Chapter 11
“Mama, mama, tell me the story about the pegasi!”
“No!” The pegasus foal was shoved down as an earth pony leapt onto his head. “The one about earth ponies! We heard the stupid pegasus story last time.”
“Nah uh.”
“Yeah uh.”
“Nah uh!”
“Yea-”
“Can we hear about the unicorns instead, mommy?” said another filly, looking up at Pinkie with wide, innocent eyes.
“Now, now, stop fighting.” With a tender hoof, Pinkie pushed the two fighting foals apart. “Miss Twilight actually told me a really interesting story last time she was here. A story about where unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies came from.”
“Really?” All three chorused as one, and under their combined adorableness, even Pinkie had no choice but to cave in.
“Yes, really. Now gather around Auntie Pinkie-” One of the passing soldiers snorted, but a glare silenced him. “-and she’ll tell you the story that’ll really surprise you.”
All the foals scrambled before her, sitting down and staring up at her in rapt attention. All around them ponies walked, chatted to each other, or sat down to eat, but in this little corner of the massive mess hall, in this one spot where the grass and flowers grew without any earth pony help, all was silent.
“Now let’s see if I recall. Hm... ah yes, I believe it went something like this. No one knows when this happened, or where, only that it did indeed occur. There were two beings, regal and majestic, with fair manes and soft coats. This was back before snow, back when the sun was still with us, the moon still graced us, and grass grew naturally all around us. These two beings had the wings of the pegasi, the horn of the unicorns, and the strength of the earth ponies. But they were alone.”
“Like me?” asked one earth pony foal.
“Even more alone. You have us, and while we may not be related by blood, we are still a family.” At those words, a unicorn hugged the filly and it soon descended into a ball of fur and hooves and manes. With a small chuckle, Pinkie shook her head and turned to the others who were still listening in rapt attention. “No, these two only had each other, and for the longest time, it was enough. But as the days passed, the seasons turned, and years bled away, they sought something more.”
By now the tussling had ended and the three foals lay in a pile in the middle, their limbs tangled together in a way that must have been uncomfortable. But they stayed completely still and silent, listening intently as Pinkie continued her story.
“The younger pulled a feather from her wing an-”
“General Pinkie.”
With a sigh, she turned around and faced Windrunner. “What? I am in the middle of something.”
“Twilight has been spotted approaching from the north west, and she has two pegasi with her.”
“Bloody Twilight, always the worst timings. Fine.” Standing up, all the fillies let out a collective cry of despair and Pinkie threw a smile over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll finish the story at midnight, but for now, Windrunner has volunteered to teach you all how to fight.”
“I wha-” She never got to finish that sentence as she was suddenly swarmed by a horde of foals, easily dragging her to the ground before being carried off in the direction of the training hall.
“Poor Wind, she will be missed,” said Eclipse. “Did you have to send her off to her death like that? She was a promising recruit.”
“She interrupted story time with my foals, and that’s the only time I’m not dealing with party poopers like you,” said Pinkie as she stretched out her legs. “How far away are they?”
“They should have hit the entrance by the time we get there,” he replied. “I’ve already ordered the entrance covered, and to cordon off the area. If she’s as dangerous as you say she is, I am not taking any chances.”
“She’s dangerous, I know that much, but how dangerous? That’s another matter entirely,” growled Pinkie.
"Yes ma'am," replied Eclipse as they made it into the entrance hall. The balcony on the second floor had five archers and mages each, and along the ground was an array of soldiers, each with their weapons drawn and ready for combat.
"Lyra, you should be in hospital," sighed Eclipse.
"Ha! As if, I totally smashed those unicorns in that trap, and I'm going to smash this unicorn now."
"You can barely stand!" yelled Eclipse before muttering under his breath, "Sometimes, she scares me more than you."
"Hm...? What was that?" And just for good measure, Pinkie threw a grin. "Did you say something bad about wittle ol' me?"
"Of course not," he replied flatly.
"I dunno about that! It sounded to me like you did. Can you behave, or will Auntie Pinkie be forced to spank you?"
A blush tinged his cheeks, but he simply shook his head. "That won't be necessary ma'am."
"You sure?" smirked Pinkie. "Why do-"
"The unicorn is at the entrance!" yelled a pegasus and everypony immediately tensed up.
"Eclipse with me, everypony else, fire on my command," said Pinkie as she strolled forward, stopping in the middle of the room.
A second later, the door clicked open and in stepped Twilight alongside two pegasi. While the yellow one shrunk back, the blue one immediately shifted into a combat stance and flicked her wingblade out. For her part, Twilight merely stood there with that self-arrogant smirk of hers, totally at ease despite being surrounded.
"I thought you said this place was safe," hissed the blue one.
"It is." Twilight glanced over at Pinkie. "As much as I enjoy the welcoming committee, I'm here on business. Can we talk in private?"
"Weapons," replied Pinkie.
With a shrug, the unicorn unstrapped her crossbow and tossed it onto the ground and soon two daggers joined it. The pegasus though just stood there unmoving, a growl rumbling in the back of her throat.
"And the pegasus," said Pinkie.
"Make me," she snapped.
Out the corner of her eye, one of the unicorns twitched, and Pinkie immediately held out a hoof before the twitch happy stallion blew them up. "Either you surrender your weapons, or you can leave."
"Well you can go f-"
"Dash!" snapped Twilight. "Give them your wingblades."
