Sisters Part 1
Princess Cadence was excited. After what was perhaps the longest and most stressful stretch of diplomatic meets, court sessions with the nobles and more, the pink alicorn finally had a chance to relax. And the first thing she was doing was catching up on her reading. In specific, a certain journal. She had some snacks in case she got hungry, drinks for when she got thirsty and her favorite seat was primed and ready. With all her preparations complete, she settled into a comfortable position and dove right in.
✴✴✴✴✴✴
Everything was quiet aboard the train from Appaloosa back to Ponyville. After helping clean up after the rodeo, Applejack herded the CMC onto the train where she sat them in the seat opposite her then proceeded to stare down her sister and her friends. Needless to say, things got awkward pretty quickly for the CMC.
"So uh, that was a great rodeo eh?" Applebloom was the one to initiate conversation.
"Ah guess," AJ answered with a shrug and just like that, the conversation died before it could live beyond ten seconds.
"So are you still mad?" Scootaloo boldly asked, cutting straight to the heart of the problem.
"And what makes Y'all think I'm mad?" Applejack asked in reply.
"It kinda feels like you're mad at us." Sweetie Belle said and her friends nodded confirmation. Applejack let out a long sigh.
"Ah'm not exactly angry at you three." She explained. "Ah'm more upset than angry."
"What's the difference?" Applebloom asked.
"Upset means I'm more than angry. I'm also scared for you three." The Crusaders were slightly surprised by that but AJ continued, her voice raising. "You girls have always been known ta do reckless things without thinking it through but this is beyond all those times! Do y'all know how dangerous it was going off after Trouble Shoes?!"
"But he turned out ta jus' be a stallion down on his luck, remember?" Applebloom defended their friend. "He didn't mean ta hurt anybody and now he's got some new friends and a new job." There was a hint of pride in her voice and the CMC's chests puffed out in pride but Applejack frowned.
"That's exactly what I mean!" Applejack shouted and the Crusaders instantly backed up because of the volume. "He TURNED OUT to be a nice pony! What would y'all have done if he wasn't such a nice guy?"
"We would've fought him off, caught him and....brought him back." Applebloom started but by the time she'd finished her sentence, she'd figured out just how shortsighted their plan was and Sweetie Belle wasn't too far behind. Now that they were reevaluating their plan, the two fillies were seeing just what the problem was. Scootaloo, however, was 'blissfully' unaware of her friend's realizations.
"Yeah, Rainbow Dash has been teaching me some of her fighting moves." She said boldly. "And together with those moves, I'm sure we would've caught him."
Applejack's eyes narrowed and she leaned forward a little. "Rainbow Dash is a full-grown mare, not a filly like you three." She said sternly and Scootaloo wilted a little at her tone. "Against a full grown stallion, especially one at Trouble Shoes' size, Y'all wouldn't have stood a chance. If Trouble Shoes had actually been a bad pony......Y'all probably wouldn't be here right now. Or if you were, well Ah don't need ta go into details. Let's jus' say there are a lot of things he could've done to Y'all if he were a bad pony and none of them would've been pleasant." The three fillies blinked when the mare in front of them suddenly started sniffing.
"Applebloom, do you know how I would feel if Ah never saw you again or worse?" The farmpony continued as little tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "And you two, your sisters are both good friends of mine who entrusted me with your safety. How do you think I can face them knowing that something really bad happened to their sisters while they were on my watch?! Heck, how did you expect me to tell Granny Smith, Big Mac, and your parents that their children are gone or worse because Ah wasn't paying attention!?"
The CMC were wilting in their seats with their ears flopped against their head as the mare in front of them was close to a breakdown. Already, a few of her tears were starting to slide down her cheeks and she paused to wipe her face and eyes as she drew in calming breaths.
"It's not your fault." Sweetie Belle piped up helpfully and Applejack nodded.
