//------------------------------//
// A New Divide 
// Story: Apples Don't Fall Far from the Tree 
// by BronyDad 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 2


A New Divide


Clinging to Big McIntosh's neck as he swam to shore, Apple Bloom's eyes landed on something in the water.  With a sense of desperation, she released her big brother and paddled as fast as she could toward it.

Surprised, Big McIntosh raised a hoof to stop her but upon seeing the nearby object, let her go.  Floating in the middle of the lake with two young foals panting on his back, the large, muscular stallion could do nothing more than watch with a deep sadness as his younger sister clutched Applejack's hat tightly to her chest. 

Apple Bloom returned to her older brother and allowed him to carry her the rest of the way.  She quickly climbed out of the water and turned her gaze toward the distant tree line where she had last glimpsed Applejack.  "We've got to go after her!" she cried, and then started off toward the Everfree Forest. 

"Nope," Big McIntosh said in his deep, southern drawl as he quickly stepped on Apple Bloom's tail to prevent her from running off.  "We need to get you girls somewhere safe, and then gather the Pegasi to form search parties."

"But all the Pegasi are busy with this storm," Scootaloo said.

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle added, "and they don't know that anything's wrong.  How are we going to get their attention before it's too late?"

"Twilight!" Apple Bloom suddenly shouted.  "She'll be able to help us!"

"Then, let's go."  Big McIntosh started off toward town.  "Quickly now."

Fighting back tears, Apple Bloom followed behind the others as they galloped into town and made their way to the Golden Oak Library.  

This is all my fault, she thought to herself remorsefully.  I should never have gotten into that balloon.  Now, Applejack's in serious trouble, all because I put my cutie mark ahead of my family.

When they arrived at the library, Big McIntosh crashed through the front door without hesitation.  "Twilight!" he bellowed.  "Are you home?!  Twilight?!"

"Big McIntosh?" Twilight said in surprise as she descended the stairs.  "What are you doing here?  Shouldn't you be..." she trailed off as she caught sight of their faces.  Her eyes lowered to the hat that Apple Bloom was clutching tightly to her chest as tears ran freely down her face.  "Oh no, what happened?  Is it Applejack?"

Sweetie Belle stepped forward.  "We were in Cherry Berry's balloon and we got swept away by the storm and Applejack saved us, but she got caught in some rope and was carried off toward the Everfree forest," she said all in one breath.

Twilight turned pale.  "We've got to round up the Pegasi.  They can form a search party, but we've got to hurry."

Big McIntosh nodded his agreement.  "But they're busy with the weather.  I was hoping you could help get their attention."

"Of course," Twilight replied hurriedly as she started for the door.

Big McIntosh lifted a hoof and shook his head before pointing at the three fillies beside him.

"Oh, right."  Twilight turned toward the stairs.  "Spike, I got a job for you!"

Spike immediately came bounding down the stairs and came to a skidding halt before them.  "What's up, Twilight?" 

Twilight indicated the three fillies.  "I need you to watch over the girls while Big Mac and I go get the Pegasi."

With his back straight, head held high, and his little clawed hands balled into fists, Spike nodded determinedly.  "Right, I won't let them out of my sight.  You can count on me."

Without another word, Twilight and Big McIntosh hurried out of the library.  Following them to the door, Apple Bloom saw the Unicorn's horn begin to glow with a magenta light, and then it fired a beam high into the sky, bright enough to light up the entire street.  Even after Spike had shut the door, the light could still be seen through the windows for several minutes longer.      	   

"The storm will be here any minute," Spike said once the light had faded away.  "But you'll be safe here, we have a magical lightning rod that protects us."  He pointed to a door that Apple Bloom knew led to the basement.  "Would you girls like something to eat?  We don't have much, since, you know, this is a library and all, but I'm sure I could find something."

The three fillies shook their heads gloomily as they stared at the floor, each absorbed in their own miserable thoughts.

"Are you sure?" Spike pushed.  "Not even a grass and daffodil smoothie?"  When he got no response, he tried a new tactic.  "It'll be okay, the Pegasi will find her.  You'll see."

"But what if they don't?" Apple Bloom suddenly blurted out.  "What if she gets hurt, or...or worse?"

"That won't happen," Spike reassured her.

"How do you know?" Apple Bloom demanded, hugging her sister's hat fiercely.  "How could you possibly know what will happen?"        

"All right," Spike replied gently.  "Why don't you girls come upstairs and lie down. Try to relax.  I'm sure that Twilight won't mind if you use her bed, and if any of you change your mind about food, you can let me know."

Slowly nodding their heads, the three friends followed Spike up the stairs, across Twilight's study, and up a second spiral staircase to the third floor.

