we’ll be stuck here fer Celestia knows how long!” With that, she took off towards the wall with the others in pursuit. “Apple Bloom, wait for us!” Pip shouted as he chased the cowpony into the blizzar. The train station came within sight quickly as well as the guard dogs stationed there. Before she could even think about speeding up and engaging the guards, Pip managed to catch up and tackle her. He then dragged her behind a snow covered boulder to make sure they were out of the guards’ sight. Spike and Fido quickly caught up. “What’re you doin’ Pip?! If we don’t git on that train we’ll never make it back ta Ponyville in time!” “Getting on that train won’t matter if the guards see us!” Pip shot back, “If we get caught, we’ll just end up in the Nameless’ clutches; we need to use stealth!” “Well then how do ya propose we do that?” The cowpony peeked out from cover to see two guards blocking the entrance to the station, “There’s no way ta git ‘round those two!” “Leave that to me.” Fido offered. He pulled a small, palm sized gem out of his pocket and threw it in an angle towards the guards. The gem reflected some of the light from the eclipse's perimeter, giving the guards enough time to see it before it landed in the snow. They quickly made their way to the area where the gem had landed and started searching for the beloved new item. “Alright let’s go!” Fido told the group in a loud whisper. They made their way past the guards quickly, but quietly. They started sneaking around the station to the storage cars expecting to see some more guards, but to their surprise, the car was left unguarded. “Where are the guards?” Spike asked in confusion, “I thought they would be hanging around the storage car to keep it safe.” “I guess they thought it was safe enough it didn’t need to be guarded.” Fido stated, “My kind isn’t exactly known for the best security.” “Well let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth and hop on it already.” The yellow mare said. Before any one of the boys had the chance to stop her, she quickly made her way to the car, opened the door, and hopped inside. She then signaled the others to get inside. The boys just shrugged to each other and joined Apple Bloom in the car, shutting the door behind them. Pip soon pulled out the lantern from his saddlebag, lit it, and put it down in the middle of the floor as it illuminated the majority of the car. As soon as everyone got situated, they heard the train whistle blow and the car began to move. They were on their way back to Ponyville. ==================== ********* The next two days were rather uneventful, considering the group was stuck in storage the whole time. On the second day, the group was awoken when they felt the train coming to a stop. Pip quickly got up and slightly opened the car door to see why the train had stopped. He saw the train had arrived at the station of the ruined town of Ponyville and slaves were being transported on and off the passenger cars. “Guys! We’re here!” he told the others. Putting his cloak back on, he put the lantern back in his saddlebag and join the others as they snuck out of the car and hid by the side of the station, closing the car door quietly. The quickly made their way past the side of the building and headed back into town. Spike was shocked at the sight of his old home in ruins, but he did not let that distract him too much from getting back to the library. The population seemed to be scarce on the streets while the few factories built in Ponyville continued to send smoke into the sky above. When they finally reached the library, Apple Bloom tapped ‘C-M-C’ on the door in Moore’s Code. No response. She tried again. Still no response. Starting to get worried, Apple Bloom tried the door handle, but found it was still locked. She then picked up a small rock on the ground near the door and opened it up to reveal a spare key. She then used the key on the door to hear it unlock with a click. She then put the key back in the fake rock and put it back on the ground. The group quickly made their way inside to find Sweetie Belle sleeping in the middle of the room with her back to the door surrounded by a few books. “Sweetie Belle?” Spike stared in awe at how much the filly had grown. Apple Bloom walked over to the sleeping unicorn to slowly wake her up when she saw her fidgeting and murmuring in her sleep. ********* “N-no…no…no-lease-no…” “Sweetie Belle?” the cowpony picked up her pace a little and slowly began to shake her to try and wake her up. She looked like she was holding something in her forelegs. “Sweetie Belle, wake up!” “NO!!!” Sweetie Belle woke up in a cold sweat. She looked down as she heard metal hitting the floor to see the Element of Generosity had landed next to right back leg. She picked it up with her forelegs, pressed it against her chest, and began to cry. ********* “Sweetie Belle, are you okay?” The yellow mare asked in a calm, motherly voice, putting a hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder. The unicorn turned around to see her friend looking down at her with concerning eyes. “Apple Bloom!” she exclaimed, embracing her friend with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Oh Apple Bloom, it was horrible, it was so horrible.” She said between sobs. “Shh, it’s okay Sweetie Belle.” Said Apple Bloom with the same motherly tone; stroking the unicorns back like a mother comforting her scared foal. After a few minutes, they ended the embrace. “Did ya have another one of those ‘Special Dreams’?” The unicorn nodded. She seemed to have calmed down a bit. “What happened?” “I was…I was…” the unicorn stuttered, “I was Rarity.” End of Chapter 5 If one of the links is not working, or you have suggestions for music, please let me know.