For a split second, it seemed as though Dash was about to argue, but then she slowly lowered her wings and stepped back. "I'll stay here, thanks. You two can talk over whatever it is you want to talk over. Fluttershy, keep an eye on them."
"O-Okay..."
"That work for you?" asked Twilight.
"Sure. Eclipse, take her to the spare room and keep an eye on her. Twilight and... Fluttershy, was it? Come with me," said Pinkie as she turned around. "We can talk in my office."
"Spike, stay with Rainbow, I'd rather not return to a room full of bodies and blood," said Twilight.
"Are y... Actually, that's a good idea." Spike peeled off and settled on one of the upper balconies, looking down at them. "I'm just gonna stay here and totally not egg her on."
"Spike..."
"Alright, alright, geez." He rolled his eyes.
"He must really hate her," whispered Pinkie.
"I really don't know. He seems convinced there's some worth in her worthless hide," replied Twilight just as softly.
"So what? She's-"
"Racist beyond belief and a fanatic. Pegasi are the best, can never do wrong, an-"
"And you bought her here!?" hissed Pinkie, spinning around, but Twilight caught her before she could storm back. "Let go of me. A pony like that deserves to die, not to contaminate this place with her disgusting attitude."
"Leave her, she's not a threat to you or anypony. Too stupid for that," replied Twilight.
"She still deserves to be k-"
"Spike says otherwise," she snapped.
Out the corner of Pinkie's eye, she could see Fluttershy looked over at them curiously. "For now then. But one wrong move and she's gone. Got that?"
"Um..." Fluttershy glanced between the two mares. "Y-Yes?"
"She's good," said Twilight as they entered the main mess hall.
Instead of shrinking back like Pinkie had expected, Fluttershy just stood there with her mouth hanging open as she stared at the mass of ponies before her. From unicorns, to pegasi, to earth ponies, they all moved around each other, chatting happily and easily, laughter echoing through every corner of the room.
"This... this is amazing," whispered Fluttershy as she took a tentative step forward.
"She definitely belongs," said Pinkie with a happy nod.
"You want to stay here while we discuss things?" asked Twilight.
"Um..." Fluttershy glanced back at them before her eyes were drawn back to some fillies play fighting off in one corner. "I-I think I should come with you."
The two looked at each other yet again before Twilight shrugged. "Very well, come on then. I take it your office is still in the same place as last time?"
"Yeppers peppers!" said Pinkie as she began bouncing along.
"Don't worry, she's always like this," said Twilight as she followed. After a moment's hesitation, Fluttershy took up the rear.
"Aaaaaaaanyways, I'm Pinkamina Diane Pie, Pinkie Pie for short!" The bouncing pony led them through the maze of tables and chairs, waving happily at ponies, but never stopping. "How'd you meet Twilight here?"
"Well, um, she saved us when we got caught out in a snow storm."
"Yeah right. More like Spike forced her to save you two." The sudden change of tone caused Fluttershy to blink and Twilight to roll her eyes. "And don't you deny it, that has always been the story."
"I'd prefer it if you stopped pretending to know me," said Twilight.
"The only problem with that is, I do know you," Pinkie shot back.
"Whatever. Can we just get on with this?" said Twilight.
"Yes." Pinkie resumed her bouncing path, anger seething just below the surface, and she hated herself for it. It was one thing to hate a pony because they were racist, stupid, and a poopy pants. It was another thing to just hate another pony. Well, maybe not hate, maybe that was a bit too strong, but that cocky unicorn just rubbed her the wrong way. And that wasn't even getting into her whole stupid 'I work alone' thing! Ponies weren't meant to be alone. If they were, they'd be like manticores, living in caves and fighting for survival.
Never in her life had any pony ever annoyed her as much as that unicorn. But she did owe something to Twilight and that meant she had to help out that stinking unicorn. No. Bad pony. Deep breaths Pinkie, deep breaths. No racism allowed, not even from herself. No hypocrisy, no racism, no fighting, no yelling, and always, always, always have fun.
Eventually, they made it to the stairs and they began heading up. A quick glance behind her told her that Fluttershy was still in shock and Twilight was still as indifferent as ever. Up here, there were no ponies, and everything was still. It was calming in an odd sort of way. There was no need to keep smiling, no need to put on the act and pretend everything was fine. Up here she could be herself, and worry and relax with a cup of mead, and not be totally happy beyond belief.
Stepping into her room, Pinkie sat down in her chair and threw her hind hooves onto the table. "So what do you want?"
Twilight kicked the door shut. "There's a unicorn encampment in the Everfree Forest, and we're going to destroy it and we need your help."
"There's something you're not telling me," Pinkie immediately shot back. "There is no way you'd go out of your way to take down a single encampment. There's either something there or it'll benefit you elsewhere."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," replied Twilight with a shrug. "I'm merely informing you of a base that's technically within your territory."
Pinkie scowled and turned to Fluttershy. "Well? Is she telling the truth or not?"
"Um... I don't know...?" Fluttershy flinched back at the stare Pinkie gave her. "They, um, talked about it while I was asleep."
"Really now." Pinkie's stare turned back to Twilight. "Why am I not surprised?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Sure." Pinkie folded her hooves. "Tell me, or you get no help."
"Alright.May we stay the night before leaving tomorrow morning?" asked Twilight as she turned around.
"No problem, but that blue one will need to stay under guard."
"She'll be so pleased about that," muttered Twilight under her breath. "Very well, come on the Fluttershy, time to leave."
"Um... bye..." She gave a shy wave before following Twilight out.
