— Chapter 3 : Desertion —
Twilight ran through the street, the world a blur around her. She was completely outside her comfort zone, completely outside her ability to think logically. Ponies jumped out of her way, and shouts of concern and annoyance arose behind her as they saw the splotches of blood and grime on her coat. As she fled for what she felt was her life, all she could think was that she needed to get away as fast as possible. Also, she felt like she was was almost out of magic.
Finally, a spark in the darkness. “A train!” she shouted to herself as she ran. Up ahead was Mane Street. She pulled a hard right, throwing a couple of carts off course. Looking down the street, she could see the station in the distance at the other side. Gearing up, she put her all into her hooves.
Rainbow dropped out the sky and tackled Twilight mid-gallop. Immediately all the air was knocked out of her, and her vision became a whirlwind of colors. The two ponies tumbled over and over in the street, sending Twilight way off course.
Just as they were about to roll into building, Rainbow saw Twilight’s horn flare, heard a crack, and shortly crashed into a storefront, alone. The pain from smashing through the glass stung, but only sharpened Rainbow’s senses. Looking out the freshly broken window, she could see Twilight wheezing and desperately trying to straightening herself and start running down the street again. After a couple of quick apologies, Dash jumped through the window back out onto the street and continued pursuit.
What is Rainbow doing? Doesn't she know I have to get away? Twilight was terrified now. All hope of explaining to her friends was gone now that Applejack had let loose Rainbow on her. She felt more alone than her days in Canterlot.
Twilight pumped her legs are hard as she could. She glanced behind, just in time to see blue hooves reaching down to grab her. Another flash, and she jumped ahead. Rainbow Dash rolled where Twilight had just been, caught a hoofful of solid ground, then launched herself back into the air in smooth motion, her momentum unbroken.
"Come on Twilight, stop messing around! Come back with me me! I can help you!" Rainbow Dash was getting frustrated. She knew she was the fastest flyer in Equestria and could beat anypony in a race, but Twilight could teleport anytime whenever she willed it. If this chase continued as it was, losing Twilight was an inevitability.
“Twilight, wait!” Rainbow called. She landed in the street, skidding to a stop.
Twilight slowed and looked over her shoulder. Seeing Dash stopped in the street, she paused and whipped around to face her.
Rainbow Dash cringed. Twilight had looked tired when they stopped by, but now she looked almost feral. Her eyes and her nose had been running unchecked down her face. Her mane was matted, with splotches of red clumping strands together which seemed to originate near her horn. Her coat fared no better, with splotches of sweat all over. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, but her irises barely showed. She was shuddering and heaving, clearly fighting the ‘flight’ part of her fight-or-flight response. Rainbow could see she was losing.
By now, ponies had come out of their shops to get a look at the commotion. The murmuring Dash heard wasn't anything she wanted to hear, and she sincerely hoped Twilight wasn't paying attention.
Rainbow began to slowly approach Twilight. “Look Twilight, I don’t know what happened back there, and yeah it looks pretty bad, but we can make it through this.”
Twilight shuddered. “No Rainbow Dash," she choked out between breaths, "there’s no going back. I can't go back. I have... stained my hooves.” She started to cry again. She sat on her haunches. “Dash, I... I murdered her....”
Rainbow Dash's heart stopped. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck. Murdered? Just the sound of that word was so archaic and alien. Searching her memories, Dash couldn't even find a synonym. She was no child; The Daring Doo novels she read always had had the bad guys try to capture the titular hero, and usually ended up with them suffering minor injury by being thrown overboard or caught in a trap, but that was simply fantasy. No pony ever permanently hurt anypony in real life. Not intentionally. Not ever. Shaking her head, she took another step.
“I don't know what you mean. Look Twi', just calm down. We can talk this out. I'm sure you have an explanation. We... We can ask Celestia for help.”
Rainbow Dash stepped on a landmine. The pain Twilight’s heart felt doubled at the mention of her mentor. Nightmare Moon had been banished because she was an immortal alicorn, unable to die. She had to be purged with the Elements of Harmony. Twilight was only a simple unicorn. She shuddered again at the thought of Celestia ever finding out what happened today. She had trespassed to a place nopony should ever tread, a place she was only privy to due to her constant proximity to a living relic all her life.
Twilight wiped her eyes. The tears had never stopped. “I’m so sorry, Rainbow.” Twilight flared her horn and, with a crack, disappeared. Rainbow immediately launched herself into the air to see where she could’ve gone, but she couldn’t see any purple pony fleeing the scene. After some time, Rainbow slowly lowered herself to the ground, and began her slow walk back to the tree house, her head hanging low.
