//------------------------------// // Unexpected Reunion // Story: Apple Wedding // by Rakoon1 //------------------------------// The Lord of the Order appeared in his brother’s world, beginning to take steps in a decisive manner. The creatures who lived there, alerted to any intruder, fled when they saw him, just like animals flee from fire. It was not long until he arrived to his brother’s castle, levitating himself there and entering in his castle, always making the creatures that defended it to flee. He then arrived to the door that was guarding the throne room. He pointed his hand and it opened up in an outburst, then entering in the darkened room. The only true light that was there was the one that was comming from the Lord of Order. Red eyes appeared in the darkest area of the room and a voice asked: "But what's happening?" The Lord of Order pointed again his hand and threw an immense light that eliminated all the darkness that was there, revealing his brother that started moaning for being exposed to that bright light. "Oh, stop it!" He exclaimed, covering his eyes with his arm. "Stop it! You’re blinding me!" "That is what you deserved after what you did!" the Lord of Order replied, lowering his arm and stopping the light. Black smoke appeared in front of him and it became in the Lord of Chaos. "What did I do this time?" he asked. "You know what you did" the Lord of Order replied. "Don’t you dare lie to me, brother. Did you think I would not know about your latest achievement with the Elements of Chaos?" "Oh, so did you get to know" the Lord of Chaos said, stepping a few paces and passing by his brother, who accompanied him with a stare. "Honestly, I was wondering how long you would take to realize everything." "Do you think this is a joke?" the Lord of Order asked. "What were you thinking of sending Sky to Equestria?" "I just helped a person who came to me asking for help" the Chaos Lord defended himself, turning to his brother, making an innocent look. "I thought you liked that sort of things. Don’t tell me being generous to others is now a crime according to your standards." "No, it's not a crime" the Lord of Order replied, beginning to approach his brother. "But we both know what are your true intentions." "Oh, yeah? Come on then, let’s know what big revelation the Lord of Order has to say to us." "You didn’t want to help Sky. In fact, the only person you want to help is you and only you. No, what you wanted is to corrupt him, bring him to your side, and then send him to Equestria and thus infiltrate an evil bacterium from the outside in my perfect job." "But I could have done that a long time and in any creation" the Lord of Chaos said, again passing by his brother. "And I did it. Why do you accuse me now?" "Because I know you used Sky's desire to see Bloom to turn him into your slave, hoping you can achieve Bloom and control the Dragon's Flame inside of her to wreak your dark magic on my side of that reality." "I feel myself completely offended for you having suggested such a thing" the Lord of Chaos replied, making a false offended look. But seeing his brother was not to falling in that, he said seriously: "At first, I thought do that, but then I realized that maybe it won’t work. After all, Princess Bloom has an unwavering will. Honestly, I doubt that idiot can conquer her love. But who knows, he can have some luck." "Yes, he’s an idiot with emotional problems. You know, it's strange that we agree on something. It’s really creepy. But ahead, correct this mistake now." "You know, I really want to do that" the Lord of Chaos really. "Really I do, but, unfortunately, fix things doesn’t make part of my nature. That is your job." "But you said that your plan might not work" the Lord of Order said. “You said well, my brother, might, but you know I like to try things" the Lord of Chaos said. His brother then sighed and said: "So it seems I have to rely on Twilight and her friends to resolve this situation." And he started heading to the exit, then began to hear laughter from the Lord of Chaos. He turned to him and asked: "What?" "Do you really think those six will be able to change what I changed?" the Lord of Chaos asked. "No offense, but I think these new users of your Elements of Harmony don’t have the same charisma that Celestia and Luna have." "They managed to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord, didn’t them?" "Maybe, but on those occasions, they used the elements offensively. In this case, it comes to use them to change the way of being of someone. That requires a certain... way." "You don’t have to worry about that" the Lord of Order replied. "I'm sure they will be able to do it." And having said this, he left the throne room and the doors began to close, with the Lord of Chaos saying: "Maybe, but get ready, because when Sky be at his peak, he will get out of control, even for them." And the door closed. -------------------------------------- Cherry Blossom finished her shift at the hospital. Upon leaving, she took a deep breath the fresh