//------------------------------// // Chapter One- The Mare By The Window // Story: Hold On Ta This Fer Me, Sugarcube // by DougtheLoremaster //------------------------------// Her dulled yellow-furred legs pushed open the door. Without a single word, she made her way to a booth in the corner of the small eatery. Her eyes were dull, lifeless as she passed the waitress who attempted a greeting. “Hello, Ms. Applebloom, welcome-” The young mare paid her no heed and continued slowly, almost soullessly, walking towards the booth in the back. Sitting slowly upon her haunches, she placed her hooves under her chin and turned her gaze towards the window, still as a statue. The waitress turned to the owner; Pinkamena Diane Pie, who was busy cleaning some muffin trays. “What’s her deal? And why is she wearing such a crusty old hat?” The mare didn’t look so bad. She wore a nice flowing sundress decorated with apples, but on her head rested a torn, frayed and dingy stetson. Glancing up, Pinkie eyed the mare in the corner and shook her head. As her mane slowly swayed with the motion, she spoke in a low voice. “Leave her be, Pumpkin; she’s been through enough. That hat-” As she set down the now clean tray, the once energetic party pony picked up another tray. “-Means more to her than anypony could ever know.” With those words, Pinkie called out towards the kitchen. “Pound! I need some fresh Cinnamon Buns for the display. Chop, Chop let’s go!” Pumpkin Cake turned back to stare at the mare one last time. Now that she was paying attention to her, she began to notice the frayed hairs in the dulled red of her mane, the red streaks in her eyes and the tremble in her hooves. She sat there, still, silently staring out the window as though she was waiting for somepony. Shrugging, the waitress got back to work busing the tables. Hours passed, and it was time for her break time. As she undid her apron, to sit down to rest, she turned her attention towards the mare in the corner once more. Her thoughts were consumed with her curiosity with each passing second. What strange behavior. What is she looking for? What is with that withered old hat? Finally, she could stand it no longer. Rising from her seat, Pumpkin made her way to the booth where Applebloom sat. The yellow-furred mare didn’t move a muscle or indicate any sign of noticing Pumpkin sit down on the opposite side of her. In the silence that followed, Pumpkin nervously drummed her hooves on the table, before attempting to break the ice. “I-I like your dress.” There was no reaction; the mare sat there stiffly and lifelessly staring out the window. Pumpkin felt odd sitting there in the awkward silence, and so she tried again. “Are- You waiting for somepony?” Again nothing happened. The way the young mare sat perfectly still, Pumpkin wasn’t sure she was even alive, the colors of her fur were dulled, and the look in her eyes conveyed no spirit. Pumpkin slowly rose from the booth, about to give up, as she asked. “Where did you get such a ragged hat?” She expected no reaction once more as she rose to take her leave. Instead, she gave a small gasp of surprise as a pale yellow hoof grabbed her foreleg and the mare turned to look at Pumpkin. She had a shining light in her eyes, and she looked ten years younger, no longer faded or lost. On her face she wore a smile as she spoke in her thick homegrown, country accent. “Ya wanna know where Ah got mah hat? Sit, sit an’ Ah’ll tell yah. Sit Ah said!” At a loss for words, Pumpkin sank back down into the booth to hear what the mare had to say. Applebloom smiled in a slightly broken way. “Ya see, it was ten years ago…” *** Ten Years Ago *** “Chrysalis, sis?” Applebloom bucked the nearby apple tree with all her might. Her tiny hooves hit the tree with an audible Thud. No apples fell much to her dismay. “That’s right, Sugarcube. Twi says war with the Changelings is imminent, so we’ve been preparing fer a pre-emptive strike. Here let meh help ya with that.” A loud Crunch was heard as Applejack’s powerful hooves slammed into the timbers of the apple tree. The apples in the leafy boughs came tumbling down all at once; landing neatly in the wooden bucket. The muscles in her frame rippled with each movement. Applebloom watched in awe as effortlessly, her big sister harvested the apples. On her head she wore a stetson hat; a treasured heirloom. She stood twice as tall as her little sister, her orange fur distinctly different from the yellow of Applebloom. On her flank was a cutiemark displaying three whole red apples. “Don’t worry Sugarcube. You’ll get it.” The two sisters were side by side in the Apple Family orchard, bucking apples off