Rainy Day managed to escape the raging carcass by splurging the rest of her magic to teleport out, leaving her an exhausted mess, lying outside the barn doors with the few boxes she accidentally brought with her. “Fuck me...” Rainy Day breathlessly groaned to herself.
However, before she could pool enough energy to stand, the barn doors shook and banged with Fluttershy screaming demonically. Rainy Day hurriedly bucked one of the crates into the door, leaving the weak pony on the verge of throwing up from exhaustion. The crate was heavy enough to stop the large doors from swinging open. However, to Rainy Day’s tired panicked regret. The raging Fluttershy smashed through the wooden doors leaving holes, small enough for her to look through and reach out.
The walls still held strong, preventing Fluttershy from jumping through, leaving her furry to slowly die into pained tears and pleading. "Please… Please tell me… I… I need to know." Fluttershy asked through gasps of breath. However, Rainy Day doesn’t answer the pleading corpse. Instead, she tries to focus on staying awake even with every fiber of her telling her to rest. Eventually, Rainy Day lost her battle and rest subdues her, leaving Fluttershy to tearfully make home in her prison.
Apple Bloom sped after foals as they tried their best to outrun the older mare without using their wings or magic. However, only three earth ponies make it past the line. The rest passing to a disappointed mare.
“Now all of you take a 10 minute break” She told them, as they all pant exhaustedly. The three who managed to pass, smile gently as they try to sneak away. “Not you three.” She says, stumping the three in their place as the rest stumble to their tents.
The tents stood within a large clearing amongst overrun farmland, filled with pumpkins, apple trees and other plant life. The apple house was far enough that it could watch over them. The tents, circling a large fireplace that gently burns with warm embers remaining within it.
The foals stood nervously, two fillies standing ahead as the last colt awkwardly hid behind them. The fillies shared a colourful gold and Snow-white within their manes swirling together as it blended with their white coats. The colt had a smooth dark oak fur with a full grass-green mane, making him blend with the forest around them. Unlike the fillies, the colt held a cutiemark on his flank; a pony shape that had been cut out of a black patch.
The two fillies salute the older mare, one having a nervous smile as the other shakes with the strong face. The colt behind them doing a limper, tired salute.
“Y’all are good at running! But you need to keep up with everything else if you think that’s all you need! Just running ain’t gonna save your Hide!” She scolds the foals, watching them as the two fillies nod with a sort of determination, one to try and prove her wrong, another to try and make her proud. The colt however, looks away, demotivated as he prods at a rock. “You’re both dismissed.” She tells the two fillies as they leave to return to their tents.
“So, how did I do?” The foal asks looking up at Apple Bloom with an exhaustive smile, only to be met with a stifled giggle and a hoof gently rubbing his mane.
“That was your final test. And you’ve passed.” She smiled kindly, her tone was as soft and kind, a voice that had spent years screaming could muster. “You’ve finished your official training, Treebark.” He looked at the mare confused only for it to quickly melt away into tears of joy as they streamed out of his eyes.
“Thank you, Apple Bloom!” He smiles happily, jumping into the mare, hugging her. She would hug him back, smiling softly as he seemed to pause. “Does this mean I have to sleep in the tents again?” He tenderly asks, looking up at her.
“You like pushin’ your luck don’t you?” Apple Bloom faints with a chuckle before she gestures to the old Apple house. “You can rest ya head in the ol’ house.” She smiles letting Treebark down from the hug. Only for him to excitedly rush through the trees towards the house.
“Celestia, he reminds me of you, Rainy.” She smiles leaning back to watch Treebark before turning around to camp.
It took TreeBark only a few minutes to reach the back porch of the house. The white painted wood was clean and pristine almost as if time had no effect on the porch or house. The screen door to the inside was closely followed by a solid red carved wooden door giving off a prelude to the warmth inside. He was more than happy to accept the invitation of the well cared home. The outside was not deceiving of the inside, it was warm and comforting despite the light layer of dust everything was covered in.
The floor creaked and groaned with his hoof steps as he steadied past the kitchen. Towards a red vintage couch, it’s condition a testament of love as it sat within the living room. The feeling of sitting on something that wasn’t mud-covered or swarming with insects was lost to him. He gave the aged cotton a curious rub, never having thought he could have missed a sensation so much. He readied himself to jump upon the vintage cotton. However, before he could take the leap, his ears alerted him of the entrance as the sounds of two ponies talking muffle through it. Panicked and led by instinct, he crawled under the couch, hopeful that whoever was talking wouldn't notice him there. The voices grow louder as two silhouettes shadow through the front door.
“Remind me, How did you forget that you should never teleport more than once per day?” A feminine voice asks, as the door swiftly opens. It was eloquent yet etched command, experience, it reminded Treebark of Apple Bloom’s if she wasn’t so, screamy.
A sickly and groggy voice groaned back in reply, it was also feminine yet it lacked the same command, instead having it replaced with a cocktail of snarkiness mixed with puerility. “Unlike you, I’m all by myself out there, ugh,” the voice remarks as two unicorn mates enter the house, one magically levitating upside down by a lime aura. “You know being upside-down isn’t good when you’re about to-Brugh!” The upside down unicorn wetly retches, as she instinctively covers her mouth with her hooves.
The mare responsible for the other’s levitation launches her counterpart outside the house, where soon after audible puking could be heard from. “Luna Dam it Rainy! You know bile doesn’t wash out easily!” The housed unicorn barates. The name Rainy sounded familiar to Treebark yet he couldn’t seem to be able to place his hoof on it. Curiosity eating at him, he slowly moved closer to the edge of the couch to get a better view of the two ponies.