Leaning back in her seat, Pinkie began counting to ten, and just as she hit eight, the door slammed open and Twilight stomped in with a growl. "Fine! I'll tell you, but only if you promise to help."
"Depends."
"No, that's not how it's going to work. You promise to help and then I'll tell you," said Twilight.
"From the looks of things, you're the one who needs me." Pinkie grabbed one of the files on her desk and began reading it. "So either tell me or get out."
"I hate you so much," growled Twilight.
"Hate you too," chuckled Pinkie.
"There's a ruin in the Everfree, I think it holds the information I want. Unfortunately the unicorns know of it,and their base is set up at the edge of the forest as part of their main supply chain into other territories. We take it out, and we can search the ruins without fear of being stumbled upon."
Pinkie cocked an eyebrow. "I may act all happy and crap, but that doesn't mean I’m an idiot. Attacking them will just alert them to our presence, and I know you realize that. So I ask again, why do you need our help?"
From the way Twilight was grinding her teeth together, Pinkie wondered if she'd have any teeth left or if they'd be ground to powder.
"There is a temple in the Everfree," growled Twilight, "and we believe the unicorns know about it, and we need you to cut off their supply chain."
"A temple. The same type of the temple as the one you found that held a wealth of information? The same temple as the one full of magic and weapons and history? The same temple you won't tell anyone the location of!?" Pinkie's face was inches from Twilight's, her entire body trembling with barely contained rage. "If you gave us that information, we could have won by now!"
"This has nothing to do with winning," hissed Twilight, "this has everything to do with bringing back the sun."
"And that's where you're wrong! Even if you do bring back the sun, the war will keep going. The fighting will continue. Ponies will still hate each other. You're living in a dream if you believe bringing back something that might never have existed to begin with will somehow end decades, if not centuries, of racism!"
"It's still better than killing every single living thing!"
"Better to be realistic than live with your head in the clouds."
"Better to have hope."
"And yet I am now in charge of this little operation and not you."
Twilight flinched as though she had been hit.
"Sorry," sighed Pinkie as she looked away. "Look, I know I owe you a lot, but I'm the leader of this operation and I can't just put my little ponies in harm’s way just for you. That was something you taught me."
"I'm sorry, but either you help, or I go in with Rainbow Dash and Spike," sighed Twilight. "I cannot allow this information to get into the wrong hooves."
"Twilight..."
"It's good seeing you again, Pinks." Twilight turned to leave once more. "Oh, and I still hate you."
That got a small, bitter laugh. "The feeling's mutual." She couldn’t just let that insane unicorn rush off to her death, could she? Not after everything Twilight had done for them. "Wait."
The unicorn paused at the door, looking back over her shoulder curiously, "Yes?"
"I will allow volunteers, but nothing more."
"Thanks." She paused. "Is Scoots around? If so, have her talk to Dash about her past, but please keep guards close by. If Spike is right, if anyone can break through to the idiot, she can."
"Al...right..." Pinkie flopped back into her seat. "Sometimes I wonder how many plans you've got going on and how far your strings stretch."
"Keep wondering," said Twilight as she walked out.
With a shake of her head, Pinkie bought her hooves off the table and brushed a lock of mane out of her eyes. That mare... As much as she hated to admit it, she had a network of spies better than any she’d seen. Then again, considering the original design was Twilight’s, that wasn’t a surprise, but it still irked Pinkie no end that the purple mare managed to sneak spies into her own network. Or rather, Twilight’s old network.
Whatever.
Stupid unicorn. Pinkie shook her head and cracked open the top file on her desk. She tried to focus on it, tried to get through it all and actually start planning what supplies needed to go where, what targets to hit and whose flank to kick for messing up that last raid. But all she could focus on was Twilight. How long had it been since they last saw each other? A year? Two? She hadn’t changed at all. The exact same attitude that had her kicked out of this place was still there stronger than ever.
Did she deserve to be tossed out into the cold like that? Probably not, but that had been Twilight’s choice. She had been given the option of staying, of being a part of the group, but she had focused on her books. Her bloody books. They could have done so much, helped so much, given them the upper hoof in this endless war, but instead she decided to hide it because it was too dangerous. She was their leader! She should have given it to them, told them its secrets so that they could win. How many ponies had died thanks to her inaction? How many of Pinkie’s comrades had fallen because of ignorance? How much longer had this useless war dragged out for Twilight’s stupid ideals!?
The file slammed shut and Pinkie rubbed her temples. And to think everything was going so well before Twilight showed up again. Bloody, Tartarus.Of all the times for her to show up again.
Slipping out of her chair, Pinkie threw open the door and made her way back down to the main dining room. She stood in the shadows by the stairs, eyes scanning the room for one of the more trustworthy recruits. A number of ponies passed her, some noticing, others completely oblivious, but still Pinkie kept watch. This had to be the right pony, pick the wrong one and things would be fucked beyond belief. At least Twilight as nowhere in sight, and that meant less drama.
And then she saw Lyra. Not the best pick, but still a decent pony. One of the better options, but was it good enough? Pinkie’s eyes scanned the masses yet again, but came up empty. Sighing in frustration, she slipped out of the shadows and began moving through the crowd towards the table. She ignored her rumbling stomach, those mouthwatering scents, and instead sat down beside Lyra as casually as she could manage.
“We need to talk,” said Pinkie without looking at her.
“Another mission?”
“Twilight’s back.”
Lyra immediately tensed up, her magic flickering slightly before she put it down slowly and turned to face Pinkie. “And what does she want?”
