//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Old Habits Die Hard // Story: Daughters of Glimmer // by Summer Dancer //------------------------------// “She’s gettin’ worse.” “I know.” “Her eyes…they’re gettin’ weaker.” “We ain’t sendin’ her away.” “I didn’t say that. We just need to take care during the winter. We need all the will power we can get keep the farm runnin.’” “…It ain’t fair, Big Mac. We already lost Applejack…we can’t lose Granny too.” “I know.” “I miss her, Mac. I wish she were here. I wish Granny could see her…one last time.” “So do I, Apple Bloom….she’d be so proud of you…” Applejack blinked and looked over at Rainbow Dash, who sliced a hoof across her neck and lolled her tongue out. A smirk threatened to take over her whole face. “Now, let’s recite the Code of Equality, shall we?” The girls nodded simultaneously before chanting, “To excel is to fail. Choose Equality as your special talent. Be your best by not being your best. You are no better than your sisters.” Starlight nodded in approval, a smile gracing her features. “Excellent! That concludes today’s lesson, children. You may go and prepare for play time now.” Applejack slid out of her desk and fell in line with the rest of her sisters and looked straight ahead with stoic expressions as they marched to their room. As soon as Rarity closed the bedroom door behind them, the room exploded with its natural chaos. Pinkie gleefully jumped across all of the beds, Twilight retrieved her book from under her pillow, and Fluttershy and Rarity gathered as many dolls as they could for today’s play time. Rainbow Dash came up from behind and pulled her by the tail with her mouth. Applejack squealed as she slid backwards across the floor. She counter-attacked tackling her sister to the floor and tickling her sides. Rainbow squeaked and squirmed, tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks. Playtime was their favorite time of day. Ever since school started last year, Starlight had become more and more strict with them. More rules had been inflicted; how to sit, how to eat, how to act. Applejack didn’t mind so much. Whatever rule that mom had inflicted, she thought, was for a good reason. Rules were meant to protect, weren’t they? The filly looked up from under her bangs at Twilight, who was flipping to a page she had saved from the day before. A knot tied in her stomach at the reminder of the secrets they kept. “Hey doofus!” Applejack looked up and realized that the room was now half empty, with the exception of her, Rainbow, and Twilight. “Doofus,” Rainbow repeated, standing over her. “Wake up! You ready to play our game or what?” Applejack let herself smile and quickly got to her hooves. “I was just thinking about how sorry I’d feel for you when you’ll have to eat my space dust for dinner!” Rainbow Dash snorted. “As if! Twilight, you sleep walking too? Let’s go already!” ELEMENTS OF HARMONY PRESUMED DEAD AFTER FIVE YEARS OF SEARCH Starlight read the headline for the fifteenth time before the news could properly register in her mind. She knew that this would happen overtime, she thought about it every night since the girls were just babies. Her eyes scanned over the article. The funerals will be held in Ponyville, the town that the Elements held dear to their hearts. Equestria and lands beyond expressed their sorrow and grief for our young heroes, holding vigils and ceremonies from all over. Families and friends are in deep mourning over the courageous young mares, and will be attending this special funeral with heavy hearts. Their mysterious disappearance five years ago still has ponies talking. Some assume they had gone on some sort of adventure, as they normally did back in the day, and were not able to return; others insist they were fillynapped, or threatened. Since everypony was confined to their homes because of the storm that fateful night, nopony can really know for sure what exactly happened. “The last time we saw Dash, we were trying to push the storm clouds away from the buildings,” Thunderlane recalls. “After that…I wish I would’ve told her how great a leader for the team she was.” The families living in Ponyville have declined to speak to any reporters, understandably so. Some special performances will be held— Starlight stopped reading and released a huge amount of breath. “Finally!” she exclaimed. “Finally what?” “Gah!” Starlight whirled around and found Pinkie standing there with a wide grin. “Finally what?” the filly repeated cheerfully. Starlight quickly hid the newspaper behind her back with her magic. “Uhh, finally…finally, the weekend is almost here!” she said with a nervous chuckle. Pinkie gave her a curious look. “But