The Way of the Maneaanite

by Wheller

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sheriff Silver Star and Braeburn trotted back into the sheriff’s office after being gone for a few hours.

‘Ah coulda sworn I’d seen somethin’...’ Braeburn said.

‘It’s all right Braeburn’, Sheriff Silver Star said. ‘I for one, am just glad to know whose side you’re on’.

Braeburn nodded and departed from the sheriff’s office without another word. Sheriff Silver Star turned and immediately spotted that Applejack was sitting in the gaol cell that was occupied by Graham Cracker, he immediately raised an eyebrow at this, eyeing her suspiciously.

‘How did you get in there?’ He asked.

‘Uh... Ah don’t rightly know?’ Applejack said, that wasn’t a complete lie. She figured that Big McIntosh had done it, but she had no evidence for it, to be perfectly honest. ‘Ah woke up in here! Can ya let me out?’

Sheriff Silver Star nodded and picked up the keys and walked over to the gaol cell door. ‘No funny business, ya here?’ The Sheriff said plainly.

Graham Cracker looked up from his book and nodded in affirmation. ‘Wouldn’t dream of it,’ he said. Sheriff Silver Star opened the cell door, Graham Cracker leapt up and in under a second was on top of the Sheriff, kicking him in the face hard and knocking him out. He picked up the gaol keys and fumbled with them in his hooves.

‘Ah thought ya said ya weren’t gonna pull any funny business?’ Applejack asked.

‘Did this look humorous to you? Because it certainly didn’t to me’, Graham Cracker said, smiling with his eyes towards Applejack. ‘I have to knock you out too, otherwise they will believe that you helped me escape’.

‘But Ah didn’t help ya!’ Applejack cried out. ‘Ya did just fine on yer own!’

‘I know that, you know that, the town ponies are not likely to think the same way’, Graham Cracker said simply.

‘Fine. Go ahead, Ah guess’, Applejack said, and shut her eyes tight. She felt Graham Cracker’s hoof connect with her face, sending her to the ground and quickly off to the land of the unconscious.

Graham Cracker pulled Sheriff Silver Star and Applejack back into the cell and quickly locked it up behind him. He went over and unlocked the other two cells and freed his fellow New Maneaanites from their bondage and instructed them to follow him. Graham Cracker used the keys to get into the sheriff’s lock up, where they retrieved their weapons and ammunition.

‘Come, brothers and sisters, we must make for New Maneaan before...’

Ratta-tatta-ratta-tatta-ratta-tatta!

‘Before that happens...’ Graham Cracker said as his voice began to trail off. He pushed open the door to the sheriff’s office to discover, that to his horror, Ditzy Doo had returned with two of Moses’ MARs clipped into her storm harness, and she was tossing fire bombs onto Appleoosa’s buildings.

The town ponies were all running about screaming their heads off, it was mass confusion and panic, such disorder as the town ponies fled in all directions. Worst of all, all of the buildings were wooden, and there was a slight breeze, the fire was spreading quickly. Graham Cracker already knew that it was too late.

Appleoosa was burning to the ground.

He turned to two of the nephites behind him. ‘Get Applejack and Sheriff Silver Star to safety. I will handle this’, Graham Cracker said.

He trotted out into the centre of town and looked up. ‘Ditzy Doo!’ he cried out.

Ditzy stopped her assault momentarily, looking down at him and haphazardly tossed the fire bomb that she had just lit off to the side, landing on a building that was already on fire. ‘Graham Cracker! Good you’ve escaped! I figured you’d probably find a way to escape without my help. This way we can cover our retreat’.

‘Ditzy Doo... this, is NOT acceptable!’ Graham Cracker said. ‘What does the Book of Nephi say!?’

‘“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself.” This is different thought!’ Ditzy Doo called out. ‘These are NOT our people! They are not our neighbours, these... ponies are an affront to God, I believe you said it yourself, they require correction’.

‘We can argue about the meaning we are to take from the Book of Nephi later. You have sinned Ditzy Doo! But we will discuss what action to take against you when we return to New Maneaan. Now come! We must return with haste!’

Without another word, Graham Cracker, Ditzy Doo, and the rest of the New Maneaanites fled from the quickly burning Appleoosa.

...

Braeburn watched in horror as his town burned. Not only had that crazed New Maneaanite mare set fire to the town, she had set fire to the Apple Orchard as well. Braeburn wouldn’t have been surprised if you could see the smoke in El Paso Fino, or maybe even as far Las Maregas.

Worse still, he listened to the town ponies’ chatter, they were all crying out for blood. It burned Braeburn up inside, the town ponies were perfectly willing to blame the New Maneaanites for the destruction of their town, and worse still, they were perfectly willing to ignore the role they played in it.

