Sitting at the table with Applejack and Apple Bloom, Famine looked longingly at the steaming food in the pot that was setting on the table in front of her. Apple Bloom stared continually at her since the time Applejack roused her up from the couch earlier, and the butter colored filly was sure something was bad wrong with their guest; even if she couldn't put a solid hoof on what it was.
Slapping her hooves together, Applejack bowed her head and began to say her blessing for the meal. "Oh dear maker, grant that this food be proper and well for our bodies, for which we give thanks, as we do the company of this here new guest of ours. Amen."
Apple Bloom, had been peeking through her hooves at Famine while the blessing was being said, and after contributing her own "amen", she turned her attention to the charcoal mare sitting beside her. "You didn't say amen at the end of the blessing."
"Apple Bloom, don't be a busybody," said Applejack as she ladled up a serving of the stew for Famine, and set the bowl in front of her. "If she doesn't want to say the blessing, then that's her choice."
Apple Bloom wasn't entirely convinced yet, and watched curiously as Famine examined her bowl of soup, while Applejack poured herself and Apple Bloom a serving. With a heavy sigh Famine pushed the bowl away from her.
"What's the matter shug, you don't like stew?"
"Oh, it's not that," Famine said. "It's delicious looking, I just like my food a little more cooked."
Applejack wasn't exactly sure she understood what that meant as she looked down at her own bowl, and regarded it. She didn't want to pry but unless she set the stew on fire and burned it, then it couldn't really be cooked much more. Perhaps the poor thing was accustomed to her food being burnt.
"Well I s'pose I can put this on the heat a tad more, if that's how you'd rather have it." Applejack reached for the bowl in front of Famine, but she was stopped short.
"I can do it," Famine said.
"Oh, no I couldn't let you do it yourself; y'all are a guest here."
Before Applejack could retrieve the bowl of stew from Famine, the charcoal mare began to shiver; well that is, to shiver more than she already had done, and her eyes began to glow white, causing Applejack and Apple Bloom to slowly scoot away from the table. They weren't sure what she was up to, but if she was about to blow a gasket, then it would be in their personal best interest to put some space between them and the lit fuse.
Applejack was only too aware of the fact that Famine was one of four dangerous ponies, and armed with the knowing, she rushed over to shield Apple Bloom from the inevitable, just as the bowl of stew on the table in front of Famine ignited in a deep crimson flame. The flame was in the bowl for only a moment, and then it was gone, as was Famine's glowing eyes, and the extra bout of shivering.
Reluctantly, Applejack tenderhooved to the table, and peered at the bowl. Inside was a fine black and white powder, with no trace of the ingredients or the broth. All that was in the bowl, was what looked like ashed.
Smiling, Famine scooted the bowl back in front of her, and retrieved the spoon from next to her, and began spooning the ashes into her mouth. The sight of which made Applejack want to gag, and reach for a glass of water. She'd once tripped in a race with Rainbow Dash, and landed face-first in the sand and dirt, and took a mouthful, but the thought of having a gob of ashes in her mouth made her stomach heave.
"My, I guess y'all do like your food a little... well done." Applejack was holding her sister back, knowing good and well that Apple Bloom would rush in and say the first damn thing on her mind, and the last that Applejack wanted was to disrespect a pony whose sole purpose in life was to bring death and destruction to an entire world. She certainly didn't want to imagine her sister being responsible for having Famine and her friends cause havoc in Ponyville; she'd never be able to apologize enough to the Princess if that happened.
~ * * * * * * * ~
Chapter Three: Ashes For Bread
The meal ended, and for the first time in a long time, Applejack was glad to get away from the table, and do the dishes. Her stomach had turned more times sitting there watching Famine eat, than it did the three times she took the roller coaster at Whirl-a-World's Amusement park.
Apple Bloom stood in the kitchen with her hooves on her flanks, as she eyed Applejack with frustration. She didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen, helping with the dishes, she wanted to be in the living room with their guest, so in case she did anything odd and strange she could point a hoof and laugh about it. But no; Applejack had made her stay put, and now as she reluctantly grabbed the dishes off the table to hand to her, Apple Bloom's eyes cut sharper and sharper.
"I know what y'all are doin'," Applejack said over her shoulder.
"But, I just want to..."
"No ma'am. Y'all are gonna stay put in here with me, and when I finish, then we'll go in there, and keep her company."
"But earlier, y'all were all excited to have me go in there and check on her; now y'all've got a burr up y'all's butt about it."
"And y'all are gonna get my hoof up y'all's if'n you don't settle yourself down," Applejack said, as she rinsed the final bowl and set it to the side.
Apple Bloom stuck her tongue out at her sister, and went to stand in the corner. It was her own special brand of defiance, and while it didn't serve a single purpose, Applejack was grateful it was that, rather than a screaming tantrum on the floor. She would much rather deal with a pouting Apple Bloom, rather than one that writhed in agony every time she didn't get her way.
Drying her hooves, Applejack went into the living room to check on Famine, only to find her laying on the couch. It looked as if she was resting, and for some reason it disturbed Applejack. There was something ghostly and otherworldly about her, as if she was on the planet, but stepping off into some other place at the same time. Whenever she would catch Famine's gaze, it always seemed as if she was looking right through her.
"Is everything okay in here?" Applejack asked, as she entered, and made for her favorite recliner.
Famine nodded without looking up from the couch. "Yes, everything is fine, it was a wonderful meal."
"I don't see how it could have been very filling," Applejack said, chuckling awkwardly. "It's no wonder that y'all don't have more fat on you, with meals like that."
At the word fat, Famine opened her eyes and turned her head toward Applejack. "There was a human named, Janwillem van de Wetering. Do you know this name?"