the trees as they chatted about what would happen tomorrow. Applebloom shook her head in confusion. “Ah dun get it sis, why do you have ta go?” Applejack opened her muzzle, as though about to answer when she noticed the sun being lowered above the grove trees on the horizon. Pulling the brim of her treasured stetson down over her eyes, she just gave a soft smile and shook her head as though shaking sweat from her golden mane. “Will ya look at that? Time sure flies buckin’ apples. Time ta’ head in.” “But Applej-” Applebloom watched as her sister trotted towards the barn, calling back to her. “Hurry up now, Applebloom! It’s time fer supper!” *** Present Day *** An hour had passed since Pumpkin began the busing of the tables and Pinkamena was getting annoyed. Having gone to the kitchen to prepare for the lunchtime rush, Pinkie was finishing the final prep work when she caught sight of the time. One hour. In one hour the lunchtime rush would come crashing through those doors. Where is she? Normally, Pumpkin would report in once the tables were cleared. Rarely did it take more than an hour; an hour and fifteen minutes, tops. Pinkie turned to Pound; Pumpkin’s brother and gave a warm smile. “Watch the oven for me sweetie, going to check on your sister.” Pound gave a smart salute. “Okay Mom!” Pinkamena nodded, still smiling and turned quickly; a small tear forming in her left eye. Mom, she thought bitterly to herself. The word was truly bittersweet to her ears. Ten years ago, the Changlings had invaded Ponyville; kidnapping many of the residents. Over one-third of the town had been taken and replaced by the shapeshifting insect-like beings. Pinkie and her six friends had been dispatched to negotiate with the swarm. Their mission: to rescue their friends and family and make the hive see reason. It was not to be, however. Negotiations never took place. Queen Chrysalis had her swarm set up an ambush. The seven as they fled, stumbled upon the rotten remains of the captives. There were no prisoners; they had been eaten. Returning, low on morale and lamenting their losses, Pinkie had found the twin foals beneath the remains of Sugarcube Corners. Adopting them, Pinkie rebuilt the old shop into a diner; which she ran in the Cake’s stead. She took great pride in her son and daughter. She was their Mom, and it broke her heart every time they called her that name. With a heavy heart she pushed open the cafe doors and began to call out to her daughter. “Hey what’s taking so-” “-She looked at meh an’ asked if Ah was worried. Ah tried to be strong; sayin’ Ah could handle it. Try as Ah might though Ah couldn’t hide the truth from mah sis. She gave meh a look an’ took off her hat. That’s when she told meh-” Pinkie paused mid sentence as she noticed Pumpkin sitting in the corner booth and across from her was...Applebloom. They’re talking like old friends. For the first time since her sister vanished, Pinkie saw the mare with a smile on her face as she chatted with her daughter. Pinkie had a flashback to the caves as she listened. *** 10 years ago *** Pinkie ran down the tunnel alongside Applejack; the two having been separated from the others in their attempt to flee. Behind them the snarls of the Changelings could be heard growing closer. "No! It’s a dead end!” They had run into a small cave, with no way out. Pinkie cowered as she cried. “This isn’t very fun! Is this the end?” Her mane and tail had gone flat, her eyes were glazed as though she had checked out; as if she had lost hope. Her ears flopped over to cover her eyes as the snarling grew even louder. Her tone resembled her sister Maud’s; flat, toneless. “I guess this is it.” She heard Applejack clench her teeth and stamp a hoof in frustration. “No! It can’t end this way! Ah gave her mah word! Buck it all! Do ya hear me, ya monsters? Ah won’t let it end this way!” Pinkie uncovered her eyes as she watched Applejack brace for a charge. “Applejack what are you-” The proud Earthpony’s stubbornness showed in her words as she laughed, tears falling down her cheeks. “Ah told her I’d be back, Pinkie. Ah don’t break mah promises. Tell her for meh. Tell Applebloom, Ahm gonna reclaim mah hat! Tell her Ah’ll be back!” Applejack broke into a bullrush; vanishing into the tunnel’s depths as screeching and growling was heard. As Pinkie stared at the opening in disbelief, the sound of a mare’s wild screams could be heard and then silence. *** Present Day *** Pinkiemena stood there, lost in her memories as she observed the scene. We turned the tide of the battle, fighting back; me, Rainbow, and Rarity. We met back up and fought flank-to-flank. Twi and Fluttershy fell mortally