Apple Bloom sat in the woods with her thoughts most of the time ever since she lashed out at Mayor Mare. She groaned and hung her head as she walked. It was stupid to show weakness in front of the ponies she was leading, she sighed as she stilled to a stop to look up at the sun creeping through the trees. It was even stupider to show such a personal weakness.
She dropped to the ground, staring numbly and the grass blowing in the small breeze, feeling her long mane, free from its bow binds, run free across her back and shoulders, following the wind. She remembered the Apple farm's grass, it was so lush, so nice, so... great and happy.
The day they all left, was the day it seemed to dull.
"Girls," Apple Jack said coldly and rudely. "Come here for a second," she stated gently to ease our fear.
We all looked to each other, in fear we were in trouble. We slowly made our way to the porch, each of us bumping on one of the others before us so we didn't have to be in front. No matter what, I was in the front again. We all looked to Apple Jack with wide, nervous smiles.
Before Apple Jack's sad eyes could even look at us, Princess Celestia's voice cut in. "Hello girls."
We looked behind us, along with our sisters, seeing two princesses and an orange stallion staring at the ground. The smiles on their faces took away from the sad and heavy atmosphere Apple Jack was putting up. I was thankful they were there.
"I thought we already said goodbye," Apple Jack said rudely to the two princesses, confusing the likes out of me and my friends. "What'chy'all doin' here?" She stood up from her seat on the porch.
"Applejack," Twilight hissed through her teeth.
"Don't worry, Twilight. We completely understand," Princess Celestia stated tenderly.
"Then what'chy'all doin' here?!" Apple Jack shouted at them, scaring us out of our confusion. I was worried about my sister, I wanted to know what was happening. "These girls ain't need the princesses to tell 'em nothin'! We know how to talk to our sisters and we know how to say the right things you don't know how to!"
Twilight was mortified by how Apple Jack was lashing out. "Where did this come from?"
Apple Jack's head whipped to her. "Celestia's been furious at those mares ever since we got back. She ain't in the right mindset to tell our girls what we up to."
"AJ... what's goin' on?" I asked cautiously, trying to fight through my apprehension. I wanted to cry, I wanted to cry my eyes out and run to my family so they could make it better. "Is everything okay?"
And in response to my question. Granny Smith who was sitting at the end of the porch ran in crying. Big Mac looked at the group of ponies and sighed, walking inside after her to console her. Now, I was really terrified.
Celestia's judemental eyes stared down at Apple Jack as her emerald ones stared back. "I just wanted to ensure you girls are safe. And that Discord would actually show. Which he doesn't seem to be," Princess Celestia stated. And of course, her condescending tone stepped in, angering another one of the six.
"He will!" Fluttershy said loudly. Discord? What was he needed for? "He wouldn't have been so insistent for him not too. He's good now." Princess Celestia just ignored her.
"Princesses," Apple Jack said kindly. "Please leave. We're safe and we will be."
"Yes, because having to battle mares made from evil is going to leave you 'safe'," she stated. We looked at their sisters with terrified expressions.
"Don't worry!" Pinkie Pie bounced in front of us as Apple Jack was close to strangling Princess Celestia for some reason. "We're just going to Canterlot to fight another danger to Equestria! No big deal! Except that this enemy comes from a different dimension with a big scary dragon and an electrified alicorn!"
Her happy smile and bouncy voice didn't change the effect her words had on us, now I really wanted to know what was happening. By the time she stopped speaking we were huddled together as tight as could be. The princesses and the Elements couldn't have said it any worse than Pinkie Pie could've.
Rainbow Dash threw Pinkie Pie to the side. "It's not a bad as it sounds! Trust me! We'll have Discord to take care of the dragon!" She smiled at Scootaloo, who slightly smiled back.
Rarity bounced in next to her. "Yes! We'll be fine. The electrified alicorn is a wimp! She'll be an easy foe!" Her sparkling eyes and extravagant motions allowed Sweetie Belle to giggle in comfort, just for Rarity to giggle back.
"They ain't that tough, we got this. Besides when have we ever lost?" Apple Jack stepped in beside them, smiling at their reassuring words. She smirked at me, I had full confidence in her. The worry melted away. "I'll take ya to Canterlot soon after we get back. Promise, kiddo."
