The rain pounded hard on the window panes as I looked out of them in a hopeful sorrow. Cheerilee’s advice to me involved talking to Destiny once again. My ex-best friend felt a need to talk to me as well, but ‘later’. I would agree that now would be her later.
I packed her half of the Paopu fruit after luckily finding it in an easy place, under my bed; said a brief goodbye to my parents and asked them to wish me luck, as I needed it badly. The once passionate pony had grown a hardened shell. Getting her back to her normal self would be a difficult task, but I could do it. I knew her like nopony else after all.
My mane became flat and soaked like the rest of my body as I galloped to the station. I looked a mess as I boarded the train, but it didn’t matter to me. The locomotive made its way to the prosperous western settlement of Appleoosa. There resided the inseparable couple of which nopony could rival. That fact brought me to feel envy.
The weather gradually improved as we moved down the line; the sun fighting its way through the clouds and shining over the sandy place I had arrived at.
Braeburn’s orchard. I knocked on the door of the little house beside it, but received no answer. Did they know I stood outside? Maybe. I took the fruit from my saddlebag and delivered it through the mailbox. Surprisingly it hadn’t gone rotten yet. Did the friendship we had not totally wane yet?
“What am I supposed to do now?” I said out loud. The saloon bar’s rickety hinges of the swinging doors called to me. I had to resist.
I sat on the edge of a steep drop, overlooking the desert and the herds of buffalos happily going about their business. The time came to contemplate my existence again. Where could I have improved on my and Destiny’s relationship? Maybe if we didn’t split up, she would have come with me to Ponyville and things could have been easier. But Braeburn’s got her now. Maybe if I told her the truth sooner, she’d accept that better and build a bridge over that rough patch. But I’ve broken her now. Maybe if we never became friends in the first place, she would have lived a nicer life. But the bond between us has been shattered now. Maybe if I never made that awful deal with the Gods in my youth, I would have died peacefully. But I’ve cheated death for this long now. So many mistakes I’ve made, and no tangible way to fix them. Why did it have to be me to get everything wrong? At least I’ve seen it all. More than anypony else would see in their lifetimes. Apart from maybe Princess Opare, Celestia rest her soul.
I looked back at the house, and saw one of the top floor windows wide ajar. Everypony closes their windows before they leave, right? So the two were in after all! They just didn’t want to answer. I huffed at that fact. Maybe they’ll come to me. I sure as hay don’t want to be the smaller pony right now to go back and knock.
I turned back around and noticed Applejack casually sitting next to me.
“Fancy seein’ ya here, Blue! Ah like the new hairstyle of yers!” she cheerfully complimented.
I tutted. “But it’s been raining; my mane’s all ruined.”
“It dried into somethin’ perfect though. Ya’ll should keep it when ya see yer reflection next!” The farm-pony gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder.
“Thanks, I suppose…” I could only reply to that. My tone quickly changed as I remembered something. “Hey Applejack, what happened to Braeburn?”
She looked at me, puzzled. “Huh? Ah don’t know what yer talkin’ about. Ah saw him just a while ago and he was as dandy as ever.”
“But every time I saw him, he seemed much quieter and brooding. What’s up with that?” I asked, hopefully sparking some sort of thought into the relative of his.
“Strange...he would never be glum. If ya go see him today, Ah’m sure he’ll be fine!” her reassuring voice of confidence told me.
“If you say so, my friend…”
We sat together for a few minutes, admiring the view. I hadn’t met Applejack for a while now, and her showing up here felt like a funny coincidence of sorts.
“So what brings ya here then?” the freckled filly questioned.
I shook my head when I thought about it. “I’ve got a debt to repay, you could say. I’m going to talk to Destiny, and try to give her the support she needs.”
“She didn’t look half as good like when Ah last saw the poor gal. Destiny’s taken this pretty badly, and Ah don’t think she’ll recover for a long time now.” She had the look of absolute worry on her face.
“Maybe, just maybe I can make things right though. I don’t want to regret my actions for much longer; it’s too crushing to bear.” I would never let go of that persistent hope that I always carried with me.
The door opened when I looked behind me once more. The time came to strike and get in that doorway. Applejack followed closely as I ran to it, watching Destiny’s head peek out and return in a certain disgust for my appearance.
“Oh, hello,” the white-coated pegasus scoffed as she looked at one of her hooves. “You better come in.”
We strolled through and the door slammed behind us through Destiny’s anger.
“Destiny, I-”
My speech had been interrupted by an agonising hoof-slap to the face. I reeled, losing my balance and forcing Applejack to catch my body. She raised her hoof and dealt another blow. Braeburn watched in the background, feigning some sort of shock. The pony holding me up lost her grip and I fell to the floor. I struggled getting up, but Destiny, full of malice beyond what I have ever seen before, struck me down again. I rose to standing height slowly and painfully now. Her hoof put itself high once more, but lowered shortly afterwards. Her face flooded itself with tears.
