22. Hearth's Warming
Applejack heard the doorbell, and excused herself from the conversation of the room. Biting the tray of cider off her back and setting it down, the earth pony proceeded to the door. Who could it be?
Well her six best friends had already arrived. Big Mac was here too. They had all left Manehattan about a day and a half ago. Quite hesitantly too. Applejack hadn't heard from her sister since Monday. No other family members or friends were officially slated to arrive.
Applejack silently hoped the pony behind the door was somepony very special to her. Turning the knob, her prayers were answered. On the Day of Harmony no less.
Lo and behold they were Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Under normal circumstances, Applejack would've swooped up her sister and given the little yellow filly a big country hug. But the blonde mare took one look at the three standing before her.
Scootaloo looked to be the only sound one. The other two were covered in bandages and stitches. Applebloom was the most beaten up. Gauze had been wrapped around her right foreleg. Her other was caught in a sling. Her left eye was patched up, and a strip was placed on her snout.
"Howdy, AJ!" The yellow pony exclaimed, trying to bring as little attention as possible to her condition.
"Wha...how..." Applejack stuttered, stunned and shocked.
"Ah told y'all Ah'd come back!"
Rarity and Pinkie Pie heard the voices very clearly and galloped towards the threshold.
"Applebloom, darling―Sweetie Belle?!" The unicorn shouted. The sometimes dramatic mare picked up her sister, who had bandages over her chest and a nub of a horn. "Oh my only sister! What have they done to you?"
Sweetie Belle couldn't really say anything except "Ouch..."
"Please don't be too rough. I've put enough staples into them." Scootaloo said, half joking.
"Now what just happened to y'all?" Applejack demanded.
"Um...we got into a little scrap..." Applebloom replied. Honestly she didn't want to go into details. Ever. "C'mon girls! Let's take a seat."
Sweetie Belle wiggled her way out of Rarity's embrace and joined her friends on a nearby couch. Immensely sore, Applebloom took to the seat with gusto.
Applejack however wasn't so quick to forget the issue. "What happened?"
Scootaloo took it upon herself to explain. "Applebloom got into a nasty fight. She'll be fine. Sweetie Belle got shot―"
"WHAT??" Rarity screamed. "She's going to be alright, yes?" Then the older of the white unicorns noticed her sister's horn. "A...and her..."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "It'll grow back. She's just fine too."
"And what about you?" Rainbow Dash, sitting on another couch, asked her Lieutenant.
The orange pegasus spread her wings, showing that many crucial flight feathers were gone. She then shrugged. "Sorry, Cap'n. Looks like I'll be out of commission for a while."
The several seconds of awkward silence ended when Applebloom spoke. "Well...let's not allow this to ruin the occasion!"
Granny Smith gave a hearty laugh. "That's it girls! Take it like mares! AJ!"
Applejack stood at attention. "Yes?"
"Get them some drinks! Now we got plenty of cider to go 'round." The orange earth pony ran off to the kitchen. Granny Smith then approached Applebloom. "Dearie, Ah think there's somepony here who would like to see you.” The old green pony called out. “She's here!"
About ten seconds later, coming from one of the hallways was an earth pony sitting in a wheelchair.
Applebloom couldn't believe her eyes, and a large smile slowly grew on her face.
It was Babs.
The mare didn't look much better than Applebloom; battered and wrapped up. Wheeling herself closer to her cousin, Babs Seed gave the same smile. It was clear to everypony else that the two wished to embrace. But being too sore, they struggled to move. Soon they just settled on a hoof bump.
"Ah can't...Ah mean...how are ya?"
"Better now that I don't gotta be lawcked up in that hospital no more."
"Yeah. Listen, Ah uh..." Applebloom began, rubbing the back of her head. "Ah'm real sorry. Ah shoulda listened to you..."
"Hey! Don't blame yourself." Babs smiled. Applebloom smiled back. "How's that eye?"
"Ah dunno. Ah ain't the doctor. But Ah do got this ugly scar. How am Ah ever gonna get a date now?" Applebloom jested.
"'Date?' What about that handsome stallion ya live with, Applebloom? Where's he at?" Granny Smith said, always eager to advance her youngest grandchild's love life.
The industrialist blushed. "Our relationship is strictly professional! And he went to Hoofington to spend the holiday with his family."
Scootaloo meanwhile glanced at a clock. "Oh! It's one o'clock! You know what that means, Applebloom!"
Applebloom's eye widened. "Uh...no it isn't."
"What DOES that mean?" Applejack asked.
The orange pegasus produced a small tinted bottle from her saddlebag. "This." Popping to top off the bottle, Scootaloo realized it was best to request some help. "Anypony mind holding her down?"
"Why do we have to hold her down?" The orange farmer inquired, still confused.
"Trust me." Scootaloo then removed the patch over Applebloom's eye. Applejack and Big Mac came over to press down their sister for whatever reason. The orange pegasus carefully pulled her friend's eyelids apart, revealing a very sickly and damaged eyeball.
"What happened to her eye?!"
"Blunt force trauma. Now hold her still while I put some drops in. She really doesn't like it."
"Of course Ah don't! It hurts!" Applebloom said, struggling something fierce.
The yellow pony's thrashing wouldn't allow Scootaloo to put the drops in. She was starting to become frustrated. "Hold still, dammit! Do you know how long I spent in surgery trying to fix that eye?"
"There's gotta be a better way!"