“Volunteers to take out a unicorn base in the Everfree.”
Lyra snorted and shook her head. “If there was a base anywhere near here, we would know about it.”
“She seemed convinced, and you have to remember who it is we’re talking about here. She helped create the spy network we have, and she no doubt still has ponies loyal to her.” Pinkie grabbed a plate of food and began eating. “I need someone I trust to go in, survive, and report back. There’s something she’s not telling me, and I want to know what it is.”
“I thought you two were friends.”
“Were being the important word.” Pinkie shrugged and took another bite out of the bread. “Is she competent and dangerous? Yes. Would I trust her to keep this base and my ponies safe? No.”
“Very well. I take it you want me to find these ‘volunteers’ as well?” asked Lyra.
“Another five ponies would be perfect. The rest of the group can be actual volunteers just to make sure she’s not suspicious, but yes, some ‘volunteers’ would be perfect.”
“On one condition.” Lyra leaned back in her seat and put both hooves onto the table. “I get a month off. A full month. First I get used as bait and almost raped, and now this.”
“Don’t remind me,” Pinkie grumbled as she rubbed her jaw. “I swear I have never come across somepony with such a strong right hook before.”
“Your own fault.”
“That’s not fair! I gave you a room of stallions to have fun with, and admit it, you had fun. I know I would have had fun.” Pinkie licked her lips. “That was as good as a break. Better even!”
“Only you would ever think that,” muttered Lyra.
“So you’ll do it?”
“If I must,” sighed Lyra.
“Goodie.” Pinkie picked up a second loaf and swallowed it in one bite. “Gotta go, places to be, things to do!”
Pinkie zipped away, easily slipping through the crowd and slinked along the outside of the room, making sure to stay out of sight. This was not the time to be dragged off on some stupid issue that could have been solved by anypony with half a brain. Whether it was luck or skill, it was impossible to tell, but Pinkie to make it all the backroom that was used to keep ponies under observation and there was Eclipse and Dash, busy glaring at each other.
“Do I even want to know who started popping balloons first?” sighed Pinkie as she closed the door behind her.
“What?” Dash looked at Pinkie as though she was insane.
“Which one was being the poopy pants, the downy frowny one, the silly-billy, the s-”
“We get it,” sighed Eclipse. “And it was a mere disagreement of ideals, nothing more and nothing less.”
“He was the stupid one,” said Dash with a shrug.
“Regardless, Eclipse, a word please.”
“Stay. Put,” growled the unicorn before he followed Pinkie out, making sure to lock the door behind him. “So what do you want to know?”
“What is she like?” asked Pinkie.
“Racist, aggressive, annoying.”
Silence.
“That’s it?” Pinkie blinked in surprise.
“Yes. She’s a very simple pegasus with very simple motivations. Admittedly, she’s trying not to be racist. Kinda. I think. Trust me, she’s simple and not a threat at all.”
“You’re certain of this,” said Pinkie.
“Positive.”
“Very well, but keep an eye on her,” said Pinkie as she walked away.
Was Eclipse one of Twilight’s spies? It seemed unlikely—she had long since left before he arrived, but just the way he talked about it was odd. It was far too similar to how Twilight had talked about all of it, and the entire thing reeked of being a setup.
Pinkie shook her head.
Perhaps this was Twilight’s plan, or perhaps it was nothing more than paranoia. Whatever the case, that pegasus need to be watched closely. Not only had she arrived with Twilight, but she was also a racist, and that made things everything worse. And infinitely more complex. Normally, Pinkie would just cut Dash’s throat and be done with it, but considering how much the pink mare owed Twilight, killing her friend seemed wrong. It was one thing to hinder Twilight’s plan, and another completely crush them by killing a friend, or at least an acquaintance.
It was days like this, Pinkie absolutely hated being in charge.
Applejack stumbled out into the bathroom, collapsing onto the ground and dry heaving. She had long since emptied her stomach, but still her stomach rebelled. Even now, days after everything had occurred, she could smell blood clinging to everything. She feared closing her eyes, terrified of what she’d see. Even with her eyes open, she could still remember that look of vindictiveness in MacIntosh’s eyes. That look of pure hatred. It was a look that appeared on Nine Tail’s all too often. She thought she had gotten away from that look, from the chill and fear that accompanied it, and yet here it was.
Just the mere thought made her dry heave again. If this went on for much longer, she was going to end up throwing up her stomach all over the floor. Maybe her heart as well. That stallion could not be her brother. There was no way they could be related, absolutely none. Her brother would never get that look on his face, he would not enjoy doing what he had done to Rarity.
Unicorns were the evil ones! They were the ones who took pleasure in pain and suffering and... and... earth ponies were meant to be different, damn it! Crawling over to the basin, Applejack splashed water in her face, but that didn’t help at all. She wiped the water off with a cloth and tossed it onto her back before looking down once more, cradling her head. As the ripples died down and she saw her reflection, bile rose in her mouth once more, and once more nothing came up when she heaved. If anything, she tasted blood in the back of her throat and that just bought more memories to her mind.
For once she was glad no one else was around. She was glad that there was no pony looking out for her, making sure she was alright, holding her close and comforting her. The one thing she dreamed of while a slave was now the one thing she wanted to get away from the most. Right now, if some pony touched her, they’d be leaving with at least one broken bone.
Just all that blood, and the sadistic smile, and those screams, that begging and... and...
It was like watching Nine Tails in another body.
