Precaution
“Hold on. Y’said Spike died.”
“He did.”
“Then how’d he come an’ pick them up? That don’t make sense.”
“Nonsensical I’ll agree with, but it happened. And it was Spike, before you ask.”
“So what? Did Spike just go into some kinda magical dragon healin’ hibernation or somethin’?”
“Nope. He was dead.”
“Then how—“
Silence.
“No.”
“Yep.”
“No, y’can’t… yer lyin’, it can’t…”
“I am, am not, and it is.”
“Wait, what the buck’s going on?”
Two voices in tandem. “Quiet, Rainbow.”
“Twilight’s not that stupid, even if she went nuts she wouldn’t-“
“Are you sure she wouldn’t? Her mind, addled in grief, anger, already confused and overwhelmed by events, you don’t think it would do something drastic to restore some semblance of normalcy to its routine?”
“No! Twilight, you wouldn’t-“
“Of course not!”
“I still don’t-“
Four voices. “Quiet, Rainbow!”
“In any case, since I know you’ll ask, that wasn’t what made you turn against her. Not totally.”
“Then what was?”
“Her offer.”
“…offer?”
A sigh. “You came to Canterlot after… Spike’s visit, and gave us more of an understanding on just what Twilight did under the dome. Among your explanations was what, precisely, she had done to get you to turn your back on her.”
“An’ just what was this ‘offer’?”
“I think you can figure it out.”
Silence. A sigh.
“Fine. I’ll tell you what you told me.”
---
Applejack padded slowly into the barn, the eastern sun striking her shadow against its wall, rounding the ajar door and taking a breath of the air. There were the typical smells; dirt, hay, sawdust, animal smells left from years ago. Still, despite there being no real difference from the normal, it simply smelled wrong in the barn. It sounded wrong as well, the silence having become heavy and foreboding. The echoes were off, bouncing back to her at odd angles that somehow reminded her think of a filly’s laughter. A tear began rolling down the farmpony’s cheek.
Dangit, girl, stop cryin’. Apples never cry. Gotta set a good example.
Applejack forced herself to tear her eyes from her hooves and look at the stack of logs arranged in the barn. It wasn’t just any pile of timber, however – each log had been an apple tree, purposefully cut short of its life, and placed to form a small platform. An Apple family tradition, whenever an Apple died. Another tear. Applejack’s eyes rose, and rested on what – who - lay atop the apple trees. A small, frail thing, yellow coat freshly washed, mane and tail combed clear of knots, eyes closed and face blank as she faced upwards. Apple blossoms, in full bloom, surrounded her, with one gently placed atop her forehead and another on her chest. Despite her sadness, Applejack smiled, walking up to Apple Bloom.
“Hey, sis.”
Silence.
“Ah went into town this mornin’. Everypony was talkin’ about ya, sayin’ how brave you an’ Sweetie Belle were for tryin’ t’protect each other. Cheerilee told me her whole class wanted t’spend the next day just writin’ goodbye letters t’you and Sweetie. Those two fillies y’were always complainin’ about even came an’ said they wished they’d been nicer to ya.”
“Look, sis, Ah got my cutie mark! Ah finally found my special talent!”
“Ah know how excited y’were t’be fixin’ up this barn here, movin’ the animals back into it an’ all. Seems like every day y’were out here measurin’ or hammerin’ or sawin’…” Applejack swallowed. “Me an’ Mac, we… we agreed that y’should get yer spot here, when all’s said an’ done.”
“Ah was thinkin’, maybe Ah could fix up the barn? Y’know Granny wanted it done, and Ah might as well get some experience with fixin’ things…”
“Scootaloo’s still in the hospital… Ah’m not sure if she knows what happened yet… but hay, she’s gonna recover, so there’s some good news…”
“Why would Ah want to stop helpin’ my friends? We made a promise to get our cutie marks together, an’ that’s just what we’re doin’!”
Applejack brought up a hoof, brushing her sister’s face lightly. She tried to speak again, but her voice caught. She sat with Apple Bloom, in silence, for several minutes.
“Y’know, me an’ Mac were so proud of you when y’found yer special talent. Ma an’ Pa would’a been jumpin’ off the walls for ya, Ah reckon.” She took in a shuddering breath. “But you, y’never let all the congratulations distract ya. Y’just kept on helpin’ yer friends until they got theirs too. Then all three a’ya celebrated. That’s the magic of friendship right there, sis.”
“Ah don’t care if you don’t like it! Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are already there! Ah’m goin’ to the rally, with or without ya!”
Small drops began to impact the dirt below. Applejack stepped away a small bit, rubbing her eyes. She looked at Apple Bloom again, taking in another shuddering breath.
