My breathing was ragged as I galloped through the orchard, trying to locate the youngest Apple or the others who had went in before me. I supposed that they would know these orchards like the back of their own hooves, but for me having just sprinted in for the first time, it was like a maze. I could make out various noises from multiple directions, but nothing that explained what was going on. Skidding to a halt, I focused on listening to what was around me and trying to locate the direction I should be travelling in.
I could hear the shouting of stallions, at least one voice I recognised as Applejack’s cousin. In another direction I could hear loud thwacks, as if a wrestling match were occurring. Dead ahead however, I could make out muffled cries as well as a gruff voice. Whatever it was, it sounded the closest of all three, so lowering myself to the ground, I crept forward. Weaving around a few trees, I arrived on the edge of a small clearing where two figures were struggling, one was a small yellow filly with a pink bow atop an amaranth mane, the other was a large stallion wearing steel armour.
The first thing that struck me about the filly as my eyes fell onto her, was that she must have been about Sweetie Belle’s age, very similar size too. I guessed immediately that this was Applebloom, and while the stallion also seemed familiar, I didn’t stop to think about that before leaping from the trees to confront him.
“Hold it right there!” I shouted, sounding a lot braver than I felt.
The stallion swung around, Applebloom still held tight in his forelegs. As soon as our eyes met, both our jaws dropped.
“You!” I screamed in shock.
“You…” the soldier growled, the very soldier who had assaulted me back at the town hall in Pivot.
Applebloom’s terrified eyes darted between us as she tried to struggle against her captor, but his hold wasn’t letting up.
“I was hoping I’d run into you again,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me.
“Let her go,” I ordered, my horn glowing blue as I levitated one of my daggers out of its sheath and held it before me.
“Or what?” he asked with a bark of laughter. “If you even try to throw that knife, I’ll just use this girl as a shield, assuming I don’t break her neck first.”
Tears began rising to Applebloom’s eyes at that, she looked over at me with a desperate expression on her face. I gritted my teeth and tensed my body, the knife still hovering in front of me, blade directed towards the stallion’s face. I might have been able to let it fly quicker than he could harm Applebloom, but I wasn’t willing to take the risk.
“Where’d all that bravery go?” he asked, grinning sadistically at me. “Lost your nerve after you stood up to that whore Sufferthorn?”
I didn’t reply, although I did pick up on the way he described his officer.
“Drop the knife!” he ordered suddenly, tightening his grip around Applebloom’s neck. “Drop it right now, or I kill the girl.”
I was shaking now with a mixture of rage and fear, but as I saw the stallion’s muscles tense, I let out a sigh. The knife fell to the grass in front of me, the magic around it dissipating. The stallion grinned, but not for long, before he noticed that my horn never stopped glowing. He opened his mouth, perhaps to shout at me, perhaps to threaten Applebloom’s life again if I didn’t stop whatever it was I was doing, whatever he was about to say, he never did as the second knife I had been slowly floating around behind him, drove itself into one of the gaps in his armour, burying itself to the hilt in his barrel.
He let out an agonised scream, his legs flailing out, Applebloom darting out of his grip as soon as she felt it loosen. He tried to reach out and grab her again, despite the immense pain he was in, he was still standing and he wasn’t about to let go of his leverage, but I wasn’t having any of it. Fury burning inside me, I charged forward, putting myself between the pair of them where I reared up and brought my whole weight crashing down on his head. He fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, when I saw he wasn’t moving, I turned away to see Applebloom standing paralysed in fear a few feet away.
I hurried forward and knelt down in front of her, however she flinched back as I got close.
“It’s okay, it’s okay!” I assured her. “I’m a friend of your brother and sister.”
“Y…you are?” she asked, unsure if she should trust me or not.
“Yes, Applejack and Big Mac,” I said, hoping that by saying their names she would trust that I was telling the truth. “We came in here to find you after we heard you scream.”
“They… they came out of nowhere!” Applebloom told me, her voice shaking as tears streamed down her face. “They chased after me and… and grabbed me.”
“It’s alright, you’re safe now,” I told her, pulling her into a loose hug. “But we have to get back to the farm before that one wakes up.”
She nodded quickly, as I let go of her and stood up, I glanced about me trying to figure out which way I had come from.
“It’s that way,” Applebloom told me, pointing a shaking hoof in a seemingly random direction.
Trusting her knowledge of the area, I levitated her onto my back before trotting off in the direction she indicated. As we ran, I noticed a second soldier lying in a broken and bloody heap under one of the many apple trees. Paying it no heed, I carried on until we burst out of the orchard, back into the backyard where a skirmish seemed to be taking place. There were another three soldiers here too, one lying unconscious while the other two were locked in a tense struggle with the rest of the Apple family.
