The Return of Harmony Redux

by paiohelohelo

Ch. 4- Feuds Over Fritters

Apple Bloom was, by all accounts, having an extremely shitty day herself.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack called out to her younger sister as she marched up the stairs, another proverbial storm cloud hanging over her little red head.

“Abigail Bethany Smith!” Applejack called out again in exasperation, “Hey- I’m talkin’ to you, lil’ lady!!!”

“I know,” was all that Apple Bloom replied as she made her way into the upstairs hallway, still frowning, followed closely behind by Applejack herself.

“Apple Bloom, if you’d just wait one goshdarned minute-“

Apple Bloom promptly slammed the door to the guest room in Applejack’s face before her sister could even enter.

Applejack fumed under her hat for a minute before responding: “Now, that is the EXACT OPPOSITE of waitin’ one goshdarned minute, lil’ lady!!!”

Apple Bloom was strangely silent from inside the room; Applejack jiggled the knob a couple of times, only to realize that the silly little filly had probably locked it from the inside; she groaned, knocking on the door as lightly as her anger and frustration would possibly allow her.

“Apple Bloom, honey, would ya please open the door fer yer big sister? Please?”

“Go away!” Apple Bloom’s shrill little voice sounded extremely muffled by, ironically, the highest quality applewood available anywhere in the world, “I don’t wanna talk ta you right now- I HATE you!”

Applejack sighed as she banged her head on the highly polished fine- grain wooden door before her, hard.

“Well…” Apple Bloom went on to elaborate, “I- I don’t really hate ya, them’s some awful strong words ta put out there, n’ all, but…” Apple Bloom groaned in frustration. “Oh- GO AWAY, APPLEJACK!”

“Sugarcube, sweetie,” Applejack attempted to coo her sister into submission, “Let’s… let’s just open up this door n’ talk about this a lil’ more, alright? Honey? Baby? Honey pie? Sweetie pie?”

Applejack heard her sister let out a loud, defiant sigh; a few seconds later, the expertly crafted guest room door clicked before opening up; Apple Bloom was glaring at her sister, who only grinned back as innocently as she possibly knew how to. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and let her sister into the room, walking back to the dresser by the window and sitting down. As Applejack walked inside, Apple Bloom crossed her arms over her chest, sat up as straight as she possibly could in her chair, and tilted her head to Applejack, raising an eyebrow to indicate to her big sister that she was, indeed, ‘Lord Almighty Pissed’ as Pa had always jokingly put it…

“Awwww, HELL no- awwww, no, no, no,” Applejack glowered, pointing her finger straight at her little sister, “Don’t you dare do it, missy, don’t you dare go- awwww, SHIT,”

Apple Bloom abruptly turned around to face the wall with her back to her own older sister, prompting Applejack to sigh out loud in a very tired way; after all, she herself had seen this particular battle tactic many, many times before…

“Apple Bloom- git back here!” Applejack grit her teeth in anger and frustration, “Apple Bloom- you git back here RIGHT THIS INSTANT, lil’ lady!!!”

Apple Bloom refused to answer her sister as she sat, entirely still and motionless, facing the guest room wall; indeed, even the most fickle sculptor alive would’ve absolutely beamed with pride upon seeing the rather irate young redhead’s silent, immovable likeness.

“Alright, I git it, I git it… LAP Mode has been activated n’ whatnot…” Applejack let out a long sigh, cringing slightly. “…LAP Prohibitions are now… siiiiiigh… in full effect…”

Apple Bloom’s dainty little lips curled upward into a slight smile, even as she continued to sit facing the wall.

“Lookie here, lil’ sis… I’m sorry, alright?” Applejack apologized, “I jus’… lost my head fer a second, that’s all… let’s jus’… let’s jus’ talk this over, alright, sugarcube?”