“Ah’d do anythin’ t’have you back, sis. Ah love you so, so much. Ah just… Ah hope you know that.”
Applejack turned, taking slow, steadied steps towards the door. She rounded the edge, taking one step away from her sister’s rest. Two. Three.
Then she found herself sitting on the ground, staring at the dirt as it darkened under her eyes. A light stomping came from ahead of her, and soon she was shrouded in a large shadow.
“Hey, Big Mac.” She said tonelessly, not looking up to see her brother. He simply walked closer, sat down in front of her, and placed a hoof on her shoulder. Then he wrapped that leg around the back of her neck, drawing her in and resting her head on his shoulder. He placed his head on her shoulder, and she could feel the wet streaks left by tears.
Mac’s cryin’? That ain’t right. We’re Apples, we… we ain’t supposed…
Then she felt her own tears, the dark wet lines cutting down her face, and she stopped thinking, allowing herself a moment’s freedom.
When she stopped crying, the sun was touching the tops of the apple trees. She slowly leaned back, slightly out-of-breath. Big Macintosh simply rubbed her shoulder a few times, then stood, shook himself, and walked into the barn. Applejack watched him, trying to focus her extremely blurred eyes on something, and then slowly stood on numb legs.
Southern orchards need some clearin’ done. Might as well…
She began to stumble off in the direction to the left of the setting sun. She felt what could probably be described as better, but it was closer to a relief of pressure: It left her feeling deflated. Every kick she sent hit home, just like any other day, but the shocks of each impact felt different than they usually did. She tried to feel angry, or satisfied, or even sad again. There was nothing.
She barely feigned caring when Rarity showed up. All of the normal emotions of her lover’s arrival were present in full force, but they slid around her mind as if they were covered in lard, and left behind about as scuzzy a residue. Even the urgent worry that tore through Applejack when she saw the distraught lines in the fashionista’s face, as well as the conflicted smile, was somehow detached.
“Rares? Y’all okay, hon?” The farmpony asked, walking towards Rarity to meet her. The unicorn absently ran a hoof through her mane and gave a small laugh.
“Okay? Darling, dearest sweet Applejack, I’m more that simply okay. I have news that is cause for celebration!” She gave Applejack a kiss, which the earth pony returned after a mild hesitation. Enough emotion stuck to pull the corners of her mouth upwards.
“Well, Ah do suppose Ah could use some celebratin’…”
“Excellent! You recall how Twilight has been… rather hermetic, as of late?”
“Ah guess…?”
“Well, only this afternoon she has emerged from the Library and sent out messages for the entirety of Ponyville to gather near the remains of Sugarcube Corner. She’s promised that she can restore everything, everypony, back to the conditions before the Riot!” Rarity grabbed Applejack, hugging her tightly. “Don’t you see? Everything’s going to be back to normal!”
Applejack kept her smile, but she lost the reason for it. Oh, dear Faust, don’t let me lose her too…
“Rarity, Ah… Ah don’t think everythin’s gonna go back t’normal, sugarcube.”
The unicorn pulled back, her smile faltering as she stared into Applejack’s eyes. “No, no, you misunderstand! Please, Applejack, come with me. Twilight shall be able to better explain it than I.”
And so Applejack found herself being brought back into Ponyville, picked up and dragged several times when Rarity became impatient at her sluggishness. The streets were deserted, but mostly cleaned up of any trace of the Riot; they had been packed earlier in the day with cleanup volunteers and other ponies simply making out their daily lives. Though Applejack was surprised that there apparently wasn’t anypony that hadn’t gone to Twilight’s show.
Slowly, a din rose from closer to the town’s centre. The two ponies began to hurry, coming around a corner to see a sea of ponies crowding around Sugarcube Corner’s former standing place. On the rubble, covered by a gigantic white sheet, a wooden platform held a purple unicorn.
“…and why is it that we are not allowed to question? Why is it that we are ignored by our ‘almighty’ leaders, our grievances unaired whilst we are forced to suffer through constant threats?”
Applejack and Rarity cut through the crowd, a small part forming when the townsfolk realized who was pushing past them. The two Elements of Harmony joined their friends at the front of the crowd. Applejack, as with the others, had her eyes locked on Twilight, who was pacing from one end of the platform to the other as she gave her speech.