As they approached the bed, Apple Bloom discreetly nudged Scootaloo and gave her a meaningful look.  "Actually, Spike, I am kinda hungry after all."

"No problem," Spike replied with a smile.  "What would you like?"

"Well..." Apple Bloom answered slowly.  "That grass and daffodil smoothie you mentioned did sound good."

"You got it!" Spike said enthusiastically, happy to help the young filly any way he could.        	

Quickly catching on to Apple Bloom's plan, Scootaloo agreed, "Yeah, it does sound good, I'll take one too."

Uncertain what the other two were up to, Sweetie Belle hesitated, but noticing their expectant gazes, added, "Me too...if you don't mind."

"Of course not," Spike assured her, waving a clawed hand dismissively.  "They'll be ready in a few minutes."  

Apple Bloom remained still as Spike descended the stairs, and once she could no longer hear his footsteps, she began pulling the sheets off of the bed.  "C'mon girls, you heard Spike.  We only have a couple minutes."

"What are we doing?" Sweetie Belle asked in confusion as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo started to twist the blankets together.

"We're gonna make a rope out of the bed sheets," Scootaloo explained.  "Grab Spike's blankets, we'll need them too."

"But, why?" Sweetie Belle inquired, snatching up the blankets from the wicker basket and giving them to Scootaloo.  "Where are we going?"

"To the Everfree Forest," Apple Bloom answered as she twisted the sheets together until they were one long rope of cloth.  "We're going to rescue my sister."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Sweetie Belle stated worriedly, but the other two ignored her as they tied the sheets securely to the bedpost.

Opening the window, Scootaloo gazed outside.  "It's already raining.  We need to hurry."

"Then, let's go," Apple Bloom said as she placed her sister's hat on her head.

Apple Bloom braced the hat with a hoof and followed Scootaloo out of the window.  Behind her, Sweetie Belle was saying something, but she was unable to hear her over the pouring rain.  She gripped the cloth tightly with her hooves and teeth and slowly made her way down the makeshift rope before dropping the last several feet and landing softly on a large bush.   	  

They waited for Sweetie Belle to safely reach the ground, and then Apple Bloom and Scootaloo started galloping down the road, but came to a skidding halt when their friend yelled for them to stop.

Apple Bloom glanced back and found Sweetie Belle still standing beside the bush.  "What's wrong, are you hurt?" she asked as they returned to her side.

"The Everfree Forest is huge, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said anxiously, "and we have no idea how far in your sister could have gone."  

"It doesn't matter," Apple Bloom stated determinedly.  "We'll just keep going until we find her."

"But we could get lost," Sweetie Belle pointed out, "and then Big Mac and the Pegasi will quit searching for Applejack and look for us instead."

Without warning, tears began to run down Apple Bloom's face.  "This is all my fault.  Applejack would be at the farm by now if it weren't for me.  I have to help her!"	

"But it'll be dark soon," Sweetie Belle argued, "and the storm is almost here.  It's for the best that we do as Big Mac and Twilight said and stay somewhere safe."

Apple Bloom stomped her hoof.  "I'm going after my sister, and nopony is going to stop me, not even you."  She turned her back on her friend.  "If you're so worried about staying safe, then you can just go on back inside, but Scootaloo and I are going."

As Scootaloo nodded her agreement, Sweetie Belle cried desperately, "Apple Bloom, just stop for a minute and think.  Is this what your sister would want you to do?"

"I am thinking," Apple Bloom snapped.  "I'm thinking of my sister all alone in the Everfree Forest, maybe even hurt, and I can't stand it."  She glared at Sweetie Belle over her shoulder.  "Maybe you'd understand if your sister was half the pony Applejack was."

"Well...well, FINE!" Sweetie Belle shrieked with a high pitched squeak.  "Go and get yourselves lost in the forest!  But don't come crying to me if you get gobbled up by a manticore!"  Weeping bitterly, the young Unicorn raced around the side of the tree and disappeared back inside the library.    

"Come on, Scootaloo, we've wasted enough time," Apple Bloom said as she galloped down the road.  

Scootaloo stared at the library for a moment, then turned away and quickly caught up with her friend.  "Sweetie Belle was right about not knowing how deep in the forest your sister is, you know," she said as she matched Apple Bloom's pace. 

"What are you saying?" Apple Bloom demanded.  "You wanna back out too?!"

"No," Scootaloo answered.  "But I think we might need some supplies.  Let's stop by my place and I'll grab some things."

"That's a good idea, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom complimented.  Feeling remorseful, she added, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"No worries, we're cool," Scootaloo replied with a grin as she veered around a corner and led the way to her house.   