I slumped down onto my flank. “It’s what I deserved…” I hoarsely whispered then coughed chokingly.
A moment passed as Applejack cradled me helplessly, gently caressing the gash now embedded in my cheek. Destiny and Braeburn had transitioned to another room. This had not gone as smooth as I would have expected.
“Applejack, you can go if you want to. I don’t want you getting hurt yourself,” I said as I got up, spine clicking into place.
“No, Blue! Ah can’t just leave ya like this! Ah’m standin’ mah ground,” she spoke out in defiance.
I put a weak hoof on hers. “Please, just leave, you’ve got to. You can wait outside if you want, but I’m not allowing you to get caught in the crossfire.”
“Blue…”
“Go, I’ll be fine. This is nothing compared to what you can deal out to me, so I can handle it.”
The stetson wearing mare gave a look of despair as she turned and opened the door.
“Jus’...be careful, okay?”
“I will, don’t worry about it.”
I stumbled across the hall, zigzagging my way through as I periodically leaned on the walls for a few seconds each time. “Destiny?” I called out. No response. I came across a sink and washed my face in it to try and remove the blood pouring from my right cheek. When I looked up, Braeburn had appeared from out of nowhere. He grinned, turned around and bucked me into the mirror above the sink, smashing my face into it and breaking the glass into tiny, burning shards that littered my head and body now. He dashed into another room again after that.
My strength had been lowered to that of a crawl. I cried for Destiny again. No answer. Trying to move further than where I lay proved useless, so I stayed there, writhing in pain. My body had taken its fair share of damage over the years, and the lacerations became more difficult to cope with every time. The aching overwhelmed me, and I blacked out. I just couldn’t take this much in one go anymore.
“Blue. Poor little Blue. Now you know what it feels to be in my position. At least yours isn’t permanent, like my pain,” a drowned-out voice said to me. My vision blurred in and out as I struggled to keep my eyes open.
I looked at the blinding light bulb hanging above me, then to the shape of a black and red haired pony to my left.
“You wanna know a secret Blue?” Destiny asked me. Her voice seemed slightly off though; at a different pitch than usual.
I stayed silent.
“I’ll take that as a yes then. Well, thanks to the extreme hatred you brought to Destiny and Braeburn, me and Glais came back from the dead and possessed these bodies. At least we’ve got somewhere to reside, right, Braeburn?” she snorted.
“Right, Destiny. Or should I say, Rose. You know, it’s good we got over our differences, with her killing me. It was all part of the big plan though. You’ve been a great pawn to us all in our game. Funny thing is, we always win; the Gods.” He laughed with Rose.
I gagged as I sat up. “Why are you even bothering to exist still?” I asked bravely.
“We wish to overthrow the kingdom, so to speak. After we’re done conquering the Earth, the Gods will do battle to decide who is strongest to lead. Zeus is old enough, so he’s not going to last as well, so someone has to step in,” Rose explained.
“The big plan though, you want to know about that, don’t you? Tough luck. We don’t want you to prepare. Oops, did I just say that?” Glais had a shifty look.
“You wanna know another secret, Bluey?” Rose giggled.
“Whatever,” I replied, rage for these two building.
She smiled smugly as she paced around the room for a bit. “Well, you know that old Princess? Opare, was it? Yeah, she almost caught on to what was going to happen. At that, we had to...hush her up.”
“So you’re saying…”
“That’s right, by our hands, surprise surprise. She wasn’t very good at fighting back either. Just took that poison straight away...after a round of roughing up though.”
They both laughed maniacally. The rage reached a fever pitch inside of me. The pain disappeared as I got back onto my hooves. “How dare you...destroy the remains of my family.”
“Ooh, what was that you whispered?” Glais taunted.
“I said...how...dare you! How dare you exist! How dare you kill mercilessly! How dare you stand in front of me, portrayed as close friends while you use them as vessels! You Gods will not win this time, I won’t let it!” I charged into Rose and Glais, tackling both to the ground.
I began wailing on them, throwing punch after punch increasing with power each time, slowly transforming their faces into a bloody pulp. I ripped the piping from under the sink and plunged it into Glais’ heart, killing him instantly. I watched Rose try to get up, and fall over because of her broken bones, some fractures piercing through the skin. I took the basin lying on the floor and raised it above my head, then throwing it down onto Rose’s mashed up body. I picked it up and smashed it on her skull, over and over until it had been totally flattened and detached from the neck.
I looked at the ravaged bodies, once containing living souls; now unrecognisable piles on the ground. “What have I done?!” I shouted, collapsing in horror. I had murdered two of my closest friends. The anger they brought on made me do this. I lost control. Even from beyond the grave, the Gods ultimately took another win over me. I didn’t want to face living anymore; I’d had enough.