"Ah know Sweetie, Ah know." She replied. "But if anything like that had happened, that's how Ah would be thinking. So would Granny and Mac. Rainbow Dash and Rarity too. Not to mention your parents and don't even get me started on Braeburn. Since he was the one who was supposed to be watching you, despite his injury might Ah add, he would most definitely be the most devastated of us all. Now we're all used ta yer schemes causing a ruckus, but this time, yer reckless irresponsibility could've caused irreparable damage ta yourselves and the ponies around you. Which is why tomorrow, Ah'm picking your next activity."
"WHAT?!?!?" All three fillies screamed together.
"But we've already cleaned up after the rodeo!" Applebloom protested. "Haven't we been punished enough?"
"This activity ain't a punishment, its a lesson." Applejack clarified. "Ah could have Y'all doing everyone's chores on the farm and cleaning a hundred rodeos forever, but that ain't going ta teach ya a proper lesson that'll stick. Instead, Ah'm going ta give ya a very special assignment ta fulfill for the rest of the day. But Ah'll tell ya more tomorrow. Fer now, jus' rest and enjoy the train ride."
Applejack then leaned back and pulled her hat over her face, leaving the Cutiemark Crusaders to wonder what their fate was tomorrow.
✴✴✴✴✴✴
Cadence sighed and sipped her tea. As she read one entry, she felt laughter begin to bubble up as a smile spread across her muzzle.
<Finally. After almost an entire month, Emerald Drop finally doesn't run away out of embarrassment whenever I enter the room. It all started almost a month ago when Ruby Shine, one of the guards, dropped a toy snake in Emerald's mane. Ruby knows that Emerald can't stand snakes and when she noticed, she immediately ran through the castle screaming until she reached the throne room. I was in the room at the time and she slammed herself into the wall next to the throne. I then spotted and pulled out the offending item while she was temporarily dazed.
When she saw what it was, she snarled, and I swear that I saw sparks jumping as she ground her teeth, before she ran out of the room screaming out for Ruby Shine. Later that day, I found Ruby tangled in the upper branches of one of the trees in the garden. I had no idea ponies could bend like that. And the whole time I was disentangling the stallion he was laughing and telling me it was worth it. I haven't seen much of Emerald Drop since according to her friends, she quote-unquote 'made a fool of herself in front of the king'. From what I understand, she almost quit her job entirely out of embarrassment. Luckily her friends talked her out of that and I've basically been leaving it to them with a nudge or two here and there.
The dent that she left is still there in the wall and while it would be easy to fix, I've just left it there for the sake of posterity and it helps me smile when I've had a long day. Ruby and Emerald are usually like this, teasing and annoying each other, but they never go far enough to do any real damage. Just enough that it could be seen as childish pranks to the outside observer. And I just know that they'll get together in the end. And it's not just me either.
The rest of the castle staff and the guard is sure that they'll get together soon as well. The only ones not in on it are Ruby Shine and Emerald Drop themselves, though Emerald's friends do drop the odd hint once in a while. I don't actively try to get them together, but once in a while when either come to me for advice about the other, I give it to them. I'm certain that one day they'll grow out of this phase in their relationship and will start down the more romantic path.>
Cadence smiled and sipped her tea. This was one of the reasons she liked reading the journal. Every entry gave her a glimpse of what life had been like in the castle before whatever had happened, happened. By this point, she was starting to think that the Sombra she was reading about was how he really was and that something had happened to drastically change him. Something that she was certain she'd eventually learn about in these pages. But in the meantime, she'd solved the riddle of the mysterious dent in the wall next to the throne. Cadence giggled at the mental image of the blunt yet kind maid running into the wall hard enough to dent it.
"Is something wrong your highness?" A light green crystal pony mare asked. Her clear blue mane with a white stripe was pulled up into a braid that was twisted around her head. Curious emerald eyes looked at her.
"Oh, it's nothing Emerald," Cadence said as she stifled her giggles. "Anyways, how are things at home?"