‘SHAME ON YOU!’ Braeburn called out. ‘Shame on all o’ you! Yer all so riled up and want to blame somepony? Yeah, it was a New Maneaanite that burned the town! But les’ not fergit tha ‘uns who gave ‘er the matches. That’s on us! The New Maneaanites came in peace, and what’d we do? We attack ‘em. Far as I’m concerned? The Destruction o’ Appleoosa weren’t done by a New Maneaanite, but a group of Appleoosans’.

Braeburn sighed, and picked up the unconscious Applejack and slung her over his back. ‘But Ah know ya’ll, you ain’t gonna take responsibility fer what we all done. Ya didn’t with the Buffalo, and ya ain’t gonna do it with the New Maneaanites either. So you want ta conflict with the New Maneaanites? Well ya’ll can count me out, any o’ you that come ta yer senses can find me and mine in Ponyville’.

Braeburn began to walk away, headed towards the east. ‘C’mon Big Mac, If we go now, we can make it ta El Paso Fino by t’morrow mornin’’.

‘Eeyup’, Big McIntosh said, he fell in behind his cousin and the two of them began their slow march back home.

As could be expected, nopony followed them. In fact, they might as well have not even heard a single thing he said, for the Appleoosans went right to planning their revenge.

...

The anger in Ditzy Doo’s heart began to calm itself as they had reached the gates of New Maneaan; she sighed and looked to Graham Cracker. ‘You were right, I see it now, I was just... so angry. I let that anger consume me and I’ve sinned against God... the worst part of it is... I don’t think God can forgive me ’.

Graham Cracker looked Ditzy Doo in her eyes, and could see the sincerity behind it. She was sad that she had done what she had done. That was something.

‘God will forgive, it is what God does’, Graham Cracker said. ‘You are sincere; I can hear it in your voice. That is a start. Your road to forgiveness will be hard, I will not lie to you, but I do believe that you can make it’.

Ditzy Doo nodded in affirmation. ‘I will do my best to redeem myself’, Ditzy Doo said. The anger in the mare’s heart had all but burned itself out, now there was naught but sadness. She didn’t know how she was going to make up for what she had done, and worse still, she didn’t know how she could even look Dinky in the eye.

...

Applejack had awoken about an hour into Braeburn and Big McIntosh’s walk to El Paso Fino, Braeburn set her down and felt glad that she was back. The trio would hit El Paso Fino at day break if they kept walking all night. They could hop a train back home no problem.

Applejack looked at Big McIntosh sadly. ‘Big McIntosh? Ah just wanted ta say Ah’m sorry, Ah been big-headed an’ stupid ‘bout this whole ordeal’.

‘Eeyup’, Big McIntosh said.

‘It weren’t fair to run off like Ah did’, Applejack said.

‘Eeyup’, Big McIntosh said.

‘Ah just wanted ta say, Ah’m sorry and Ah hope ya can forgive me’, Applejack said with a nervous grin.

‘Ain’t me ya need ta apologise to’, Big McIntosh said simply. ‘Yer friends are tha ones who need an apology... along with Caramel and Carrot Top, who I hired to help out around tha farm while ya were away’.

‘Caramel and Carrot Top!?’ Applejack exclaimed in surprise.

‘Eeyup’, Big McIntosh said.

The group said little more during their trip, they walked for the entire night, not stopping until they arrived in El Paso Fino, where they purchased train tickets and hopped on a train, falling asleep practically the moment that they sat down, and staying asleep for the long ride out of the Mohoofie.

Comments

[Kamineigh]

35895
BROHOOF DUDE!

*prepares the exploding brohoof and shakes it wildly*

[Kamineigh]

And thus this is the chapter whereupon the bison dance on the graves of the Appleloosans, who's idea of a weapon is pie.

[Zerg]

[Apocalypse Pony]

Jesus christ.

Everything went to hell in a handbasket lightning fast

[DreadedCandiru2]

Great. Super. Ditzy's need to vent has gotten her friends into a damned war.

[Wheller]

37062
Nothing related to the actual story itself changed. Only the narrated endings (chapter 10 of And so it Ends And do it Begins Again.) Ditzy Doo is still a Pegasus. What made you think otherwise?

[DreadedCandiru2]

35571
I do remember that you made a point of talking about how useless she was as a business owner as well as how poor deluded, illiterate AJ was following in her nitwitted hoofprints.

[Super]

Gotta have a happy ending.

[Wheller]

39012

I'm awesome at those.

[unph]

You know, for a moment I thought that perhaps Big Macintosh's problem would go wrong, converting Applejack to a nephite and thus further separating her from her friends. The Applejack being illiterate part was quite a shock actually.