The sound of heavy, pained breathing drew her out of her thoughts and it came as no surprise that Applejack found herself before the cell Rarity was held in. The scent of blood made her entire body tremble, and as much as she wanted to back away, her hooves were locked in place. Through the metal bars, she could see the faint outline of the unicorn tied to the table, breathing slowly as though asleep. With shaking hooves, Applejack placed her hoof on the door, unlocked it, and pushed it open. Even then, she just stood there, staring at the threshold blankly as she tried to find the willpower to step forward.
She had already come this far, hadn’t she? She had already done so much, and maybe... maybe she could do the right thing for once. She had her freedom now, and what was the point of having that if she couldn’t use it to do something right. That’s what her mother would have wanted. Right?
Her first step splashed something everywhere. Something. Applejack did not want to know what that something was. She did not want to look down and see... see...
This time when Applejack heaved, she coughed up blood. All those cuts, all those marks over Rarity’s body. Her once white fur had long since turned pink, and though it was impossible to make out what was dripping off her body, she knew all the same.
Each step made Applejack wince as whatever it was splashed everywhere. She wrinkled her nose against the smell, and even breathing through the mouth, she wanted to run out and just pretend she was never here. But no, she had to do this, to make up for everything. She thought... she thought...
All those screams and sobbing. To see the unicorn so broken an-
No. Now was not the time. She had to make up for what she had done, what she had witnessed. She had to do something. The horned freak had always enjoyed her perfumes and combing and cleanliness and... Reaching back, Applejack picked up the rag in her teeth then hesitated for a brief second before she leaned forward and ran it across Rarity’s right side. Despite being asleep and bound, she flinched away, and Applejack tried yet again, moving gentler than before. This time the horned freak stayed in place as she was washed, and with each passing second, Applejack came closer and closer to throwing up. Not because of the scent of blood, or even the blood soaked rag in her mouth, instead it was just from how much they had hurt her. Even if she recovered, even if they never touched her again, she’d keep those marks for the rest of her life.
She could see the jagged ridge where the knife had plunged in, the way it was puffy and swollen. She could smell that sharp, acidic bite as she slowly cleaned the puss out from a wound that went far too deep. Underneath her, the unicorn tensed and groaned, trying to wiggle away, but the bounds held her firmly in place. She watched as the whip marks revealed themselves to her as the blood dripped off, each one as deep as the last, crisscrossing their way all over her sides. Even as she cleaned, blood flowed freely from them, and more than once, Applejack was forced to skip patches of skin, fearing the slightest touch would open a wound.
And then there was the brand. Just seeing it made Applejack want to throw up. Just the way the skin smelled rotten and dead, looking almost yellow in its appearance. Even now, days after, she could still the scent of burning flesh lingering in the air, how it smelt like week old shit and urine left rotting in a cell. Not even breathing through her mouth helped.
Pushing Rarity’s mane to the side, it revealed a red band all the way around where the fur had been rubbed off, and the skin rubbed raw. Slowly, tenderly, Applejack began working on her neck, making sure to wash behind the ears. Then she began moving down, along the muscles running down the unicorn’s back. Wringing out the towel yet again, she began running it over Rarity’s flank, making sure to catch every splotch of blood. Though her hooves constantly squished in the half-congealed blood beneath them, Applejack worked diligently.
The seconds passed into minutes, maybe even hours. So deep in the depths of the earth, it was impossible to tell what time it was and she didn’t care. There was a job before her, it needed to be done and nothing was going to stop her from completing it. Eventually though, she stepped back and wiped the sweat from her brow. The unicorn’s fur was white once more, and her mane was back to its familiar purple coloration. While it wasn’t perfect, and no doubt Applejack would get an earful of it when Rarity woke up, it was still better than what it was before.
It... It wasn’t much, but it was something. It was a step in the right direction.
And that was when she noticed a pair of blue eyes staring back at her and her entire body froze. There was confusion there, confusion and hate and disgust and hurt and- So many emotions, all conflicting with each other and demanding to be acknowledged. Needing to be acknowledged.
“Why?”
It was a single word. A simple word even, but it caused Applejack to take a step back. Not out of fear, never out of fear, but there was something powerful there in that look and word. It sent tremors through her body, holding her in place and making it impossible to think of anything else. In the end, it took every last scrap of willpower for Applejack to break eye contact and look away.
Why? Because it was the right thing to do, the proper thing to do, the moral thing to do. It was what she needed to do to forgive herself. After all, her anger and hatred was not directed at this particular horned freak, but at Nine Tails and the others who had ripped her away from her family. This unicorn did not deserve the pain and suffering that had been inflicted on her.
And if this unicorn could not understand that, could not figure that out for herself, then she was an idiot and deserved to die. There were just some things not even horned freaks should be subjected to.
With a curt nod to Rarity, Applejack turned around and walked out of the room, the blood squishing under her hooves no longer troubling her like it once had. Sure, the scent still lingered in the air and the taste danced on her tongue, but it didn’t bother her, not as much as it used to at least. Though the images still weighed heavily in her mind and the sound of those sobs would echo into the night, she found it a bit easier to live with herself. She had made her first step. A step that her mother would hopefully be proud of.
But a step was not enough. Not now, not ever. More needed to be done, to be said. She had dreamed of a place where earth ponies were equal, but if that required being as monstrous as the horned freaks? That was not worth it. That would never and could never be worth it. Earth ponies were better than that, stronger than that. They would not stoop to such levels to make their dreams a reality. And most importantly, she was above that.