“It is because they are afraid!” A cheer rose from the crowd. “The Princesses, the royal family, neglect us because they know our power! They allow us to suffer because they wish us to remain fearful and indebted to them! They stop us from innovating, from creating ways for us to survive and thrive for longer than they wish! For millennia, Celestia has sat atop her throne, supported on the backs of countless generations of common ponies, and only listened to those who have no concept of our struggle!” Another cheer, this one echoed loudly by Rainbow Dash and mutely by Pinkie and Rarity. Applejack turned to find the other three enraptured by Twilight’s statements, only now noticing Fluttershy’s absence. “And when we try to throw off the shackles they have forced on us, they strike against us! They attack, they destroy, and yes, they kill!” A glow of her horn, and the sheet disappeared. Spike’s head came into view, causing everypony to stumble back in shock. “They took from us our homes, our friends, our families, our foals, because they want us to fear them!” Twilight leapt from the pile of rubble, landing near the dead dragon’s head. She glanced at it for a moment before tearing her eyes away. “But I’m here to tell you that we do not need to fear! I am here to tell you that there is nothing that they can do to us that we cannot recover from!”
Her horn glowed again, and a scroll flew from the platform down to her. She unrolled it, showing the strange sigils on it to the crowd. “This is a spell that Celestia and her ilk demanded destroyed when they realized what it would mean for ponykind! It was locked away because they feared allowing the common pony to become as they are!” Her horn glowed again, a lance of magic striking the scroll. Black and white lightning shot out from the parchment, the symbols glowing as the scroll became enveloped in a purple vortex. “With this spell, they can strike us down, they can poison us, break us, end our lives, and we will keep fighting! We may die, but we will show them that they are not the only ones who are immortal!” Loud thunderclaps began accompanying the lightning, rocking the ground as the runes on the parchment glowed brighter and brighter. Applejack watched in unconscious horror as the scroll was enveloped in light, before one helix of black-and-white lightning splintered off and struck Spike. Twilight began laughing maniacally, throwing her hooves up as one last thunderclap accompanied the lightning strike. “Witness now the fear of the alicorns!”
Everything became silent. Twilight breathed heavily, panting as her eyes fixed on Spike. The parchment stopped glowing, falling to the ground in a pile of ash. Nopony noticed, every eye watching with rapt attention on Twilight and Spike.
Suddenly, the dragon’s body twitched, small piles of rubble rolling off of it. A gasp ran through the crowd as Twilight galloped the short distance to her assistant’s head.
“Wake up, Spikey-Wikey. It’s time to wake up.”
At her words, the dragon twitched again. Slowly he rolled onto his belly, his arms stiffly lifting him as he rose to tower over everypony. His wings spread, locked joints giving audible cracks as they loosened. His eyes opened, passing over the crowd, before moving to Twilight, whose horn continued to glow and crackle with energy. He held out a claw, and she stepped into his grasp, allowing him to lift her high above the other ponies. Applejack felt a very solid spear of terror pierce her heart.
No, she can’t… she wouldn’t…
“You see what the Princesses have denied us! Imagine how the assault by the guardsponies might have gone had we access to this power! We were too scared to use it then, too fearful of their power to embrace our own! But are we now?”
There were a few shouts.
“Are we now?”
A more solid chorus of voices. Applejack turned to see Rainbow Dash shouting. “No!”
“Are. We. Now?!”
Every voice but one answered. “NO!” Twilight laughed, and Spike roared his support, illuminating the evening sky with fire. The unicorn began calling out again.
“We will rebuild! We will reform! We will be reborn! We shall! Have! Our Revolution!”
“REVOLUTION! REVOLUTION! REVOLUTION!” The crowd roared. Rarity turned to face Applejack, her face filled with unmasked elation and reverence. Applejack’s terror turned ice cold.
“Come on, darling! She said she wanted to speak with us after the demonstration!”
“Rarity, Ah-“
“Oh good, you made it!” the librarian’s voice cut in. Applejack turned to face her just as she was stepping off of Spike’s claw. The dragon seemed to sag as her attention left him, only giving further confirmation to Applejack’s fear. “I wanted to ask you both something.” At their silence, she continued. “I am aware, of course, of your sisters’… fates in the Event and the subsequent assault by Celestia’s guardsponies. But as with Spike here, I think I can help both you and them.”
“You… you don’t mean…” Applejack breathed. Twilight turned to her, and gave her a look of pure friendship and sympathy.
“I can bring Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom back!”
Rarity shrieked in excitement, jumping on Twilight and wrapping her hooves around the purple unicorn. Applejack stood, thunderstruck.
Resurrection death rotten
Sister alive happy smiling
Wrong evil shell dead
Apple Bloom
A vision appeared to Applejack; her sister, smiling, laughing, living. The young filly growing into a strong young mare, an Apple through and through. Finding her special somepony, raising a family, growing old alongside her siblings and foals. Applejack reached a hoof out, trying to catch the vision. Her hoof simply passed through the air, and a small rumble led her vision to the dragon seated in front of her, head bent downwards, as if he were asleep. The eyes stared blankly at the farmpony. Her jaw set.
