Chapter 5
Beams of light poured through the window and splayed themselves across the wooden floor of one of the upstairs bedrooms in the farmhouse of Sweet Apple Acres. Harmlessly, the sun’s light lingered for hours, slowly moving across the floor towards the bed where the lavender unicorn slept soundly. At long last, the rays' evil purpose came to fruition as they crept unabated onto the peacefully resting face of the unicorn, bombarding the fronts of her eyelids with solar energy until they could no longer bear the attack and Twilight woke up.
The unicorn sat up in bed; her eyes were still tired and it took several moments before she realized this was not her own bed in her own room. However, curiosity broke across her instead of panic. She immediately realized that this room was well furnished and made the leap of logic that whoever had brought her here probably did not mean to harm her.
The walls were a soft yellow and had paintings of fruit trees and black and white renditions of ponies who had most likely been gone for many years. There was a night table with a lacy cozy resting over its surface holding a reading lamp, a dresser similarly fashioned, and a wardrobe made from fine light wood. The bed had high hoof and headboards of similar woods and was dressed in big comfortable pillows, a pink blanket, and sheet. The décor was beautiful in its way, but felt like it was trying to capture an aged tone.
Twilight looked around the floor, but found no sign of a bed sized appropriately for her dragon assistant. She reasoned he probably had his own room and suppressed the nervous edge that had drawn across her. He was fine; she was fine.
Somepony must have chased away those thugs… She remembered them suddenly and the anger and fear returned to her for a moment. She had thought they were an emergency team at the site of her balloon’s crash. She had gone to them for aid and they had stolen parts from the balloon and her suitcase. One of them had even stuck a gun to her cheek. She remembered the terror that had taken her by the mane and frozen her inside of her body. She knew he was only trying to scare her to keep her from following them and it had worked. Even though, she thought, he would never have actually hurt her, she had been paralyzed by actions she had never witnessed before.
She didn’t remember coming to this house; she didn’t remember anything after that at all. She must have fainted. How embarrassing.
She thought briefly that those wretched criminals may have taken her with them after frightening her to sleep, but the room was far too nice for anypony who would stoop to thieving from an accident. Somepony must have scared them away and brought her here. It probably wasn’t the royal guards, she reasoned, as they didn’t have fancy rooms like this in their headquarters. She would have woken up in a bunk inside of a station, not a beautiful old-fashioned room.
Her attention shifted to the window. She could see a farm through the glass pane. There were apple trees in a small orchard, a large red barn and several ponies with various tools walking back and forth. She did remember crashing into a forest of dead trees; maybe this was part of that same forest. She was still looking out the window when the door to the room burst open, exciting a short shriek from the unicorn.
A threesome of fillies hurriedly entered the room, each attempting to balance a tray of food. The ponies were a trifecta of pony races: an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn. They were concentrating hard on their task.
At the front was a yellow earth pony with a red mane with a bowl of what looked like oatmeal precariously sliding back and forth as the foal shifted her small body similarly trying to maintain the dish. She was issuing exclamations in a heavy accent such as, “Dang it! Aw shoot! No, no, no!”
Behind her was the pegasus, orange in hue with a purple mane in short spikes that jutted forward over her head. On her head, she had a small tray of buttered wheat toast that kept threatening to tumble to the floor face down, as buttered toast always does. Her tiny wings fluttered like a humming bird’s as she used them to gain leverage in one direction, only to send the tray sliding to the opposite. “Sweetie Belle! You’re bumping into me!” she shouted to the unicorn behind her.
The unicorn, Sweetie Belle, white with a pink and light purple mane curling around her horn was balancing the tray of apples on the top of her rump instead of her head and not attempting to use her magic for stability. Her display lacked the entertainment value of balancing on one’s head, but her tray wiggled much less than those of her counterparts. Her brows furrowed slightly as she petulantly replied, “I’m not touching you, Scootaloo. Don’t blame your lousy balance on me.”
“Apple Bloom! No!” the pegasus, Scootaloo, cried as her tray collided with the one in front of her as the earth pony struggled to keep it under control.
Apple Bloom fell forward in an attempt to get underneath the plate, but only succeeded in pushing it too far backwards, sending it into the air to impact with Scootaloo’s tray, which in turn, made the pegasus trip over her hooves backwards to bounce her rump off of the unicorn’s face. All three fell flat and the food hung in the air for a second as they watched helplessly, unable to alter the course of gravity.
Twilight conjured her magic to reach out and surround the only plate that she could realistically save. Her magic enveloped the apples and suspended them above the fillies. The toast separated and one piece landed, face down, on the floor. The other stuck to Sweetie Belle’s back. The oatmeal spilled out directly onto Scootaloo’s head. Her mane and face were covered in the sticky oat paste. Twilight giggled at the scene and levitated the apples to her bed, setting them down on the blanket next to her.