air of the day. She then started to go home. In the way she crossed with Junebug who was running hastily, as if she was trying to escape from something. Cherry noticed the bandages that covered her body. Seeing this, she had a sneaking suspicion of what might have happened. It didn’t take long for her suspicions to be confirmed. Apple Bloom and her friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, have emerged, both with a first aid kit. "Wait, Junebug" Sweetie Belle asked. "Let us help ya" Apple Bloom said. "Yeah, we can help" Scootaloo said. "But what happened?" Cherry Blossom asked, approaching. "Oh, Cherry, precisely the pony we wanted to see" Sweetie Belle said. "We really need your help" Scootaloo said. "I'm listening" Cherry Blossom said. "Well, we try tah get our Cutie Marks in nursin’" Apple Bloom started. "We started looking for ponies who needed our help, but..." Sweetie Belle continued. "But we couldn’t find anypony who needed our help, so..." Scootaloo said. "You found Junebug and decided to help her dealing with an injury and ended up wrapping her in bandages?" Cherry guessed. The three fillies nodded sadly. "An’ we were wonderin’ if ya could help us" Apple Bloom said. "Yeah, after all you are the best nurse of all" Scootaloo said. Cherry laughed and replied: "I don’t know if I'm the best, Scootaloo. But, girls, is it not better you try something else?" "But we want tah try tah be nurses" Apple Bloom said. "Moreover, the uniform is very classy" Sweetie Belle said, straightening her mane in a very similar way that her sister, Rarity. "Sweetie, an uniform and a first aid kit aren’t the enough to make you a nurse" Cherry Blossom said. "It also takes a lot of study." "Study?" the three fillies repeated. "But of course" Cherry said. "You need to know the pony body. And, girls, sometimes work involves twisted hooves, broken legs, burns, dislocated shoulders... Upon hearing that, the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other with a displeased look and then turned to Cherry and Apple Bloom said: "I think it’s better we try somethin’ else." Cherry laughed and then said: "Well, girls, I have to go home. Good luck with your crusaders." But when she turned around, she went against somepony. "I'm so sorry" she said. "I didn’t see where I was going." "So it's better you have more attention to the next time" the pony who had gone against Cherry replied. Then they looked at each other and let out exclamations because they had recognized each other. "Sky?" Cherry asked. "Bloom?" Sky asked, starting to smile. "Is it you?" Cherry couldn’t believe what was happening. She was before her ex-boyfriend. The young unicorn was in shock. She didn’t know if she had to run away or not. But one thing was sure. She was not happy to see him, on the contrary. When she recognized him, feelings of fear seized in her heart. "I can’t believe it's you" Sky said, smiling hugely. And then he hugged her, with Apple Bloom and her friends observing the scene, confused. Cherry hastened to depart herself from Sky. "What's going on?" Sky asked. "Are not you happy to see me?" Cherry didn’t respond to that, turning to the three little fillies and telling them: "Girls, can you go, please? I'll meet you later." "Okay, Cherry..." Apple Bloom said. "As ya wish..." She, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo moved away, unable to get the look from that pegasus who was looking them in a cold and harsh way that gave them the chills. "Cherry?" Sky asked to Cherry. "Do they called you Cherry?" "That’s my name now" she replied. "Cherry Blossom. And I don’t want you to call me Bloom here because very few are those who know my true origin." "Of course, as you wish, but the most important thing now is that we are together" Sky said, raising a hoof to her face. Before he could touch her, Cherry Blossom pulled it away quickly. "What are you doing?" She asked. "Well, I thought..." Sky began. "Didn’t you hear what I said when I spoke with you, my family and my friends?" Cherry asked. "I don’t love you anymore, Sky." "I don’t believe in that" he replied. "I love you, Bloom, and I know you love me too." "No, I don’t love you, Sky" Cherry said. "Not on the way you want. I have another pony." Sky watched her for a few seconds and then said: "I see that this land has changed you so much. Now you speak like a pony." "I adapted myself" she replied. "And believe me, Sky, I love what I became after the adaptation. I have new friends, as good as the ones I have at home, a good house, a job where I can help others... and my happiness will reach part of completeness in a few days." "What do you mean?" Sky asked, not liking what was coming. "I'm getting married, Sky" Cherry said. This news was like an electric shock to Sky who asked: "You what?" "You heard me" said Cherry. "I don’t want you to know this in this way, but since you're here... By the way, that's another thing. How did you get here?" Sky, still stunned by what Cherry had said, ignored what she had asked and asked: "Who is