don’t we have school on the weekends too?” Starlight giggled uncharacteristically as she began to push Pinkie out the door. “Well, uh, I might consider having two days off each week, heh. Now why don’t you run along and, and play with your sisters, hmm?” “O-Oh. Oka—" Starlight quickly shut the door behind the filly and sighed. Her plan had worked. It worked, without a hitch, and she still had plenty more to do, but…as far as Equestria is concerned, their precious heroes were deceased. Yet…somehow, she didn’t feel like jumping for joy. She thought she’d be… more thrilled. Maybe I’m just tired. Starlight skimmed over the article once more, catching the words ‘Spike’, ‘Discord,’ and ‘Anguish’ and ‘Wrath’. She rolled her eyes, folding up the newspaper and hiding it under her mattress along with the rest. She didn’t have time to read what the spirit of chaos had to say this time. She had work to do. “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight!” The purple unicorn grunted in irritation and finally looked up from her book. “What?” “Whatcha doin’~?” “I’m reading, Pinkie.” “Oh.” Pinkie shuffled on her hooves before beaming. “Wanna play with me?” “Not now, Pinkie.” “Why?” “Because I’m getting really far in this book.” Her tone shifted a little, due to her excitement. “Now that I can read, I think I’ll try this…teleportation spell!” Pinkie looked at the book’s pages curiously. “What’s…tal..talla…” “Teleportation is magically appearing from one place to another without walking or flying—but you’d have no use for it.” Pinkie’s face scrunched up. “Yes I would!” “No you wouldn’t. You’re an earth pony, you can’t teleport if you wanted to!” Pinkie stomped her hoof. “Yes I can! If you can do it, then so can I!” Twilight rolled her eyes. “You’re really being a pest. I’m not telling you that you can’t do it out of spite—I’m telling you because you really can’t!” “I can TOO!” Pinkie huffed. “And you are spiting me! You’re always spiting me!” With that, she turned and stomped away. “I can teach you how to read paragraphs if you want!” Twilight called after her. Still stomping, Pinkie simply turned her head and blew a raspberry in her sister’s direction. “Beep boop beep! AAAH, WATCH OUT! IT’S A SPACE ALIEN!” “Stay strong, Hurricane! We'll get through this!” Pinkie blinked. “Huh?” Rainbow Dash and Applejack stampeded towards her, their upper and lower parts of their bodies sticking out of the cardboard boxes they were wearing. They also had silver strainers on their heads as helmets. “Outta the way, space alien!” Rainbow yelled as they whizzed past Pinkie. She turned around and grinned at them. “Can I play too?” “No way, you’re too little!” Rainbow called back before blasting off. Applejack glanced back at Pinkie and shrugged. “Sorry, Pinks. You’d only get hurt!” Pinkie scowled as her sisters continued to play their space game without her. “We’re the same age!” she cried. A soft sweet voice spoke up. “You can play with us, Pinkie.” Pinkie turned and saw Fluttershy and Rarity sitting a few feet away with their little grey tea set. Pinkie squeed and trotted over to them. “I can? You really mean it?” Rarity nodded and held out one of their dolls. “Here. You can be Mrs. Twinklebottom.” Pinkie happily accepted the doll and plopped down on the floor. “It’s nice to know that my NICEST SISTERS want to play with me,” Pinkie said loudly. “Are we really your nicest sisters, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked, smiling hopefully. “Uh huh. Twilight says I can’t tallaport and Rainbow Dash and Applejack wouldn’t let me play space cadet! At least A.J. was kinda sorta nice about it, but Rainbow called me an alien!” “That’s not very nice,” Fluttershy said with a slight frown. “I know! It makes me so mad; I just wanna…hit her!” Rarity grinned. “Yeah, we should hit her!” Fluttershy cleared her throat. “It’s not nice to hit.” “I know. But it still makes me want to though. What are you guys playing?” Rarity held up her doll with her magic. “We’re playing house. I'm a fairy Princess, and I just invited Fluttershy, the Mermare Princess, and her baby to my house so that they can have tea with me and my baby.” Pinkie looked around at the other dolls, but they were all the same; grey ponies with stringy-rug like manes stapled to their scalps. “Uhh…how can you tell which is which?” Rarity held her ‘baby’ close. “Mother's intuition.” The pink filly didn’t know what that meant, but went along with it. Fluttershy stroked her doll’s mane thoughtfully. “If I had a daughter, I’d name her Posey, just like my doll.” “That’s pretty,” Rarity complimented as her blue aura closed around the teapot. “Anypony want some tea? I made it myself.” “Thank you,” Pinkie