The mare gave a deep sigh of irritation. "I swear your highness, my husband is so foalish he'll be the death of me one of these days."
"And yet you're still married to him," Cadence said with a smile. "If there was really nothing, I don't think you'd stay with him as long as you have."
"True true. While he is irritating in several ways, I wouldn't trade Ruby Shine for anyone in the world." She said.
"Agreed. And what about Bird Song?" Cadence asked. Emerald Drop frowned lightly.
"She's been doing much better since she started therapy." She said then gave a deep bow. "Your Highness, my husband and I can't thank you enough for what you've done for us and our daughter. Even today, we're at a loss for how to thank you."
"Oh no need to thank me. I only did what was right," she said with a wave of her hoof and Emerald straightened up with a smile.
"And yet it means the world to us. All of us." the maid answered. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"Some more snacks and some time alone would help a lot," Cadence said. "But that doesn't count as an acceptance of your offer. I still want you all to treat me like an ordinary pony."
"Of course Princess Cadence," Emerald said then turned. Before she exited the room, however, she glanced back. "Again, thank you for bringing our children back to us." Was all she said before leaving the room.
Cadence smiled a little sadly as she remembered one aspect of King Sombra's reign. Around the beginning of his reign, the children were taken by Sombra. When they were released, they were all traumatized enough that they needed professional help. But the one who had it the worst was a ten-year-old filly named Bird Song. For reasons that were unknown, Sombra took particular interest in this little filly. She was mostly quiet and like all the other fillies and colts, she had no memory of what life was like before King Sombra. Or at least that's what they assumed since she didn't say anything about before Sombra or even her experience with him. What they did know for sure was that she was his favorite until he stopped entirely and put her in a cell separate from the other children. When she was rescued, they initially thought she was mute.
Cadence shook such thoughts from her head and turned the page. She was certain that somewhere in these pages were the answers that she was looking for.
✴✴✴✴✴✴
"You want to what?" Twilight asked after AJ gave them an account of what happened at the rodeo and her plan for the Crusaders.
"You heard me." Applejack said firmly. "Ah can't think of a better way ta teach those fillies responsibility and you could use a day off."
"Well, I don't know...." Twilight said as her stomach churned with worry. "I understand wanting to teach them a lesson, but are you sure they're ready for this kind of responsibility?"
"Oh come now Twilight, I think its a great idea." Rarity said. "And besides, it's only for one day. Certainly not enough time for them to get into any sort of major trouble."
Twilight shot a deadpan look at her friend. "The Love Poison Incident." She said flatly and Rarity's eyes widened. Even though Berry Punch hadn't pressed charges for the 'relocation' of her house (because she was now closer to her business and had a glorious view of the sunset from her living room) the three fillies were now banned from even touching spell books and potion recipes without adult supervision. This, of course, led to the birth of Twilight Time.
"And need I give you an entire itinerary of every cutie mark attempt that ended in disaster and damage." Twilight continued. "Some even occurring in less than a day."
Rarity grimaced. "Point taken. Perhaps I should've worded that a bit better."
"All the better them to learn responsibility as soon as possible before more permanent damage is done." Applejack said with a bang of her hoof. "Ah know Ah'm not the only pony who wants their sister to stay safe and Ah think it would be best for him to get to know ponies within his age range."
"You do make a very good argument," Twilight admitted. "But are you sure this is really the best idea?"
"Ah've never been so sure about anything like this in my life." Applejack said seriously. "And besides, you know that the Crusaders usually stick around Ponyville so we won't be too far from them. Your momma instinct can rest easy."
Twilight frowned and shot her friend a glare. "I'm not his mom and I hope you know what you're doing."
"Trust me, Ah do," AJ said with confidence.
✴✴✴✴✴✴
Meanwhile, at the CMC clubhouse, the Crusaders were bemoaning their fate.
"Ah can't believe mah sister doesn't think I'm responsible enough." Applebloom groaned as she lay, face down, on the ground. "Ah always do mah chores before going Crusading."
