Lost in a New World

by KingBrony

Cutie Mark Chronicles 4 - Home

Apple Bloom stared into the ravine every time the group stopped to rest. They moved swiftly and quietly along the edge, taking care not to catch the attention of anypony dangerous, and rested inside every nook and cranny they could find. If a way to cross would come into view, the group would make sure to cross when it is dark. Each step on the hard rocks hurt Apple Bloom's hooves. Each beat felt like a nail being driven into her underhoof, but she knew that to give up would mean death. The changelings could be anywhere - or anything. The distance to Saddle Arabia seemed to grow on and on.

Dozens of thoughts flew through the tired filly's mind as they went on. The most prominent were images of Sweet Apple Acres. She could smell the warm Apple pie that Granny Smith took out of the oven. She could hear the knocking sounds on wood as Applejack would buck a great apple tree. She could feel the loving embrace of her big brother as he tucked her into bed at night. It was a great and simple life. A life that doesn't exist anymore except in her memory.

And if she were to die, the memory would too.

I won't die here, the filly thought to herself, pressing forward.

"Over there!" Spike's called out loud, placing a claw over his mouth after he realized how much noise me made. The fillies looked where he pointed and saw a rope bridge, stretching over the ravine. The group would be able to cross and move towards Saddle Arabia! Apple Bloom tried to contain her excitement, as they were nowhere out of harm's way yet, but it was nice to have some good hope for a change.

The bridge looked quite sturdy, considering all that happened in the world. The group huddled around the edge of the bridge. Nopony moved.

Spike was the first to speak up. "...I'll go first," He said, trembling as he took his first step.

"Are ya sure?" Apple Bloom asked. The dragon nodded.

"Positive. I need to be brave for all of us."

Spike took more and more steps, each more cautious than the last. Apple Bloom could see his heart pounding out of his chest and the sweat dripping off of his brow.

"Almost there...and made it!" Spike triumphantly said.

"Um," Scootaloo spoke up. "You're only on the second board."

Spike looked back at the crusaders. "At least we know the first two boards are okay," He sheepishly said. The girls giggled. Scootaloo was the first to join Spike on the bridge, followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The four followed each other along the bridge, careful not to look down. The bridge creaked and groaned with each step, but the bridge seemed to hold out.

"Just keep looking up," Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle. The filly's eyes were closed, peeking out every so often to make sure she was still walking in the right direction. After making it halfway across, Apple Bloom turned to look at the ravine's horizon. It was a beautiful sight, considering where she was. The rocky edges on each side contrasted with the desert that lay beyond. The sky was a lovely shade of purple and pink, with few clouds in sight. Mist was rising from the bottom of the ravine, cloaking the abyss below.

As Apple Bloom stood, awestruck by the view, Sweetie Belle continued moving forward, eyes closed. Spike and Scootaloo made it near the other side before they looked back to see where their friends were.

"Hey!" Scootaloo called out to Apple Bloom, snapping her out of her trance. Sweetie Belle ran right into the filly, causing both of them to lose balance. The bridge started swaying back and forth. Everypony screamed as they struggled to hold on. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, both tangled together from their collision, began to slip off one side of the bridge. Scootaloo tried to move towards them, but the bridge grew even more unstable, causing her to back up. Apple Bloom looked over at her friends and gave a small smile as she and Sweetie Belle descended into the mist, down to the abyss. Spike and Scootaloo's screams could be heard even as the fillies fell.

***

"Oww..." Apple Bloom groaned. Am ah dead?She couldn't feel anything except dripping water on her forehead. The filly passed in and out of consciousness. Images came flooding into her head again. The schoolhouse, the town hall, Canterlot Castle. At last, an image of Sweet Apple Acres came into focus. Apple Bloom seemed to materialize at the location. She could smell the sweet smell of apples. The grass at her hooves felt real.

"Am ah...home? Was it all a dream?" Apple Bloom tried to make out what was going on, but as she did, she heard somepony hollering in the background. Apple Bloom turned and saw Applejack and Big Mac, galloping back from the orchard.

"Hey, Apple Bloom!" Applejack called out to her sister. Big Mac followed closely behind. Apple Bloom immediately began to cry, and ran towards her siblings.

"You're here! You're really here!" Apple Bloom was snatched up in a great embrace, sobbing into her sister's hooves. The three Apples sat on the ground.