"You know what? You're right, Applebloom. Hey, AJ! Could I borrow a pair of tongs? Make this whole thing a lot easier."
Babs, looking at this spectacle, laughed and joined the fun. "I'll get a towel!"
"Ok! Ah'll stop. Geez..."
After the medication had been applied, Applebloom blinked a few times and put her patch back on. "And you promise Ah'll be able to use it again?"
"Um...you might be able to see...shapes and colors."
"It's a small price to pay for what you did, AB." Babs said, grabbing a newspaper from the table. "There's a lot of praise for you in here."
It was yesterday's edition of Equestria Daily. Applebloom was VERY curious to know how much of the situation was reported, or made up.
"Hey Scootaloo? Could you read it to me?"
"Fine." The pegasus flipped to a page concerning the situation in Manehattan. "Some useless filler...here we go: ’The criminal activities in Manehattan have ceased, thanks in part to a civilian resistance led by a businessmare by the name of Applebloom.' No mention of a resoundingly fast Wonderbolt but whatever."
Scootaloo continued to glance through the story. "'It was discovered by a close associate of Applebloom that the political corruption spread to Canterlot itself, and a national investigation is being conducted.' "
"Way to go, Fancypants." Applebloom whispered.
"Really all it says is that it's better and you're the reason. But here's something interesting: 'A large portion of city voters have voiced mayoral support for Applebloom. It is unknown currently if she will run in the election, as former mayor...' How about that? Are you gonna run?"
"Probably not." Applebloom laughed. "I'm too honest and...moral for politics."
"Well in either case, she will be a major force in the social, economic, and political climate of Manehattan for quite some time." Sweetie Belle said, giving some insight seldom show for her profession.
"Uh-huh..." Scootaloo replied, not quite sure how to respond. "Hey. Here's another last bit: 'An anonymous donation of 500 million bits was given to the Manehattan Restoration Committee, but this journalist has a fairly good idea who might have done this.' Just how much money do you have, Applebloom?"
Nervously looking around, the yellow billionaire thought on her feet. "That's a great question. But why don't we start opening presents?"
Rarity perked up, knowing what the earth pony was trying to do. "That's a marvelous idea. We've all opened our gifts this morning. But I have set aside some for you all."
"As have Ah." Applebloom reached into her coat pocket and pulled out two tickets. "Here."
Rarity caught them in her magic. "Train tickets?"
"Yeah. Ah thought you and McIntosh would like your honeymoon somewhere nice. So Ah booked y'all a week at a very lavish Coltorado resort. Oh! Ah almost forgot this." She gave her sister-in-law a check. "Spendin' money."
Rarity's eyes bulged, and she became enveloped in emotion. "I...I don't know what to say. Thank you...Applebloom."
The next half hour or so was spent divvying out gifts. Unbeknownst to everypony else, Applebloom had given quite a bit of money to help Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle purchase things for the holiday season. Most of them were just vouchers representing things bought that were not well suited to the journey to Ponyville, and would be shipped to their respective destinations.
Next came laughter and conversation as the day wore on. Applebloom looked warmly at the joy this time of year brought. A nice distraction from the far darker things she had endured a few days ago.
"So Applebloom...what happened to...'her'?" Babs asked, relishing the moment of privacy the two had.
The yellow pony turned her head to the cousin, bearing a very serious face. It was enough for Babs.
"Alright. I uh noticed you didn't get no presents. I would've gotten one but you know..."
Applebloom gave a weak chuckle. "That's ok. Ah told everypony not to get me anythin'. What do Ah need?"
But it turned out a single present had been procured for the wealthy pony. Applejack picked it up and brought it over to her little sister. Her family crowded around and gave the small box to her.
"Ah know you said you didn't want nothin', but everypony deserves a somethin' on Hearth's Warmin'." Big Mac said, standing beside his wife.
"Y'all really shouldn't have." Applebloom began opening the box. "Ah don't need―"
There is was. A little wooden object carefully wrapped in tissue paper. Applebloom had not seen it in years. Wiping the tears from her eye, she pulled out the object.
It was just a toy. A carved wooden rabbit with four wheels. The toy held immense sentimental value for its new owner, and it looked better than ever with a fresh varnish.
"This...is the first thing Ah ever made. Thank you all so much."
"It's from all of us!" Pinkie Pie said "I'm so very glad you love it! Now who wants to go caroling??"
"We'll go out after dinner, y'all. Pinkie's done planned some games for us to play!" Applejack announced.
The occupants in the room all got up to partake in those activities. But Applebloom and Babs wished to remain where they were, for reasons nopony thought polite to bring up. "Ah'm gonna go back to work on Monday, but before Ah do, Ah'll put in a good word for you. Manehattan needs a police chief."
"So we're just gonna pick up where we left awff?" Babs asked.
"Might as well. Scootaloo and Sweetie ain't comin' back with me. Ah'll need somepony to drink with." Applebloom said, admiring the toy.
"I think I can manage that. Soon I'll be able to wawlk again, and Smokey's probably missed us, hah?"
Giggling to themselves, the two mares leaned back and took a deep breath. They were both tired and relaxation was all they wanted.
Applebloom would have a lot of work to do come next week, and rebuilding the assets and lives destroyed in the crisis would take a lot of time, money, and effort. But it was the life she had chosen to lead.
And she wouldn't trade it for anything. What she got out of it was worth more than gold, and shined brighter too. Money mattered little; she had already immortalized herself in both business and the hearts of Manehattanites. And Applebloom wasn't done yet.
The End