The defeat of the Princess' and fall of the Crystal Empire certainly made Pony History; the dramatic final battle between good and evil concluding with victory for the forces of Darkness, led by none other than Twilight Sparkle; a corrupted Princess of Equestria, now Empress of Pony-Kind.
She met little resistance upon exiling Celestia and Luna; and imprisoning her Brother and the Princess Cadence in Crystal; the two standing on either side of her throne to serve as reminder to all of what she was now capable of. Her armies tore through the Equestrian Countryside; slaughtering all those who opposed her and repressing those who would have otherwise caused trouble. The Equestrian Militia proved inadequate to face the threat, and with nowhere to flee; the Citizens of Equestria bowed before Twilight, all settlements eventually falling under her control.
The Empress' rule did not go entirely unchallenged, however; small cells of Resistance formed in response to her tyranny, gathering more and more support among the populace. They waged Guerrilla Warfare and were a general nuisance, but otherwise harmless in the eyes of Empress Twilight Sparkle. Her real concern came in the form of unaccounted ponies; her return to Ponyville revealed that several Ponies were not present; chief among them being Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo; three fillies who reminded her very much of her friends; reminding her all too well of half her friends.
The Three Fillies were among the most wanted; a bounty of One Million Bits placed on each of their heads. Among them were other Ponies of interest, mostly Resistance cell Leaders such as Lyra of the Everfree Freedom Fighters, Spitfire of the Cloudsdale Wonderbolts, Braeburn of the Appleoosan Avengers, and Et Cetera... Some bounties, however, were rather odd; likely personal matters from her previous life left unresolved; one Trixie Lulamoon wanted for an impressive bounty of Five Million bits, she wasn't the most sought after, however; such an honor being reserved for one pony in particular. Fluttershy; the only Element of Harmony known to have escaped the corruption and the fall of the Crystal Empire. The Pegasus Mare was wanted for a bounty of over Ten Million Bits; such a tempting bounty making her the most sought-after pony in all of Equestria. Since the bounty had been posted; Fluttershy had become harder and harder to find, evading capture either with the help of a Resistance Cell or what few Ponies still showed kindness to strangers in this time when it was everypony for themselves.
This was all ancient history to Appleblossom; the Earth Pony Mare sitting at the bar of a tavern in Manehattan; her cousin Babs Seed sitting sext to her while her friend, Lightning Runner sat on the other side. They'd all gathered here tonight to see Melody's performance; the talented Unicorn's angelic voice sure to take their minds off the stress of life.
"Hello, everypony!" The White-coated Unicorn said, stepping out onto the stage, very upbeat considering how poor she was... Then again, every pony else in this place was probably struggling to make ends meet too. "Before I start, I'd like to give all my thanks to my friends; without their support I doubt I'd be here tonight, or that I'd have even discovered my talent in the first place. A big round of applause for Appleblossom, Lightning Runner, and Babs Seed, please!"
Everypony did so, cheering for the three mares; the old spirit of Equestria difficult to crush completely.
"Alright, Everypony; now for the show: I call this song; Requiem for the Princess'." Melody said, clearing her throat and starting her song.
Appleblossom, or rather; Applebloom as she was known before going into hiding here in Manehattan with her friends; found herself lost in the realm of thought as "Melody" sang her song. She was impressed with how far Sweetie Belle had come; all of them having earned their Cutie Marks, which further made them indistinguishable to their former friends and sisters; now symbols of oppression and tyranny.
Applebloom remembered those first days very well; moving in with Babs Seed and her Aunt while Bic Mac and Granny Smith said their goodbyes; being moved elsewhere in the country by Guards under order from Princess Celestia. She was fortunate Sweeite Belle and Scootaloo had been moved into the foster care of Celestia's agents who coincidentally lived on the same block; all the young Fillies forced to go through serious changes in appearance. Her formerly Brilliant-Red hair was regularly dyed a Dark Orange, while Scootaloo was had to grow her hair out and wear it in a rather effeminate fashion; Sweetie Belle, finally, having to cut her Hair short and dye it one color entirely.
They grew used to it over the years; acting differently for the sake of remaining unnoticed; allowed some freedom to live their lives, though the days of crusading were done for them; no more comical antics that stemmed from the rather serious business of earning their Cutie Marks. This didn't matter to them anymore, of course, though the young Mare honestly missed those days when she and her friends tried anything and everything; looking back on those better days fondly.
Then there was the matter of her sister... She'd never forget the one and only instance in which she met Applejack; then the Enforcer for the Manehattan district of the new Equestrian Empire. She was attending a party with her now ex-Coltfriend; a Stallion of rather high social standing, who grew a little too used to the life of pleasure and luxury secured for all those families that collaborated with the Empress.
That night became oh so clear to her once more; standing there in the Governor's Palace with all these other High-Class ponies; High-Class Aristocrats who kissed the Empress' Hooves, or traitors who had sold out former friends and family associated with the Resistance in the hopes of living a better life. She hid her disgust with these Ponies well, standing alongside her Coltfriend with a mixed expression on her face.
"Come on, Appleblossom; please, just do this for me." The Stallion beside her said, knowing very well what his Fillyfriend's stance on this was.
"Ah don't know why you brought me here of all places, Ruben. This isn't exactly mah idea of a romantic setting." 'Appleblossom' replied; still discontented at being brought to this gathering of the underserving "Social Elite" of the country.