Twilight smiled at Applejack around Rarity, clearly proud at her declaration. That smile faltered at Applejack’s expression.
“…No.” The farmpony said.
“Wh…what?”
“No. No no no no NOOOOOOOOO!” Applejack roared. Twilight and Rarity both shrunk back, and Applejack rapidly spun and shot through the remains of the crowd, bowling over anypony unlucky enough to be in her way.
She had been afraid when she had recognised what Twilight was doing. She had noticed the insurrectionist rhetoric the gathering had been bathed in, obviously, but she forwent the worry about that topic for the more immediately dangerous one. Twilight’s use of the scroll had set Applejack completely on edge, and Spike’s resurrection had sent her over into full-blown terror. She couldn’t believe that Twilight could have been so stupid as to forget why that spell was locked up, why there were never any resurrections performed no matter how desperate or rich the requester. What happened to the resurrected. And then the offer.
It didn’t matter whether Twilight knew why resurrection magic was banned. It didn’t matter that she had gained access to a resurrection spell out of nowhere. It didn’t matter whether Twilight was ignorantly trying to help or cunningly manipulating support.
What mattered was that she’d offered to bring Apple Bloom back, and Applejack had nearly said “Yes.”
That made Applejack very, very angry.
It only took three minutes for Applejack to reach the farm, but the sky had darkened away from the town. The farmpony charged up to the house, barely stopping as her brother stepped out.
“Applejack, what in the hay-“
“That roar you heard earlier? That was Spike.”
Big Macintosh’s eyes shot fully open. “But he’s-“
“Yeah. He was.”
And with those three words, Mac realized Applejack’s anger. He set his teeth.
“What did she do?”
“Exactly what you think. We need to set up the pyre now.”
Mac simply growled, rushing back into the house. Applejack bolted in the other direction, grabbing as many old lanterns and bundles of dried hay as she could find. She threw them around the barn, opening the hay bundles and letting them cover the ground. Every few piles, a lantern was thrown against the barn wall, coating the area with a thin spray of oil. She had just gotten back around to the front as her brother rushed out of the house, carting four barrels of hard apple cider with him. He rolled one over to her, which she quickly opened and bucked into the barn, leaving a trail of the alcohol soaking into the dirt. The same action occurred with the other three, each sent flying into the barn at different angles by the farmpony.
“Y’got the lantern?” Applejack asked. Her brother nodded, setting it down beside her. He turned the cart on its side, ducking behind it. Applejack lit the wick, letting the flame grow before picking it up and looking into the shadowed barn. “Rest in peace, Apple Bloom.”
Then she flung the lantern at the open door and jumped behind the cart.
foo-BOOM
The sound was much greater than the actual explosion, Applejack knew, but she still half-expected to see the entire area around the barn completely blackened and burning. Instead, the barn was the only thing on fire, the hay and oil eating its outside wall as a white-hot inferno immolated everything within. She turned to her brother, breathing heavily as the air came back.
“Get t’Fluttershy’s. Make sure they ain’t gonna try anythin’ with her.”
Mac nodded, getting up and galloping away. Applejack simply sat, catching her breath for the first time since Ponyville. She leaned her head back, resting it on the cart and watching the sky. Two shooting stars streaked across the sky, shortly followed by a smaller, fainter one. Applejack couldn’t help but smile for a second.
Then she heard hooffalls coming up the road, and she gained an angered grimace.
“Dear Celestia…” Rarity breathed, slowing as she came closer to Applejack. “Darling, isn’t the barn where-“
“Shut it.” Applejack barked. She turned to the second unicorn, who was staring at her in something resembling fear. “Get off of mah farm.”
“Applejack, what have you done?” Twilight asked, a small amount of despair in her voice. “You’ve… you’ve killed Apple Blo-“
The first buck knocked the wind out of the unicorn. Her eyes bulged as Rarity gasped, legs falling out from under her. Applejack spun and bucked again, sending Twilight flying through the air. The unicorn gasped in a breath just in time for the earth pony to deliver a third, even more vicious kick. Twilight flew again, impacting a tree with a loud crack. She coughed out her breath, accompanied by a small amount of blood. Rarity rushed to her side, only to be shoved away by Applejack. The farmpony took her rope out from her hat, rapidly tying a lasso and placing it around Twilight’s neck. She drew it tight, eliciting weak struggles from the disoriented unicorn.