***
Twilight materialized in the train station with heavy shivers, as if she had been doused with ice water. Coughing, she rose from the platform and looked around. She was surrounded by ponies going about their business. She needed to find a train to take her as far away from Canterlot as possible. As she paused to catch her breath and collect her thoughts, she noticed the ponies closest to her had stopped and stared. Looking around, she saw that there was a semi circle of ponies staring at her. Soon, she could hear whispers of people asking "Isn't she that young librarian?" Even worse, "Isn't that Celestia's personal protege?" Remembering herself, Twilight realized she was still covered in red. While the common pony wasn't familiar with the idea of murder, it was only a matter of time until someone realized something was gravely wrong.
Suddenly, there was a scream, and all the ponies who could see her face immediately gasped and shied away. Twilight tried to ignore them, and tried to look over the crowd for someone to disappear to. Spotting a train at rest on the tracks, she teleported to the last car. She found herself in a seemingly empty train car. She started for the nearest compartment to find a suitable hiding place. As she reached for the door handle, she heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Hey Twilight, is that you? Yeah, I remember that cutie mark. I haven’t seen you in ages! I thought that was you outside, what’s going on?”
Twilight froze. She didn’t know what to do. The voice got closer. “I’m headed... to...”
Twilight slowly turned, and she could finally identify the mare that recognized her. She was mint green, with a lyre cutie mark.
The mare speaking had trailed off and froze in place. If she hadn't seen her cutie mark, she would have never believed the face of the red covered purple mare that stared at her was Ponyville's quirky librarian. She caught a whiff of of Twilight and realized exactly what she was covered in.
“Whoa. Twi… Twilight?”
A crack, and Twilight was gone.
***
Lyra stared at where her old friend had been. Eventually, she flung open the compartment door and looked out into the crowd on the platform, looking for any sign of Twilight. All she saw was a bunch of wide-eyed Ponyvillans.
She sat down, and tried to run through her thoughts as to why Twilight could appear for a second covered in what looked like blood, and then leave just as quickly. In all the years she had known of Twilight, nothing would explain what she just saw. And she had looked so frightened...
“Er… Sorry about the unfortunate event folks, but it seems all is well. All aboard to Canterlot!” A nervous conductor shouted.
Lyra jumped up, and re-entered the main hallway. She reached out with her horn and lifted her bags. She paused, looking at the spot one more time, then began to make her way back to her compartment. As concerned as she was for Twilight, she had a journey to make.
***
At the far edge of the town, Twilight materialized, and flopped to the ground to catch her breath. She had stretched the limits of her magic today, yet she still wasn’t finished pushing herself. She looked back towards Ponyville. In the distance, she could see Rainbow Dash flying in circles around the town. Twilight seized up, realizing she could still be spotted. She reached deep within herself, dipping into some of the very last of her magical reserves for one final jump.
Poof..
This time when she materialized, she collapsed. Her magic was spent, and all she wanted to do is rest. She couldn’t keep her heart still, even as she lay there. She felt like she still needed to get up, and get away. She couldn't rest yet.
Twilight rolled on her back and looked up, to take in her surroundings. At least I'm covered. The thick canopy would protect her from Rainbow’s searching eyes. Looking towards Ponyville, she could barely see anything through the trees. Feeling at least a little safe, Twilight let herself close her eyes. She dreamed, and it was most unpleasant.
***
Applejack felt like she was piecing together a smashed vase, water included. Fluttershy was a wreck, still lying in the pool of blood. Pinkie had moved, but was flipping through the bloodied spell books and talking to herself. She pushed the one she was looking through on the floor as if by accident, then moved to another one. Applejack approached her.
“Pinkie.”
Flip, flip, flip.
“Pinkie….”
Flip flip flip.
Applejack laid a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. “Pinkie Pie.”
Flip, flip, rrrip. Pinkie’s sticky hoof had caught on a page and pulled it free. She held it up to her face, inspecting it for something.
From where she stood, Applejack could tell she wasn’t actually reading the page. She put a foreleg up to Pinkie’s and lowered it. She kept her voice even and quiet, but terse. “Pinkie Pie, snap out of it! We need to clean up ourselves and leave. We can’t stay here.”
Pinkie ice blue eyes glided over to Applejack’s, and gave her a thin smiled. “Sorry AJ, we can’t go yet. I’m playing hide-and-go-seek with Rarity. She’s such a good hider, I can’t find her anywhere.”
Applejack jumped back at this, her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach. She stared wordlessly as Pinkie calmly put the page down, and started flipping through the book again
Flip. Flip. Flip.
Discouraged, Applejack looked back over at Fluttershy, who had grown silent. In the corner she saw Spike laying on his side, still out cold. Applejack could only hope he missed the worst of it. She needed to take charge and get her friends out of this library.
