//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Concequence // Story: Cutie Mark Crusader Saviors of the World // by D101 Reviews //------------------------------// Chapter One: Consequence The boundaries between life and death are at best shadowy and vague... The words to describe how Applebloom felt as she woke up had either not been invented, or were to feeble to use. The closest description that one might have for the pain that she was feeling would be this: She felt as though something white hot had bored into her chest and nestled in her heart, burning her from the inside, before its fire had spread through every blood vessel in her body, as each and every one of them had then been ripped from their respective homes, up through her skin and discarded by the wayside. As previously mentioned, this is but a rough approximation for what she was currently feeling. She may have described it as such if she had been able to formulate a description through the haze of utter and total agony she was experiencing. She didn't know how long she lay there before the pain subsided to a degree in which she could even twitch her fingers. Perhaps an age? Maybe more. It was even longer before her senses returned to her, though her eyelids remained to heavy to open. Her ears were able to pick up the faint sound of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle breathing. A good sign, even though their breathing was faint. Come to think of it, Applebloom's own breath was almost non-existent. It was still there, but it was faint. She was vaguely aware that she was lying on her front. Her ears detected the faint sound of wind whistling in the distance. A high, malicious sound that sent a shiver down her spine. Her sense of touch was something that worried her however. She was fairly certain she had blacked out in their old clubhouse. What she felt beneath her face and hands was not the smooth and worn grain of the floorboards of the clubhouse, but coarse, dry and bitter earth. Eventually she managed to find the frame of mind to open her eyes. Cracked and dry earth met her eyes. A nervous feeling began to coil in her stomach as she began to slowly, jarringly push herself to her feet. Every motion sent a lance of pain through her joints, but it wasn't as strong as it was before. Applebloom managed to gingerly clamer to her feet and straighten, relatively upright. What befell her eyes was something she never thought or conceived she would see. The crystal blue skies of Equestria she was so used to seeing everyday had been replaced by a burning orange, as if the very sky had been set alight. The white clouds were no more, replaced by churning black blankets of storm and evil. Where she and the other Crusaders had fallen unconscious on the floor of their clubhouse, they were no on the barren, almost desert-like ground. The clubhouse itself was nowhere to be seen and the tree it had been built upon was a dried and burnt husk. A shell where life had once lived, for however briefly. Applebloom turned around several times, her heart breaking at what she saw. The trees her family had spent hundreds of years cultivating, harvesting and caring for year after year, were dried up and dead. Black charcoal sticks that dotted the landscape, shriveled and decrepit. "What happened here....?" she breathed. She didn't notice as Scootaloo began to slowly clamber to her feet as well. She didn't see anything but the scorched ruins of everything she had known. Without even knowing it, she turned to face the direction where she knew the red farmhouse she called home stood. She hoped it did indeed still stand there. "Applebloom?" Scootaloo hacked, her voice sounding dry, but Applebloom didn't hear her. She took one, uncertain step in the direction of the farmhouse. And as she stepped she couldn't help but take another, slightly faster. Her eyes were filling with silent, terrified tears as she began to walk home. A walk that soon became an unsteady jog. She didn't hear Scootaloo repeat her name as she began to run faster and faster. She didn't know what she would find when she got there but she prayed that it wasn't a burnt husk like the orchard. She quickly left the still dazed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle behind as she sprinted as fast as she was able to. Her thoughts flew through her head quicker than the dry branches that whipped past her face. She stumbled a little but she didn't notice. She simply kept running. It was only when her lungs felt like they were on fire and her legs about to melt did she stop. She collapsed once more onto her hands and knees, panting heavily. A few minutes later she looked slowly up, trembling at what she might see. Immediately, she wished she hadn't. The white picket fence that bordered the yard around the farmhouse was burnt to almost cinders. The well was a crumbling pile of stone around a small pit, filled in with something black and mulch like. The parts of the farmhouse and barn that were still standing were blackened and burnt, as if a dragon had difficulty