Apple Bloom gritted her teeth as her tears dripped down her face and onto the lovely grass beneath her. She didn't get to go to Canterlot, and she was haunted with those trusting words ever since that day five years ago.
Now, she was capable of murder, she could hurt ponies, seriously hurt ponies. And she was only fifteen! She grew up, she was mare now, she didn't have such a large bow.
Apple Bloom cried up at the sky, hugging herself as she sat up on her hind legs. Those words haunted her for years as she worked for Zecora, trying to ignore Apple Jack and focus on Zecora. Things only got worse when Granny died, and Big Mac being gone for so long...
She didn't think she could cry any louder, she kept all these tears bottled up for five years, she didn't let anyone see her cry, even at Granny's funeral. Now tears streamed down her face and only the trees around her could hear as she sang her tortured song.
She wanted home, she wanted the farm, she wanted Apple Jack.
She woke up to somepony shaking her, she jumped as she stared down at her bed, the grassy field she had let all her emotions out in. She looked up lazily at her two friends, both smiling down at her. She smiled back, standing up and ignoring the residue in her system from crying. "What y'all need?"
"Zecora's back," Scootaloo said sheepishly. Apple Bloom didn't need to hear anymore as she raced past the two. The two sighed, knowing this was how she'd respond.
They chased after her, yelling at ears that weren't listening. Apple Bloom didn't care about the nicks she'd gotten from branches or bushes, she needed something to do, something to plan, something to fill her mind. And what better way than discussing important matters with their real leader?
She was shocked she wasn't that far in the woods as she approached the camp, then again she could've just been running fast at the idea of getting new ideas for finding her sister.
The zebra smiled as she almost failed to come to a stop in front of her. Wide yellow eyes sat on the zebra now with a long, grown out mane to match a horses, vines replaced her usual jewelry and she looked like a goddess of nature with those calm, motherly eyes.
Apple Bloom panted with a smile. "Sorry," she huffed, looking behind her to see Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo falling into the main clearing, their breaths as heavy as hers.
"Come, I must share with you some important news, you'll surely have the same views," Zecora told Apple Bloom who was still an excited mess. She didn't understand the serious look in Zecora's eyes until she noticed she hadn't moved. She shot up and stood with her chest puffed out and a still look on her face. Zecora smiled at her. "We'll go to my abode, to which, a visit from you is owed," Zecora continued her strange speech in rhymes as Apple Bloom followed, falling into the serious façade she had put up. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo followed the act, but were still giddy Zecora of all ponies had 'important' news. It had to be serious.
Once they climbed the tallest tree in their area they walked inside Zecora's home, her door being a bunch of beads hanging together on one string. At their questioning a while ago, Zecora had told them the reason she didn't need a door, she had said, "A leader need not keep him or his belongings away, a leader needs the ability to put all on display."
Apple Bloom looked inside and agreed, she needed to see inside Zecora's tree house. It wasn't any different, it was even similar to her hut in the Everfree, as she had taken all her belongings as she fled. But Zecora was a mare that held the closest thing Apple Bloom had to a parent figure left, and Zecora's home, felt like her home at times.
She would've had more time to reminisce had she not realized Thunderlane's, Sweetie Drop's, and Lrya's prescence. This was serious, Zecora actually found something. Apple Bloom dispersed the fire that had erupted inside her, she needed to be serious, this was serious time.
And it would've been had Zecora not pulled her into a tight hug. "How have you been? I hope it was not danger you were trapped within," the zebra said as she pulled away, a smile on her face as she saw Apple Bloom's confused expression.
"We're fine, had a run-in with the enemy few day's 'go, but it's all good," Apple Bloom stated casually, shocked to see Zecora's wide eyes.
"You faced our foe? How did it go?" Zecora asked worriedly. Apple Bloom smiled and rolled her eyes as Sweetie Belle explained the situation. Three on one with one of their weakest members wasn't much of an accomplishment, but everyone treated it as such. Even Zecora.
"I applaud you for your feat, but I have information we must not mistreat," Zecora stated, sitting near the other members of their main forces. The Crusaders followed, anxiously hoping they were right, their sisters were alive and had a plan.