“You listen.” Applejack said, leaning into Twilight’s ear. “We are not friends. We are not acquaintances. We do not have any sort of relationship from this point on. If Ah ever, ever, see you anywhere near mah property again, Ah’ll put this rope back around your neck. Then the apples won’t be the only thing hanging from this tree.” She jerked the lasso back harshly. Twilight whimpered. “This is your only warnin’. Y’have three minutes. Go.” She loosened the rope, pulling it back. Twilight twisted, and the lasso came off of her. She slid up against the tree, staring at Applejack in shock.
The farmpony turned to Rarity. “Applejack, what in Faust’s name-“
“You have a choice. Her or me.”
The fashonista blanched, becoming even whiter as the blood left the skin beneath her coat. “Wha…”
“Either you run with her or you stay with me. It’s your call, sugarcube.”
Rarity sputtered, her eyes rapidly darting between the unicorn and the earth pony. She stared at the ground between the two for a minute, before bringing her tear-filled eyes back up to Applejack. “She’s… she’s my sister…”
Applejack gave a growling huff. “Fine. If you’re so monstrously selfish that you don’t see what’s wrong with doin’ what Twilight’s offerin’, then you ain’t welcome here no more.” Rarity flinched as if struck. Applejack felt bile rise in her throat. She turned away from both ponies. “Y’have one minute. Then Ah’m takin’ a new scarecrow.”
Applejack didn’t turn as the white unicorn scrambled over to the purple. Nor did she turn when a teleport sounded. Only one minute after they were gone did she allow herself to look back. Nopony was there.
For the second time that day, Applejack cried.
---
Everypony was looking at something, Broken noticed.
Rainbow Dash and Pip were both looking – glaring, really, but it was hard to tell with Pip – at him. Spike, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were looking at Applejack and Twilight, glancing between the two intermittently. Twilight was trying very hard to look like she wasn’t staring at Applejack. Applejack was staring at the floor.
“Twilight…” the farmpony began.
“Y…yes?” the librarian squeaked.
“Y’wouldn’t… y’wouldn’t happen t’have a scroll, like the one that Broken there just described, in the library right now, would’ya?”
“Um… I don’t-“
“Lyin’ ain’t doin’ ya any good, girl.”
Twilight shrank back a bit, aware of everypony’s eyes on her. “I… um… it’s only for reference! I would never-“
Applejack slammed a hoof into the floor, startling everypony but Pip and Broken. She looked up at Twilight.
“Bring it here. Now.”
“Applejack-“
“NOW!”
Twilight stood stock still at the earth pony’s outburst before slowly moving towards the stairs. Then she hurried down them, and the basement door could be heard opening and closing.
Applejack gave a mix of a sigh and a growl. She stood, stiffly walking towards the closet. She ducked her head in, emerging with two of the intact bottles of cider. Walking back to her spot at much the same pace as before, she set the bottles down in front of her. She opened one, wrapping her mouth around it and knocking her head back, downing the bottle in one go. Her eyes screwed shut, slightly reddened when she reopened them and fixed them on Rarity.
“Y’didn’t…huh…y’didn’t know about the scroll, did’ya? Please?”
Rarity cantered back slightly. “Dear Celestia, no! Those…things… are only supposed to be in Canterlot, from what little I’ve heard of them.”
Applejack nodded. “Okay then. Thanks, hon.” She cracked the second bottle open, taking a swig as Twilight ascended the stairs, a black case in tow.
“Here it is.” She said, setting the case on the ground. Two clasps flipped open, and the top swung back to reveal a rather ordinary looking scroll. Applejack sighed again. Leaning her head down, she gingerly grabbed the scroll in her teeth before rapidly removing it from the case and placing it on the floor. She took another swig of the cider, as if to wash the taste from her mouth. Then the earth pony upended the bottle, pouring its contents over the parchment.
“Spike, burn it.”
Twilight’s eyes went wide as her pupils shrunk, and she shot a horrified stare at Applejack. The dragon simply looked at her confusedly, as did most of the others.
“What?”
“Burn it. Real fire, not letter-sending fire.”
Spike turned to Twilight, who gave a tight-lipped, almost imperceptible nod. Then he shrugged, drawing in a breath.
“Wait!” Every eye turned to Broken. He glanced at Applejack. “The cider’s not the right kind of alcohol to-“
“We water it down with Stalliongrad 180 Proof vodka. Apple family secret, don’t tell anypony.”
“Oh. Complaint withdrawn.” Broken nodded. Spike blew a small flame at the soaked scroll, jumping back as it eagerly caught fire. Applejack stared at the flames; Twilight stared at her.
“Applejack, I-“
“Save it. Ah need t’calm down a bit.”
Twilight closed her jaw, flicking her eyes to the happy flames. A few sparks shot up, rose-coloured magic swatting them out of the air before a small barrier arose around the fire. Applejack and Twilight both glanced at Broken, who shrugged.