One stood no chance, constantly backing up before he was absolutely overwhelmed by Big Mac and the two cousins. The last one was carrying a weapon, which he was using to try and take down Applejack; however she too had produced a large claymore herself and was duelling ferociously with him. They all noticed our arrival, including the two remaining soldiers. I recognised one of them as well, mainly from the badly broken nose I had left him with after I kicked him in the town hall.
“Brag!” the one with the broken nose called out to the one duelling Applejack. “It’s that bitch that kicked me, the one who got us fired!”
“Then kill her!” Brag shouted back, barely paying attention as he and Applejack were in a deadlock that he was slowly losing.
The other soldier ducked under a swing from Big Mac that could have snapped a pony in half, before sidestepping the two cousins. He was surprisingly quick on his hooves despite the heavy armour he wore, and he was charging straight for me.
“Applebloom, run!” I shouted, using my magic to cast her off of me while I drew my third and final dagger in an attempt to block his charge.
I was too late however, and I was thrown off my hooves when he collided with me, my magic sparked out and the dagger was dropped somewhere. I landed heavily on my back, wheezing loudly from the force of the impact. I coughed and choked on my own breath, rolling over on my side slightly as the stallion appeared over me, raising my own dagger, ready to plunge it downwards. I didn’t have the strength to roll out of the way or stand up, and I lacked the focus to use my magic against him. For a brief moment, I was sure I was going to die.
However, within a split second the threat vanished as I heard a loud twang and saw something speed into the side of the stallions head, just before his body was thrown off of me. The sound of rushing hooves signalled Big Mac’s arrival, who skidded to a stop over me, leaning down to scoop me up. He placed me over his back; from there I was able to see Granny Smith standing in the open door to the kitchen, holding a crossbow in front of her. I also glanced to the side slightly to see the last soldier’s sword drop to the ground, and Applejack to swing her claymore in a wide arc, taking his head clean off his shoulders.
With the threat dealt with and a deathly silence fallen over the farm, we all began shuffling inside. Once we were in the front room, Big Mac lay me down on a sofa while Applejack and Granny Smith both hugged Applebloom tightly. Braeburn and Caramel said something about dealing with the bodies before departing, once the rest of us were left alone and Applejack allowed herself to be pried away from Applebloom by Big Mac, she made her way over to me.
“You saved Applebloom,” she said, her voice weak as she knelt down to face me. “You saved my sister.”
“It was nothing,” I said in a croaky voice, my lungs still weak from landing so hard on my back. “It’s just what friends do for each other.”
“No,” Applejack said, shaking her head slightly. “After what you did, you’re more than just a friend, you’re family.”
“Darn tootin,” Granny declared, walking up beside Applejack. “And if there’s one thing we Apples value above all else, it’s family.”
“Eyup!” Big Mac agreed.
“Thank you Rarity!” Applebloom said, rushing over and pulling me into a gentle hug.
I was feeling a bit overwhelmed at that moment, quite speechless actually. I was a little relieved when Applejack suggested giving me some space, Big Mac and Granny Smith took Applebloom away, saying something about getting her fed and then taking the rest of the day off work. Applejack went outside again, presumably to see if her cousins needed help, that left me to recover on my own. It didn’t take long to get over the shock and to begin moving again, I was a little wobbly on my legs and my head was spinning, but I deemed myself well enough to go outside and see if I could do anything to help.
“Winona get your nose out of that!” was the first thing I heard as I stepped out into the back yard.
Applejack was telling off a small brown and white collie that was sniffing at the patch of bloody earth that marked where Applejack had beheaded her enemy. Applejack herself was over by the body of the soldier who had attacked me while the other two were with the last guy, who appeared to have regained consciousness.
“You really should take it easy,” Applejack told me as I approached her. “We can take care of this messy business.”
“I’m fine,” I assured her. “I’m not hurt, I was just in shock.”
I looked down at the body of the stallion who had been about to kill me, I saw the crossbow bolt had driven itself right through the side of his skull. I made a mental note to give the few bolts and arrows I still had to them, as they might be able to make use of them.
“What this one shouted,” Applejack began, gesturing at the body. “Right before he ran for you, did you know them?”
“Back in Pivot, I got into a fight with some soldiers,” I explained. “They were going to arrest me for no reason, so I kicked that one in the face.”
“He mentioned something about gettin' fired,” Applejack reminded me.
“Well I did have quite a string word with their superior,” I continued. “She said she would deal with them, I honestly didn’t believe she would. Why were they here though?”
“At a guess, ah’d say they were planning on robbing us,” Applejack proposed. “They probably saw Applebloom on her own and figured they could use her as a bargaining chip.”
“And I thought they were asses back in Pivot,” I muttered angrily. “But threatening to hurt a child, that’s just plain low.”
“The rebellion has always attracted the worst kind of pony,” Applejack spat. “Those that stayed after the war was over think they’re so high and mighty, think they can walk over anypony.”
I stayed silent as Applejack brooded over what she had just said, it was clear she didn’t like the rebels, perhaps that was what Big Mac had meant about why the war made her angry.