he?" "Sky, answer my question" demanded Cherry Blossom. "How did you get here?" Despite knowing that it was th right thing to say Bloom who had brought him to Equestria, he truly knew how she would react, so Sky decided it was better to lie. "It was the Lord of Order" he said. "Good answer. Now, seriously, how?" "Don’t you believe me?” "I would believe, Sky, if I didn’t know that the Lord of Order would never bring you here" Cherry Blossom replied. "Not just because of the balance, but because he hates you and knows that you would come look for me at the precise moment that you put your hooves in Equestria." "You offend me, Bloom" Sky said. "I would never lie to you." Cherry looked at Sky for a bit and then saw something that surprised her. There was something in his eyes. It was like a shadow. It scared her so much that she began to retreat. "I have to go." "Bloom, wait!" Sky asked, trying to follow her. "Leave me alone!" Cherry exclaimed, instinctively carrying her horn with magic. She made Sky levitate and then made him take many turns in the same place and then the spell broke up with him sprawling on the floor, with his head around. Cherry began to walk away. Sky rose up, regaining his consciousness, and saw Cherry Blossom moving away quickly. Looking at the scene, hidden, were the three little fillies. After listen the conversation between Cherry and Sky, both were worried. "So that's Cherry’s ex-coltfriend" Scootaloo said. "Well, he is really handsome" Sweetie Belle said. "Yeah, you are right," Scootaloo agreed. "Stop it, girls" said Apple Bloom, seriously. "Don’t ya realize what's at stake here? If Cherry’s ex-coltfriend is here, it means trouble." "What do you mean with trouble?" Scootaloo said. "I understand what Apple Bloom is saying" Sweetie Belle said. "If Sky, or whatever his name is, is here, he can come between Cherry Blossom and Big McIntosh." "We can’t let that happen" Apple Bloom said. "We can’t let all our work and their love to be in vain." "And how do you think we can do that?" Scootaloo asked. "Attach ourselves to Sky like limpets and watch everything he does?" That made Apple Bloom let out a sly smile. "I think you just gave her the idea, Scootaloo" Sweetie Belle noted. "But of course we have tah watch him" Apple Bloom said. " If we see what he does, we can predict any attempt tah try tah separate Cherry an’ mah brother an’ stop him." "Yes, Apple Bloom, is a good plan" Sweetie Belle agreed. "But there's a catch." "Between school and time to go home, we can’t cover him most of the time" Scootaloo added. "So we have just tah duplicate our attention at the time that we're watching him" Apple Bloom said. "And of course one of us will have to keep an eye on Cherry, as a precaution." But seeing the uncertain look of her friends, Apple Bloom encouraged: "Come on, girls, let’s do this for Cherry. She has helped us many times. We have at least to help her once." Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other and then smiled and waved to Apple Bloom who stretched her hoof, saying: "Let's do it then, Cutie Mark Crusaders." The other two put their hooves on top and then the three said in unison, lifting the hooves: "Yeah!" "I just have a doubt" Sweetie Belle said. "Why did Sky call Bloom to Cherry?" "And who is the Lord of Order?" Scootaloo said. "Yes, those are good questions" Apple Bloom nodded. The three looked at each other for a while, but then they eventually ignore those questions that they did to themselves. Cherry ran as fast as she could to Golden Oak Library, entering and finding her six pony friends, along with Spike, talking among themselves. "Girls, something serious happened" she said. "But what happened, Cherry?" Twilight asked. "Sky..." she replied. "My old boyfriend. Girls, he's... here. I just met with him." Cherry expected to see a surprised air in their faces, but instead of it, she saw them exchanging nervous glances, which made her realize something. "You knew," she asked. "Well... Cherry... you know..." said Twilight. But Applejack cut her off and gave her a nod as if she was saying she would deal with Cherry. She turned to Cherry and said: "It’s true, Cherry, we already knew he was here." "And didn’t you tell me?" Cherry asked. "Do you know how I got by chance when I bumped against him?" "If we told you, you'd probably have the same reaction" Applejack said. "At least I was prepared for my muzzle-to-muzzle meeting with him" Cherry said. "Wait, do you mean he's here?" Twilight asked. "Yes, he is" Cherry answered. "But... if you didn’t know he was here, how do you know he was in Equestria?" "Well , I saw him appearing" Fluttershy said. "I was dealing with a sick squirrel when I saw a strange light. When I went there, I found him. He didn’t see me, but I could see that he was Sky and I have come soon with Twilight." "You should have come to me, Fluttershy" Cherry Blossom said. "I’m sorry, Cherry" she said. "But I was too nervous at that time and..." "Cherry, look, we just didn’t tell you, not only because of your reaction, but also