Applejack heard a click, and looked up to see Rainbow entering a window. “I lost her Applejack, I’m sorry. I chased her down Mane Street. She was teleporting all over the place, and I couldn’t catch her, and... eventually I lost track of her.” She landed next to her, taking care to keep her hooves out of red pool.
“That’s alright, we’ll find her later. Now we need to get these three outta here.”
Rainbow glanced over at Fluttershy and Pinkie. “What’s the plan?”
“They ain’t goin’, so we’ll just have to throw ‘em on our backs. Ah’ll grab Pinkie Pie and you grab Fluttershy. We'll come back for Spike. We’ll wash them off a bit in the bathroom and they should snap out of it. Normally Ah’d wait to let them pull together, but,” she gestured around the room with her hoof, “they can’t look at this any longer. Ah can't look at this any longer. While they’re cleanin’, Ah’m goin to find Sweetie Belle and tell her she’s staying with me. Ah’ll meet y’all back here, and then we’ll go from there.”
There was a long pause. Rainbow stood there. “Applejack, what is this?”
Applejack looked Rainbow square in the eyes and whispered, “This is Rarity. All this mess is what Twilight done to Rarity.”
“W-w-w-what? Stop kidding AJ, that’s really terrible,” Rainbow chuckled nervously. Applejack was silent. After a second of more looking around, Rainbow's face contorted into a horrible grimace, and she flew to the kitchen making retching sounds. Applejack could hear that Rainbow finally understood what she meant, or at least as much as she understood herself. She lowered her head, and pulled her hat down for a moment of silence. Eventually, she turned to Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie, you may be a lil’ sore at me after this,” Applejack sighed, “but Ah promise it’s for your own good.” Applejack reared up, and tackled Pinkie. Immediately, she screamed.
“Let me go, let me go AJ! She’s here, I know it! Let me go, I have to find her!”
Applejack hooked her front legs around hers from the back, and slowly made her way upstairs.
Rainbow Dash wiped her mouth as she walked back in, and watched silence as Applejack dragged Pinkie up the stairs. She turned to Fluttershy, and gulped. She slowly hovered over to her. “Fluttershy, we need to get you cleaned up. We have to leave, and-“
“I’ll go, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy shakily raised her self out of the pool. Her belly had been completely soaked, and liquid dripped onto the floor. She looked down and caught her reflection looking back. She shut her eyes and took a few breaths, before putting one quivering foot towards the stairs. After two more steps, she collapsed.
Rainbow Dash zoomed over to her. “Fluttershy! Are your hurt?”
“N-no, I just… I can’t do this myself.” Here eyes were shut, but still leaking. “Pl-please, help me.”
Rainbow bit her lip, then gingerly embraced Fluttershy from behind the back. A small amount of red smeared on her coat. She could feel Fluttershy’s heart still beating quickly, and the sobs that racked her body now shook hers too. This was almost too much for Rainbow; these type of emotions were foreign to Dash, and she wanted it to stay that way.
A few flaps and Rainbow had brought Fluttershy to the second floor. Inside Twilight’s room, they could still hear Pinkie crying out.
“Applejack, leave me alone! I have to find her! I swear she’s downstairs! Pinkie swear, Pinkie swear!” She thrashed, knocking over anything within reach.
Applejack eyed Rainbow coming up the stairs. “Rainbow, help me with this crazy mare,” she called out.
Rainbow gingerly sat Fluttershy down, and slowly approached the pair. Her best friend looked like a complete mess. This was too much for Rainbow Dash. She wanted to fly away, pull several G’s and stop thinking about anything.
After some thought, she flew past them into Twilight’s bathroom, and found what was she was looking for. She tipped over the waste bin, and filled it with cold water from the sink. She flew over to the pair. As she got ready, Applejack stepped away from Pinkie, who paused, confused, from suddenly being released. Pinkie then got a face full of water. Immediately she stopped struggling.
There was silence again in the library. Pinkie simply sat on her haunches looking at her feet. He mane was drooping, covering her face. Rainbow’s stomach lurched; the way Pinkie looked now reminded her of when she found Pinkie sulking the day of her surprise birthday party. That was a side of Pinkie she never wanted to see again.
Applejack was panting. “So… Are you gonna… act right, Pinkie?”
Pinkie didn’t look up, her face half hidden by her mane. “I’m sorry, Applejack.”
Silence again. Applejack sighed and headed to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Rainbow set the bucket down, then walked over to Pinkie, and extended a hoof. Pinkie slowly raised her head, her mane parting and letting a solitary eye stare into Rainbow’s. Rainbow shuddered as the ice blue orb pierced her; it felt like only half of her friend was there.