whether or not it wanted to eat it, or burn it to the ground. What really drove the hammer home was the graves. A field of roughly hewn headstones was spread out before her like a sick twisted version of the burnt orchards that lay behind her. Applebloom didn't even need to check a single one to know in her heart of hearts that the entire Apple family lay before her. She didn't know how she managed to walk into the middle of the graveyard or her kin. She didn't know what she was looking for. All she knew was that she felt numb. Like the blow had knocked everything from her bones. Not even grief could reach her now. She was beyond everything as she looked around. No names leapt out at her in particular. She simply took it all in as a single picture. Applebloom didn't immediately realise when she had dropped to her knees. Time just seemed to stop. It was then she looked at the graves in front of her did the full meaning of what she was looking at crash over her in a tidal wave of horror. Big Macintosh A kind brother, and the kindest stallion I have ever had the pleasure to meet He shall be missed Granny Smith The wisest and greatest mare I have ever known May she rest in piece "No..." she croaked, reaching her hand out to trace her fingers over the words carved on the graves before her. "This... this... i-i-it just can't be happenin'.... it's a dream... it's gotta be a dream...." Her fingers brushed the words of her brother's name. She felt the coarseness of the stone, yet the smooth contours of where his name had been carved suggested the sharp edge she knew must have been there at one point had been weathered away. It had been here for some time. A few years? Maybe more. Either way, Applebloom could feel so much detail. Too much for her to simply make up while asleep. "It's real..." she breathed, her eyes filling with tears. "You're.... you're really..." She felt a hand on her shoulder. She jerked away and looked up at who stood there. Scootaloo didn't say a word. She merely knelt down beside Applebloom and looked at her. Applebloom choked and flung her arms around her neck, burying her muzzle in her shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Scootaloo held her tight, but said nothing. She simply let Applebloom grieve. At some point, Applebloom didn't know exactly when, she realised Sweetie Belle was also embracing her. No one spoke. The silence was broken only by Applebloom's sobs. Applebloom was curled up on her side. Dried tears crusted the fur of her face but she didn't care. She didn't feel the dirt or grime beneath her, or the dry tear tracks on her face. She hugged her legs to her chest, her head resting in Sweetie Belle's lap. The unicorn filly was brushing her hand through her mane, murmuring soothing sounds. They may have been words but Applebloom didn't care. Scootaloo was sitting nearby, looking at the sky, her wings buzzing in agitation. She kept glancing back at Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Eventually Applebloom pushed herself upright. "Ah don't wanna be here anymore,"she muttered. "Take me away from here." "Are you sure?" Sweetie Belle asked. Applebloom glared at her. "This ain't mah home Sweetie. Whatever it is - no I don't care what it is! I jus' wanna go!" Sweetie Belle blinked before she nodded and got to her feet. Truth be told if it weren't for Applebloom's distress she would have left this place long before hand. The place was sick, twisted. Like something out of a horror story or a nightmare. Looking at Scootaloo she could tell the pegasus felt the same. With shaking legs Applebloom slowly got to her feet. She sniffed and rubbed the back of her hand against her eye. Where she expected dampness however there was none. She reasoned she simply had no tears left to be shed. The three fillies walked through the graveyard once more. This time it was far worse for Applebloom. Now she was aware and it made the journey so, so much worse. It was a much longer journey, the sheer volume of dead family members weighing down all over again on her shoulders. The graves stopped a little way short of the gate. A big wooden sign had been staked into the ground just before, behind the last grave of the Apple family. Applebloom could only assume whatever the sign said was written on the other side. She knew reading it would mean seeing another dead family member's name but she reasoned that it might offer some answers. As they reached it Applebloom turned to read the sign. Never forget Never forgive Famine will pay Apple Massacre - Year MMXLI of the Demon, August 13th "Year of the Demon?" Applebloom muttered. "That don't sound right." "Bloom," Scootaloo whispered. "I think you need to see this even more than that." Applebloom looked up at her and saw that both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were staring at the grave. She didn't want to look. But she knew it had to know what it was. So she looked. And her blood turned to ice. Applebloom A beautiful and kind filly, taken before her time Too soon... "W-w-what?" she stammered, taking a