wounded, in the Chamber of the Queen, causing Starlight to reach deep within. Unlocking the true magic, she possessed, Starlight destroyed Chrysalis and ended her reign of terror forever. We had won, but at great cost. We buried our fallen friends and hunted the last of the Hive Changlings. I searched everywhere. Applejack had vanished without a trace. All I could find was the trail of carnage she left in her wake. Her eyes welled with unbidden tears, as she sighed. Brushing her limp mane from her eyes, Pinkie gave a terse smile and proceeded to finish the busing of the tables; still eavesdropping on the two in the corner. “Wow, Miss Applebloom. So that’s why you still wear that.” Applebloom could be heard giving a small laugh. “Yep, Applejack told meh as long as Ah have this ol’ stetson on mah head, she’ll be back. It may take a while, but she would never break a promise to anypony. So ah just sit here, waitin’ for mah sis ta take it back. Pretty silly, ain’t it?” Pumpkin’s voice reached her mom’s ears causing Pinkie’s heart to soar with pride. “No, it isn’t. It’s quite admirable actually. You have such faith in her that even after ten years, you haven’t given up the hope of seeing her again.” Pinkie felt a pang of guilt as her daughter finished her thoughts. “No matter who says such a thing is foolish, no matter what happens, you keep believing. I admire that.” Never giving up hope? She’s been gone for ten years. There’s no proof she’ll ever return. I searched for her for years. How can Applebloom be so sure? The bell above the entrance gave a sharp ring, wrenching Pinkie from her thoughts. That’s when she heard them; a familiar pair of voices, voices from the past. “Hey Pinkie! Got any hard cider?” “Rainbow, Dah-ling, don’t be so crass! Sorry we’re late, I simply couldn’t come empty hooved after all.” Pinkie turned to look at them both. Rainbow Dash rolled her magenta-colored eyes, as she hovered there on her cyan-feathered wings; the colors faded. Her right eye had a rather large scar running down onto her cheek; a trophy of her survival against the Changelings. The once rainbow-colored mane and tail for which she was known, now boasted only yellow, orange and red. Applejack’s colors. Her words were playful, but the face of the Pegasus was solemn. How long has it been? She turned and looked at Rarity. The Alabaster-furred unicorn was smiling at her, her mane disheveled, her eyes flecked with an almost glazed-look. In her forehooves she held a bouquet of fresh Apple Blossoms. Her too, huh? Those must have been a nightmare to gather. The left foreleg wasn’t flesh and bone. No, much like Rainbow, Rarity carried permanent scars from that fateful day ten years. The rusted iron and whining servos motor of her prosthetic foreleg echoed in a rattling resonance; drilling into Pinkie’s mind. When’s the last time she scheduled maintenance for that? “Oh those are lovely, Rar, girls come on in and pick a booth. We have a lot of catching up to do.” *** “The Element of Honesty?” Pumpkin sat in the booth and marveled at the change that had come over the weathered mare before her. As they began to talk, Applebloom had brightened more and more. Her dull yellow fur suddenly seemed to shine and her eyes gleamed with an almost unnatural vigor. In her words, Pumpkin heard it. “That’s right! One of th’ six elite soldiers in th’ Princess’s Royal Guard! They were codenamed ‘Elements.’ Mah sis, used to tell me about how the six of them were the closest of friends and...Unstoppable.” That want; the desire to believe. Her heart had begun to race, her pulse quickened; listening to the tales of the missing Apple. She trembled with excitement; that desire, that hope was infectious. Ponyville still lay in ruins; many shops and homes were destroyed by the Changlings, ten years ago. Though the fire had been extinguished long ago, some flames aren’t so easily put out. The black flames of pain and despair still blazed throughout the survivors. The populace acted normally, even putting on smiling faces. To anypony else they seemed normal as they went about their business, but a closer look revealed their broken states of being. The glazed eyes, the tenseness of their pose; the light of hope had vanished from Ponyville. Starlight had done her best to fill the empty thrones left behind by Celestia and Luna; it wasn’t enough. The will to move forward had been wiped out, by Chrysalis and her brethren. Pumpkin couldn’t explain it; she wanted to believe. She wanted to believe that something good, anything good, could happen in her hometown. “Tell me, what is she like?” A new voice behind her answered. “We can tell you all about her.”