"I know... I don't want to be here either, honest; but father insisted on it and you know I can't just refuse." Ruben replied, a bit frustrated by Appleblossom's continued and somewhat obvious disapproval of her environment. "Look... I'll go get us a couple drinks; all we have to do is look good for the crowd and leave after a while; I promise I'll make this up to you." The young Stallion said, leaving her alone as he went to get a couple refreshments.
Applebloom sighed, that being when she noticed her...
"Enforcer." The Crystal Guards said, bowing as an all-too familiar Orange-coated, Blonde-maned Earth Pony wearing the jagged, dark crystalline armor of an Enforcer walked through the crowd; her very presence striking fear into the hearts of all ponies around her.
Applebloom could feel this and the unnerving aura only grew worse as Applejack drew closer and closer...
"Mighty fine Dress you got there, miss." The Enforcer complimented, her tone lacking the friendliness that normally would have accompanied such kind words.
"Th-thanks... A-A friend made it for me." Appleblossom said, trying to keep her cool; her cutie mark going noticed by her sister, still unaware of the close relations between the two of them, at least as far as the younger could tell... Well, younger technically; she had no idea what dark magic allowed for it, though Applejack, along with all the other Enforcers, hadn't aged a day since the fall of the Crystal Empire; the "younger sister" rapidly catching up to her "Older" sister in terms of age.
"Y'sure this ain't Rarity's work? Ah don't know many more ponies who make dress' that fine." Applejack said, well aware of the fearful reaction she was getting from this Mare, from every pony.
"W-well... Ah don't know; could be. Sh-she said she made it, but y'know; any pony can say anything." Appleblossom said, unable to help using a slight accent.
"Ah take it yer part of the Family, too?" Applejack said, addressing the matter of her Cutie Mark.
This instantly struck a nerve with Applebloom; if her sister found out who she really was here and now, well; it might as well all be over. She figured the best thing to do now would be to bend the truth a bit.
"Y-yep; name's Appleblossom; Enforcer. I-I moved out here a while back... To get away from trouble out in Appleoosa." She replied, praying her sister didn't see through her lie. It was true; the Apple Family was just as divided as any other family; likely less balanced, however; most members openly challenging and resisting Empress Twilight's rule, and many had paid the price for it with their freedom or lives. Some chose the opposing side in the conflict, only to be chastised by the others, considered to be cast out of the large and diverse family.
"Appleblossom... Can't say I've seen you before... Then again; we were gettin' a little big to keep track of." Applejack replied, her expression unreadable, worrying Applebloom all that much more. "Well; ah have things to do and ponies t'see. Enjoy yerself." Applejack said half-heatedly, leaving her Sister alone once more.
"You know the Enforcer?" Ruben said as he approached his Fillyfriend once more, the Young Mare shaking in place, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.
"Yeah... You could say that..." She said, snatching the second glass of wine out of his hand quickly, downing its contents without a second though; needing a little something to calm herself down...
Appleblossom came back to the realm of reality only to find she missed her friend's song; Melody already bowing and leaving the stage to make way for other performers. She honestly felt guilty about this, noticing Babs and Lightning standing, rising with them and leaving the Tavern to the nearby Back Alley where they met with their friend.
"That was a beautiful song, Melody." Lightning Runner said, not admitting she had teared up a bit.
"You got a good voice; it'll get you far here." Babs Seed said, giving Sweeite Belle a soft punch on the shoulder.
"Thanks, guys. What did you think, Appleblossom?" She asked, turning her attention to the Fourth Mare, who struggled to find an excuse.
"It was great, really." She said, reluctant to admit she'd zoned out for the duration of her performance.
Before Sweetie Belle could reply; Babs drew their attention to a rather rough-looking Mare approaching them; the thug pulling out an envelope. "Any of you Babs Seed?" She asked, getting straight to the point.
"Yeah, what's it to ya?" Babs asked, ready for a fight, it seemed.
The other Mare held out the envelope, leaving without explanation as soon as Babs took it. She watched the thug retreat from the Alleyway; slowly opening the letter, pulling out... A bunch of train tickets, some bits, and a letter.
Meet me at the Clubhouse in Ponyville, Cutie Mark Crusaders.
- A friend
The letter read, short and to the point... Something else fell out of the envelope was well; a well-drawn design of three butterflies in a pattern the girls vaguely recognized.
"Should we go...?" Applebloom said, she and her friends conflicted on what they should do.
"Could it really be...?" Scootaloo asked, wondering if it really was Fluttershy that had gone through the trouble of contacting them.
"Seems legit." Babs said; normally the most cautious of the group. "I guess it's up to you guys to decide."
"I'm going." Sweetie Belle answered, drawing the attention of the others. "If Fluttershy really is waiting for us there, we have to see her."
"But what if this is a fake? I think we should stay here, guys..." Scootaloo said, hesitant to trust a strange note with no other discernible evidence it was Fluttershy than the drawing of her Cutie Mark.
The choice was left up to Applebloom now; the Earth Pony thinking long and hard on this... "Ah... Ah say we go." She said, siding with Sweetie Belle, the decision leaning in favor of going, as Babs had abstained from voting.
"Right, then; let's pack what we need and head there tomorrow." Babs Seed said, looking as uncertain about the decision as Scootaloo about their decision, though no further objections were made from either of them.