few shocked steps backwards. "Th-that can't be right! That ain't me!" "'Bloom," Scootaloo said, reaching a hand to gently touch her. Applebloom flinched as though she had been struck. "That ain't me!" she screamed, looking almost mad. "That can't be me! Ah'm not... I can't be..." "Applebloom!" Scootaloo cried, gripping her by the shoulders. "Applebloom look at me!" "Ah'm not DEAD!" she wailed. "Am Ah?" "Look at me!" Scootaloo grunted as her friend began to flail madly in her grasp. Applebloom pushed Scootaloo away, the wild, almost broken look in her eyes bordering on madness. "Thi-this has gotta be a dream. There's no way this is happenin'. Ah can't... mah family... just a dream. A dream. Just a d-" Of all the things Scootaloo thought she would never see, the slap Sweetie Belle gave Applebloom was the most unexpected of that list. The unicorn simply strode over to the gibbering earth pony and swiped her open palm across her cheek with a harsh crack. Applebloom froze as she felt the sting of Sweetie Belle's palm against her face. She stood, frozen in the position she found herself in, her eyes wide in shock. Eventually she turned back to face Sweetie Belle. The smaller of the two was in much the same state as Applebloom. Frozen almost in the exact same position after she had struck Applebloom. The only difference was the hand that had done the deed was visibly shaking. "Are you quite finished?" she breathed. Applebloom gulped and nodded. Sweetie Belle sighed with relief and dropped her hand to her side. "Sorry 'Bloom." "Ah sh-should be sorry," Applebloom muttered. "Ah guess Ah kind of..." "Hey," Scootaloo said, giving her a light hug. "It's cool. We get it. I think if anyone saw something like that they'd go a little nuts." Applebloom hugged Scootaloo back, Sweetie Belle moving in to crape her arms around her friends. The three eventually broke apart and looked out towards Ponyville. "Ah hope Ponyville isn't like here," Applebloom murmured. "You just had to say it didn't you?" Scootaloo sighed, dread evident in her voice. The outermost houses in Ponyville were little more the blasted ruin and death. The few ponies that lived there looked sick and pale, their bony forms huddled together by tiny fires for warmth. At the sight of Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle they shied away, a fearful look in their sunken eyes. As they reached the inner section of Ponyville it became more and more obvious there was something blatantly wrong. Sugarcube Corner was no more. Though the building itself was still there the furnishings and decorations that had made it seem like a decorative cake were gone, leaving the mortar and wood that had been underneath bare. The windows were grimy and needed cleaning and the whole place smelled of sweat and alcohol. A sign swung on rusty hinges above the door with cracked and pealing red paint making a splatter mark and golden letters revealing the building to be called 'The Bloody Nose'. Scootaloo voice her idea that it may be some kind of tavern. The town hall was in much the same state as the outer district. In dire need of repair, the roof was caved in, the windows cracked and the woodwork burnt or otherwise rotting away. Where the oak tree of Golden Oaks Library had been there was some kind of monument or memorial made out of bronze. From what they could see without going closer, it appeared to be a pegasus standing tall and proud holding in one hand a flag, in the other a sword. His expression was filled with anger and sadness in equal measure. It took Scootaloo a few moments to realise the flag the pegasus held was that of Cloudsdale. "Hey Scoots! Where ya goin'?" Applebloom called after her as she sprinted towards the statue. Scootaloo ignored her, only slowing down before the statue of the pegasus. It was definitely bronze, or something like it. The Pegasus appeared to be standing on a storm cloud. The entire thing rested upon a square pedestal, which was surrounded by reefs of flowers and messages. A handful of newspapers clippings had been left by the statue as well. Engraved into the metal was a short epitaph. The Fall of Cloudsdale MMXL October 9th Lost but Never Forgotten She read the words over and over again, their meaning lost on her. She snatched up on of the newspaper clippings, scanning the title of the story: 'War Strikes Once More - Cloudsdale Burns'. She dropped the newspaper as if it were something boiling and rancid. She reached for another, picking it up with shaking fingers: 'Thousands Dead in Cloudsdale Attack'. Hot tears scalded her face as she let the second piece of paper fall from her fingertips. Her knees shook and fell out from under her. Two arms however snaked around her, holding her up. She didn't register these facts however. Her mind was reeling in horror at what she had just seen and read. Cloudsdale gone? Though she had come to call Ponyville home in recent times that still didn't mean Cloudsdale wasn't where she had been born. Still didn't change the fact she had spent the first few years of her life in the Pegasus