“Lost yer head? You lost yer head?!” Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes at Applejack before turning back around to face the wall again; to add, in Applejack’s mind, insult to injury, Apple Bloom quite spontaneously and quite sarcastically began to imitate the stereotypically despondent, melodramatic Southern Belle:

“Why, ta even dream of it," Apple Bloom swooned, "mah very own flesh n’ blood, kicking me outta her most stately mansion, leavin’ mah very fortunes up to none but the cold, bitin’ December winds n’ the very pitilessness of the stars themselves…“

“-Alright, Scarlett O’Hara, now hold yer horses,” Applejack butt into her sister’s soliloquy, “first of all, it ain’t even winter yet, n’ second of all, If I’m kickin’ ya anywhere, lil’ lady, it’s either back ta UCLA or back home ta Sweet Apple Acres!” Applejack blinked a few times. “… Um, the other Sweet Apple Acres...”

Apple Bloom pouted. “But Applejack- !”

“- Save it, missy, ‘cus I already heard it all before!” Applejack cut her off as she rubbed her own aching temples à la Twilight Sparkle. “I already told you, Apple Bloom, there is no way in hell I’m a- jus’ gonna let you drop right outta school like that! And ta think-“ Applejack quickly and quietly reigned in her temper, ever mindful of the LAP Prohibitions still in effect, “- to think that’chu jus’ up n’ expected me ta play accomplice to yer lil’ bout of grown- up deliquency, is just so… so… so… SO…” Applejack finally tested out one of Fluttershy’s meditation techniques right there on the spot, “… goshdang- diddly disappointin’, is what it is… sayin' the very least…”

Apple Bloom looked defiant. “Applejack, the world’s changin’ mighty fast… magical mystery cities are poppin’ up all over the place like daisies, mah very own sister thinks that she can jus’ go off n’ play Wonder Woman- I mean, who are GI Joe n' I ta try ta stop her, am I rite?- but I’m jus’ expected to stay stuck all by my lonesome’s at college, actin’ as if everythin’s jus’… jus’… business as usual?!”

Applejack blushed, tipping her stetson forward. “Well, I… I- I can't honestly say that I know what ya mean by that, lil’ sis… I mean, shoots, Wonder Woman... heck, I ain’t even that good with a lasso…”

Apple Bloom cleared her throat quite pointedly. “Oh, really? Oh- that’s rite, big sis- I’ve really, really, really just been- well- fixin’ ta catch up with ya, n’ seein’ as how I got the perfect chance right here, right now… so, um, Applejack… jus’ how has yer year been treatin’ ya so far, hmmm? Do ya find it ta be a little… adventurous at times, maybe even a little… titilatin', perhaps?”

Applejack didn’t say anything; she merely scrunched up her nose and stared right up at the ceiling.

“Applejack?”

Applejack thought for a moment before responding; eventually, she shrugged her shoulders, deciding to play it cool:

“Um, well… nothin’ doin’, really… I mean, ummm, ah just up n’ got me a brand new wheat thresher fer mah South Field, so I'm guessin' that’s somethin’… cost me quuuuuite a pretty penny, too- hoowee, I tell you what-”

Apple Bloom simply raised another eyebrow at her older sister.

“OKOKOK, alright Apple Bloom… ya really wanna know why I don’t want ya stayin’ here wit’ me???” Applejack finally told the truth, at long last, “it’s because, your horribly irresponsible bouts of collegial truancy aside, it just ain’t that safe fer ya ta stay here, alright? There, I said it- ya happy?!” Applejack sighed, readjusting her hat brim in the process. “Now, Apple Bloom, I don’t exactly know what’s been goin’ on wit ya lately, jus’ plannin’ on droppin’ outta school like that, but I love you, lil' sis, and, ya know, livin’ here ain’t exactly one big hoe down after another, it just ain’t, alright? It’s jus’ plain dangerous livin’ here in Equestria, sugarcube, n me askin’ ya ta help me out fer a couple weeks out of the school year is one thing, but…” Applejack grit her teeth and looked down, “… you askin’ me ta have ta worry ‘bout ya, jus’ like I gotta do, day in and day out, fer dang near everybody else that I care about here is jus’… well… it’s jus’ too damn much fer me ta handle on my own, ok?!”

At that, Apple Bloom looked quite guilty and embarrassed to have thrown such an ostentatious, showy temper tantrum. “Applejack, you know I love you, too big sis, but… I mean- why you always gotta be so alone, anyway?” she looked up with her big, doe- like eyes, “The way I figure it, if I was livin’ here wit you, you wouldn’t have ta be, now, would you?”