because we knew it would disturb you a lot after your reaction" Rainbow said. "Yes, it's like swell and explode after making an surprise face when you get home and encounter with a surprise party waiting for you" Pinkie Pie said, with her usual enthusiasm. "Pinkie, darling, I think you did the wrong description of disturbance" Rarity said. "So?" she asked. "I'm not a dictionary, Rarity. For me, everything lead always to a party." Ignoring her, Cherry turned to Rainbow and replied: "I don’t know if you've noticed, Rainbow, but I'm already disturbed. You know by chance which means his return?" "We don’t know" Applejack said. "Tells us." "Applejack..." Rainbow began. "What do you mean, Applejack?" Cherry asked. "No offense, Cherry" she said. "I like you a lot, but I want to know what you intend to do." "If you're asking if I'll leave your brother to return to Sky, the answer is too obvious, don’t you think?" Cherry Blossom asked. "If I still loved Sky, don’t think I would have come back to my world when I had the opportunity." "Well... I guess so" Applejack said. “And you know how I am sorry to ask this, but..." "I know, you just want to protect your brother" Cherry said. "But I can assure you, Applejack, if it depends on me, your brother will not get out hurt in this story." "Thank you, Cherry" thanked Applejack. "And I hope so." "But it will be a little difficult to avoid confusion with Sky nearby" Cherry said. "Do not worry about Sky" Twilight said. "We can deal with him." "Yes, Cherry, concentrate yourself in your wedding preparations" Rainbow said. "I don’t know, girls..." Cherry said. "Sky is very stubborn." "That's because he has not met Rainbow Dash here" Rainbow said, raising flight and making a proud pose. Twilight took a hack and Rainbow looked up and saw the others giving her serious stares. "Of course we can’t forget you" she replied, giving nervous laughter. Cherry laughed slightly and then said: "I know I can count on you. But still I don’t understand the reason for the Lord of Order send Sky to here." The six mares, when they heard that, stood still. "What?" they asked. "That's what you heard" Cherry said. "Wait, he said it was the Lord of Order who sent him to here?" Twilight asked. "Yes, I know, it sounds crazy" Cherry said. "Especially because I think he would never bring him to Equestria." "And did you believe him?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Why do you ask that?" Cherry asked. "Well, maybe because it was not the Lord of..." Pinkie began. But Twilight hastened to magically close Pinkie’s mouth. "For nothing, Cherry, for nothing" Rainbow answered nervously. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but I honestly don’t want to believe that Sky is lying" Cherry said. "He’s not a liar. Besides, we all know the Lord of Order is unpredictable. Well, I have to go. I need to calm myself after everything that happened today." And having said this, she went out. The six mares looked at each other and realized they had to act quickly before it was too late. When Cherry came out, she was so concentrated on her thoughts that they didn’t notice that she went against something hard. But when she looked, she saw Big McIntosh. "Howdy, mah love" Big McIntosh said, nuzzling her. "Hey, Big Mac" Cherry said, nuzzling him back. When they stopped, Big Mac noticed Cherry’s thoughtful air. "What’s up, Cherry?" "Nothing" she answered, looking away. But Big McIntosh lifted her chin with his hoof, turning her toward him, and said: "Ah know ya. There’s something else." "Big Mac, I..." she began, knowing she would have to tell him what was happening. "It happened something... unexpected." "What happen'd?" "Did you remember I told you about my old boyfriend, Sky?" "Eeyup, of course Ah remember" replied Big McIntosh. "Why do ya ask that?" "Well, I kind of... met him some moments ago" Cherry said. "What?" Big Mac asked. "I know" Cherry said. "I know this must be unsettling for you, but I can promise you this: nothing will change things between us." She looked at Big McIntosh and saw that he was not too worried. "Okay, you don’t seem too bothered" Cherry commented. "Why would Ah?" He asked. "Ah fully trust ya and Ah know how much ya love me. Why would Ah be nervous?" "Are you sure?" Cherry asked. "But of course" Big Mac replied, hugging his beloved one. "Ah love you. Not even with hundreds or thousands Skys, Ah will not let anythin' or anypony separate us." Cherry couldn’t resist smiling. Big Mac couldn’t speak much in the presence of other ponies, but when he spoke, he really knew how to use the right words. Knowing that she had chosen the ideal pony, Cherry smiled and returned his hug. Not much distance away, Sky watched that scene. Seeing Cherry, known to him as Bloom, his great love, embracing another stallion, he felt a huge anger growing within him. It was a rage that he couldn’t explain where it come from. Without knowing it, a shadow was surrounding him. It was easy to see that was the black magic of the Elements of Chaos corrupting Sky increasingly.