As she lost herself in a gaze, she heard the door open again and Applejack stepped out with a clean coat. Rainbow Dash blinked, confused as to how fast that was. Wait, how long have I been sitting here? After a beat, Pinkie flashed a smile, grabbed Dash's still extended hoof, and helped herself off the floor. She then walked herself to the bathtub, shut the door, and locked it with a click. Dash heard water begin to run.
As the tub began to fill, Pinkie looked at herself in the mirror, and let out a huge gasp. Immediately there was a banging at the door. “You alright in there Pink?”
“Y-yes AJ, I’m fine,” Pinkie called back. She turned back to the mirror, and felt ill. She was covered in red from mane to tail. The wake up splash she had received had done little to clear away the blood as it had started to cake, and she could clearly see where it had caked on her face and her mane. She had found Rarity. She chuckled, and immediately was disgusted by herself.
Outside, Rainbow floated over to Fluttershy and picked her up from where she left her. She gingerly sat her on the bed, and landed beside her, making a point to not touch her coat anymore than she had to.
“R-Rainbow Dash, c-could you t-turn me towards the window?” Fluttershy asked.
“Uh, sure thing Fluttershy.” Rainbow softly spun her around to the window; she could feel her trembling.
Outside Celestia’s sun was just about to begin its descent. The afternoon was just beginning. Rainbow Dash felt dizzy, wondering just how much time had passed. Ponies were out enjoying the sun, a few making their way to the park and others to nice outdoor restaurants. She could see birds flying around outside, tweeting away happily. It felt so surreal looking out and seeing everypony so calm and happy with what had transpired. Rainbow Dash hoped they would cheer Fluttershy up.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy released a sigh she was holding as she melted into the bed. She breathed deeply, taking in the view. Outside, it was nice and relaxing. It kept her mind calm, and off of that Luna-forsaken unicorn, Twilight Sparkle.
Applejack turned from listening to the bathroom door. “Alright, y’all two stay here while Ah go get Sweetie Belle.” Rainbow Dash could feel Fluttershy tense up beside her. “Ah figure she’ll be better off living with me, since Ah have Applebloom and their clubhouse is on my farm. If we’re lucky, Applebloom will keep her from askin' too many questions. We have to send word to her parents. Rainbow, you’re in charge till I get back from taking her to the farm.”
There were no objections. Nopony else would be able to handle Sweetie Belle. Rarity’s little sister hadn’t crossed either mare’s mind. Fluttershy was secretly glad she wouldn’t be taking care of her. She would’ve tried if asked, but she didn’t need a daily reminder of today, or of her friend.
“Hold on, just what are you going to tell her, AJ? She’ll freak if you tell her what happened,” said Rainbow.
Applejack tilted her hat. “Well, what’s wrong with the truth? Ah’m not gonna tell her a story.”
Fluttershy's face flashed anger, but she was turned away from the arguing mares. No one noticed.
“You can’t do that, AJ! It will crush her! This isn’t a joke, she’s just a filly,” Rainbow protested. She knew it wasn't Applejack's nature to be dishonest, even with minor things, but she figured she’d have more tact than that.
Applejack made for the door. She paused when she made it to the frame. "Fine, Ah'll let her parents tell her. In the meantime, Ah'm only going to say Rarity's gone, or something."
"Applejack, I think if you mention she was called to Canterlot, you'll be alright," Fluttershy added quietly.
The mare stood in silence. Eventually, she tilted her hat, and stepped out.
Rainbow Dash sighed. There's no way a young filly would be able to handle what happened today. She wasn't so sure she'd be able to. Then, she cringed.
“Heh, oh yeah, Spike.”
Fluttershy remained silent, and the bedroom remained that way for a few minutes.
Dash spoke up. “That poor dragon is going to be so lost without Twilight. We need to find her. Fluttershy, she was terrified when I saw her. I’ve never seen anypony so scared in my life. She’s probably helplessly panicking somewhere thinking that Celestia will throw the sun at her at any second.”
Fluttershy grumbled something disdainful about a certain missing unicorn.
“Hey ‘Shy, what did you say? You gotta speak up.”
A click, and Pinkie stepped out of the bathroom. Rainbow was relieved to have someone else to talk to. “Oh hey, Pinkie Pie. Are you done?”
Pinkie Pie walked to the middle of the room, and simply stared. Rainbow followed her gaze, and found it pierced an empty spot on the wall. Pinkie had dried her hair and it resumed its usual curly shape, but Rainbow’s thoughts kept drifting to how it was after she had been doused. Those tight curls pulled straight made her feathers shake.
Fluttershy rose and eased herself off the bed. “Do you need any more help, Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow. Fluttershy walked into the bathroom and shut the door. “Okay… what was that?”
Pinkie Pie took that as a cue and moved to bed, filling the spot where Fluttershy was. Rainbow looked Pinkie over as she sat felt the pony sit down right next to her, but Pinkie was just staring outside. She raised a forehoof and placed it around her friend, and Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously.