“Shucks, girls. Ah thought fer shuwere we would get our cutie marks in waitressin’,” the yellow earth pony said miserably.
Sweetie Belle answered matter-of-factly, “If Scootaloo could keep her balance and not flutter back and forth so much, we probably would have.”
Scootaloo looked agitated, oatmeal dripping off her nose. “Me?” She snorted, “I was doing fine until you kept running into me!”
“I did not, you’re just clumsy,” replied Sweetie Belle, smirking.
“Clumsy? I bet you can’t…”
“Girls! We have a guest! We cain’t argue like this in fronta her!” Apple Bloom looked genuinely upset at the quarrel as she appealed to her friends.
Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at the threesome. They were so cute and had been so focused on trying to attain their cutie marks. Surely, they knew it was a special talent that would manifest itself and that they couldn’t force it. “That’s okay, girls. My name’s Twilight, I think your names are …” She looked at each one individually as she spoke their names, “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Is that right?”
Apple Bloom nodded, but looked sadly to the floor and the mess that they had made with the plates of food. “Well yeah, and it’s nice to meetcha miss Twilight, but yer breakfast is all over tha place. Mah sister says first impressions are tha most important and we just messed it all up.”
The other fillies looked pathetic as Apple Bloom spoke. She was right, they had loused up more than just another chance to get cutie marks. They had probably made Twilight think they were incompetent goofs.
“Breakfasts come and go and these apples will be fine. They are so appetizing.” Twilight knew the fillies were correct; first impressions were the most important and this could be her first step towards the magic of friendship. She would make friends with everyone she could, except maybe those two hooligans who had stolen from her, and these fillies would be her jumping off point. She smiled as she added, “And I think you three are very cute and polite. Thank you for bringing me breakfast.”
The three fillies immediately brightened up and beamed smiles. They hadn’t failed after all. They did a quick check of their flanks for cutie marks and turned back to the lavender unicorn. Apple Bloom stepped up to the bed, the others following, leaving a small trail of oatmeal as it drained from Scootaloo’s head.
“Great! Ah’m glad ya don’t think we’re mess-ups an’, by tha way, those apples are grown right here in Sweet Apple Acres. We useta grow all kinds of apples, but now we only got a couple orchards left. What we grow is tha best though! Ya won’t find another apple that tasty in all of Equestria!” Apple Bloom smiled happily at the unicorn and stared patiently at her. She wanted to watch Twilight take a bite of the apple.
Twilight got the hint after only a couple seconds of awkwardness and levitated the apple to her mouth, crunching into the meat of it. To her credit, the filly was correct. This apple burst with flavor over her tongue and she took another bite eagerly before setting it to the side. “Oh wow! It is really good, Apple Bloom. I can see why you’re so proud of them.”
The earth pony laughed with a joy that was indicative of her nature; she still thought the quality of their apples was what made her family their money. She was proud of every apple that was harvested and helped as much as she could with her friends. Behind her, the pegasus and the unicorn fillies rolled their eyes before snapping back to the lavender unicorn with happy grins.
Twilight started getting out of bed to help clean the mess on the floor. “Well, let’s do something about this mess, girls.” Her magic began to form the splattered oatmeal into globs.
The white unicorn, Sweetie Belle, grimaced and interrupted the older unicorn, “Oh, Twilight you don’t have to do that. We have help that will come and clean this mess up.” As she spoke, Scootaloo shifted uneasily.
Scootaloo took a moment to clean her face free of dripping oatmeal and faced Sweetie Belle. “If Twilight wants to help, I think she can. She’s the guest. She can do what she wants, even if it’s cleaning. There’s no reason to get Rainbow Dash.” She looked somewhat agitated and scowled at the unicorn with thinly veiled spite.
The white unicorn gave a stern look briefly before it melted into a slightly cocky smirk as she said, “Oh, Scootaloo. You know that Applejack said that we were to take care of Twilight. She wasn’t supposed to do anything strenuous. I’ll get Dash to clean this mess up. It’s why she’s here after all. It’s her job.”
Apple Bloom looked a little confused at her friends. She could sense something wasn’t quite right between them and her eyes twitched between the other two fillies. “Come on Scootaloo, ya know she feels better when she helps. Mah sister said she needed ta help so she could get over…ya know…being so sick. It makes her feel good. Ya remember what she useta be like.”
The body language of the orange pegasus bespoke her sympathy for the pony in question and her eyes softened as she looked at Apple Bloom and replied, “I…guess you're right.”