Applejack dreamed of paradise, but if that had to be built on the unnecessary suffering of others, it would be nothing more than a mockery. That dream had kept her alive, that dream and fueled her for so long and given her hope. Now that she was free to do as she liked, to do as she willed, she was not about to give it all up.
She stopped by the metal door and glanced back at Rarity, who had watched her silently with pleading eyes.
Perhaps, there’d even be room for the freaks.
Perhaps. But for now, she had other things to do, important things. A step was the beginning, now it was time to see things through. With a slight tilt of the head towards the bound unicorn, Applejack left, not even bothering to lock the door behind her as she made her way down the earthen stairs before taking a couple of corners and slipping down yet another flight of stairs. Eventually she made it to the end of the hallway and knocked on the door.
“Come in!” yelled MacIntosh, and Applejack stepped through, closing the door behind her. “What is it?” he asked without even bothering to look up.
“Tha’ unicorn, ya get anything from her?” she asked.
“She says she was working on some clothes with new fabrics, but Ah think there’s more to the story.” Not once did MacIntosh’s eyes leave the paper he was reading.
“Ah want her.”
“What?” That made his eyes snap up.
“She was my master, Ah say it’s time for some payback.” Her grin was almost sadistic. “Ah want revenge. Ya got ya information from her, now Ah want to play with her a bit.”
“But-”
“She hurt me!” snarled Applejack. “Ah can make her scream like ya can only dream of. Give. Her.To. Me.”
Very slowly, almost hesitantly, MacIntosh tossed the key onto the desk. “Ya’ll tell me if she says anything?”
“Of course.” Turning around, she trotted out the door, hiding the grin until she was well out of sight. Within minutes she was back in the same room as Rarity, staring down at the pitiful horned freak.
Slowly she approached, each step placed with a deliberate forcefulness. She could see the fear in Rarity’s eyes, that moment of realization as a slave was dragged off to the breeding pens. A small smile tugged on the corners of her lips as Applejack stopped before the horned freak. She raised her hoof and the unicorn flinched back, and once more that thrill of power flowed through her system, but she squashed it without a second thought.
Each shackle was undone, falling away to leave behind a ring of bleeding flesh. Though Applejack held out a hoof to help, Rarity just lay there, staring up at her with those blue eyes. Cautiousness, uncertainty, anger, fear, hope - so many emotions, all vying for attention.
“If ya want to live, come with me,” whispered Applejack.
Rarity’s eyes widened, but she did not say a word. She knew and she understood. Slowly, weakly, she reached out and placed hers on top of Applejack’s, and with a mighty haul, she was on her hooves with one limb wrapped around Applejack’s broad frame. The first step almost sent Rarity to her knees, but with Applejack there for support, Rarity rose back onto her shaky hooves.
“Why?”
Applejack glanced across and a small smirk touched her lips.
‘Why’ indeed.
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Once again, sorry for the late update. I've just been super busy lately and it'll probably be a couple more weeks before I can settle back down into my proper update schedule. But please give a round of applause to Doom who has been churning out one day edits just so that I can get these out on the same day.
Okay, to start off we get the Pinkie section and this is probably one of the most content dense sections I've had in a long time. Firstly, we get to see her when she's not in the field and in many ways, we see the canon Pinkie coming through. Just slightly in her interaction with the foals, with her desire to bring joy to those around her. Instead of going for the over the top happiness though, I decided to go with something a bit more subdued and I hope it works. Not only that, but we see what her relationship with Twilight is exactly and while they are civil and do know each other, there's a lot of antagonism there and baggage so to speak. Of course, we also get to see everyone's view on RD and that's amusing over all.
And then we get AJ's section and... well... I'll quote Doom shall I? Apparently it's the "most harrowing thing I've read in a long time" and I really do not get that. Really. I mean, I find some of the stuff from other fics more harrowing than this so yeah. Maybe I am just insane after all. Maybe. Good thing I don't care about being sane then. To be sane is to be boring!
2656412 =shrug= It could just be me.
Everyone has their triggers, and this just so happened to hit mine perfectly. Seriously, I kinda wanted to throw up when I was done with this.
2656471 I am so taking that as a compliment
2656412
Is it a bad thing that I kinda want Pinkie to murder AJ right about now? Just sorta pop out of a cabinet somewhere, shout surprise, and jam a knife into her face? The misplaced anger and hatred is one thing, and I get it, given what she's had to go through, but her pathetic attempts to "redeem" herself are honestly kinda sickening. She just brutally tortured what was the only other genuinely innocent main pony in this entire story aside from Fluttershy, and she's gonna make up for it and not feel quite so bad anymore because of a half-assed sponge bath? If you're gonna feel bad about something, at least have the decency to actually feel bad about it instead of only going part way, just like with everything else AJ's done in this story.
I had hope for Aj, I really did. I still have hope for all of the others. But AJ? Not anymore. She seriously just stood there and thought to herself that if Rarity couldn't figure out that she was helping her now, after standing by and letting her be tortured despite the fact that Rarity had practically treated her like family, because it was "the right thing to do" that she deserved to die. No AJ, the right thing to do would have been to stop it from happening in the first place. To speak up in the beginning and say that no, Rarity hadn't ever once hurt her in any way. Or even to just genuinely feel bad about hurting someone that had done everything to help you.
Yay! Applejack is redeemed!
Now we wait for RD to jump on board.