"Me too! And besides, our plan wasn't that bad, was it?" Scootaloo asked her friends.
"I'm sorry Scoots, but Applejack has point. Going after Trouble Shoes like that was reckless, even with your kung-fu moves." Sweetie Belle answered. The pegasus folded her forelegs and slumped down.
"Okay, I'll admit that wasn't our brightest idea." She said. "But we're all big fillies and we can take care of ourselves." Applebloom gasped.
"That's it!" She exclaimed as she knocked her hooves together. "All we need to do is show them that we can take care of ourselves. It worked with Applejack that time with the pie deliveries and the chimera, so it should work this time."
"If I recall correctly, you didn't actually take care of the chimera, that was all Applejack." Sweetie Belle pointed out. "Though you did make sure the pies were safe and Applejack did stop fussing over you after that so it's not a bad idea. But what are we going to do to show we can take care of ourselves? Your family doesn't have anything that needs to be delivered that way right now, so what else can we do?"
Once again the Crusaders fell into thoughtful silence. The next one to come up with a solution was Scootaloo.
"I've got it!" The pegasus exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat. "Why don't we get our cutie marks as Everfree explorers?" The other Crusaders hummed in thought.
"Everfree huh?" Applebloom said thoughtfully with a nod. "It's not as dangerous as the Flame Geyser Swamp, but it'll do." Even Sweetie Belle gave a nod of agreement.
"My sister and her friends have been going there to fix up the old castle there and I haven't seen the Timberwolves around for ages." The unicorn said. "So I guess it wouldn't be too bad if we go in there."
Scootaloo grinned. "So it's settled." She said. "Tomorrow we're going to be the...."
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS EVERFREE EXPLORERS!!!" All three shouted. The Crusaders then spent the next hour making plans about what they would need and when they should go. It was ultimately settled that they would wait until after school then they would gather supplies for their venture. Just as they were finishing their plans, Applejack rang the bell announcing dinner and the three fillies had to go their separate ways, all three Pinkie Swearing to not tell anyone.
✴✴✴✴✴✴
The next day felt very much like any other day. After school, the Crusaders agreed to meet up at the clubhouse before going home to do their homework and grab their supplies. An hour and a half later they were gathered at the clubhouse with their supplies. However, in their eagerness and excitement, they almost completely forgot about Applejack's 'lesson' until she knocked on their door. Quickly, they hid their supplies and opened the door, letting in the farmpony and a colt.
He was definitely younger than them with an ash grey coat, a long black mane and ruby red eyes that looked up at them with curiosity and a hint of excitement.
"Girls, Ah'd like ta introduce you to someone." Applejack said as she led the colt in while he looked around the clubhouse with fascination. "This here is Sombra. He's been living with Twilight and for today, I'd like you three ta look after him."
The three fillies blinked and stared at the young colt. Finally, Scootaloo broke the silence. "Wait, Sombra as in Ki-" She started to speak only to be cut off by Applebloom's hoof in her mouth.
"So you're Sombra." The farm filly said with a smile. "Applejack's told me a lot about you. I'm Applebloom. And these are my friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle."
"Nice to meet you!" Sombra said with a bright smile. Applejack laid a hoof on his back and smiled.
"Sombra here needs ta get to know kids his own age and you three need to learn responsibility." Applejack said. "So for today, you three are going to look out for Sombra."
"What!?" Scootaloo shouted out. "You want us to foalsit a ty-!" Once again she was cut off by a hoof in her mouth. This time it was Sweetie Belle's hoof.
"Could you excuse us for a minute?" Sweetie said with a grin and the three fillies moved away from the farm mare and colt. When they were a fair distance away, the unicorn filly pulled her hoof out of Scootaloo's mouth. The pegasus shot her friends a glare before she started speaking.
"What the hay girls?" She demanded. "What's with all the shushing? And isn't that the King Sombra that Rainbow Dash told me about?"