Twilight sat and listened to the fillies talk, more than a little lost in the conversation. She didn’t know who this pony was or why she was sick, but if helping made her feel better it must have been a pretty debilitating sickness. She finished an apple and addressed the girls.
“If it makes this pony feel better then maybe she should clean it up. If it really makes her feel better.” Twilight thought maybe the pony in question was disabled in some way; she had read how even the most humble actions could bring hope to those who were injured. It was important to feel like one could do something in the face of crippling disabilities.
Sweetie Belle smiled at the lavender mare. “Oh, she would feel so good about herself if she did it. Like I said,” her eyes moved back to the pegasus, as she replied with an almost imperceptible degree of malice in her voice, “It’s what she lives for.”
The fillies sat around the lavender mare and talked for a while. They explained that after her balloon had crashed, Apple Bloom’s big sister Applejack had found her and brought her back to the house to rest. After Twilight was rested and Applejack returned from some business she had in Ponyville, they would get to meet. That sounded fine to Twilight. She wanted to thank the pony who had so graciously taken her in and perhaps this Applejack could become another new friend.
To nurture her budding friendship with the fillies, for a long while, she talked to them about Canterlot, a topic in which they were very interested, and about patience for their cutie marks, a topic in which they weren’t at all interested, much to Twilight's chagrin. Twilight asked about Spike, her dragon assistant, and they told her he had a room just down the hall and was sleeping. They were going to go get some food for him as soon as they left.
Before long, it was nearly noon and the three fillies took their leave to go and make sure their other guest was being taken care of, after assuring her that they would return soon. Twilight smiled in satisfaction at what she considered a successful conversation. She crafted her first few sentences to Princess Celestia as she waited for the fillies to return.
***
Sweetie Belle and the other Crusaders left the room a short time later. They had to get more breakfast for the dragon about whom Twilight had begun to ask. Sweetie was agitated. Scootaloo was, once again, intentionally disagreeing with her in front of other ponies. The only rival she had in the world was that dopey orange pegasus and there was no way that she was going to take Sweetie’s rightful place in the Apple Family. She had worked much too hard to get there. She kept giving Scootaloo dark glances, which were usually returned in kind. She had a bone to pick with that want to be.
Sweetie Belle was a filly with plans. She had lived with her sister, Rarity, in Ponyville ever since her mother and father had been mugged and shot in the ghetto’s streets. It had been hard adjusting to life after that. They had been killed for the money in their pockets, a measly five bits. Her loving parents were gone for nothing. They had been taken from the rest of her life by thugs without an ounce of respect for anything. The thugs had been apprehended by the Royal Guards and thrown in prison for life, which was a rare occurrence in Ponyville these days, but that did not bring back her mother and father. Her life had changed forever, for the worse. She realized that having a happy family meant nothing if others didn’t respect that happiness. The ponies of Ponyville only respected power.
Sweetie Belle had moved in with Rarity in her clothing shop. The shop itself did little business in Ponyville, but they still made enough bits by mail service to live modestly. Rarity had been, and still was, a rising fashionista. Her wares were sought after by high-caliber ponies. Unfortunately, Rarity worked mainly for the prestige of having her outfits worn by such high-class ponies and made only a marginal amount of bits from each purchase. Her goal was to make the best dress possible with the money at hoof, and almost all of that money went into the dress. In a way, Sweetie Belle was happy that their boutique had very little hoof traffic. Traffic meant keeping the storefront decorated with high-class goods and that meant they would be targeted for robberies.
Rarity had attempted to teach her younger sister to sew, but the life of a seamstress just wasn’t for her. She had tried for a long time, but had never gotten very good. Her abominations sprouted extra sleeves and frills that seemingly exploded from random locations. In some abstract world, her dresses may have been the height of fashion. However, in a world where ponies only had four legs and desired colors that actually worked with one another, she only ruined precious fabrics and earned many a scolding from her sister. She longed to find another occupation, but the streets were hard and unforgiving. She needed something that could keep her safe. Something that demanded respect.
Sweetie had known something was wrong with the Apple Family’s business. More and more she had begun to stay with Apple Bloom on sleepovers. She felt safe out on the farm. She knew that, for some reason, nopony messed with the Apple Family. But, why? Sure, they had a lot of farm hooves that worked the farm and their reputation was that of a strong family, but it seemed unlikely that nothing ever happened to their farm. Not even stolen apples or graffiti!
Sweetie Belle had begun to snoop into Applejack’s business meetings. Many of the prospective clients did not look as though they cared a thing about apples and she had surmised that there simply could not be enough apples in what was left of the orchards to fill enough orders to keep the farm running. Through the thick wooden door of Applejack’s office, she could not decipher what the ponies were saying. However, once she was sure she heard screaming as if somepony were in horrible pain. She had been frightened away that night and sleep only brought nightmares.