"We're here, Apple Bloom," Applejack responded, placing a hoof on Apple Bloom's head.

"Was it just a dream? Please tell me it was just a dream!" Apple Bloom pleaded. Applejack didn't respond, but instead nuzzled her sister.

The filly had never felt happier. Everything she had been through, everything they had been through, felt like a dream. The sun sat high in the sky, the birds chirped and flew by, and Apple Bloom could even smell the apple pie.

The apple pie?

Apple Bloom looked at the house and saw Granny Smith through the window, setting the pie out to cool. She waved at her grandkids. Apple Bloom began to tear up again.

"What's the matter, sugar cube?" Applejack looked down at her sister.

"Can we...can we have some apple pie?" The filly asked. Applejack nodded and stood up. Big Mac was the first to move towards the house, followed by the sisters. Everything was just as Apple Bloom remembered. The wooden frame of the house, the pictures inside, and the big table where they would sit for meals. It was all the real deal. Granny Smith was in the kitchen setting the table.

"Ah, Apple Bloom!" She smiled as the filly entered the room. They entered a loving embrace, one that Apple Bloom had desired for so long. Applejack brought the pie to the table and cut it up into six slices. Everypony took their place at the table and took a piece of the pie. Apple Bloom looked down at it; it looked just like Granny Smith's pies. Slowly, the filly took a bite. It tasted just like it too.

"Ah'm so glad it was just a dream," Apple Bloom spoke up after eating some more of the pie. The other three only looked at each other.

"Ah know it might sound weird, but it felt so real!" Apple Bloom continued. She didn't expect them to understand.

"Apple Bloom,"

But at least now everything is back to normal.

"Apple Bloom,"

I love my family so much.

"Apple Bloom,"

The filly looked up. Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith all looked at her with sad expressions.

"What's wrong?" Apple Bloom was confused.

"...We..." It was Big Mac this time who spoke up. "...It wasn't a dream. It really happened."

The filly couldn't understand what he meant. "What?"

Applejack moved closer to her sister. "Sugar cube..."

Apple Bloom heard hoofsteps coming from the entrance to the kitchen. She grew even more confused, as she thought everypony was already here. Then, she noticed that there were two pieces of pie left, and two more seats at the table. Six ponies.

Applejack, Big Mac, Granny Smith, me.....

Two ponies walked into the room. They looked like older versions of Big Mac and Applejack. Apple Bloom stopped following what was going on. She stared at the two more closely, and realized...

"Mom...Dad?" She said softly. They smiled earnestly and nodded.

They can't be here, Apple Bloom thought to herself. They're already...

That was when it hit her. Apple Bloom began quivering as if she had seen ghosts.

"Sugar cube," Applejack repeated. "Don't be afraid. It's us. It's still us."

"Does that mean...we're...."

Everypony nodded at Apple Bloom's question.

"Sweetie," Apple Bloom's mother called out, walking towards the crying filly and gave her a great hug. "It's so good to see how much you've grown." The filly's tears grew as she wailed in her mother's arms. Nopony spoke, but all gathered close around Apple Bloom.

"Ah...It's good to see you, mom," Apple Bloom could finally form words again. She was too emotional to process what was going on, but for all she knew, she was with her family. She was home. She wanted to stay with them and relive old times. But, doing so would mean...

"Ah want to stay here with you, but....Ah don't want to die."

Applejack's voice came from behind her. "Don't worry, darlin', it's not yer time yet."

"Eeyup," Big Mac agreed. "We'll always be here waitin'. We'll always be here watchin'."

Apple Bloom's father knelt down to look her in the eyes. "You're the bravest Apple I know. You've gotten as far as you did with your friends. They need you."

"Dad..." Apple Bloom hugged her father tightly.

One by one, the furniture in the kitchen started to disappear, followed by her parents and Granny Smith. Apple Bloom teared up again as she raised a hoof at her siblings. Big Mac smiled before he disappeared.

Applejack looked down at her sister and hugged her one last time. "You can survive, Apple Bloom. Ah know it."

***

A droplet of water hit Apple Bloom on the head, causing her to wake up. All of the pain rushed through her body, causing the filly to scream out in pain. She found herself on a bed of grass next to falling water. Looking around with weak eyes, she could tell she was at the bottom of the ravine. The light was very dim, cutting through the mist above her. Apple Bloom stumbled to her feet. She saw a drop of red pass down her face. One step felt like a knife digging into her underhoof.