After a while, Pinkie asked, “Rarity isn’t coming back, is she Dashie?”
This was not a conversation Dash was ready to have, but she tried to put a lid on her emotions and be there for her friend. “No Pinkie Pie, at least not anytime soon. I think she may be gone for a long time.”
Pinkie Pie sniffed. A tear rolled down her cheek. “And Twilight?”
Instantly Rainbow Dash felt several tugs in her heart in all directions. She felt like her body had become a compass, but with the arrow spinning in all directions. She had been distracted by the scene downstairs, but instantly she knew what she should be doing, the hardest tug being very clear. She had to find Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow stood up and walked off the bed. Pinkie whipped her head around to see if Rainbow had disappeared, and whimpered.
Rainbow Dash started to pace back and forth. She had let Twilight go instead of tracking her down and letting her know she was there for her. She was out there alone and ashamed and afraid. Rainbow knew her friend would be going completely out of her mind right now, and yet she had given up her chase so easily.
“I’m going to find her, Pinkie. Ugh," Rainbow Dash facehoofed, "I can’t believe I left her out there! I’m going to find her, Pinkie and bring her back and we are all going to work this out. I have to go right now.“ The more Rainbow Dash spoke, the more she was sure.
Pinkie made a small gasp, and was instantly off the bed and at Rainbow’s hooves. “But Dashie! You can’t leave! W-we need you!”
Rainbow slowly slid her off her leg. “Pinkie, you guys have each other. You’ll be alright. Twilight's all alone. She probably thinks that, at any moment, Celestia herself will show up and send her to the moon or something.”
“What… What about the weather ponies, huh? You can’t leave them without notice!”
“They have enough ponies to cover for me. They’ll hate me for it, but I have to go, Pinkie.”
“But you have to watch over Tank!”
“Fluttershy can watch over him.” She walked to the window.
“But what about my new cupcake recipes?”
“Applejack can taste them.” Rainbow Dash unhooked the latch.
“But what about our pranking? No one else is as good as you.”
“Do them by yourself, Pinkie!" Dash said curtly.
Pinkie shrank into herself from this.
Rainbow Dash sighed, and collected herself. “Twilight needs me and I’m going to find her and that’s that!” She pushed open the window.
Pinkie wracked her mind for a suitable excuse, but found none. The rainbow mare had always been easy going, and she had little responsibilities to tie her to Ponyville. “But Dash…" she pleaded, "I need you. Please, don’t go.”
That made her pause. Rainbow Dashed closed her eyes. She hated it when emotions got rubbed bare. “Pinkie Pie. I’m going to find Twilight. I’m your friend, but she’s our friend too. She needs help, and I’m going to give it to her. I'm not coming back ‘till I find her.” She jumped to the window sill. She thought about looking back, but took off before she did.
Pinkie pie slumped to the ground.
The bathroom door opened, and Fluttershy stepped out. She had managed to to get most of the blood off, but her coat still had a subtle tint of red in the direct light. She noticed the open window. Her eyes narrowed sharply.
“Did Rainbow Dash leave?” she hissed.
Pinkie whimpered.
“Let’s go, Pinkie Pie.”
She didn’t move.
Fluttershy walked around till she was in Pinkie’s line of sight. “I said get up.”
Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened, and she looked up into Fluttershy’s eyes in disbelief. They were uncharacteristically hard. Fluttershy’s usually light voice had found an edge, and sounded like two stones being ground together. “Is this... New Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy started laughing, softly. Pinkie’s eyes shined, and she started to grin, but Fluttershy cut her laugh short and gave her a hard look. “Get up, and let’s go,” she said coolly.
Fluttershy turned and walked out of the room. Downstairs, she passed Spike on the way to the door, still unconscious. She stopped to consider her options, but still decided to get him. She kneeled down, and used her wings to slide Spike onto her back. Pinkie looked on from the top of the stairs, her eyes dull..
“I’m going home. Are you coming or not?"
No answer.
"Goodbye, Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie didn’t move an inch.
***
Applejack didn’t know where to begin to look for Sweetie Belle. She figured she would be with the other Crusaders, but their crusading could take them anywhere, especially on such nice day over the weekend… or what had started as a nice day.
Applejack, accustomed to working outside, could feel that the temperature had dropped some. It wouldn’t prevent anyone from enjoying the day, but it was noticeable nonetheless. Eventually she had settled on starting at the clubhouse.
As she had walked, she felt like everypony had eyes on her. She wasn’t at fault for what happened to Rarity, but she couldn’t help but feel responsible, like she was carrying a huge secret. Every single pair of eyes that passed over her felt like an accusatory glare despite the warmness of any greetings she received. The attention was distracting her from spinning a story to Sweetie Belle, and was serving to only increase the already relentlessly horrific day. As she was deep in thought, a passing mare waved hello and spoke.
