• Published 18th Sep 2014
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One Last Mission - Show Stopper



The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony have returned! After 10 years, they are back! Now there is hope! Now there is a real chance for victory! This war is over!

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Family Situations

Chapter 5: Family Situations

You could have heard a pin drop in Appleoosa. Applejack's question hung in the air, the weight of it making even Show uncomfortable. Gilda and Ditzy hesitated, wondering how to handle this.

There hesitation was answer enough. "It's bad," Applejack concluded, "ain't it?"

Ditzy finally sighed. "For some," she admitted. "Maybe it would be best to talk to you one at a time-"

"Not going to happen." Everyone turned to see Rainbow staring Ditzy down, face set and determined. "We're going to hear it all together, and we're going to help each other through it."

"Some of these are very personal matters," argued Ditzy. "They're the sort of things that some ponies might want to keep close."

"Exactly!" snapped Rainbow. "Some ponies like Fluttershy and AJ. Fluttershy is too nice to 'bother us' with her problems, no matter how much she's hurting, and AJ's too stubborn to admit that anything's wrong. And don't look at me like that," she said, sparing a quick glance at Applejack as she glared at her. "You know it's true. If anything's happened to my friend's families, I want to know so that I can help them."

"And what if it's your family that's the sensitive case?" asked Ditzy. "Would you want me spelling it out in front of your friends?"

"Darn right I would," snapped Rainbow. "I'd probably need help as much as any of them, and i'm almost as stubborn as AJ. Better for them to hear it now."

Ditzy glared, playing her final trump card. "And what if somepony's died?"

"Who do you think helped Scootaloo?"

Silence once again reigned throughout the war room. Rainbow's answer had been swift and hard, breaking Ditzy's glare and dropping her jaw. She wasn't the only one affected; everyone was staring surprised at Rainbow as she continued to stare Ditzy down. Ditzy tried to reconstruct her impassive glare, but found it impossible. She looked down and sighed. "Rainbow." she said, "Fluttershy. Rarity. All of your families are involved in the Equestrian Military. Pinkie's family is still on their rock farm, except for Octavia, who is one of our most elite combatants. She's currently recovering from her latest duel. Applejack..." She looked up at Applejack and then over to Rainbow. Seeing Rainbow's determined expression unchanged, she looked back down. "I'm sorry," she said. "Granny Smith died eight years ago, before the war started."

Applejack nodded. "Figured as much," she said. "We all knew she didn't have many more winters in her. An' Macky?"

Ditzy winced, and Applejack paled. Ditzy looked up and opened her mouth, but on seeing Applejack's pleading expression, lowered it again. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "He was a hero."

Tears began to form in Applejack's eyes as Ditzy's words sank in. "How'd it happen?" she asked calmly.

Ditzy looked up at Gilda, silently pleading with her. Gilda cleared her throat and addressed Applejack. "The first attack of the war was the Battle of Ponyville," she said. "It would have been a massacre if it weren't for him. Big Macintosh, later dubbed 'the Stalwart', rallied the town to the defense and sent a pegasus to Cloudsdale for support. As other ponies fled or fell, he stayed and protected his fallen comrades until they could be carried off. He killed many unicorns with his bare hoof, and wounded many more. By the time reinforcements arrived, he was the only one left standing, but the unicorns were already in full retreat. Big Macintosh refused to move until the last unicorn disappeared from view." Gilda hesitated, but continued. "As soon as they did, he collapsed. He succumbed to his injuries two days later. He truly was a hero."

Tears were streaming down Applejack's face, along with the rest of the girls. But as Rainbow took a step towards her, a small smile formed on Applejack's face. "Ain't that just like you," she whispered. "Defendin' your home an' your family right to the very end. You big idiot."

Rainbow smiled and stepped back, knowing that her friend would be alright. She turned back to Ditzy. "And Twi's family?"

Ditzy wiped away her tears and took a deap breath, immediately regaining her professional demeanor. "They're alive, at least," she said, looking at Twilight. "Your parent's are under Discord's influence, but according to Show, they're civilians."

Twilight sighed in relief. At least they were safe. "And Shining?" she asked.

Ditzy shook her head. "That's where the bad news really starts," she said. "You see, Equestria has three Generals, being me, Gilda and Cheerilee. Utopia has only, two: General Trixie Lulamoon, anf General Shining Armor."

Silence decided to take a backseat as laughter filled the room. Applejack's and Rainbow's were wild and unrestrained, leaving both of them rolling on the ground. Rarity and Twilight leaned against each other for support to avoid the same fate. Fluttershy was the only one who was even trying to restrain herself, and she was failing horribly.