Sweetie questioned Apple Bloom off and on for days but she seemed to believe earnestly that the quality of their apples meant higher prices. Ponies preferred quality over quantity, isn’t that why they had beaten those horrible twins and their machine? Apple Bloom was bright, but very gullible. Sweetie didn’t want to press her friend with uncomfortable questions.
Over several weeks, the white unicorn had discovered a spell that allowed her to plant a magic charge in an area and transmit the sounds to her mind as though she were actually in that room listening. She was proud of her discovery because she had actually tweaked several minor spells to make a new one. She had never really had a gift for magic but it seemed like something had been guiding her, as if her special talent were trying to come out. Taking the first opportunity she could, she snuck into the office and planted her spell under Applejack’s desk. She had been surprised when she found a small caliber gun mounted underneath and had left it alone. She didn’t want anypony to know she had been inside.
That night she listened to Applejack discussing something she referred to as Sweets with one of the grimier looking clients. The conversation went back and forth and language she had never heard from Applejack floated freely into her mind. She tried to follow their conversation and struggled with it but certainly, something was wrong with the situation. She could hear Applejack, the nameless grimy mare, Big Mac, and that weirdo JackSlap. They never talked about apples and the Sweets they spoke of was a form of powder. The grimy client apparently owed the Apples a sum of money so large that Applejack was going to ‘make an example’ out of the mare. Chills ran through her body when the mare client began to beg Applejack for more time but Applejack had only asked Big Mac and JackSlap to escort her to the disciplinary building. She remembered the events after that clearly.
Sweetie had followed the three members of the Apple Family as they hauled a gagged and bound mare with a red coat and green mane out into the night. It had been hard for the white-coated unicorn to stay out of sight, but somehow she had managed to stick behind bushes and the corners of the farmhouse well enough to watch them enter a small concrete building near the edge of the dead orchards.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and she had all wondered what was inside that building. It had no windows to look through and the door was steel. A thick sturdy lock always stayed bolted to the door and, when pressed, Applejack had told them to stay away from that building. They had dangerous poisons for all kinds of critters inside. She crept up to the windowless shed and realized the door was slightly ajar, just big enough to press her eye against it and peek through.
“You bitch, Applejack! I’ll get your money! I’ll bucking get it! Just let me go!” The red mare looked frightened. Sweetie could only catch glimpses of the cursing mare now and again, as JackSlap was standing just on the other side of the door, blocking her view.
“Now, Tater Chip, Ah’ve given ya enough chances. It’s been three buckin’ weeks an’ Ah still ain’t received a bit of what ya owe.” Applejack was speaking loudly and with agitation pitching her voice a little higher than its normal range. She had some sort of tool in her hooves, but the lousy view made it impossible to identify. “Ah’ve been awful lenient with ya, mainly cause Ah don’t like losin’ my investments, but Ah’m not gonna see a bit of that money again.”
“You will, I promise! Oh I promise. Give me one more week! I’ll pay twenty percent more than what I owe!” The red mare seemed to be hanging by her forelegs from the low ceiling of the room, which Sweetie noted was very empty except for the four ponies inside.
“That’s what ya’ll said last time. I should have killed ya then, but bein’ as trustworthy as Ah am, Ah gave you one more chance to get mah bits. Now, ya gotta pay. Ah can’t be lookin’ foolish and weak to all the dealers Ah supply. If word got out that Ah let you just run away to Canterlot er some other place then Ah’d never collect any money. Ah’ll tell ya what, though. If’n ya could tell me where Ah can find yer pardner, Ah’ll make it quick.” Applejack sounded calm, almost friendly as she spoke this time. She also had put her hooves around the red mare’s face, forcing her to look at Applejack.
“B…BUCK YOU,” the red mare yelled into Applejack’s face and immediately spit all across her muzzle and cheeks. Surprisingly Applejack sounded like she had laughed.
“Ah sort of hoped you’d say that. Hold’er, Macintosh.”
Sweetie only caught fleeting images, but the mare had begun to scream and she could hear whatever tool Applejack was using tearing into flesh. Sweetie was so shocked and horrified that she accidentally let out a loud squeak.
“What the buck was that? Look, JackSlap.”
JackSlap was quick, so quick in fact, that Sweetie had not recovered from the shock before his hooves grasped her and hauled her into the room, the door slamming loudly behind them. With a malicious grin, he said, “Boss! It’s your sister’s friend, Sooty Bowl.”
Sweetie’s eyes had widened as she took in the scene, her mind raced and she felt cold. The red mare was mewling in agony, nearly out of her mind with pain from the deep lacerations across her neck and upper body. Her face had a deep gash running the whole right jaw line and, even though her coat was red normally, now it was nearly black from the pouring wounds. She wouldn’t last much longer, but for those next few minutes she was going to be in terrible agony.