“Hello Applejack, lovely day huh?” The mare was a soft cream color, with pink and blue mane in tight curls. Applejack paused for a moment trying to remember, and a glance at the mare’s candy cutie mark gave her just what she needed.
“Hey Bon Bon. Sure is.”
iBon Bon. Applejack had seen her from time to time, and her pseudo-rivalry had Pinkie Pie and the Cakes referring to her occasionally. Indirectly, of course. Applejack knew little of her, other than she worked at a sweet shop and was always seen playing straight-mare to a mint-green pony, who surprisingly wasn’t stuck to Bon Bon’s hip at the moment. Applejack didn’t personally know Bon Bon too well, but could always appreciate a fellow level-headed and hard-working citizen. Unfortunately, she was busy.
“How’s the start of apple bucking season? Did you have a good yield this year?” asked Bon Bon innocently.
Applejack had to get away. She was on a mission, and as well meaning a she was, Bon Bon was slowing her down. “It’s great.” She kept her answers short, hoping Bon Bon would pick up on her rush.
"Did you hear? It sounds like Celestia's star pupil and Ponyville's finest weather pony had a tussle on Mane Street earlier. What was that all about? Aren't they your close friends?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to go, it’s an emergency. I’ll catch you later." And before Bon Bon could also say anything, Applejack had galloped off. Bon Bon shrugged, and went on her way to the train station.
Looking at Celestia’s sun, Applejack noticed it was just starting its descent. “It’s still the beginning of the afternoon, and it already feels like today has lasted forever,” she remarked to herself. She made her way for Sweet Apple Acres. “Ah guess the girls would still be over near the clubhouse. This is not my cup of cider, but Ah figure Ah’m the best one to deal with this. Rainbow wouldn’t be delicate, Pinkie is shaken up, and Fluttershy...”
She stopped in her tracks. Pinkie had seized up, but Fluttershy had been a complete mess. What was strange though, was when she left, she had been serene, almost too much. AJ hated leaving her like that, but she could only hope Rainbow Dash got a hold of the situation. Being generally meek, and due to her attachment to Rarity, Applejack could only imagine what was going on inside Fluttershy’s head, as she tried to pick up the pieces. “Shucks, Ah’m trying to pick up the pieces too.”
Applejack figured the girls would be at the treehouse, and that’s exactly where she found them.
“C’mon girls, Cutie Mark Crusaders high divers wasn’t a complete success, but maybe synchronized swimming will do the trick!” Applejack could hear Applebloom trying to rally the troops.
“No offense Applebloom, but I’m cold, and my wings are wet. I just want to bask in the sun. I’d rather try Cutie Mark Crusaders sun tanning company instead.”
“Heh, or Cutie Mark Crusaders beach volleyballers,” suggested Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo and Applebloom rolled their eyes. “What beach would we use?” asked Applebloom.
Outside Applejack readied herself. “Ahem, girls? Ah need to have a word with y’all.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry Applejack! I promise I’ll return the...” Applebloom’s sentence trailed off as she read Applejack’s face, and realized that the set of tools she had lost earlier was not on her mind.
“You and me are gonna have a little private chat later, but Ah’m here on much more important business. Uh, Sweetie Belle? Step aside with me, would you?” Sweetie Belle’s ears perked up in attention. Applejack swallowed hard, then began.
***
Twilight Sparkle woke up in the dirt. Everything burned, and her forehead felt numb. The air was cool, and as she slowly opened her eyes, she could see that night had fallen over the forest.
She slowly raised herself, and took stock of her situation. Everything was still attached, and she was lucky that she had collapsed at the edge of the forest, where the bigger things inside rarely tread.
She slowly walked out of the tree line, and could see all of Ponyville before her, lit gently with lights. Slowly rising, Luna’s moon illuminated the immediate area with a soft glow.
Luna, Twilight thought. Twilight’s transgression that afternoon was beyond forgiveness. The devastation she would cause her friends would forever darken their hearts, hers included. She could never face them again, for she feared their reaction almost as much as she feared Celestia's.
Celestia. Twilight had done her best not to think of her mentor, but now that her heart wasn’t beating a mile a minute, thoughts of the Goddess filled her mind. Rainbow Dash had tried to talk her out of running, but she didn’t understand. She had never studied pony history. Her friend didn’t know the weight of her sin. Twilight wondered if Dash had even figured out what she did to Rarity.
Rarity. A flash of skin floating away and a terrible shriek struck Twilight’s mind, and suddenly she was sick.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get that out of my head.” She spit the remnants of her sick out her mouth. “I don’t deserve to, at least.”