Shaking her head, Applejack smiled flatly. "Can't say as I have. We don't get no humans around these parts."
"Mmm, yes," Famine said, slowly allowing her gaze to drift off. "He was a writer and philosopher. He once said: 'Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough.'"
"So then being healthy is a bad thing?" Applejack asked.
"Of course not. But the appetite of greed is a gulf of unending depth. So by rights, the greatest control of self, is the control of want."
Applejack wanted to speak, but the truth in those words were irrefutable. She turned to see Apple Bloom finally finish her silent protest, and considered sending her out to play, but there were going to be times when she was going to need to know some things about life, and the bigger picture. Perhaps it was now one of those times.
"Twilight says that y'all are some bringers of judgement," Applejack said barely above a whisper. "She said, that Princess Celestia sent y'all to us here in Ponyville to make friends."
"That's very kind of your Princess," Famine said, as she regarded Apple Bloom, who entered sheepishly, and sullen. "Yes, my friends and I are each of us instruments of destruction."
Applejack shivered a little at the words. The way that she stated it so matter of factly, was a dosage of cold reality that she hadn't expected. In her heart, there were all sorts of things that she wanted to tell Famine, but she knew that she wasn't anywhere near as good as Twilight was with getting things out. She knew she fell short with words, but it didn't mean that she couldn't try.
"So is that all you do, just destroy worlds?" Applejack looked serious, as she said it. Almost as if she was about to start a fight. Apple Bloom knew that look as well, and sat still in the opposite chair, and stared with large eyes as she waited for what would happen next.
Apparently Famine was much smarter than she let on, since Applejack's behavior did not escape her attention. "You disapprove."
"Well I don't rightly reckon that I like the idea." Applejack was doing her level best to maintain eye contact with the charcoal mare. "I suppose it's one thing to pass judgement based on law, but from what I hear tell, y'all are out to wipe out a third, or fourth of a whole dang world. How in the name of Princess Celestia is that even fair?"
For just a brief moment, Famine allowed herself the luxury of frowning. "Fair? What would the element of honesty know about fair?"
"Beg your pardon?"
"It is difficult for you to understand, by reason of your nature. For you everything in life is calculated by the end result of honesty; you cannot see things in terms of justice."
Applejack was certain that she didn't fully understand, and she was certain that she didn't want to understand, but the fact was that her friends were counting on her, and she owed them.
"Care to explain that?"
"Certainly," Famine said. "You see for you, there is only the glaring truth of any given situation, right and wrong are by products of the fact. It is never one way or another, it simply is what it is. By the same token, justice is based on the present conditions of the circumstances, which can be one way or another. Truth demands an unrelenting eye to focus on the facts, but it is justice that looks beyond truth to see the intent of the matter."
Applejack shook her head for a moment, and tried her best to let what Famine was saying take hold, as difficult as it was.
"Let us suppose that there was a pony that stole a loaf of bread to feed his starving family. Let us also suppose that by stealing this bread he set the baker at risk of not earning enough money to meet his day's quota. This pony thief is found out, and captured, and taken before the court, and the truth of the matter is brought to bear on the jury. The fact is simple; he stole bread. But what is far beyond the means of the truth is another truth, which bears open the intentions of the soul. If the judge sentences this pony based on the honest facts alone, then the pony would suffer jail, and the law will be satisfied. But if the judge looks at the intentions of the matter, and deduces that hardship, and fear of starvation, lack of good-will from his fellows; all accumulated into this one act of disobedience... then a righteous judge would find in his heart leniency and compassion."
"But what does that have to do with the devastation of a whole dang world?" Applejack asked.
"Everything. For you see, beyond the facts, beyond the truth, the people of Earth have had ample opportunity to judge themselves, to seek out the intentions of their own hearts, and thereby escape the wrath of their maker almighty. But because they only saw things in the light of their selfish wants, and disregarded the paths of righteousness, committing crime after crime, and sin after sin; with no regard for anything, then the judgement will be swift and deliberate. You find it hard to believe that a whole world can be found guilty, but after two thousand years of mindless debauchery, with no excuse, no reason, no cause, and no justification, they have reached a point of no return."
Applejack was shaking her head, but Famine stopped her before she could speak.
"You want fairness. But I tell you, that when we ride to the brink of their world, and level it into dust and ashes, and blood; there will be nothing more fair. Children are told; be good, and follow the commandments, serve your God, and love your neighbor, follow the path of righteousness, and be good stewards of that which your creator has provided; abstain from wickedness, and forms of evil, and in the end, they repeatedly disregard this. Mocking their creator, making fools of those that do, suffering violence and cruelty to reign supreme in a world intended for holiness, and blessing, and after repeated attempts to encourage, to warn, and to coach, they still chose a life of luxurious greed over a simple basic creed; I ask you, what could be more compassionate, than to annihilate the evil from the world."
There was an argument there, Applejack knew it. But the fact remained that this scrawny, frail, and hollow being had successfully hauled off and whipped her mental ass. Despite the fact that she knew that an end of a whole world was wrong, she could not deny that when placed in proper perspective; it all made a maddening sense.
A creator was supreme; there was nothing placed higher in the cosmos than that. Like a parent, who is forced to spank their child, or punish them for a misdeed, it seemed that even a supreme being was forced to necessitate punishment for his children. When lessons fail to be learned, it casts a reflection on the teacher; and when children were disobedient, it reflected the nature of a parent.
One look at Apple Bloom was all it took for AJ to fully understand the level of burden that came with raising a foal. Many times in her life, Apple Bloom was a source of pure joy and delight; and at times, a hellion to be reckoned. When weighed in those truths, Applejack could only reply to Famine as honestly as her nature would allow.
"Mercy on us all."