"Th-the G-Great and P-Powerful T-Trixie? A G-General?" she gasped out. "I-I'm sorry, but that's, that's just..."

"The most re-ridiculous th-thing I've h-heard all day!" finished Rarity, she and Twilight gaining barely enough controle to stand by their own power. "And th-that my dear, is tr-truly saying something!"

Barely gaining control of herself, Twilight asked, "How in Equestria did somepony like her become a General?"

"She used the Element of Magic to vaporize ten companies of gryphons with a single spell."

Silence reasserted itself in the room as the girls stared at Gilda, Rainbow and Applejack quickly standing up. Gilda's face was cool and impassive, but her eyes spoke volumes of emotion; she had lost someone from that spell.

"I-I'm sorry," stammered Twilight. "We all are. We... we didn't know."

Gilda shrugged. "It was a long time ago," she said. "Near the beginning of the alliance. Utopia was trying to scare us off."

Rainbow gulped loudly. "They really didn't understand gryphons, then," she muttered.

Gilda nodded. "They do now."

Ditzy cleared her throat. "If that is all, do you five accept this mission as citizens of Equestria?"

"I'll do it!" chorused Rainbow and Applejack immediately.

"There's no way I'll leave Equestria hanging when it needs me!" said Rainbow.

"An' after what y'all said about Big Mac, there ain't no way I couldn't give it my all." Applejack wiped a final tear from her eye and stood tall and proud. "Besides, I ain't never lost to him at anythin'. Figure the only way to beat him this time is to end the war for good."

"You can count me in," said Rarity. "The sooner my family is out of danger, the better."

"I'll do it too," said Fluttershy. "I don't want ponies hurting each other anymore. Besides," her eyes lit up, "I've never met a deer before. Oh, I'm so excited!"

"I'm sure that Pinkie would agree, too," said Twilight. "She'd do anything to help ponies smile again." She smiled and saluted Ditzy. "General Ditzy Doo, on behalf of me and my friends, we accept this mission. We will secure the lost Elements of Harmony and return."

Ditzy smiled. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear," she said. "Preparations for your departure will take most of tomorrow. You will begin your mission the day after that. Show Stopper, you will continue to be their escort in the meantime. Everypony, dismissed."

Everypony saluted and Show led them all to an empty barracks which he told the girls that they could probably use for a couple of nights.

"What do you mean, 'probably'," asked Rarity.

"Well, no one's seen or heard from this group in three months," replied Show casually. "They're assumed dead, but who knows? They might show up tomorrow and kick you out." He grinned at them. "And on that happy note, I bid you ladies, goodnight." He turned and walked out without another word.

"I don't like him," said Rainbow as soon as the door had closed.

"Well, we'd best get used to him quickly," said Rarity. "He is going to be our guide after all."

"I don't think that'll be possible," said Applejack. "Toleratin' is as far as I think we can go with him. Y'all heard what he said, everypony hates him."

"Aw, come on. He's not that bad."

Everypony turned to see an orange pegasus with a messy purple mane standing in the open doorway. Four sets of jaws dropped at seeing-

"Scootaloo," said Twilight, unfazed. "How's Sweetie Bell doing. Nurse Red Heart told me that she'd be unconscious for a while."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Yeah, looks that way," she said. "It's just as well. We've been working too hard. AB and I are going to take this opportunity to relax a bit. Speaking of whom," she smiled over at Applejack. "It's great to see you again, Applejack. She's waiting for you outside."

It took a moment for Applejack to realize who Scootaloo was talking about, but when she did, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and walked out past Scootaloo, not sparing anypony so much as another glance.

Scootaloo sighed. "Hope they'll be alright," she muttered to herself. She looked up at the rest of the girls. "It's great to see all of you too, Fluttershy, Rarity, R-Rainbow Dash."

"S-Scootaloo?" said Rainbow, finally picking her jaw off of the ground. "Squirt, is that you?"

Scootaloo smirked. "You know, technically I'm older than you now," she said. "I don't think that old nick-name is going to work any more."

"We knew that you were all older," said Rarity, slowly shaking her head, "but to actually see it for ourselves..."

"Eeyup," said Scootaloo. "Ten years older, ten years smarter, and ten years more without our cutie marks."

Silence had it's reign once again as four sets of jaws complained from being consistently dropped. "You're joking," Rarity finally said, "right?"

Scootaloo smirked and turned to show off her, still blank, flank.