The rain intensified as the two fillies neared Scootaloo's home, causing them to squint as they rushed through the curtains of water.  Bracing her sister's hat against a particularly strong gust of wind, Apple Bloom began to wonder if Sweetie Belle may have been right after all, but then pushed aside her doubts resolutely.  Her sister needed her, and she would do whatever it took to save her.

As they came to a halt at her front door, Scootaloo said, "Wait here, I'll be back in a sec."

Alone in the driving rain and consumed by guilt, Apple Bloom trotted back and forth anxiously.  Waiting outside Scootaloo's house was the last place she wanted to be.  Somewhere out there, deep within the dark and scary Everfree Forest her sister was lost and all alone, and here she was just standing around while her friend gathered up supplies.

How could I have let this happen?  Why was I so careless?  

She couldn't stop imagining her sister huddled in shadows, wet and miserable as she trembled from the cold and fear.  It took all of her willpower to wait for Scootaloo and not race off on her own.

Finally, a window on the second floor opened just as the first crash of thunder rolled over the town, and Scootaloo poked her head out.  "Here, catch."

Apple Bloom reared up on her hind legs and caught the light blue saddlebag.  She then quickly stepped back as Scootaloo leaped from the window, and flapping her wings furiously, landed somewhat awkwardly on her hooves.     	  

"I told my parents I was tired and going to bed early, so we won't have to worry about them til the morning," Scootaloo explained.  "In case you were wondering why I left through the window."  

Apple Bloom nodded.  "We all set now?"

"Yup," Scootaloo confirmed.  "I got us plenty of oats, blankets, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.  We'll be good for the next few days, easy."

Apple Bloom was about to ask who's toothbrush she was going to be using, but decided it wasn't important.  "Let's go."

The storm's strength had grown tremendously by the time the two fillies neared the Everfree Forest.  As they crossed the open fields, lightning split the sky and they could feel the deep rumbling of thunder under their hooves.  

With her head held low against the wind and rain, and her mane and tail flapping wildly, Scootaloo yelled, "I think Sweetie Belle might have been right, after all!"

"Just keep going!" Apple Bloom pressed.  "The wind and rain won't be as bad in the forest.  The trees will block most of it."

"Yeah," Scootaloo grumbled.  "As long as they don't fall on us."

Straining to see through the falling sheets of rain, Apple Bloom glimpsed the dark trees looming ahead.  "We're almost there!"

"APPLE BLOOM!" boomed a deep voice from behind them.  

Startled, the two spun around to find Big McIntosh rushing toward them, and several yards behind him, barely visible through the rain and fading light, was Sweetie Belle.

"What in the hay do you two think you're doin'?!" Big McIntosh demanded sternly as he reached them.

Dismayed to have been caught in the act by her big brother, Apple Bloom stammered, "W-well, uh, w-we were..."  She trailed off when she met his eyes and swiftly turned her gaze to her hooves.  

"Do ya really think that this is what your sister would want?" Big McIntosh reprimanded.  "For you to just run straight into the forest after her and put yourselves in danger?"

"No," Apple Bloom answered meekly, her eyes filling with tears.

"What do you think would happen if she made it back here tomorrow," Big McIntosh continued.  "All worn out, maybe even hurt, and found out that you had gone into the forest lookin' for her?  She would turn tail and head straight back into the forest.  Is that what you want?"

Apple Bloom sniffled.  "No."

"So," Big McIntosh concluded.  "If ya wouldn't want your sister to go into the forest lookin' for you, then why are you about to go in lookin' for her?"

Too upset to speak, Apple Bloom just shook her head as the tears began pouring down her face.  

Big McIntosh pulled her close and enveloped her in a hug.  "I know it hurts, Apple Bloom," he spoke coaxingly, "but Applejack would want you to stay safe.  That way she could focus on herself without worrying about you."    

After a moment, he released her and stood up as another crash of thunder rocked the field.  "C'mon, let's get the three of you inside where it's safe."  

As Big McIntosh turned away, Sweetie Belle hesitantly approached her friend. "Apple Bloom," she began gently, but quickly shied away from the scathing look Apple Bloom unexpectedly threw her way.

Silently following Big McIntosh as he led them back to Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom fumed over what Sweetie Belle had done.  

Sweetie Belle had known that she felt guilty about Applejack, and that she needed to be the one to rescue her.  How could she go tell Big McIntosh on her?  Sweetie Belle had betrayed her, right at the moment when she had needed her friends the most, and she knew that she would never be able to forgive her.

With these dark thoughts swirling inside her head, Apple Bloom marched across the field toward the farm house, and standing back to allow Big McIntosh to open the front door, entered without even sparing a single glance at the other two.    