I staggered to the living room, tears in my eyes, and sat down on a sofa. The dark and dusty room filled my mind with thoughts of ending it all, as I glanced to the former ponies motionless in the corner. I could have talked them out of their bodies...I could have reasoned with them.
Applejack busted through the door after the time for her to wait had expired. “What in Equestria is goin’ on here?!”
“I...I killed them, Applejack...I did it...” I stuttered, as I pointed to the corpses.
“What...are ya talkin’ about, Blue?” she asked me calmly. I looked up at her, squinted at the sunlight protruding from the doorway, then back to the other sofa adjacent from me. Destiny and Braeburn sat there, looking at me with puzzled eyes.
“She just...came in here, calling our names even though we were right in front of her, told you to get out of here for some reason even though you already were, fell to the ground a few times, and destroyed our sink. Blue, what happened in your mind just now?” Destiny investigated with actual concern for my well being.
Did I...imagine that all? No...it all seemed too real. Am I beginning to lose my mind? Has it...already been lost? “I’m sorry I came here, Everypony. I shouldn’t have planned this day if I knew I was going to put you in danger.”
“More like puttin’ yerself in danger! Jus’ what were ya thinkin’, ya silly filly? At least that sink was cheap,” Braeburn laughed. They all acted so normally when they shouldn’t have, after what I had experienced.
“Can I get a drink of water, please? I really need to calm my nerves,” I requested with that all too familiar shakiness in my voice.
Braeburn rushed to get me a glass, which in turn chilled my mind as I drank.
“So what are you here for anyway?” asked the only pegasus of the group.
I took a moment to gather my thoughts. “Destiny...I wanted to apologise. I’ve made so many mistakes in my time, and this one was truly unforgivable. I will forever regret not telling you sooner. And for all those years before, you stuck by me when you shouldn’t have. We should have passed each other instead of taking interest when we first met. I never should have been in your life. I forced you to live a lie, one of the ultimate crimes, and for what?! Oh Destiny...I was selfish. I only wanted to protect you...so I could keep myself hanging on by having an only friend. I kept you by my side all for my own gain. I threw it all away just like that. Everything I had built you up on was wrong. I was the one to raise you when you should have gone your own way. I used you Destiny, for my pointless existence to further itself. Just what’s the point anymore…” I choked here.
“Blue, stop, please. You don’t have to say anymore.” Destiny transferred to my side and put me into her embrace. “I’ve forgiven you. You were doing it to protect me from becoming less than what my personality was, and I’m proud of you for that. It was tough to take at first, but I had to come to terms with it. Over the years I began to figure it out too. I knew that my family weren’t coming back, and that reason you confirmed to me recently. That’s why I left you; I needed time to think and reflect for a while. But Blue, always remember this. I will always love you, no matter what you’ve done. You’re my best friend, and I would never abandon that status from you.”
A weight had been lifted from my mind after that speech. “Here, I brought you your half…” as I pulled the star-shaped fruit out of my bag.
She took it gently from my hooves. “Oh! I was wondering where that had gotten to.”
My mind took a step back. So that letter I received had been forged? I couldn’t believe it. A question cropped up though. “Destiny, so what’s going on with the Wonderbolts? How’s that coming along?”
She stayed silent and looked away from me.
“Uh, what’s wrong Destiny?” I openly pondered.
“Well…” she started.
“Well what?”
“The thing is…”
She walked outside, not finishing her sentence.
“Destiny…” I said as I watched her look up into the sky.
At that moment, the pegasus took off, leaving us in the dust as all of us took our place outside. Conveniently the Wonderbolts were flying by, and so Destiny joined them. The group disappeared into the clouds.
“So she’s...gone for good then?” I asked Braeburn. He didn’t look like he wanted to answer.
“Looks like she made that choice... Ah’m happy for Destiny, she’s followin’ her dreams…” he replied, looking downhearted.
“Ah’m sure she’s gotta come back sometimes, ta see ya at least,” Applejack tried to reassure her cousin.
“That’s not going to happen,” I confirmed. “Her particular enrollment to the Wonderbolts is a permanent stay basis. And the location of which she will live now is extremely hard to get to, even for average pegasi.”
“It’s true...and though she may never return, Ah will always love her,” the strong stallion remarked with an essence of hope for the future; for himself and Destiny. True love couldn’t get any better than what the couple had.
The three of us shuffled back inside the house to contemplate her leaving and all the things we’ve missed on saying to her.
Until a faint whistling from out of the distance, which made us stop in our tracks. A white dot came into view, which transformed into a living object. A certain red and black maned mare shot back down, colliding into Braeburn at a shocking speed.
“Oh Braeburn, I could never leave you! You’re far too important to me for any other thing in Equestria!” she cried, grabbing his face and planting multiple kisses on it as Applejack and I watched before realising and turning away.
“Well, it certainly looks like life is looking up for us all,” I remarked, smiling greatly at the notion. Life did in fact, get to its peak and keep on climbing. I couldn’t ask for any more than what I had now.