The internal mare was roughly the same age as Apple Bloom. Her fur was pale white and cleanly maintained with her mane and tail curled and styled, eloquently showing the surging colours of pinks and purples. She wore blackened scale armour that curved and cleanly followed contours of her body. “Is that Blood?!” She exclaims, her lime green eyes wide with shock as she runs outside to the vomiting mare.
Treebark leaned further out, there was no pony inside the house. He stood out from under the couch as quietly as he could, and frowned. He had permission from Apple Bloom to be here, but it’s doubtful that the two ponies would believe him if he told them. So, taking the safe option he decided to try and sneak to the back door. However, before he reached it, he felt a magical aura cover him, lifting him from the ground. Before he could realise what happened he felt an invisible force push him through the front door, in front of the two mares outside. As he floated there he could see the two mares much clearer, as the white mare was patting the back of a vomiting Rainy Day, looking at him with a confused frown.
The mare’s chest plate was engraved with two well maintained symbols that practically shined; Queen Luna’s royal moon and the Cutiemark Crusaders’ shield. There are only three ponies who wield the Crusaders’ shield, the original Crusaders. Treebark could only hold his breath as he realised who he was staring down. Sweetie Belle, the leader of the Head Hunters. A group of well known royal mercenaries that are known for slaughtering anypony on Luna’s hit list.
“Hey Treebark, Nice to see that you’re still here.” Rainy Day weakly smiles having a bile mixed blood puddle under her. She was pale, her body coated with exhaustion, yet her snarky attitude remained.
Sweetie Belle turned to Rainy, rubbing the sick pony’s back concernedly as she asked. “I assume you’re friends with the colt?” Her tone was annoyed yet it was lathered in a protective instinct. Rainy Day answered Sweetie Belle with a nod of her head spitting some remaining bile out of her mouth. Sweetie Belle sighs, nodding her head in annoyance, muttering. “You always know everypony, Rainy.” Rainy could only let out a light chuckle as Treebark was dropped to his hooves.
“So why were you in the house? Skipping training again?” Rainy teases through unenergetic exhaustive yawns and gagged breaths, trying to stand. However, her hindlegs failed her, causing her to only be able to stand up by her forelegs. Rainy’s words getting a disappointed glare from Sweetie Belle that pierced Treebark’s soul.
“I finished my training, Apple Bloom gave me permission to rest in the house.” Treebark forced out, straining against the stare Sweetie Belle was giving him. Luckily Sweetie Belle’s stare stops crushing his soul so she can help Rainy sit down properly on the stairs to the porch.
“Oh really? Or is this just another one of your famous Treebark lies?” Rainy teases to the foal as he frowns with a pit in his stomach. Sweetie Belle sighs disappointedly as she walks into the house calling out to Rainy.
“I’ll get some water for you.” She says as the door closes behind her, leaving Rainy and Treebark. Who is still awkwardly thinking in his head, unable to think of how to make the truth sound believable.
“What’s got your mind in a twist?” Rainy day says lifting her head up with a smiling sigh.
“I… I’m not… I’m not lying.” Treebark says exasperated, gaining a soft concerned frown from Rainy.
“Well that means we need to have a celebration!” Rainy cheers with a weak smile, trying to put on a brave face and unsuccessfully hold down whatever remained in her stomach, as it adds to the puddle of mud, blood and stomach acid.
“Rainy you need to stop.” Sweetie Belle says levitating a glass of water next to her before she offers it to Rainy.
Rainy takes it, panting and exhausted. Filling her maw with the water before swirling it and spitting it into the pool, slightly splashing Treebark and Sweetiebelle, who conjures a small barrier to protect herself. Before Rainy starts to sip the water.
“I’d rather not get myself dirty unless I have to.” Sweetiebelle dryly complains with a sigh as she lets the magical barrier fizzle away.
“Says the mare with one of the dirtiest jobs in Equestria.” Rainy smirks causing Sweetiebelle to roll her eyes with an annoyed sigh.
The two adult mares start to bicker and joke while Treebark awkwardly sits next to Rainy, with his ears flat against his head. Looking around the overgrown forest and the swirling mix of blood and mud in front of him. Trying to distract himself so he doesn’t rudely listen in. However, boredom starts to sink into him as he looks up at the two.
“U-um, Are you okay Rainy?” He asks concerned, trying to include himself into the conversation. Not wanting to be killed by the creeping boredom, and worried from the amount of blood in the pool in front of them.
“Yeah, just some chest pain that should fade.” She smiles back with a brief chuckle, her body a little shivering as if she was cold despite the warm sun bathing the three.
“You’re going to need some proper medical Rainy.” Sweetie Belle frowns as she takes a sip of her own water, getting an annoyed quiet sigh from Rainy.
“You know I hate getting medical from Apple Bloom.” Rainy comments as she takes a soft sip. Getting a Nod of agreement from Treebark and a chuckling scoff from Sweetie Belle.
“She’s very… rough…” Treebark agrees with folded ears.
Sweetie Belle stands up from the top step, and finishes her cup. Grabbing Rainy from under her shoulder, lifting her up to sit next to her. “Then that’s your problem, Rainy. I’m not letting you shorten your own life because of this.” Sweetie Belle coldly tells Rainy, like a mother to her teenage foal. Before she turns her serious and chilling gaze to Treebark who stands up tall instinctively, feeling like he was under Apple Bloom’s gaze. “Get Apple Bloom over here.” She coldly orders him as she drags the disgruntled Unicorn inside the house.
“Um… Yes Mam?” Treebark unsurely says watching before turning and jumping over the puddle of blood at the foot of the stairs, running into the apple forest to get Apple Bloom.