“Don’t want the library catching fire.” A side of his mouth pulled back. “Yet.”
Several minutes passed as the flames burned down, ponies casting uneasy looks between each other all the while. When the flame sputtered out, Applejack sighed, standing. “Ah,” she announced to the group, “Am gonna go make sure mah sister knows how much Ah care about her. G’night.” Then she walked, very carefully collected, down the stairs and out of the library. For another minute, there was silence.
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash spoke. “What the buck is going on?!”
Broken brought a hoof up to his face. “I just explained it…”
“No you didn’t! Why was Applejack so angry? What was that scroll there? How the hay did Twilight bring Spike back from the dead?!”
Broken stared at her, blinking. He leaned forward as if to get a better look at her. “…by Celestia, you’re serious.” He laughed. “You’ve lived here how long and you’ve never heard of necro-“
“AH!”
The simultaneous yells of three mares cut him off. He turned towards the glowering Twilight, noting the similar looks from Pinkie and Rarity. Fluttershy was simply looking worried.
“What, I can’t say nec-“
“AAAAH!”
He pulled his mouth back, bearing his teeth. “Nec-“
“AAAAAA-“
Three ropes of magic appeared around the ponies’ muzzles, a shield popping up between the group and Rainbow Dash. Pip moved towards Broken, meeting the shield, which sent him flying back into the wall. Broken smirked, turned his gaze back towards Rainbow.
“Nec-ro-man-cy,” He said, emphasising every syllable, “Is magic centred around life and death. Its basic form, resurrection magic, was developed in an attempt to foster better relations between earth ponies and unicorns, back when tribalism was still fairly entrenched in the culture but after unification and the Princesses taking power. Unicorns could revive crops destroyed by wild animals or pegasi stupi-er, ‘unintended weather side-effects’, which means earth ponies could grow more food. Everypony wins.”
Rainbow glowered, but kept her attention on the stallion. “So why’s it bad?”
Broken sighed. “Basically, they tried resurrecting a tomato plant that was completely dead and shrivelled. Just a dab of magic and BAM! Instant, giant, juicy, delicious and healthy-looking tomatoes on a thriving vine. But when they bit in…” he shivered almost imperceptibly. “The tomatoes looked good, sure, but inside they were completely bad. Blackened and oozing some sort of rotting goo. Everypony who tried one – about twenty ponies, ten earth and ten unicorn, all of them bit in at once ‘in a show of solidarity’ or some horseapples like that – got extremely sick. Some died.” He shrugged as Rainbow sat down heavily.
“Woah…” she muttered, then shook her head. “Wait, that was a plant. Spike’s a dragon.”
“Yeah. The spell works on all living things, as it turns out. A few minutes after the sick ponies were carted away, one of the ones who remained saw the mostly-deteriorated skeleton of a mouse claw its way out of the dirt.” Broken sniffed the air. “Actually, if you’ll give me a moment…” He turned away from Rainbow.
“O-kay…?” she gave a glance at the others, now unshielded, all of them (sans Pip) casting worried looks at either her or Broken.
Broken padded his way to the wall, leaning against it to look behind a bookcase. He searched a moment before letting out an “Aha!” and drawing out a dead mouse. A small eek emitted from Fluttershy. Broken turned to a wide-eyed Spike. “Tell your pet phoenix to stop playing with its food, will you?” Shaking his head, he brought the mouse back to Rainbow, setting it on the ground. “So, what basically happened was that a mouse like this“ he motioned to the corpse on the floor “started doing this.” Small strands of magic wound themselves around the mouse’s legs. The mouse stood up on wobbly feet, its legs quivering and head lolling downwards. One more strand wrapped around the neck, and suddenly the mouse was giving a dead-eyed stare at Rainbow. She grimaced.
“But mice are animals… does being smart do anything?”
Broken gave a huff. “When creatures of intelligence – ponies, dragons, gryphons, diamond dogs, and so on – are resurrected, it seems that a large amount of brain damage occurs in the area of the brain that tracks a pony’s personality. They become husks, puppets on strings. Totally locked into the wills of those who brought them back.”
“So nothing’s left of the old ponies? Who they were before?”
“Well, I’m certain some memories are retained, so long as the chemicals are still there, but…” Broken gave her a look. “Listen. If I slit Cotton Candy’s throat right now, and brought her back in five seconds, she’d probably remember everything about you. But that wouldn’t stop her from slicing, dicing, and making cupcakes out of you if I wanted her to.” He grimaced at her horrified expression. “I’ve met a few resurrected ponies in my life, and all of them were puppets. Even if a unicorn thinks that the pony they’ve resurrected is back to normal, they’re wrong. It’s just subconscious magic. We cut off magic flow, and the things drop like the corpses they are.” He gave another shrug. “In any case, the whole thing is still a really sore point for most earth ponies, especially farmers. Best way to piss them off is to talk about bringing somepony back.”