“Apple Bloom,” Applejack sighed heavily; her mind had already been made up long before dinner had even finished. “Now, I already told you, I said no. I’m sorry, lil' sis, but that’s just the way it’s gonna be… I’m sorry,”

Hurt and dejected, Apple Bloom turned back to the wall, pouting. Applejack shook her head, her hands on her hips, staring at the back of her sibling’s fuming, little red head.

“Well…” Applejack muttered, trying to make any kind of small talk that she could possibly think of, “… I see you’re still taken ta wearin’ that ragged ol’ ribbon on top- a yer head…”

“N’ I see that you’re still taken ta wearin’ that ragged ol’ hat on top- a yers,” Apple Bloom responded without even turning around; Applejack laughed at that, running a hand over all of the wrinkles and soft spots all along her favorite old Stetson. Sighing to herself softly, Applejack walked over to her pouting little sister and began to stroke her ponytail where it collected under a faded pink ribbon tied very neatly into a pretty little bow.

“Goodness, ya know, I can still picture that day in mah mind, almost like it was yesterday, or somethin’… Mama tyin’ that scrawny lil’ thing to the oak tree in the backyard, all in order ta-“ Applejack chuckled, still caressing her little sister’s mane, “- ta get lil’ baby Apple Bloom ta stop cryin’ so damn much…”

Apple Bloom smiled as well, fondly lost in memory. “’Tie the pinkest ribbon found around that old oak tree… back before she knows it, back before the stars she sees…”

Applejack sniffed as her heart became flooded with many, many long- ignored memories and emotions of her own; she sadly smiled as she petted her younger sister’s soft, ginger bangs, longingly gazing up at the big, blue evening stars brightly twinkling at her through the guest room window. “Eeyup… Only bright pink, absolutely nothin’ less fer Mama’s prettiest lil’ baby girl…”

Apple Bloom looked back at her older sister, a melancholy expression of her own on her face as she gently stroked the hand stroking her own hair; suddenly, though, she smiled brightly as she jumped up from the chair, forcing Applejack into it; Apple Bloom took her older sister's hat off, placing it on the dresser with one hand and picking up a rather large hair brush in the other.

“Awww sis, come on, now…” Applejack muttered, chuckling as she wiped away tears. “You serious?”

“Not really, although I really do believe that the condition of yer hair might jus’ be a mite serious,” Apple Bloom joked as Applejack cracked up in laughter.

As Apple Bloom undid her older sister’s own hopelessly tangled up ponytail, Applejack slowly removed her grimy old work shirt, exposing a simple, gauzy white cotton camisole underneath; Apple Bloom frowned as she noticed something entirely new sitting on her sister’s right shoulder for the very first time…

“Um, Applejack…” Apple Bloom inquired, “… is that a tattoo?”

Applejack, realizing what Apple Bloom was referring to, touched her own right shoulder and smiled gently; inked into her skin were what appeared to be three bold, bright red apples arranged into some sort of pyramid.

“Oh, that?” Applejack smirked, “Why, that there’s mah very own cutie mark, lil’ sis…”

Apple Bloom frowned again as she gazed over Applejack’s beautiful little personal symbol. “Yer whatnow?”

Applejack grinned at Apple Bloom, looking at her over her own shoulder. “You know, right after The Battle of Canterlot was over, there were a whole lotta survivors who thought it best ta just up n’ leave the place, almost as if they jus’ wanted ta, I don't know, forget that the whole damn thing ever even happened… well, me n’ the gals had other plans, ourselves, mind you…” Applejack sighed, squeezing her eyes shut, “…I… I can’t tell you, lil’ sis, I just can’t… tell you how difficult it was, actually deciding to stay here in the end, but… siiiiiiiiiiigh, here we all are, I guess…”

Apple Bloom stroked her sister’s hair in loving support as she continued.