2656501 Indeed, and AJ learned that Rarity was half earth pony, and having left the unicorn place most likely sentence her mother and sister to die. Right now, Rarity and AJ are identical in history now. Tortured, mother and little sister dead, with 1 male family member gone somewhere else. Which to me feels very forced. AJ should hate torture and Slavery above all else, not Unicorns. Unicorns might have done it, but it's the act she should hate the most, after all Pegasi do it too.
I agree that logically she should have stopped it from ever happening, Rarity was innocent, and AJ should have felt bad before that even happened. She has hated on Rarity again and again, for no reason at all. Mistrust I can understand, AJ still being a 'slave', But I thought after that bit with Trixie and SAVING Rarity, by choice I might add!, She would have been less violent and such around Rarity. But no, first chance she gets she happily wants to see her be tortured?! To go through what she herself had before?!
It does not make sense, no matter how you spin it.
It's funny to see how little everyone thinks of Rainbow Dash. She's capable of being an exceptional leader and impossible feats of speed, but it's hidden beneath racism and a broken wing. She can be sort of simple, but I'm under the impression she is smarter than she looks. No one seems to even suspect she could be informing anyone. I look forward to seeing her part in the climax a lot; what would the sonic rainboom even mean in a world like this?
I also get the feeling Twilight has no spies at all. She is the only pony communicating with multiple sides, and if even Pinkie has no handle on her then I doubt anyone does. Interesting that Pinkie also trusts Spike more than Twilight... Could it be that he is just part of her "diplomatic" strategy and that he's really loyal to her and just pretends to be helping the others deal with her.
I bet the first temple doesn't exist. She made it up to give everyone hope, but it apparently failed when they only cared about demanding the weapons they believe within from her. Though the idea of Alicorns and restoring the sun had to come from somewhere... maybe a book?
Rarity and Applejack's part was suitably horrifying. just enough detail left out to make it even worse. Definitely a turning point for Applejack's view of the world, and a really satisfying one, too.
So as it stands: Twilight wants harmony by restoring the sun and ending the need for war. She has the noblest goal but is an ass and ruthless in seeking it. Pinkie wants harmony, but seems to think winning a bloody war and killing infidels will work. Fluttershy seems amazed with Harmony by default, but presumably has no plans for achieving it. Rarity is tolerant in general but we know little about her motivations or beliefs. Applejack is beginning to realize racism is wrong and acting on it, but has no reason to believe she can change the world. Rainbow Dash is a bit of an unknown; I think she's expressed a desire for a less cruel world, but has little faith it could ever be made better. She is bothered by slavery and disunity, but hides behind racism and has not made the connection of disunity between races as opposed to within them yet. She's either the least interested in harmony, or the most interested, but either way it's buried deep.
I hope a conversation with Scootalloo isn't all it takes to change her...
2657325
The Stanford Prison experiment and that electrocution one both demonstrated that people will let horrible things happen to others, or even do horrible things to others if ordered by an authority figure. The "victims" of those experiments didn't even have an association like "prior slaveowner" with their tormentors. That Applejack acted at all is a sign of good (though certainly not perfect) character.
2656501
Maybe this was me not being clear enough in the fic, but AJ never tortured anyone. She simply stood aside and let MacIntosh torture Rarity. Also a big part of her scene this chapter was about taking the right step in the right direction. A lot AJ's character thus far is her racism smashing head first into who she thinks she needs to be. For example, the scene where she holds a knife to Sweetie's throat. Even that was a clash of "I hate this and want to be free" versus "My mother would disapprove" much like this scene. I agree that she should have let it happen in the first place and that her attempts at redemption are pathetic, but I'm just nudging her towards the right track for now. Gotta lead them to water before you can make them drink and all that.
2657325
I actually hadn't considered the similarity in history actually. That's a pretty good point.
And yeah, this scene was really about hate vs ideals. She hates unicorns, but at the same time she has this ideal she dreams of and in the end, the ideal ends up winning.
2658154
That... is a pretty damn impressive analysis. There's pretty much nothing for me to comment on because saying anything would give away whether you're right or not. But, just so you know, what I've planned for Scoots is horrifying enough to make both my prereader and edittor do a double take. It is seriously, seriously, seriously, insane.
2658188
Huh, I had not considered those experiments in this context, but I suppose that works.
Is...is that not bad enough? Oh, by the way, I love the way you've created Twilight and Pinkie's relationship
And now I shall await the next update!
2658290
Considering the world they're living in? Yeah, that's it.
Thanks! I wanted to do something unique with their relationship and I'm glad you like it.
2658276
The experiments were more about orders than standing by and letting it bad things happen, but I think it's not too much of a stretch. Better than making the inevitable Holocaust reference considering the differing scale.
And if not mistaken, it's "you can lead a horse to water, but can you make him think?" I am not certain, though, I only know the auote from a Xanth novel, and it may have been corrupted or been a pun in the book.
2658373
I don't know, I often get saying mixed up and stuff so yeah.
2658276
Oh I wasn't meaning that as anything against your portrayal of her character. Honestly, the fact that you could give her a strong enough personality to make me react to her the way I did is a tip of the hat to you.
It's more just that until now, I had hope for her character. You could see the conflict in her, the way she tried to struggle to be more than what her oppressors saw in her, and more than what they themselves were. But now that she's beginning to see the truth of what her conflict actually means, it just feels like it's a case of too little, too late. Yeah, she's trying to follow that path to redemption, or salvation, or whatever you want to call it, but she's fallen so far off it now that I don't know if it'll be possible for her to get back.