Rainbow sat, continuing to watch the now-inanimate mouse. “I… I need…” She stood stiffly, and suddenly Pinkie was there beside her. The two walked down the stairs together. Fluttershy quickly followed, mumbling something about giving the mouse a proper burial before grabbing it and rushing down the stairs. Broken turned to the two remaining ponies, ignoring Pip as best he could.
“Rather odd, nopony warning her about that…”
“It’s not something most ponies need to know about.” Twilight said, giving him a slight glare. He simply stared back at her.
“I’m presuming none of you have questions?” He asked, including Spike. He and Twilight shook their heads. Rarity spoke up.
“Actually, I was wondering…”
“Yeah?”
“What did she look like? Dazzle, I mean.”
Broken stiffened. He quickly looked at the floor, resting his eyes on the charred remains of the scroll. “She… she had wings. And a horn.” He coughed. “A powder blue mane and a dusted pink coat. A perfect smile that lit up any room she entered, blue eyes that would pierce your soul. Just as a baby she made the finest art look like mud-splattered rags. When she spoke… it was bells, thousands of little glass bells, making the most perfect sounds. Her laugh… dear Faust, her laugh…” Broken began to shake, little droplets falling from his face onto the floor. He brought a hoof up to his eyepatch, rubbing it before a hiccough sent the hoof back down to the floor. Rarity and Twilight exchanged a look, but before anything could be done the stallion had leapt to his feet and stumbled into the closet. The shattered door flew at the open space, forming into a jagged wall in place of any sort of mobile length of wood. A few thumps, and a keening sound began.
“Trust me, it’s best just to let him go.”
Rarity bit her lip. “I didn’t mean for him to-“
“Don’t worry about it; he’ll act like nothing happened later. Until he’s willing to confront it, I’m not willing to push him on that particular subject.”
Rarity nodded. “Well, I must be going. Farewell, Twilight and Spike. And Pip.”
Twilight gave her a wave, watching as she walked down the road into the evening town. She spun to find Pip behind her.
“Where would Milady wish me stationed?”
She gave him an odd look. “Where were you these last few nights?”
“The Everfree. If you wish, I could return there.”
“Oh, no no no. You can… stay in my room, if it makes you feel better. Just don’t get in bed with me.”
Pip nodded. “As you wish, Milady.” He turned, and Twilight had a thought.
“Wait, Pip.”
“Yes, Milady?”
“You aren’t… um, you… you’re still alive, right?”
Pip nodded. “Milady refused to employ undead ponies in her guard. Too great a waste of resources.”
Twilight gave her own nod. “Good. Could you get Spike to go to bed, please? Tell him I said so.”
“As you wish, Milady.” The stallion walked to the stairs, ascending them as Twilight watched. She waited a minute for the sound of a door slamming shut before scrambling for a blank roll of parchment. Finding one, she quickly brought it up the stairs, towards the pile of ash and the still-present scroll case. Setting the parchment down, flattening it with her magic, she gently blew on the pile of ash, sending the little particles flying in a cloud. A few more gentle brushes of air, and a burnt edge of parchment emerged.
“There you are…” she mumbled, drawing the piece out of the pile. She glanced at the symbols in order to make sure they were intact, and succeeded in giving herself a headache. Rubbing between her eyes, she carefully transferred the runed page onto the new parchment. She slowly rolled the parchment up, feeling the spell’s magic pulsate through it, and gave a grimace as she placed it back into the case, completing the dirty business.
“Sorry, AJ.” She muttered, before teleporting to the basement and replacing the case in its hiding spot. “I just can’t risk it.”
Then she shook herself, turned, and ascended the stairs, leaving the spell where it belonged.
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Saw that last bit coming from a mile away
Also, REVOLUTION
Anyway, great chapter as always. Though I wonder just how Broken found out about all that was going on in Ponyville. Could be that I missed something somewhere, I often do
1875832
Start of the chapter:
Broken: "FIne. I'll tell you what you told me."
Basically, Applejack told him, as well as the Princesses, what happened in the time preceding chapter nine, so that they'd have a better idea on how to handle Twilight's insurrection. This is his relation of her claims.
1875871 Told you I tend to miss things
1875882
Don't be worryin'. In a novel I read, I missed a character's introduction by accident, and spent the next three chapters trying to figure out who he was and why everybody hated him.