“Well, anyways, Pinkie Pie got this here idea from the characters on her show, how each of them had this sort of magical Equestrian version of a horse’s quarter mark, some kinda symbol that represented what each horse was all about n’ whatnot, n’ what they had, um, experienced… well, it wasn’t long before she suggested that we all sort of got real “cutie marks” of our own, as she called ‘em, all ta help bring us closer together, ta help us get over what we all went through together fightin’ that damned Nightmare Queen… well, sure enough, it wasn’t long before all the rest- a the survivors took ta doin’ the same… now, mind you, not everybody actually decided to get ‘em right on their asses, obviously, but… I don’t know… I guess, in a way, we were all jus’ tryin’ to do the same thing, ta feel closer ta each other n’ ta show the whole world that, “hey, we’re all still here, we’re all jus’ gonna be, well, right as rain, ya hear?”…” Applejack began to chuckle, shaking her head, “… well, not too long after that, cutie marks sort of became a rite of passage fer pretty much anybody comin’ ta stay here in Equestria, I guess, sort of a way to say that you had something kinda interesting ta tell about somethin’ that happened to ya, right here in the old country, and that, um, you really belonged here, I guess…”

Apple Bloom ran her fingers over Applejack’s cutie mark in awe.

“I can’t imagine, Applejack… I can’t imagine what y'all must’ve gone through, just in this past year alone,” she softly whispered, still running her fingers over her sister’s cutie mark. “… Everything’s changed now... the world’s just... so different than what it used to be, ain’t it? But you’re still here, big sis… ain’t cha?” Apple Bloom kindly smiled into her sister’s eyes, “You’re still here, Abigail Jacqueline Smith, you made it… you belong here, and you did it standin’ strong on yer own two feet, jus’ like Ma n’ Pa woulda wanted ya to- you beat that nasty old Queen n’ you really… found out what you were really made of, now, didn’t you?”

Applejack sniffed; Apple Bloom went on.

“Applejack, you know how much I love you… how much I care about n’ respect you, that I pretty much never looked up ta anybody else in this whole entire world ‘cept mah very own big sister, herself… but Applejack, come on, I ain’t a baby no more… why won’t you let me find my own cutie mark for myself? Why won’t you just’ give me a chance ta, I don’t know, find out what I’m really made of deep down, too? Applejack, why…” Apple Bloom wiped a tear from her eye, “…why in tarnation do ya gotta be so goddamn alone all the time… I mean, why, big sis… if’n y’all can help it, that is?”

Applejack covered her eyes as she began to cry, very, very softly; Apple Bloom just hugged her as tightly as she possibly could as the two Smith sisters finally stopped arguing with each other, if only for a little while…

Applejack eventually dried her eyes, sighing quite heavily to herself again as she did so.

“Alright… fine.”

Apple Bloom gasped, holding her sister at arms length, a smile wider than Pinkie Pie’s plastered all over her happy little face.

Applejack shook her head as she began to laugh again in earnest. “Yeah, alright, Apple Bloom, you can stay here, there’s jus’ two conditions ya gotta follow first if yer gonna be livin’ under my roof, ya hear?”

“Anything, Applejack, anything,” Apple Bloom hugged her older sister repeatedly in gratitude, “Oh, thank you, big sis, thank you!”

“Alright, well…" Applejack giggled a bit at her sister's extremely eager- beaverish, can- do attitude, "... first of all, you definitely better get yerself some sort of job or somethin’ ‘cus there sure as hell ain’t no free rides at Sweet Apple Acres, sugarcube…” Applejack blinked again. “… ummm, y’all know what I’m tryin’ ta say…”

“Of course! And the second thing?”

“Please, fer God sakes…” Applejack elaborated further, cringing again slightly as she did, “… do ya think you could maybe cut it out with the whole Scarlett O’Hara bit while yer stayin’ here? Dammit girl, ya know full well how it jus’ creeps the livin’ bejeezus outta me…”

Apple Bloom laughed heartily before tightly but lovingly squeezing her big sister in a hug. “You got a deal!”

She sighed to herself quite happily. Well… Apple Bloom thought, maybe this here trip wasn’t such a gigantic, enormous waste of mah money, after all…

Applejack smiled contently to herself as well as she hugged her little sister back.

Ya know, Applejack, she thought to herself, maybe, JUST maybe, this might not turn out ta be such a horrible n' completely stupid decision on yer part, after all… still... might be kinda nice havin' more than jus' one lil' ol' Apple on the farm...