Zecora looked at them warily. "I do know the Elements are not dead," Zecora started. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo felt tears of joy file into their eyes as they hugged each other and shouted in success, when they went to hug Apple Bloom, they saw the serious look on her face.
"But?" Apple Bloom asked, knowing the rhyme hadn't ended.
"But they're in a position which I dread," Zecora finished. She turned to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with a soft smile, "You can still cheer, it is just more work, I fear." The girls continued their happiness silently, hugging the other and crying softly, nuzzling each other as if they couldn't be happier their sisters were alive.
"So, where are they?" Sweetie Drops asked expectantly, Lyra by her side ready to decipher whatever the zebra said.
"I had hoped they were in the castle," Zecora stated, staring at the ground. "But I overheard they are in a place that is much more of a hassle."
"Well, where is it?" Thunderlane asked.
"They have taken refuge in the kingdom north, difficulty is with us henceforth," she finally explained. Every one of the main forces, the strongest members of their cult, the strongest members of the rebellion against disharmony, gasped, disbelief and sorrow filling them.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shot to their hooves, anger etched in their faces. "A little difficulty? Are you kidding me! We can't leave Equestria!" Scootaloo fought. Thunderlane, Sweetie Drops, and Lyra all felt horrible for them while Apple Bloom sat staring the ground, she was shaking.
Zecora grinned. "I have a plan, do not worry. Though we must perfect it, as to not be in a flurry," she stated all this with a calmness that resonated with Apple Bloom. She smiled at her mentor and nodded, looking to her girls and nodding at them.
With Zecora's idea or even just Zecora as a cheerleader, they could do anything.
"Of us you need not worry, to return you are in no hurry," Zecora explained as ponies brought coats to the Crusaders. "We will have it under control here, you need not fear."
"We really gotta wear these up there?" Scootaloo asked as she pulled on her coat, glaring up at the sun beaming down on them. The rain clouds had passed, and she didn't know if there were any cloud cities on their route to hide the sun. "I'm already sweating," she groaned as somepony dropped her satchel on her back, the satchel barely holding together at the seams with weak patches holding it together. Sweetie Belle had always offered to fix it, but Scootaloo declined.
"It's easier to keep track of 'em. They ain't gonna fit in a satchel and they'll fall off if they ain't on all the way," Apple Bloom said, though she quickly wished her logic was wrong as she stared up at the sun as well. The military leader of their corrupt rulers, Controlling, looked exactly like Rainbow Dash. She took control of Cloudsdale and started creating other cloud cities along with expanding it. None of those created cloud cities were on their route to the border.
Another satchel was thrown onto Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, Sweetie Belle's holding one gemstone on the latch as a sign it was hers. Apple Bloom didn't see a point to designate a satchel as her own, so she just took whichever ones were available.
She looked over at Zecora, the zebra smiling at her with confidence. "We'll be back," she assured her. "With a plan at the very least."
Zecora shook her head. "There is no 'very least', there is only our chances at harmony being increased," she smiled as she reached to hug Apple Bloom. "You will return with your loved ones, hope will shine down on us in the form of suns."
"Yeah, yer right," Apple Bloom said as she started after Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to the opening of their little piece of paradise. "We'll be right back with 'em," she cheered as she left, a smile on her face and hope in her heart.
Once they had all fit past the opening, they stared up at the gloomy trees that weren't saved from the corrupt world their leaders had created. "It's so weird," Sweetie Belle said aimlessly. "It's almost like the tree's in the forest live off of how those feel around it."
"No way!" Scootaloo instantly debunked, causing Sweetie Belle to stomp her hooves and sneer at her. Scootaloo ignored the obvious dislike. "So, we head to the edge of the forest?" She asked Apple Bloom.
"Then, we wait for a train to Tall Tail," Apple Bloom smiled at the two who were absolutely beaming at the idea that Zecora trusted them with bringing back their sisters and friends. "We can talk on the train, first, we should head there."
The two nodded as Apple Bloom started running deeper into the woods, farther away from Ponyville. She tried to keep the overwhelming excitement in her under control, and her disbelief that this would go well was a great distraction.
After going various tracks in the previously thought to be haunted woods, they met up at the same bush by the train tracks. Sweetie Belle sneered, they shined in a new purple finish.