"But how is that possible?" asked Fluttershy. "You're already twenty!"

"It's not just us," Scootaloo replied, turning back to face them. "Nopony's gotten their cutie marks since Discord escaped. Probably another one of his pranks. Utopia keeps saying that it's because the princesses disappeared."

"Jeez," muttered Rainbow. "I can't imagine the grief you must have gotten for that, especially from those two brats you always talked about."

"Yeah well," Scootaloo shrugged, "almost everypony cut it out after a while. Diamond and Silver were the only ones who even brought it up after the war started. They kept at it for years. Heck, I think "blank flanks" might have even been the last thing they said to us before they were killed."

Fluttershy winced. "Oh, please don't talk about that so casually. It's so sad."

Scootaloo sighed. "Sorry, Fluttershy, but you're going to have to get used to it. Everypony's a little stone-hearted these days. Besides, it happened three years ago. Even if we had been friends, I'd still be long over it by now."

"Three years isn't that long," said Twilight.

Scootaloo gave a hollow laugh. "It is if you're a soldier." She looked down at her watch and swore. "But five minutes isn't. AB and i'd better get back to out barracks before TAPS, or we'll be stuck on KP duty until Sweetie wakes up." She grinned once more at the girls. "It really is great to see all of you again. See you tomorrow!" With that, she dashed out the door.

A minute later, Applejack walked in, fresh tears on her cheeks. "You OK, AJ," asked Rainbow, walking over.

Applejack wiped away her tears and nodded, smiling softly. "She's all grown up," she said, "an' she's seen more than I would've ever wanted her to, but she's still Apple Bloom."

Rainbow quickly closed the distance, pulling Applejack into a tight hug. Everypony was surprised by Rainbow's sudden display of emotion, and Rainbow ended the embrace before anypony could comment. "We've got a long day tomorrow," she said, flying over to one of the beds. "We should get some sleep."

Applejack smiled and wiped away one last tear. "Yeah," she agreed. "You're right. Goodnight, everypony."

But the day still held one more surprise for them. As Twilight approached one of the beds, she found a small book lying on the pillow, the word "journal" stamped across the front in gold letters.

"Oh, heck no!" Twilight looked around to see that each of the beds had a journal on it. Applejack was glaring at hers. "Ain't no way I'm relivin' this day in my head long enough to write it down. I'd rather not have to remember it every time I open this book."

"I agree," said Twilight, shaking her head. "The sooner we can forget all of this, the better." She levitated her journal over to the center of the room. "All in favor of burning these?"

"Aye!" called Applejack tossing her book on top of Twilight's.

"Aye," said Rarity, levitating hers and Pinkie's and adding them to the pile.

"Anypony got some ink?"

Everypony looked up, surprised, to see Rainbow sitting on her bed with her journal open in front of her.

"Um, Rainbow dear," said Rarity, "what are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing?" asked Rainbow, examining her left wing. She bit down on a feather and pulled, grunting a little as it came out. Spitting it onto the bed she continued. "I'm writing. Now do you have any ink?"

"Of course not," said Rarity, confused. "Why would I? And more to the point, why would you possibly want to record this dreadful day?"

"Because," said Rainbow, getting up and walking over to Pinkie Pie, "if I don't write it all down, I'll probably forget a lot of it. I need to remember today."

"Why in Equestria would you need to remember a day like today?" asked Twilight.

Rainbow started to rummage around in Pinkie's mane. "Because i, for one, want to be able to move on from this once this is over. If I tr-YEOUCH!" She pulled out her hoof to see a mousetrap clamped onto the end. "Seriously? Why does she carry around a live mousetrap?" She pulled it off and resumed rummaging. "Anyway, if I try to just pretend that it didn't happen, it'll haunt me for the rest of my life." She finally pulled out a bottle of ink and flew back to her bed with it. "If I want to be able to move on, the first step is to accept that it happened. Writing it down seems like a good way to do that."

"Rainbow, you're talking like a therapist," Twilight deadpanned. "How would you know things like this?"

"Sunshine."

Rainbow hadn't shouted, hadn't raised her voice. She hadn't even looked up from where she was starting to write. But the effect was immediate. Both Fluttershy and Applejack winced, Applejack walking over to grab her journal out of the pile.

"Sunshine?" asked Twilight, sharing a confused look with Rarity. She turned to Applejack. "What does she mean by 'sunshine'?"

Applejack spit her journal onto her bed and shook her head. "That ain't my place to say, Sugarcube," she said, "but I'd take Rainbow's advice if I were you."