But who knows. We'll just have to wait and see what you have in store for us. Maybe it'll all somehow work out in the end.
2658494
Huh? Oh, I didn't think you had, I was just explaining my view because I always find it interesting when I go "Hey author, I thought x, y and z about your character" and they go "Oh, but I was going for a, b and c". It just so fascinating seeing how other people think is all.
Maybe she can crawl back, make she can't. I'm still toying around with character arcs and so forth since nothing is set in stone.
Now that I think about it, Fluttershy's positive reaction to the resistance is a little unsettling, considering that she's normally terrified of social interaction and only likes things she considers... animals... Hopefully that's reading too much into it, because nothing says the author has no soul like making Fluttershy a racist in her own way.
This is interesting...
Looking forward to Scootaloo, actually. It would be ironic in the highest caliber if she was a Twilight fangirl, the same way she was a Rainbow Dash fangirl in the show. Not to mention Rainbow Dash would find this annoying to the extream.
Interesting touch, actually, with Pinkie. Didn't realize that her almost hipocritical criticism of the 'Racist' ponies fit almost exactly with her early-series blindness to how others enjoyed other things, and not nessisarily parties...
I'm guessing we've also gotten a breif teaser of the backstory...
2659630
Congratualtions, you have just given me ideas as to what to do with Fluttershy. The reason she's had so little impact thus far is because I am uncertain of what I want to do with her and now, thanks to you, I've got ideas. Lots and lots and lots of very evil ideas.
2659704
... Twilight fangirl? Why didn't I think of this?
A brief teaser of part of a backstory that one pony knows of. Each of the three races has their own interpretation of how they came to be, Twilight's version just happens to be the closet one there is. Well, as close as mythology can be to reality that is.
2660203
great, now I feel bad for suggesting it. Just a few steps down that road and Fluttershy goes from least racist Pegasus to most racist one.
I don't recall ever seeing Twilight's creation belief...
2660372
Let me put it this way, Phantom Celestia from Breaking Twilight came from a joke by my prereader. So yeah, you just doomed everyone. Thank you!
Um... the opening story by Pinkie was something "Miss Twilight" told her.
2660203
Wait.... What?
I thought that was were you always planned to take this...
Huh.
also 2660203
Huh... Well, just keep in mind that 'Racism' is a very broad term these days. Once upon a time Rainbow Dash would have been a poster child. But there are variations. The Red Tails from WWII, for example, were generaly belived to be ineffectual by those who heard they were a 'colored fighter squadron'. And in some ways there was a basis- twisted, convoluted, but a logic that made sense to those that espoused it. You see, most belived that the pilots were from ignorant, poor, slum families; joining the war effort mostly for the steady pay. But in truth, they were just as devoted and patriotic. And, if you've seen the movie, or read the biographies, you'd know that the opinions of those they flew with changed drasticly when they were shown to be ill-informed.
In short, there are three main 'branches' of racism. Ignorance (relying on secondhand opinion, hearsay, and generaly other's bias, ect). Burned (bad experiences tainted perceptions; often seen in cases of rape, abuse, PTSS, guilt, ect). And Malicious (Generaly the 'cold' racism, meaning, the bigot is at least perepherialy aware of what they are doing; usually related to the other two in some fashion).
Malicious might be what Dash has here. Might not. Might be Burned.
If Fluttershy is racist, I'd imagine that it'd be Ignorance. But please, please keep in mind that she's Fluttershy, she would treat them kindly either way, I think. And it could also be the unfamiliarity of the situation that causes her to act the way she does. She's simply used to seeing E and U ponies in a very different setting, and that might be bleeding over into this instance.
2662156
Eh, I never plan so it's like, random ideas are the best ideas.
I've actually got what I want to do with Fluttershy now and trust me, it'd definitely in character and hopefully suitably awesome.
http://draconia.katbox.net/ Check out THIS webcomic, if you want a through and through depiction of a war with no end in sight, all based on racial hatred, and where that hatred runs so deep, that chances of it ending in anything but the grim reaper's triumph, is absurd to none.
2678543
Draconia! I've heard of it, but never gotten around to reading it. Another webcomic to put onto my insanely large reading list. Thanks for the heads up though, I'll definitely check it out.
Just realized what this story needs- IRON WILL... as a snow ninja.
...You know, so it's like the wasteland is shouting at you...
2718831
... WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS!?
2719205
That is all...
2719205
I'm sorry to ask a random question, but I noticed that this was added to the Lightning Dust is best pony group. Does this story have Lightning Dust in it?
2721203
Wait, what?
Huh, that's... odd. Lightning Dust was in the first chapter I think? And I've got plans for her later down the line, but I have no idea why that's in that group specifically. Really, really, odd.
2722369
A lot of groups got a bout of troll-additions recently. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
A question (because I'm too lazy to check): have we seen that the mane six all have their regular cutie marks?
2748896
We only know of one person with their cutie mark - Trixie. As for the Mane 6 and others, you have not heard another that implies they either have it or do not.
2748986
Interesting...
2749017 I'm deliberately keeping everything ambiguous
2749113
I hope there's at least a vague plan. Ambiguity without a plan can potentially lead to problems in the later half of a story (or lead to the later half never appearing).
2749142 Oh, I know if they have their cutie marks or not, I'm just not showing it for now.
Just noticed the line about plant life growing in one corner of the mess hall without earth pony help... The corner where the children of all three races gather for storytime together...
Real subtle. I love that kind of little detail.