Sweetie had panicked. It was too much; she had found out to much with her investigative nature and Applejack was going to kill her, too! She wouldn’t be left alive after this; there was no way she would.
“It’s Sweetie Belle, JackSlap, you moron. Try and get her name right.” Applejack dropped the tool and walked over to Sweetie Belle, held still and captive by the heavy stallion, JackSlap. The orange mare had a great deal of blood streaking her orange coat and she got down to eye level with the frightened filly.
“Please, Applejack…” Sweetie had started to cry at the sight of the mare. She looked like a psycho killer from some of the horror movies that Sweetie and the other crusaders watched late at night when they wanted to get scared, except that was only television and this was inches from her tiny body. “…I won’t tell anypony. I promise.”
Applejack sighed and stroked the filly’s mane back. “What in tarnation are ya doin’ out here at this time a’night? Ya should’ve been asleep hours ago.” Her voice was strong but caring, like it always was when she spoke to the Crusaders. If she hadn’t been dripping with the blood of another pony, Sweetie would have been comforted by her voice.
Sweetie spoke quickly and sadly, sniffling between sentences. “I just…I wanted to know how you made your money. I knew the apples didn’t bring in enough. I shouldn’t…I shouldn’t have spied on you.”
“Well, ya’ll are right about that. Ya shouldn’t have. A filly like you shouldn’t see this, but since ya have let’s talk about it.” The orange earth pony turned to her older brother. “Finish that filth off and make sure to keep her…” She looked back at the trembling Sweetie Belle and chose different words as she finished, “You know what to do, brother. Ah’m gonna take this young’n out of here.”
Applejack took Sweetie Belle from JackSlap’s grip and walked her out of the concrete structure and to the field where very few crops grew but the few standing defiantly out of the ground. She put her back legs under her and sat, listening to Sweetie try to calm herself. “Well, Ah ain’t gonna hurtcha, sugar cube. Calm down. Ah just wanna talk.”
It took a few moments but finally Sweetie calmed herself down enough to look Applejack in the eyes and speak past the lump in her throat. “Why, why did you hurt that mare? Because she owed you money?”
“Ah, killed that mare cause she owed us money, Sweetie,” she corrected. “Ah reckon Ah should tell ya everything since ya took it on yerself to find out.” Applejack sighed and began explaining her business and the importance of power in regards to her business.
Sweetie couldn’t remember the conversation exactly; they had spoken long and at great detail about what Applejack did for a living since Sweet Apple Acres had almost gone under. To Sweetie’s surprise, Applejack hadn’t killed her for what she had witnessed and even more surprising things started to make sense. The main points of that conversation were…
First, Apple Bloom couldn’t know anything about the true role of Sweet Apple Acres until her foalhood was over. The Apples had the means to protect her and she was to be left an innocent filly until Applejack deemed an appropriate time to break the young mare into the business. Life could be hard and every foal needed happy memories to fall back on when times were rough. Apple Bloom would, one day, have to control Sweet Apple Acres and she would have to make hard decisions. However, until then, she would have a nice foalhood.
Second, you were either the one in control or the victim of every situation in your life, and …
Third, family was everything.
At the end of their conversation, Sweetie had been taken back to the house and put to bed. She had slept restlessly and what she had seen had haunted her over the next couple of weeks. In the ghetto, it wasn’t the first time she had seen violence, but never had she been so close it nor seen a trusted role model as the perpetrator. However, she had coped with it.
Sweetie Belle was withdrawn from conversation for a few days as she thought about the events she had seen. So much blood, so much pain, but what Applejack had said made sense. Sweetie herself was a victim. Her family had been taken from her by low lives. She hurt every day because of it and now she knew exactly why nopony messed with the Apple Family. The Apples fought back. No, they didn’t just fight; they dominated.
She had been searching for the means to live well and without fear and The Apple Family sure seemed to have tight control on every aspect of their lives through force and fear. Maybe it was better to be feared rather than afraid. Maybe Sweetie could be the pony in control of every situation. If she could temper herself against the harsh realities of that life, then she would not have to live her life in fear and want. She could have what she wanted, take what she needed. Others would have to respect her.
She didn’t know that several ponies made sure she didn’t try to leave suddenly over the next few days and Applejack had sent a messenger to Rarity informing her that The Crusaders would be having a weeklong slumber party and camp out on the farm. Applejack had to be safe about this. She didn’t want to kill a filly, especially not one of her sister’s best friends, but terrible accidents could occur when “camping out”, if it had to come to that.