said politely as Rarity poured her a pretend cup of tea. She sat with silent satisfaction as Rarity poured more cups. “And now,” The unicorn announced after they had finished their tea, “Fluttershy and Posey goes home.” Fluttershy walked her doll across the floor. “Bye everypony!” she made Posey say. Rarity rested her hoof on her chin. “I wish I actually had a wand. Then I could turn Fluttershy into a pony—so she could dance at the ball with a handsome prince!” Fluttershy nodded. Pinkie gasped suddenly. “I know! Wait here!” She bounced up and raced to the kitchen. She went over to the counter and searched for a large fork or spoon that went in a straight line to serve as a wand. She stood up on her hind legs opened one of the silverware drawers and stuck her hoof inside with her tongue sticking out. Then something caught her eye. It was that fancy looking stick with a curved handle that looked like a U that mommy had brought home about a month ago. It hung horizontally on the kitchen wall. The perfect wand! Pinkie thought. Of course, mommy had warned the girls to never touch it ever—but she would only borrow it for a little while. Then she would put it back. Rarity the fairy Princess needed a wand after all! With her mind made up, she grabbed a nearby chair and pushed it under the stick and carefully, carefully, climbed on top. Pinkie paused for a moment when the chair wobbled slightly, afraid she might fall. “Pinkie, what’s taking so long?” Rarity called from the living room. “Be right there, Rares!” Gathering up her courage, she quickly reached up and lifted the stick from its hinges and jumped down from the chair. She took the stick in her mouth as she pushed the chair back to where it was before. “Dish ish huvea den ah tot,” she said to herself, her mouth full of wood. She proudly made her way back to the living room—this, however, didn’t go unnoticed by Applejack, who saw Pinkie with the stick, her green eyes almost bulging out of her head. “Pinkie!” She fell over sideways, and tumbled out of her box when it hit the floor. She scrambled to her hooves and lunged forward, grabbing the other end of the stick. “Pinkie, put that back right now!” The stick slid out of her mouth, but Pinkie grabbed the stick again, this time with her hooves. “I’m only borrowing it!” Pinkie argued as the girls had a tug of war with the stick. “It doesn’t matter! Give it!” “No!” “Stop pulling, you’ll break it!” “No I won’t! You will!” Applejack gritted her teeth in frustration. Knowing this was getting her nowhere, she suddenly thrust the stick in Pinkie’s direction, which threw her off balance. Applejack then pulled back, but was not prepared for the sheer force that came with it. She stumbled backwards and fell against the wall. Snap! Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and stared wide eyed at the misfortune that just befell on mom's possession. Applejack looked down at the floor in dismay and saw that the beautiful stick had snapped in two. “O-Oh…oh no,” Pinkie half-whispered. Twilight rushed over, her expression horrified. “Applejack, what—" “I’m sorry!” Pinkie blurted. “I-It was an accident! I-I took the stick from the wall and Applejack tried to take it, but I—" “Oh, nice going, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said angrily. “Why did you do that?” Rarity moaned in complete distress. “B-B-But I—" “N-No, it was…it was my fault,” Applejack said, slowly getting up from the floor. “I used too much force when I pushed it forward and back…I was just trying to put it back where it was…” Twilight frantically began to pace in a circle. “Okay. Okay, we can fix this. We can either try to glue it back together or make an exact replica of the stick before playtime’s over.” She glanced at the clock on the wall and turned to the others with a crazed grin. “We’ve got less than three minutes!” Applejack shook her head. “No, Twi, it’s okay. I’ll just tell mom it was an accident, and—" “No way!” Rainbow Dash interrupted fiercely. “There’s no way you’re telling mom about this!” “Why not?” “Because you’ll get in trouble,” Fluttershy said, her eyes filled with worry. “Well, yeah, for a little while, but—" Twilight suddenly stopped pacing and poked Applejack in the chest. “But nothing. We’re gonna stick together on this, Applejack. No matter what, nopony spills the beans about this stick. Got it?” Everyone else nodded their heads and murmured in agreement. Applejack shifted uncomfortably. “Guys—" “What do we do with the stick?” Rarity asked. “Starlings~!” The girls broke out into cold sweat at the sound of their mother’s voice. “Oh no!” Fluttershy gasped. “It’s mom!” “Twilight, what do we do?” Applejack whispered. Twilight