Upon hearing them in the living room, Granny Smith slowly emerged from the dining room and made her way toward them in an unsteady gait.  "I sure am happy y'all are back, what with this storm clamorin' louder than a hootenanny."  After a moment, the elderly Earth pony frowned.  "Where's Applejack?"

Big McIntosh turned to them.  "You girls get on upstairs and ready for bed, I need to talk to Granny for a bit."  As he led Granny Smith back toward the dining room, he called over his shoulder, "I'll be up bright 'n' early to take you two home."  	  

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo watched Apple Bloom ascend the stairs, her ears drooping and her head hanging gloomily.  Neither knowing what to say to their downhearted friend, the two of them quietly climbed the stairs and followed her to her bedroom. 

Apple Bloom paid the two of them no heed as she crawled into her four posted bed, and placing her sister's hat on the nightstand, buried her head under the pillow.	

Hesitantly, Sweetie Belle approached the bed.  "Apple Bloom...I'm sorry that I went and got Big Mac, but I didn't know what else to do."  She waited for her friend to respond, but after a few moments of silence, she turned to Scootaloo for help.

"Apple Bloom," Scootaloo began.  "I'm sorry that-"

"Scoot?" Apple Bloom suddenly called from beneath the pillow.

"Uh, yeah?" Scootaloo replied, surprised that she had been addressed so abruptly.

In a muffled voice, Apple Bloom said, "Would you kindly tell Sweetie Belle that she has completely betrayed my trust, and that I refuse to speak another word to her ever again."

Scootaloo grimaced at Apple Bloom's words, and spared an uneasy glance at Sweetie Belle as her face fell and her ears drooped.

"Look, I get why you're mad, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle stated, "but you have to understand, I did what I did because we're friends.  Because I care about you."

When her friend failed to answer, Sweetie Belle sighed loudly and rolled her eyes before nudging Scootaloo.  "Oh, right...uh, Sweetie Belle says she did it cause she cares about your safety," Scootaloo repeated awkwardly.

Apple Bloom rolled onto her back and stared at the canopy above.  "Well, you can just tell her that I knew exactly what I was doing, and that I could have handled the Everfree Forest just fine."

As Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak, Sweetie Belle covered it with a hoof.  "Maybe so, but you were so worried about your sister that you were prepared to run straight into danger without even thinking about it.  Somepony had to stop you before you got hurt."

Scootaloo stood for a moment and watched Apple Bloom angrily cross her forelegs in front of her chest but saying nothing.  Finally, Scootaloo mumbled, "What am I, two cans and a string?"  

Once Scootaloo had echoed Sweetie Belle's words, Apple Bloom retorted, "I could've saved Applejack, I know it.  But now I've missed my chance.  All because of you."

"That's your guilt talking," Sweetie Belle argued.  "Just listen to yourself.  You're not even making sense!"

Before Scootaloo could respond, Apple Bloom shot back, "What doesn't make sense is you telling Big McIntosh on me!  You turned on me, right at the moment when I needed my friends the most!"

"I did not!  I was trying to help!" Sweetie Belle shouted, hoof stomping in frustration.

"Well, take your help somewhere else, cause I don't want it," Apple Bloom snapped, rolling onto her side to face the window.  "Not now, not ever."

Sweetie Belle suddenly burst into tears and ran out of the room, leaving a miserable Scootaloo to stare at the spot she had been standing seconds before.  

Scootaloo swallowed hard.  "Apple Bloom, she was just-"

"I really want to be alone now," Apple Bloom interrupted, her voice shaking with emotion as she reached for her sister's hat and hugged it tightly.

"Okay," Scootaloo replied quietly, then slowly backed out of the room.  For a moment, she stood in the doorway, feeling like there was something she should say, something she needed to say, but unable to find the words, the young Pegasus simply left.

As soon as her friends were gone, Apple Bloom started to sob uncontrollably.  "I'm so sorry," she spoke to the hat.  "I'd give anything to start today over again."

Without warning, something jumped onto the bed and began whining.  Apple Bloom rolled over to find Winona studying her with obvious concern.

"Hey there, girl," Apple Bloom said in a trembling voice as the Border Collie snuggled against her and nuzzled her face affectionately.  "I'm so sorry, Winona, but Applejack won't be coming back tonight, maybe not for a long time, and it's all because of me."  Staring into Winona's large, brown eyes, Apple Bloom could see a deep sadness within them, and knew that, somehow, the Border Collie understood what had happened.  

Apple Bloom buried her face in her companion's warm, soft fur, and drifted into a restless sleep from which she awoke several times, but every time, Winona was there for her.  Together, the two spent the night comforting each other while outside the storm raged on.