******************************************************************************************************

Iron Will stood before all of Canterlot, the ancient Equestrian capital city still glowing very faintly in the distance, even as the moon itself began its very slow, very long descent below the horizon. He had never thought that he would ever live to see the old city again, here like this, in all of its glory and splendor; not too long ago, he remembered, it had been his sworn personal duty to oversee the very security and protection of all of Equestria… and now…

Iron Will sighed; yessireebob, these sure were strange times to be had, indeed…

“Oh, come on, Free Willy,” Discord beckoned and Iron Will turned from the wide, panoramic mid- air view of Canterlot through the viewing ports in order to face him. “If you’re going to just stand there all night looking incredibly dour, then you just know that your beef wellington’s going to get all soggy and ruined…”

Iron Will turned back to the viewing ports. “Thank you, Your Majesty, but I really must decline…” he trailed off as he stared intently into the darkness. “… Never did have much of an appetite before a serious engagement, myself…”

Discord sighed as he shoved more fancy, exquisitely delicious entrées that he had made himself entirely by hand onto a long, elaborate dining table on board their airborne vessel, dressed himself in a simple white cooking apron over his business suit that read “Kiss Me at Your Own Peril”; lit candles and fresh flowers adorned the entire length of the table, and somewhere, somehow, soft, elegant chamber music was playing.

“Oh, Willy… now, however will you beat all of those big, scary army men out there unless you get a little strength n’ vittles in you, my boy, hmmm? I mean, after all, you are what you eat, and so forth…” Discord suddenly turned to Sunset Shimmer and smiled. “… More lemon tarts, my dear?”

“Of course, My Lord, definitely!” Shimmer gleefully replied through an entire mouthful of Discord's sumptuous cooking, sitting at the dining table and looking rather elegant in a stunning evening gown as she gorged herself silly on The Emperor's new dishes. “… mmmmmm, you know, I must say, Your Highness, the white truffle porcini risotto was really quite excellent… however, do you think that you could maybe bring out some red pepper flakes when you can, Your Majesty?”

“For you, dearie, anything,” Discord smiled as he poured her another glass of wine, winking, a cotton towel actually draped over his arm as he did so; Iron Will sighed, shaking his head.

“Goodness gracious…” he muttered to Sunset Shimmer as she continued to feast like a queen, “… well, aren’t you just the proverbial pig in a blanket all of a sudden…”

“Hey,” Shimmer simultaneously shrugged and shoveled what looked like, to Will, nearly an entire lobster tail into her mouth with a fork. “Girl’s gotta eat, ‘m I right?”

At that moment, the cowardly Diamond Dog from Alpha team walked into the dining chamber, bowing before Lord Discord as he did. “Your Majesty, the packages have all been delivered… everything is ready to go, just as you’ve commanded,”

Lord Discord smiled, flinging his apron over his neck. “Good, good… why, thank you, anonymous lackey, I really don’t know what any of us would even do here without you,”

The cowardly Diamond Dog bowed and scraped again as he left the room; Iron Will sighed quite heavily as he turned back to face Canterlot; Discord walked up behind him, patting Iron Will on the shoulder in high spirits.

“Oh, come on, Willy, relax, after all, the night is young, now, isn’t it? Well, at least younger than me… enjoy it…” he toothily grinned at the very grim general before him, “… I mean, here we are, aren’t we? Right upon the enemy’s gates, as they were, the opposing forces completely unaware of anything even remotely suspicious going on in the area, our vessel cloaked in the very latest Equestrian stealth technology, The Elements of Harmony themselves blind to our very presence…” Discord sighed as well, but quite contentedly. “… I mean, talk about your lucky stars…”

Iron Will simply grit his teeth, conflicting emotions welling up all of a sudden in his heart; had he really made such a terrible mistake in coming out here, after all?

“Lord Discord?” Sunset Shimmer momentarily stopped eating as she frowned at a plate of green pasta before her. “Um… none of this has any pesto, right?”

Discord clapped his hands and chuckled. “Oh, that’s right, you said that you were absolutely, positively, deathly allergic to pesto… why, whatever was I even thinking?” he slapped his own forehead; Sunset Shimmer simply put down her dinner fork and stared at him as he turned his attention back to Iron Will.