city. How could it be gone? Why was it gone? What had prompted the destruction of an entire city? She knew such a question was as pointless as asking why someone had attacked and killed the Apple family. Peaceful ponies... slaughtered without rhyme or reason. She wiped away her tears on the back of her hand. What happened to Applebloom's family... what happened to Cloudsdale... it made her sad yes but more than sad... it made her angry. Worse than angry she was on the brink of furious, the grief at such a heavy blow as the loss of her first home nothing more than fuel for the fire. Her hands curled into fists, and as she straightened up, she realised she was shaking with anger. "Scoots?" Applebloom's voice, from right behind her. Obviously it had been her who had held Scootaloo up. Scootaloo took a deep breath and turned around. Applebloom was looking at her. Sweetie Belle too. They seemed tentative, like how Scootaloo herself had been around Applebloom. "Scoots... are... are you okay?" Applebloom asked. Scootaloo took a deep breath in through her nose. "Yeah," she managed to croak eventually, her vice seizing up with barely suppressed rage. She gave the statue behind her a quick glance before she looked back to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. "Let's go. I don't wanna look at this anymore." It was inevitable. Sweetie Belle knew it was inevitable. The path they were walking had taken them past the schoolhouse and towards the other side of Ponyville. Miraculously the building itself was intact, though it was not painted red and was instead bare wood. The route they walked from their was familiar to Sweetie Belle. She had taken it several times with her sister. She knew they would wind up right in front of the Carousel Boutique. As with everything else around them, the boutique was a far cry from sheik, unique or magnifique. The building was little more than ash and rubble. Applebloom and looked awkwardly around as she realised where they were. Scootaloo watched as Sweetie Belle walked towards the ruin. "Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. "Are... are you okay?" Sweetie said nothing. The building her sister had made for her passion for fashion was nothing but dust on the ground. She could even see the remains of a clotheshorse nearby. Yet Sweetie Belle saw telltale signs that this was not an attack. No. It was a statement. A bold statement. Striking and imposing. Dazzling and subtle. The Boutique had been burnt to the ground by the very mare who had owned it. "Rarity did this," Sweetie Belle said. It was with utmost certainty that she spoke. "What'd you say Sweetie?" Scootaloo called. "Rarity," Sweetie replied. "Rarity did this." "How can ya tell?" Applebloom asked. "Trust me. I know." "Well... why would she do this?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie Belle didn't reply. She simply walked towards the ruined clotheshorse. She pushed it gently with one finger. This simply contact caused the object to break into fragments of ash. As the ash fell, something caught Sweetie's eye. A silvery something, lost in the dirt. She bent down and began to dig out the object. As she scraped off some of the dirt, she recognised the object. It was Rarity's treasure box. She knew this because it was where Rarity kept the fire ruby Spike had given her. She wondered what it contained now. Curiosity getting the better of her, she pried the box open and tipped the contents out. A few newspaper clippings and small trinkets fell out. The first was a heavy silver pocket watch on a long chain. Their father's no doubt. There was also a small hair clip, shaped like a butterfly. Their mother's. The third trinket was something Sweetie did not expect. It was a picture in a small frame. A picture of a young Rarity holding a small baby filly. A white baby filly. Her. She replaced the trinkets and picked up a newspaper clipping. Her blood turned to ice. Double Homicide - Pestilence Public Murder of Father and Daughter A shocking day as to add to the expected and unfortunate losses from the outskirts, Pestilence himself arrived in Ponyville today with but a single purpose. Murder. With no cause or immediate reason, Pestilence brutally murdered the young unicorn filly Sweetie Belle. After her father's outrage, Pestilence killed Magnum Belle as well in equal brutality. See page 3 for full story, Her hands shook, tears blurred her vision and ice ran through her veins. This was wrong. It was some kind of twisted perversion of reality. She couldn't accept this. Her father had been too kind, too good to be simply murdered. "What is this place?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking up at the red sky. And pain exploded across the right side of her face as if she was being branded. White hot agony lanced through her skin. She howled into the sky, gripping her face as she fell writhing into the dirt. Scootaloo and Applebloom took half a dozen steps towards her, before they too screamed in pain. For the second time that day, Sweetie Belle blacked out from the pain.