set her jaw. “Pinkie, Fluttershy, go distract her. The rest of you guys help me get this to the kitchen!” Pinkie and Fluttershy raced to the back of the living room and stopped Starlight at the doorway. “Mom! Uhh, doesn’t it look like a beautiful day?” Fluttershy asked, pointing up at ‘skylight’. Starlight looked up and nodded. “Yes, it does.” She tried to move past the girls, but they quickly blocked her path and pulled on her legs. “Mommy, why is the sky blue?” Starlight gave Pinkie an odd look. “Well...because it reflects the ocea—" “Where does the moon go when the sun rises?” “I’d rather no—" Fluttershy tugged on Starlight’s tail. “Mom, how old are you?” “Fluttershy, a lady my age never reveals how old they are.” “Why?” “Because it’s not appropriate.” “Why?” Starlight sighed. “Because it just isn’t, Fluttershy. Now if you girls will excuse me, I have lunch to prepare!” She broke free of her daughters’ grasp and stepped into the living room. Fluttershy gave Pinkie a frantic look. Thinking on a dime, Pinkie darted forward and threw herself in front of Starlight. “Mommy! WHERE DO FOALS COME FROM??” Starlight’s mouth fell open in shock. “U-Uh…uhhh….” Just then Twilight and Rainbow Dash ran in, giving their sisters a quick wink. “Hey mom!” Rainbow chirped. Starlight grinned. “Ahaha…time for me to fix lunch!” “We’re going to get caught.” “No we’re not.” “She’s going to find out!” “I’m scared.” “Keep it down, I’m trying to sleep!” “How can you sleep at a time like this?” “Guys, shut up!” It was well into the afternoon, and all the girls were in their beds for the naptime—but no one could sleep, knowing that Starlight would soon find out that her special stick was gone. “What did you do with it?” Pinkie whispered. “We tried to glue it, but it barely stuck together,” Rarity said tiredly. “We stuck it under the sink at the last minute.” “This is all your fault, Pinkie,” Rainbow muttered. Pinkie’s ears flattened against her head. “I’m sorry! I-I just wanted to prove that I was big enough to play with you guys. I didn’t mean for the stick to break. Maybe if I just told mommy that I grabbed it—" “If you tell mom, I’ll wring your neck!” Pinkie fell silent and shrunk back against her pillow. Twilight sighed. “It was more my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.” “No, it was mine,” Rarity said. “I shouldn’t have let her go into the kitchen.” “Mom’s gonna hear us,” Applejack warned. Rainbow Dash groaned and fell on her back against the sheets, her forelegs spread apart in exhaustion. “We’re in deep Horseapples, guys.” Twilight’s eyes widened considerably. “Where did you hear that?” “From mom, when she found out that Fluttershy wet the bed.” Fluttershy sat straight up, blushing bright pink. “N-No I didn’t!” she squealed. “Did too.” “Did not!” “Be quiet!” Rarity hissed. “And Horseapples isn’t a bad word,” Applejack whispered to Rainbow. “Yes it is!” “Is not.” “Is too.” “Is no—" The door flew open and banged against the wall, revealing infuriated Starlight. Fluttershy gasped and dove under the covers while the others sat there with their mouths open, frozen with fear. At first, the girls thought their mother had heard them talking, but then she held up the two broken halves of the stick with her magic, making their hearts drop into their stomachs. With her eyes were ablaze with fury, she spoke through clenched teeth. “Everypony…in the living room…now.” Starlight paced back and forth in front of her daughters, who stood in a line with guilty expressions. Somepony had broken her staff of sameness. The only reminder of the best years of her life—gone. She had found it lying on the ground a month ago, and decided to take it as a souvenir. Her time as mayor truly changed her for the better, not to mention other ponies…and it would’ve lasted longer, if it weren’t for the six ponies that stood before her now. Another thing they’ve ruined for me, she thought bitterly. History repeats. I can’t believe I ever felt sorry for these brats in the first place…I’ve taught them everything, gave them everything…and this is what I get in return? She turned towards the fillies, watching them cower under her gaze. If they deceived me before, they’ll deceive me again. But this time, I know how to weed them out… “Somepony,” she seethed, “Had better tell me who’s responsible for this. I thought I had made it clear for you to never touch my staff. And what did you do?” The girls lowered their heads. “You deliberately disobeyed me! Now I want to hear it from you. Come on, now. Who broke my staff?” The girls continued to remain silent as the scraped their hooves against the floor. Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Fluttershy?” The pegasus squeaked but kept her gaze to the floor. “I…I didn’t do it, mommy.” Starlight straightened up. “So that’s how it’s going to be, hmm? Well, let me tell you something. Don’t you dare try covering up for each other, because if you do, all of you will be punished. So I’m going to give you a choice. If you refuse to turn yourselves in, all of you will get a whipping.” The girls prevented themselves from gasping. “But if you just come out and say it, the rest of you will be spared—although you’ll still get a whipping—more painful than the one you’ll get altogether. It’s up to you. You have five seconds.” Applejack raised her head. The others threw her desperate side glances and shook their heads slightly. She gave them a look of apology and took a deep breath. “Five…four…” “It was me,” Applejack croaked, stepping forward. “I broke your staff by accident.” Pinkie stumbled forward and clutched at Starlight’s leg. “It was an accident, mommy!” she cried. “Please don’t hurt her! I—" Starlight pushed Pinkie off, sending her flat on her flank. “Go to your room, girls,” she whispered, her tone devoid of emotion. Twilight cautiously stepped forward. “B-B-But, mom—" “GO TO YOUR ROOM!” The girls quickly scampered off, some crying openly. Starlight waited until she heard the door shut. She looked down at Applejack, who looked back up at her with solemn eyes. “Go to my room and lie on your stomach on the bed. I’ll be there shortly.” Applejack nodded shakily and walked towards her mother’s room, careful not to trip over her own trembling hooves. Applejack buried her face in her fore hooves as she waited for her mother to come in the room. She never got a whipping before—none of the girls have. Their mother would often warn them about receiving a beating whenever they got in trouble, but they would always end up standing in the corner or put in time out. But…never this. The wait was almost excruciating to Applejack. Minutes ticked by as she continued to lay there on Starlight’s bed. She was sure the wait itself was the worst punishment; so much, she was starting to wish that her mom would come in already, and get it over with. That was, until Starlight finally entered the room and closed the door behind her. I take it back. I wish I was still waiting! Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Starlight carrying a long, thin switch. She gulped and closed her eyes. “Applejack,” Starlight began, “I’m very disappointed…and I’m also very saddened that I have to inflict this upon you. But I am your mother, and I expect you to obey me. She leaned down to Applejack’s level, forcing the filly to open her eyes. The cold expression in her mother's eyes shook her to the core. “I won’t be ignored, Applejack. Not by you, not by anypony. Let this be an example. Do you understand?” Applejack nodded. “Y-Yes, ma’am.” The little earth pony closed her eyes as Starlight moved behind her. After a few suspenseful seconds, the switch came down. Agonized screams echoed throughout the caves. Fluttershy wringed out the washcloth and gently placed it on Applejack’s back, making her wince. “Sorry,” Fluttershy whispered. The girls crowded around Applejack’s bed, some blinking tears from their eyes. Applejack lay flat on her stomach, her back exposed. Angry red lacerations colored her backside. The slashes ranged from long to short, along with little cuts. Her bright red welts glinted in the sunshine from the window. Applejack clenched her teeth, trying to ignore the pain. “S’okay,” she grunted. Twilight’s lips trembled while Pinkie sobbed into her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Applejack,” the unicorn whispered. “I should’ve said it was me instead…” Applejack shook her head. “Why’d you do that, A.J.?” Rainbow squeaked, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. Fluttershy placed another wet washcloth on Applejack’s back. The injured filly sniffled. “I…I couldn’t let any of you get punished for what I did,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her reddened eyes trailed to the ceiling. “I had to tell the truth…even if it meant I got hurt….I had to…” Twilight then noticed something red poking out from one of the wash cloths. Thinking it was a pool of blood, she removed it to get a better look. Her breath hitched in her throat. “A-Applejack…” Everyone gasped, their eyes glued to their sister’s flank. Applejack blinked in confusion and craned her neck. Her eyes grew large at the sight of three apples imprinted on her flank. “…Whoa, nelly!” The girls stared at her like she grew wings. “Applejack…” Rarity whispered. “What happened to your voice?” Applejack paused, and replied with her high southern accent, “…I don’t know.”