Great surprise came to Applejack days later in the form of a white unicorn filly knocking on her office door and asking to be brought into the family. She was going to turn her down completely, but the filly brought up a good point. When Apple Bloom took over, she would need ponies she trusted to assist her. Applejack had Big Macintosh, but Apple Bloom had no siblings close to her age and, while Applejack planned to be around for a long time, she would grow older. If Sweetie became an Apple by bond instead of blood, she might prove useful to Apple Bloom in the time ahead. The unicorn would need a lot of training to harden her to the business, but if she could handle it, then maybe she would make a strong asset.
Applejack had agreed, under specific terms. If Sweetie could prove herself in time and not give away the secret to Apple Bloom, then she would become a member of the Apple Family. It sounded great. She could make incredible amounts of bits and be set for life. All she would have to do is keep Applejack’s secret and stick with Apple Bloom forever. She had planned to stay friends with Apple Bloom anyway and now she had her method for safety.
In the time that followed, Sweetie Belle had been taken by Applejack on several occasions to watch and even take part in business. Over time, Sweetie’s mind had hardened to the sharp edge of the business. Blood didn’t frighten her anymore and she learned that violence could be an end to justify the means.
Sweetie was too weak to participate in any violence of the style of Big Mac or JackSlap, but mentally she had a lot going for her. She used her magic for espionage often enough that she caught pieces of information and had the mind to put those pieces together like a puzzle until a picture appeared. So, she had taken a special liking to gathering information and using that information against others. She craved the power it granted and took the opportunity whenever she could to enjoy that feeling.
Over time, she had surmised that the orphaned Scootaloo had also been offered a position in the Apple Family if she could prove herself. Instead of seeing a friend becoming an ally, Sweetie saw a possible threat to her own well-being and began to construct plans to get rid of the pegasus.
The three fillies walked the hallway towards the stairs to the kitchen, but Sweetie Belle stopped abruptly before descending the stairs and said, “Apple Bloom, go on down and start getting the meal ready. I have to find the help. She needs to clean up that oatmeal.”
“Oh yeah, I plumb fergot. Me an’ Scootaloo will go get the food…”
Sweetie Belle smiled pleasantly at her yellow earth pony friend as she suggested, “Scootaloo needs to help me find Rainbow Dash. She always knows where she is. It’ll be quicker if we go together. We’ll be right behind you.”
Scootaloo gave the unicorn a happy nod when Apple Bloom looked at her. The pair looked so happy and pleasant that Apple Bloom only nodded and bounced down the stairs to get the food ready while her friends went on their own chore.
Sweetie Belle waited until Apple Bloom was out of earshot and turned viciously on Scootaloo, her eyes narrowing and her pleasant grin erased and replaced with a hateful scowl. “What the buck, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo looked afraid and offended and made a sad little sniffling sound, “Oh, Sweetie, what did I do to you to make you use such language?”
“Drop the bucking act, flightless wonder. Apple Bloom can’t hear us and you are going to listen to what I have to say to you.” Sweetie was tired of the goody-goody act and reveled in the freedom to speak her mind to the annoying pegasus. Her hoof pointed accusingly at the simpering mare.
Scootaloo smirked and looked up, “Oh yeah? You think you have what it takes to tell me off?” Her eyebrow lifted and her lip curled up on one side. She was confident in her strength over Sweetie Belle and would address the situation if needed. She looked the smaller pony in the eye and said, “Buck you. You and your feeble magic can’t do a thing to me.”
Sweetie growled at the pegasus challengingly. Scootaloo could be such a bitch when she wanted to be and the way she lorded her physical power over her only made the barely contained urge to strike the pegasus worse. Sweetie was smarter than Scootaloo, though. She could use information as a weapon instead of her hooves and horn. “Oh? And what if Applejack found out you were sneaking food to Rainbow Dash? Do you think she’d like to know about your stealing from her? Is that something that a good and loyal friend to Apple Bloom would do?” She grinned confidently at the orange pegasus, her only perceived rival for position within the Apple Family.
After a brief pause, Scootaloo replied, “I haven’t stolen anything and I don’t give a buck about that loser, Rainbow Dash. She can rot for all I care.”
The pegasus only faltered for a moment, but it was just long enough for Sweetie Belle to confirm that what she had only surmised was indeed true. Oh, Scootaloo. Complete denial could only speak volumes, but she was too stupid to know that. Sweetie had her. She might not be able to get her removed from the Family with that information, but she could definitely get her in trouble. Or, get herself out of trouble, if the need arose. “Really? I was sure I heard...”
“Buck what you heard! I don’t care! You keep your little mouth shut or I’ll…”
Sweetie jumped at the chance to put the orange filly in her place, “Do what? Hit me? Then when I tell Applejack about what happened to me when I caught you stealing, she’d really do a number on you. She might even have Big Mac hold you still so I could get my revenge. I think that would be a good punishment, don’t you, you orange idiot?”