“Big Mac said he left one in the orchard,” Applejack continued at last. “And you took down the one who had Applebloom, so that makes two.”
“Yeah, I passed the one Big Mac dealt with on my way back here,” I confirmed. “I think I can find my way back to where they were.”
“We’ll go there now,” Applejack said, turning to the orchard. “If they’re alive, we should probably help them. Even if they don’t deserve it, mah folks would be ashamed of me if I just left them to die.”
“It’s the right thing to do,” I told her as I began to lead the way in among the trees. “Don’t sink to their level. Besides, I need to get my knives back. I never actually thought I would need to use them, but after today, I will definitely want to keep them close from now on.”
“Oh yeah, that one you dropped in the yard,” Applejack began. “Caramel left it by the back door for you.”
I nodded in appreciation before we carried on. It didn’t take long to find the tree where the other soldier I had seen was lying, it was easy to spot with the patches of blood on the grass, but there was no body to be found anywhere around it.
“Mac said he was still breathing before he left,” Applejack said, more to herself than to me. “He must’ve woken up and gotten away.”
“Is that bad?” I asked.
“Only if there are more of them out there,” Applejack replied. “Ah’m really hoping that isn’t the case, since we don’t need them attacking a second time lookin’ for revenge.”
I shuddered at the thought, we had been very lucky this time, but the idea that they could come back in even greater force seeking blood was deeply worrying. We carried on to the clearing where I had found Applebloom, where thankfully the stallion I had fought still remained where he had fallen. I allowed Applejack to go ahead of me; I didn’t want to be to close when she kicked him awake. He did not wake however, he didn’t even move as Applejack prodded him.
“This one’s dead Sugarcube,” Applejack said over her shoulder to me.
“What?!” I exclaimed, rushing forward. “How?! Did he bleed to death? Was it the knife?”
“Looks like he broke his neck when you hit him,” Applejack told me in a neutral tone. “Must have been a mighty kick, looks to me like it killed him instantly.”
Her voice sounded a little impressed, but I was barely hearing it at that point. My eyes had unfocused and my whole mind slowed to a snail crawl. Applejack was saying something to me, but she stopped when she looked up and saw me shaking like a leaf. Her expression became worried, before turning outright horrified when I collapsed to me knees, my eyes filling with tears. Applejack dropped to her own knees beside me and began shaking my shoulders, still trying desperately to get through to me, but nothing she did could reach me.
I was a murderer, I had taken the life of another pony, and if I had been in shock before, it was nothing compared to what was happening to me after I heard that revelation. My breathing was getting increasingly more rapid, my body became wracked with sobs, and my head became a maelstrom of screaming thoughts. It was as if the spirits of everypony I ever knew and cared about was trapped inside my skull, condemning me for my sins and making me realise what a monster I was.
I don’t know what I would have done if Applejack hadn’t take affirmative action, as in to say she slapped me… hard… across the face.
“Ah’m sorry Rarity,” she said, I was hearing clearly again after that. “Really, but you have to get a hold of yourself.”
“I’m a killer,” I told her in a weak voice.
“Yeah, you are,” Applejack said, opting not to mince her words and just cut straight to the point. “There’s no escaping it, that’s just what happened, and that’s just what you’re gonna have to accept.”
I didn’t reply to that, just gulped and tried to sniff back my tears.
“I know it’s hard,” Applejack said in a sympathetic voice. “Your first always is, believe me ah know. But you know in your heart that you did what you had to, and while ah’m not saying he deserved to die, ah will say that he was a bad pony. Celestia knows my first was nothin’ of the sort.”
I snapped my head up at that comment, hearing the deep sadness in Applejack’s voice and seeing the faraway look on her face.
“Your first?” I said in a weary voice. “The first pony you killed… they weren’t bad?”
“No,” Applejack answered, shaking her head. “Far from it, they weren’t a criminal or even an enemy. They were just an ordinary pony in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“So why did you do it?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“Because that’s what I was ordered to do,” Applejack replied in a hollow voice. “Ah said the rebellion attracted the worst kind of pony, what ah didn’t say, was that for the rest it attracted… it turned them into the worst kind of pony.”
There was a long, horrible silence following Applejack’s confession. I didn’t know what I could possibly say that wouldn’t make the situation worse; I had to hold in a sigh of relief when Applejack changed the subject herself.
“Come on, let’s go home,” she suggested in a tired voice. “We’ll grab your knives now, but some of the others can come out later and pick up the body. Right now, let’s just back to the house and get sat down, ah’ll break out the hard stuff.”
I couldn’t have agreed faster, retrieving both my fallen knives, I began following Applejack back through the orchard to the farmhouse. I still felt terrible, but knowing that Applejack was with me, and that she could relate to what I was feeling helped to lessen the burden. I only hoped that my first kill would also be my last… in retrospect that was a silly thing to hope for.