As she glanced over at the town. The closest structure to Twilight was was Fluttershy’s cottage, and she could tell the lights were on. While still a ways off, Fluttershy owned the closest building to the forest so she could help any wayward animal too timid to to venture all the way into Ponyville. Or, so she said; Twilight believed that before she met Fluttershy, it was also because she was too timid to venture into Ponyville herself, except when necessary.
Twilight sighed. “Well that’s good: Fluttershy’s home”.
She longed to go to her friends, and tell them that she was sorry. They probably believed that was the best course of action, and they should all go to Celestia and ask for forgiveness. Unfortunately, Twilight knew the truth. Celestia would simply do away with her. What was worse, even with all their power, the Princesses couldn't save Rarity after today.
An idea struck her. While her plan to flee Ponyville was uncompromisable, maybe she could write a letter? Yes, one last letter to let her friends in on her reasons. She loved them too much to simply leave them in the dark. She gazed out at the town again. The library looked dark from where she stood.
She took a deep breath, and in a flash, disappeared from the edge of the forest.
***
The afternoon had fallen away to early evening over Ponyville. The sun had almost finished setting as Applejack stumbled back into the library, exhausted.
“What a day”, she practically exhaled as she shut the door the behind. Immediately the smell hit her hard, and she gagged.
After a bout of coughing, she looked up towards the second floor. “Girls,” she called out, “sorry it took me so long. Ah had to walk to Rarity’s to pack Sweetie’s stuff, then we had to get Scootaloo’s stuff because of course she had to be included in the 'sleepover', and then Ah had to explain to Big Mac and Granny Smith what went down and y’all know how hard it is for me to keep a secret. Ah thought they’d never leave me alone, and then Derpy came by with some news and... Girls?” The library remained quiet.
She made her way upstairs and opened Twilight’s room. Inside, the curtains were still drawn and moonlight poured into the room. The waste bin was sitting on its side in the middle of the room, but no other signs pointed to anypony being there for hours. She walked around and checked a few rooms and down in the kitchen, and found no one.
Her stomach let out a deep growl. She sighed, and popped open Twilight’s fridge. Inside she found some apples she had recently given her. “A-Ah’m sure she wouldn't mind.”
While she was in town, she felt like everypony had their eyes on her. She wasn’t at fault for what happened to Rarity in the slightest, but she couldn't help but feel responsible just from being there. Being there, too, was a problem in itself. By simply knowing what happened, Applejack was now carrying a huge secret, which weighed twice as heavy on her heart as the next pony.
Even worse, her friends were all out of sorts. Two were having some sort of breakdown, and the only one still sane as her wasn’t the gentlest soul when it came to touchy materials. One was on the run, and due to her abilities, would be nigh-impossible to find, and that was all because...
No. Applejack her eyes stung, and it felt like something was caught in her throat. Immediately she changed her thoughts. She was the rock of the group, she knew that she, out of everypony, would have to keep it together.
She finished her apples, and walked back to the main room. Standing there in the dark, she felt alone. “I guess someone should clean this up...”
The floodgates broke. She fell to her knees, and immediately shut her eyes to fight back the wave of tears she felt. It didn’t help help.
“This? This? How dare Ah?” She rolled back and looked at the ceiling. “This is my friend, one of my few, one of my best. Oh Sugarcube, how could she do this to you? How could we have let her do this to you?”
She laid there in the dark, sniffing.
"Rarity, we my have had our scant few differences, but Ah already miss ya. What Ah wouldn't give for another sleepover right now." She laid there in the dark, trying to force herself to stop.
Poof.
Applejack perked up instantly and opened her eyes to look around. She could have swore she heard something. She slowly rose to her feet, trying to make as little sound as possible.
There! She heard some scratching from upstairs. Slowly, she crept up the stairs. She heard scratching, like quill on parchment. It sounded frantic. As she neared the peak of the stairs, she could see a faint purple glow from underneath Twilight’s cracked-open door.
She crept up to the door frame, being extra careful not to make any noise. When she made it, the scratching continued, and she held her breath. What would I say?
Seconds turned to minutes as she stood pressed up against the wall, just around the corner from the source of the noise.
Applejack couldn't wait any longer. She dashed around the door and into the room.
Twilight snapped up from her parchment. “Applejack!”
“Twilight, wait! Let’s talk! It’s—”
Poof.
All that was left was a fluttering quill and paper, both slowly floating to the ground. Applejack clenched her teeth and stomped her hooves. Letting out a deep breath, she walked over to it as it landed face up on the floor.
“Dear friends...”
Applejack’s eyes widened as she continued to read.
***
“How dare they leave us?”
Pinkie Pie sat at Fluttershy’s table, head in her hooves. Some time ago Pinkie had slowly started crying, and hadn’t stopped. “Which one are you talking about?”