The pegasus angrily backed down, choking on her own words as she replied, “Fine, what do you want, Sweetie Belle?” She glared hard at Sweetie. She wanted to slap her around a bit and wipe that grin away, but that would have to wait for now.
“You are not going to make me look bad in front of Apple Bloom or anypony else. You got it? You think you can contradict me in front of others and get away with it because you're bigger than me? There are more ways to skin a cat than physically, Scootaloo. If you play by my rules, then maybe you can stay with the Family when Apple Bloom takes over.” Sweetie allowed a moment to pass and enjoyed the hate building in Scootaloo’s purple eyes.
Sweetie suddenly came up with a great idea. She would keep her enemy closer than her friends. She would build her up and earn her trust, then use it to destroy her later. She sighed, her tone noticeably softer as she said, “You are so strong, Scoot. I don’t want to fight with you. We should be friends like we were before. We could help each other. You will be so important to us. I bet you could do Big Mac’s job one day. You’d be feared all over Ponyville.”
Her praise seemed to take hold of Scootaloo immediately. The pegasus perked up and her wings fluttered at her sides. A cocky smile emerged across her lips as she replied, “I guess I would be pretty great, huh? I bet I could be even better than Mac. Sorry, Sweetie. You’re right; we should be friends. There’s no reason we shouldn’t. We’ll both be feared one day. Me and you. You’re so smart you could come up with all kinds of good ideas.”
“Okay, great. No more fighting. We have to keep this secret from Apple Bloom until Applejack decides it’s time to teach her the business and us fighting like this could give it away. Then we’d both be in trouble.” The unicorn put on her best friendly smile. She was happy. The dumb pegasus was buying her ploy. She would bide her time for now, but someday Scootaloo would find herself outside of the Family.
She smiled brightly and suggested, “Well, maybe you should go get Dash. That oatmeal won’t clean itself up.” She knew Scootaloo felt sorry for Rainbow Dash. She loved watching the orange filly flinch at what her one time hero had become. If she was going to deny her feelings for the blue mare, then she would be forced to look on her again and feel the misery of what she had become.
Sweetie watched her “friend’s” smile sag in response and felt a tickle in her heart.
***
Scootaloo grumbled to herself as she wandered the farmhouse. Sweetie Belle was a know it all smart mouth. No one's as smart as Sweetie thinks she is, Scootaloo thought, her mouth twisting in anger. Sweetie Belle had given away her ploy when she'd thrown Rainbow Dash in Scootaloo's face again. She always went back to Rainbow dash. Scootaloo wanted to slap the little white unicorn silly, but knew better than to push her too far. While Scootaloo was confident in her ability to beat the mare in a fight, the white bitch always seemed to know what was going on around the farm. She was too tricky. Someday Scootaloo would have her chance to get even.
The fledgling pegasus rolled her eyes as she tracked her one-time idol. How many times had Scoot kicked herself for worshipping Rainbow? The count was high by now, she was sure. She wished she could stop caring about the multicolor mare, but it was so hard. Rainbow had been her idol after her parents had abandoned her to wherever they had flown. In those first few months, Rainbow had taught her and made her feel safe in the brutal world. Perhaps it had been because she had been recently orphaned and the stress of being left alone had been too much, but Rainbow had quickly become like a sister to the filly and the two of them had shared many adventures together. Every day with Dash had been another slice of heaven the two could enjoy together.
Rainbow Dash had been the best flyer in Equestria to Scootaloo. She shot like a bullet across the sky, leaving a spectrum of light in her wake as she tore through the heavens. She was strong and cocky and everything a young pegasus could hope to be. Scoot smiled to herself a she remembered watching Dash practice her aerial maneuvers, each one a masterpiece. Dash’s heart was the wind and she longed to fly with the Wonderbolts, the best flying team in Equestria. They only accepted the very best flyers into their legendary group. Dash had everything right. She was perfect. If any pony could escape Ponyville, it would be her.
And then she had tried out for the Wonderbolts…and failed.
Faint moaning shattered Scootaloo's reverie. Her stomach twisted as she followed the noise until she found her one-time hero. Rainbow Dash lay on the floor jerking and shuddering under the throws of Sweets withdrawal. Her body no longer appeared athletic. Her muscle has atrophied from disuse and Scoot could count the blue mare’s ribs through her skinny, sickly torso. She made tiny squeaking noises and curled into a ball as the tremors took hold. Her coat, once shiny and beautiful, now sported a dull semi-matted appearance. Her mane, once her most vibrant and attractive feature, looked as though it hadn’t been washed in weeks and much of its color had similarly deadened.