Scootaloo sighed as she sat down against the bush, putting her hooves behind her head and looking into the forest. Silence hung over them as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched for the train, they needed to be ready to jump on when it rocketed past them. "You girls remember when we snuck in here?" Scootaloo asked.
Before Sweetie Belle could answer, they heard the far away whistle of the train. Scootaloo shot to her hooves as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle jumped over the bush, watching the distance for the train.
"Scoots, you fly on with Apple Bloom, I'll teleport on," Sweetie Belle stated as she watched for the train, her hooves dug into the ground as her body tensed.
"You can teleport?!" Apple Bloom asked, whirling her head to her friend. Green eyes met hers and a smile.
Sweetie Belle nodded at the train's noises roared as it approached. "We can talk on the train," she said as light green ran over her horn. The train just appeared in the distance as Sweetie Belle's body was washing over with the same light green.
Scootaloo broke Apple Bloom out of her amazed stare as she picked her up, flying above where the train would be to avoid suspicion. They both watched Sweetie Belle with worry before the train started rushing underneath them, a bright green flash in front and next to them and they saw Sweetie Belle salute with a smile as she dropped onto the train's roof.
Apple Bloom smiled widely before Scootaloo dropped her, landing next to her and crouching down to the train as the wind threatened to pull them off. Apple Bloom glanced over at Sweetie Belle, watching her running towards them, her body washed over with green in what she assumed to be keeping her steady.
"Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo yelled as she started backing towards the end of the train, a wary look forward. "Let's go! A cave's up soon!" Apple Bloom's eyes widened at the memory of this train's route, they'd either have to jump off as the train wrapped around to Ponyville, or they'd pass under a cave. She slowly started following Scootaloo, worried their new leaders made their trains faster.
She watched as Scootaloo dipped down onto the last carts platform, seeing the train speed past the entirety of the Everfree, her eyes locking onto the forest. Her family was there, her new family she'd spent the last five years growing with. She shook her head as she moved forward, this wasn't the time for reminsing. Her safety mattered more at the moment.
She dropped down onto the carts platform, Scootaloo helping her down. She glanced up at Sweetie Belle, seeing gray fill the backdrop. Her heart stopped as her eyes widened. "Sweetie Belle!" She screamed, ripping the noise out of her throat, Scootaloo dropping her onto the platform. She whirled to her friend. "Sweetie Belle's too far away!" Apple Bloom said.
Scootaloo furrowed her eyebrows as she flew upwards, holding onto the roof of the car. Apple Bloom heard her yell her friends name too as she saw the ends of Ponyville. Apple Bloom put her hooves over her mouth, hearing Scootaloo curse as she dropped down, stomping down onto the platform.
"Guys!" Sweetie Belle's voice rang as they looked up, seeing the face of their friend as her horn glowed green. The train passed under the cave, the noise ringing in their ears.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo opened their eyes at the end of the tunnel, seeing Sweetie Belle wipe the sweat off of her forehead. The two stretched their faces in a smile as they hugged their friend, their voices unable to express how thankful they were. Sweetie Belle chuckled, "I can teleport, remember?"
"Then why didn't you teleport here in the first place?" Scootaloo accused. Sweetie Belle cowered into herself with a nervous giggle that drowned in the roaring wind around them. They passed under a few more dark caves, the train scrapping across the tracks much more audible as it echoed.
But when the set of caves were over, they opened their eyes and saw lush forests on either side of them. The sun beaming down overhead made everything glimmer as Scootaloo slipped off her coat with a smile. Bright blue skies stretched above them, a few beautiful and fluffy white clouds mixing in.
Sweetie Belle smiled widely as tears pricked at her eyes. It was gorgeous, as mountains were light blue in the distance over the tall, healthy trees. It had been so long since any of them had seen an untouched part of Equestria, especially from the luxury of a train. But the land beneath them was a bright green, the area clear of corruption.
This was the parts of Equestria they fought for. This image they wanted to restore the rest of Equestria to be. And they were on their way to do it.
Apple Bloom grinned up at the sky. "We're comin' y'all," she said, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle staring at her. "We're gonna get'chy'all back and we're gonna take back our home."
"Promise," she said as the sun filled them all with hope.