Fluttershy snapped her head to Pinkie. “Both of them!”
Her words were barely louder than normal, but Pinkie could feel Fluttershy losing control behind them. She whimpered. Fluttershy continued to pace.
“How dare they leave us, when we needed them the most?” What had been simmering all day was slowly spilling out of Fluttershy’s mouth.
Pinkie Pie slowly gazed around the cottage. None of her animals were in the house save Angel Bunny, who was out in the living room with a still-unconscious Spike. Fluttershy had shooed the critters out as soon as they arrived.
Even though Fluttershy left her in the library, Pinkie Pie eventually followed her home. She had no place to go for the solidarity she was looking for. She had rarely been to Fluttershy’s house this late at night, and by herself. Despite being in a room with one of her closest friends, Pinkie Pie felt alone, making her regret this visit. Being at home with the Cakes wouldn’t be the same or nearly as comforting; at least, being here was supposed to make her feel better.
“W-who knows? Maybe Applejack got caught up with-”
“Ha ha, Applejack? She couldn’t even come back to us. She probably didn’t want to deal with two pathetic, broken ponies.”
Pinkie Pie stared at Fluttershy, who was still pacing and hadn’t missed a beat. Her heart had been hurting already, and Fluttershy was not making it any better.
“How could she leave us sitting in there? In that library? With that SMELL? With Rarity still on the walls?” Fluttershy’s voice, originally meek and small, was building in volume.
Pinkie Pie wasn’t liking where this was going at all. “Please Fluttershy, we don’t know what happened. Today has been... hard. For everyone. Just give her time to explain and I’m sure—”
“— we’ll find out just how unimportant we are to her!” Fluttershy never missed a step. Around the corner, Angel peeked into the kitchen to see what was upsetting his mistress.
"I wish Rainbow Dash was here, she’d say something cool and make us feel better.”
Fluttershy shot her a look. Pinkie missed it because she was taking a drink from her glass. “Well guess what, she took off! Some ‘Element of Loyalty’ she is. In a time of need, she simply dashes off and leaves us to pick up the pieces. Ha, ha!”
Pinkie Pie felt her soul grow cold and her world shrink around her. What in the world had gotten into Fluttershy? She was pulling off an incredible hoof-face turn, and Pinkie couldn’t figure out a reason why.
She took a bite of her sandwich, and chewed it in silence. Fluttershy continued her march. She gulped her bite down.
“I wish Twilight was here.”
The next thing she knew, Pinkie Pie was thrown off her chair, her plate and glass falling with her. With a loud crash, she landed, sprawled out on the floor. When she looked up, she came eye to eye with Flutttershy.
“Don't you EVER say her name again! She’s gone! She’s as dead to me as Rarity is! She’s... she’s...”
But she couldn’t finish. Pinkie’s eyes had glazed over in tears, and they ran almost as quick as blood from a fresh cut down her face. Her mane lay limp on the floor behind her, and she merely stared up, past Fluttershy, as if she wasn’t even there.
Fluttershy wanted to continue, to tell Pinkie Pie how exactly she felt, the deep, deep hurt coursing through her. Instead, all she saw was a broken doll. She looked up and saw Angel’s horrified face. She shut her eyes, and flew up the stairs and straight to her room, shutting the door. Immediately she began to scream. She started smashing her room apart, knocking over pictures and her lamp, instantly darkening the room. Fluttershy jumped in her bed, and tried her best to rip her pillows apart. When that failed, she simply fell into them, and sobbed.
Angel had rushed up behind her, and on the other side of the door he could hear everything. His ears drooped as he heard his mistress’ temper tantrum finally subside into pure heartache.
“Why?” Fluttershy screamed. “Why her? Why not me? Oh Rarirty, what have we done? I should’ve been the one! Rarity!”
Slowly her screams turned incomprehensible. Downstairs, Pinkie Pie slowly curled herself into a ball, her mane spread out straight all around her, her eyes as empty as her mind.
***
...Poof.
Twilight popped into being at the edge of the forest, and ran for several seconds before she relaxing. She had calculated right and her magic had held out, but she was still exhausted from the two cross-town jumps. Leaning on a tree, she caught her breath.
Unable to finish her letter, she hoped what she written was enough. There would still be some unanswered questions, but at least they’d know what she planned to do. She composed herself, and looked deep into the dark forest. Lighting her horn, she took her first step in her plan: leave Ponyville behind forever.
She looked back behind her, and through the trees she could make out Fluttershy’s Cottage. She stared at it for some time, soaking in the last of chapter in her life. She had a while to go before she’d make it to the other side. After a deep sigh, Twilight Sparkle turned and walked deeper into the Everfree forest.
High above, Rainbow Dash was on her way to Canterlot.