Anger and disgust wrestled inside of Scootaloo for dominance. One was just as strong as the other as she glowered at the twitching mare. She had been so proud and strong once. All it had taken was one rejection from the Wonderbolts and the great and powerful Rainbow Dash had turned to Sweets and become this pathetic addict. Scoot thought, not for the first time, that shooting the mare between the eyes would be the only way to bring her peace. However, she couldn't bring herself to do it, nor could she make herself hate the thing that used to be her hero. Scootaloo was the only pony who cared for her now.
Applejack kept the mare out of respect for who she had once been, or so she said. Scoot had believed it at first, but had realized that, in truth, Rainbow Dash was Applejack’s greatest trophy. The only mare whose physical prowess could match the sturdy earth pony now was used as a maid. No…more like a slave. She cleaned the floors and kept the bulk of the farmhouse tidy for almost nothing. She worked for Sweets and board. She had been given the option for three meals a day or one meal and Sweets. The addiction was strong within her and she had chosen the Sweets.
Just as Sweetie Belle had suspected, Scootaloo had been sneaking her food when she could. Applejack had become her master and ordered her around as such. Scoot had even witnessed the orange earth pony using a belt across Dash’s back when she had been particularly lacking in her duties or caught taking extra food. The mare had just taken the beating without an ounce of fight left in her. The only times she showed excitement was when Applejack threatened to cut her Sweets out. Scoot had watched the grin grow on Applejack’s face as the blue pegasus begged her not to take away her Sweets. Once, Dash had gone as far to lick Applejack’s hooves before the cowmare had relented and sent her away. The scene sickened and angered Scootaloo. She wished the multicolored mare would wake up one day and stop snorting the powder long enough to see what she had become.
Scootaloo checked over her shoulder for any nosy unicorn fillies and kneeled down to press against Rainbow’s twitching body. The filly let out a sigh and felt the sweat matted fur against her. Her lavender eyes closed and she remembered Rainbow for who she had been, trying for a moment to live in better times. Rainbow’s heart beat quickly and in a rhythm that couldn’t have been normal. She had been dying for years. Maybe this time her shuddering would stop once and for all. Scootaloo secretly hoped to hear the heart stop and the thought brought a tear from her clenched eyes. Rainbow deserved better than this. Scoot felt as though her heart was being torn apart whenever she observed the mare.
The filly refused to leave the mare while she lay wracked with seizures. Scoot’s smaller body remained close to the sickly pegasus. For what seemed like hours, Dash jerked on the floor, shaking the filly back and forth until, all at once, she went still. Scootaloo pressed her ear to Dash’s back and listened for her heartbeat.
Silence.
Dash was dead. Her drug abuse had finally taken her. Ever since Scootaloo’s parents had abandoned her in the night to the streets of Ponyville, the only pony she looked up to was Rainbow Dash. Even when she became addicted and the sight of her made Scoot’s stomach churn, she had loved her. Now the last adult Scootaloo loved was gone. Tears flowed freely onto the still body beneath Scootaloo and she sniffled.
“I’m so sorry Dash. You’re better off now…” She spoke silently as to not let her sorrow carry in case she had been followed and spied upon.
“You brought me some Sweets?” Rainbow dash spoke hoarsely as she woke up from the seizure. She barely remembered falling to the ground as the shaking had struck her. Her body needed Sweets and she hoped Scoot had brought her a little pick-mare-up.
Scootaloo leaped to her hooves in shock. She had been so sure Dash had died. Her heart…it must have been beating so softly she couldn’t hear it. As Dash spoke to her, anger built up in Scootaloo and exploded.
“NO! I would never bring you any of that stuff. If you’d ever stop using it long enough to clear your bucking head maybe you’d see what you've become!” She didn’t care who heard her now; she had been fooled into becoming emotional. If Sweetie were watching the scene, Scoot would never live it down. She couldn’t be soft. Applejack, her only caretaker, would frown upon being soft. Especially to Rainbow Dash.
Dash didn’t seem to notice the venom in Scoot’s voice and managed to get to her hooves with only a slight amount of wobbling. “Ugh…Okay, Squirt. Maybe you should get going then. I have lots of things to do today and I’m not feeling well.”
“Yeah? Well the guest room upstairs has a big mess in it and you need to go clean that shit up. Stop sleeping on the bucking floor and DO something.” Scootaloo marched away from Rainbow in a hostile manner, having had enough emotional moments for one day.
Rainbow watched the filly until she turned down the hallway. The itching was back and her hooves raked at one of several spots on her coat that had thinned from the activity. “Guess I should go clean that room. Maybe AJ will give me some more Sweets for the extra effort.”