Dun Dun Dunnnnnnn..... So Twilight preserves the knowledge, that's hardly surprising. Good or Bad, magic is magic and I can't see a bibliophile like Twilight ever willing to destroy it. Still, I'm seeing Broken as more of a bad influence that looks to be driving Twilight towards the fate he thinks is going to happen by isolating her from her friends. I will be quite disappointed if this turns into some variant on the self-fulfilling prophesy.
The problem is, the main six just sit there and take it. Kind of breaks the mystique when they just go along mindlessly as he poisons their relations with events from an alternate universe. I'm not saying that I don't understand how they think the same could happen, but there seems to be quite a different set of preexisting conditions.
Even more, I'm disappointed in Celestia ever sending Broken to Ponyville without even attempting to learn of his history. Had she known, or even bothered to find out, I'm fairly sure she'd keep him away from Twilight for as long as possible.
1875909
"Seeing Broken as a bad influence..."
Broken is certainly not doing much good, no matter how he feels about it. However, you have to remember that he views Twilight's turn into Dawn as unalterable; he is trying to turn her into Dawn early so that she can be shut down easier. His entire focus is on making sure that she does as little damage as possible.
He is not trying to help her. Or the others, really.
Nonetheless, I despise the 'self fulfilling prophecy' trope, and can assure you that such an ending will not occur. No matter how many ponies think so.
"The problem is..."
None of them have any real idea how to deal with him, other than shipping him off (as Rainbow and Applejack have/will vociferously suggest) to a mental facility or back to the dungeons. Twilight's been attempting to allow him to simply work off his pent up anger and frustration, although that idea isn't necessarily working.
However, and I apologize if this hasn't been made clear, the only one of them whose had their faith in Twilight shaken any significant amount is Applejack; the rest are still firmly in Twilight's camp, and it's going to take a lot of pounding to get them to leave. Even with Applejack, she isn't close to leaving Twilight and going with Broken. The necromancy thing has simply gotten her thinking about packing her bags (in the literal sense in the metaphor).
"Even more..."
Celestia's been receiving copies of Broken's claims from Spike. Unfortunately she's rather idealistic, and has been hoping (with Twilight) that he simply needs to let go of his hatred to start healing back into a normal pony.
This is obviously not working. She's going to catch on, trust me.
Oh Twilight, you'd better have a damn good reason for keeping that scroll.
Zombie Spike, o my
Someone just shoot Pip and Broken and call it a night; they are only causing more trouble.
Hello, I'm Robert of the universe police. I'm looking for a Broken Armor and a Pip.
Broken: "Yes?"
You are both sentenced to death for influencing a reality not meant to go down the same path as your own.
Broken: "How do you plan on killing a seasoned Royal Guard? You are skrawny in comparison to some of the creatures I've ended."
With this here, a German Luger. Now sirs, you shall join your respective dead family members.... Oh, and I am uneffected by magic....
1877511
Aye, but that would rather be a copout, don't you think?
1878340
Pretty much lol
The shooting stars from Apple reunion episode
and zombie ponies are puppets! nicee!i wonder what will happen..what happened ..i mean in the next flashback
This is getting amazing I really love this...So twilight just got nuts
PURE AWESOME!!
Actually, I did read the whole thing, but I was incredibly emotionally charged by the end of it (kind of plays in to my limited emotional states).
For those wondering about Broken's psychological state, he displays many of the neuroses present within Mind Matter and I's family, and the rest of his mental issues are drawn from various mental ailments (PTSD, brain damage, etc.).
There are more familial connections and in jokes, such as during the flashback involving Dazzle, Shining Armor appears to share many traits with our father.
That being said, Mind Matter says the plan is to have the next chapter up on or around the 20th.
"transferred the runed page" Do you mean "ruined"? I ask because I want to eliminate the possibility that you really DO mean "runed".
Also, I can wait as long as you want. but I will be extraordinarily displeased if we don't get a very explicit explanation of the "it" Twilight is unwilling to risk. But your notes reassure me on this point, so I'm not too worried.
2692451
the page itself was filled with runes, which was stated previously, therefore it was runed... numbskull....
though I am worried about Twilight not wanting to 'risk it'
Risk what, pray tell?
3221183 The page was both runed and ruined, and referring to the page simply as "runed" is an odd, if perfectly legitimate*, construction, IMO, so I think it's pretty uncharitable to call me a "numbskull" for wondering if there might have been a typo. Admittedly, my question should have been asked with the implication that "ruined" was the lesser probability, not the greater, but that's all.
Also, that question was answered here.
*I believe, despite autocorrect's disagreement.
TWILight bucking sparkle.
Twilight, you sonuvabitch...
And you were doing so well... Wall, time to get my muder face on! LET'S KILL SOME PURPLE UNICORN!!!!
Ok this is getting more Intense