“Like I said, Willy, relax…” Discord patted the general’s shoulder again as he looked out over all of his lucky stars. “… Tonight, we eat, drink and, I suppose, act incredibly merry, and tomorrow, at dawn…” his sinister little lips curled up into the most devious of smiles, “… we storm the gates.”

Comments

[DX-1118 C]

Did he kill sunset just now

[paiohelohelo]

3480882
I don't know... did you want him to?
Seriously tho, thx again for reading! :) I will try to keep updating regularly, the next few chapters have a lotta detail! Will try to answer all of your questions as we go on, I really hope you're still enjoying my quite uninspired, quite unprofessional mess of words!!! :D

[DX-1118 C]

3481594 oh okay, I thought since she was deathly allergic, and I thought she are some soooo
Me bad

[paiohelohelo]

3485337
np! Thx for getting involved with the ridiculous plot, as it were! Thx again for reading!
edit: oh, next chapter will be up soon, its very um, detail oriented :)

[ibcrb]

Love it! Love the fast pacing. And the Kiss at your own peril apron is amazing. :)

[paiohelohelo]

Update:

Um, so if you noticed this has been on hold for a while, so sorry 'bout that! :( Got really sick, and then I started writing/developing the characterizations for the upcoming Crystal Empire Redux, so I had to kinda go back and "streamline" this story (or at least all of the unpublished chapters) to fit The Crystal Empire... um, now that I'm coming back I really will try to get back up to my usual 1 chapter a week, let's see if I can really do it! ;D However, sadly, I've come to realize that The Crystal Empire Redux (set to be released sometime, i don't know, say after the season 4 finale) will unfortunately be the third and last installment of this my Redux Trilogy... yeah, you know, I never really meant for these stories to cover the show's events all the way up 'til their end {knocking on wood}

Anyways, The Crystal Empire should bring the Redux arc to its (hopefully, sort of) thrilling conclusion, and its end will roughly coincide with the personal transformation of Twilight Sparkle in the show into the princess that she is now. Thanks again to everyone who has stuck by me all this time, I hope you have fun, and, please, stick around, folks... we're not done yet, baby, "real life" ken kiss dis pony'z azz! XD peace

EDIT: Oh, since I've already started, I was wondering whether you all were interested in The Crystal Empire Redux being released all at once, or like this now in serial form so you can react as we go along with the chapters... drop a comment down below... above :? Forward, not backwards, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards the future! :O

Sincerely,
Paiohelohelo (or, at least her ghostwriter... "Ghostwriter!" >:D Sorry, I just couldn't help myself... also, I can't help but think of the jingle for Crossfire when I try to sing the correct theme...)

[paiohelohelo]

3508930
Sisters... the best Christmas present :) and Birthdays, too! {squee}

[TheColorGreen]

So, the chapter was good, but I think you're using italics too much. It's kind of distracting since I naturally emphasize anything in italics when I read. But that's really my only complaint.
3608651
I probably wouldn't mind it being released chapter by chapter. But whatever you want is great. Can't wait for part 3!

[paiohelohelo]

3859626

Thanks fer reading! ^-^ I was totally wondering about the italics usage too, thank you for being constructive in your criticism, i really do appreciate the chance to make better stories fer y'all!

As you've probably noticed, I have not written the story for a long time (I apologize mucho mucho po!!); fear not, I have not abandoned it, but season 4 has already kinda "rattled" my canon so i've decided to wait until the season is over, and then I will publish both the rest of the chapters and "The Crystal Empire Redux" (which is currently in progress) before Season 5 as soon as I can safely account for the great expansions in the show's canon accordingly in order to produce a fitting ending to the Redux series.

Um, I'm also looking for an artist to do a commish for the cover pic for "The Crystal Empire"; I need somebody who can do anime/human stuff; nothing too racy plz! msg me in private if ur interested; Deviantart examples are always appreciated!

Thanks again to my fams and to everybody who have been so very nice, and thanks again to TheColorGreen for the analysis! See y'all soon yo! :D

[HB_DS2013]

Everyone in the cover looks so depressed...

[HB_DS2013]

Just how bad is Sunset's pesto allergy?

[PinkPumpkinPie]

Hey, uh, Are you okay? I'm new here but it seems you haven't been around for a really really long time. Hope you're alright!