What happened? Apple Bloom remembered falling off of the bridge with Sweetie Belle. With Sweetie Belle.

"Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom called out for her friend. She could hear her voice echo through the ravine. The filly stumbled onward, through the rocky path. Her steps grew slower, as each knife in her hoof shot an image of home into her mind. The home she had lost. The home she could never see again. Death could bring her there once again, but Apple Bloom feared death more than she loved the afterlife, if it were true. Her mind grew cautious and scared with every knife. Each one landing perfectly.

The darkness was too much for Apple Bloom to bear. Every echo in the cave sounded like somepony that would attack her, and she jumped every time her ear pricked up. As she made her way forward, she saw a pair of blue eyes cutting through the darkness - the eyes of a changeling. Apple Bloom screamed, scared that the monster would find her.

"Apple Bloom?"

Sweetie Belle's voice echoed through the ravine as a white figure moved towards her. Apple Bloom screamed again before seeing that it was in fact Sweetie Belle. She looked just as banged up as she did. Her horn was cracked, and blood ran down the side of her face. But, it looked like her friend.

"Oh, Sweetie Belle!"

Apple Bloom moved to hug her friend, however, the steps she took to get there felt like more knives, and an image of the changeling that killed Ziljo burned in her mind.

"Wait a second...Are you reallly Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom grew suspicious.

"What?" The filly squeaked. "It's me! Who else would it be?"

The darkness enveloped the image of Sweetie Belle, and all Apple Bloom could see was the changeling staring back at her. The changelings that killed her sister and her zebra friends.

"Don't lie to me!" Apple Bloom started to scream.

"Apple Bloom, you're scaring me..." Sweetie Belle grew timid. "I just want to get out of here..."

Apple Bloom wasn't listening. All on her mind was the image of the changelings meshed with her images of home. With a scream, Apple Bloom leaped forward and tackled Sweetie Belle. The two fillies fell back into a rocky wall. Sweetie Belle cried out in pain, but Apple Bloom kept going with all of her strength. She took a small rock and bashed Sweetie Belle in the side with it, causing the unicorn to fall to the ground. Apple Bloom jumped on top of her and then held the rock above her head, ready to drop it. The fire in Apple Bloom's eyes was intense and full of rage. Images of her family flew through her mind, each image being burnt up as it passed.

As the filly started to move her hooves down, she heard her father's voice in her head. "They need you." Apple Bloom stopped in her tracks and looked down. She saw a bleeding Sweetie Belle, sobbing and huddling in fright. She could hear one word come out of the filly's mouth: "Rarity..."

Apple Bloom opened her mouth, and eventually threw the rock away. "Oh, Sweetie Belle...Ah'm so sorry..." Apple Bloom dropped down and hugged her friend, sobbing as well. "Ah thought you were..."

Sweetie Belle looked at her friend. "It's...it's okay...ouch" The filly held her side. The wound was bleeding. Apple Bloom looked around and saw the pack Sweetie Belle was carrying. The filly crawled to reach it and looked inside.

"Here," Apple Bloom said. "I'll patch you up."

Sweetie Belle looked up at her friend. "No, you take it. You have a big cut on your head." With all of her strength, Sweetie Belle got up, took the cloth from Apple Bloom, and proceeded to wrap it around her head. As she did so, the necklace around her neck began to glow a warm purple.

"The element of generosity!" Apple Bloom cried, looking down at her friend's necklace.

"Rarity's still with me, right?" Sweetie Belle laughed, holding her side after feeling the pain.

"There's another cloth in here, let's patch you up next."

***

"Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said. The two fillies lay at the bottom of the ravine, growing weak and tired from the blood loss and hunger.

"Yeah, Sweetie Belle?"

"Are we going to die?"

"No. We've gotten this far." Apple Bloom didn't want to fail her family now. Not like this.

"But...we can't climb out. It's too dark to see. My magic isn't going to work now because of my horn. And-ow!"

"Shhh." Apple Bloom calmed her friend down. "Don't waste more energy...We'll be okay...."

Silence.

"Sweetie Belle?"

Apple Bloom's vision grew hazy as she turned to look at her friend. Sweetie Belle looked blurry and still. With one blink, she heard the ravine above her rumble. Apple Bloom turned to look up and saw a white dot among the darkness. It grew bigger and bigger. She wanted to stay awake to see what it was, but before she knew it, her eyes were closed shut.