"Yeah, pretty much, only different," Applebloom confirmed. "From what mah sister told me, the princesses tried to bring him back ta life and he ended up as a colt with absolutely no memories of what he was before."
"Why would the princesses bring back a tyrant?" Scootaloo asked and the other Crusaders shrugged.
"My sister and her friends don't know why either." Sweetie Belle said. "Bottom line is he's here now and the others are working on reforming him same the way Fluttershy reformed Discord."
"Okay, but why am I the last one to know about all this?" Scoots asked. Once again, there was a round of shrugs.
"Dunno," Applebloom answered before she gained a thoughtful look on her face. "But considering how it was our sisters who told each of us and made us promise that we wouldn't tell Sombra about his past life, I'm willing to bet Dash was supposed to do the same but forgot."
"Honestly, that doesn't surprise me." The Crusaders jumped in surprise when Applejack's sudden comment let them know that she was now behind them and that she'd been listening. Behind her, sitting quietly at his place in the doorway, was the subject of their talk.
"And when Ah get the chance, Ah'm going ta have a few words with her." Applejack continued with a frown. "Anyways, now that that's cleared up, Ah'd like Sombra to stay with Y'all for the day."
"But we've got important Crusading to do!" Scootaloo protested. "Besides, why can't he just be with you or anyone else?"
"Because A), Ah've got tons of chores to catch up on and the others aren't exactly free either." Applejack began. "And B), Sombra needs ta hang out with ponies in his age range while you three need ta internalize a lesson in responsibility. Remember, Y'all still ain't off the hook for what happened at the rodeo."
The Crusaders winced at the reminder. "Point taken." Scootaloo conceded. "But still, we don't know him at all."
"And if Ah recalls, you three didn't exactly know each other at first." Applejack countered. "Just ask him about his interests and what he likes ta do. I'm sure you can find some common ground. Now Ah has lots of chores ta do. Y'all have fun together."
And with that, the farmpony was gone. The Crusaders watched her leave until she was out of sight then turned to their guest who was sitting calmly on the floor.
"So Sombra, what do you like to do for fun?" Sweetie asked and Scootaloo shot her a look.
"Sweets!" She hissed quietly and the unicorn filly shot her a look at her own in response.
"There's no harm in trying." She hissed back. The pegasus turned to her other friend and only got a shrug in response. Scootaloo groaned softly.
"Fine." She grumbled before sitting down with her hung low. Sombra looked at her with concern in his expression and looked at the other two with an expression of questioning concern. Applebloom just waved his concern off.
"Don't worry about her, she's just a little mopey." She said casually. "She'll get over it soon enough. Now, aren't ya going ta tell us what ya like ta do for fun?"
Sombra shifted a little before answering. "Not much, I mostly read."
"Sounds like Twilight rubbed off on you a bit," Sweetie commented. "What about playing games and such?"
"I mostly play board games and I know some card games," Sombra answered.
"What about more outdoor games an' activities?" Applebloom pressed and Sombra frowned.
"I don't know a lot of outdoor games." He admitted. "Auntie Pinkie taught me how to jump into leaf piles and I know how to play in the snow."
The Crusaders were silent for a bit and after a moment, Sombra began to wilt, his ears dropping to press against his skull. Sweetie, noticing his mood, quickly went to comfort him.
"Hey hey, it's okay." She said. "There's nothing wrong with any of those things, it's just we're trying to find something we can do together."
Sombra looked thoughtful and the three fillies could visibly see the gears turning in his head. Then light a lightbulb, his face brightened.
"Sometimes, Spike and I go exploring." He said and Scootaloo perked up.
"Exploring?" She asked with no small amount of interest in her voice. Sombra nodded.
"Yeah, Twilight's castle is bigger than it looks and there are a lot of rooms that we haven't really seen yet." The colt explained in excitement. "And since Twilight has lots of duties and such, Spike and I sometimes look around and map out the castle. Just recently, we found this room with a mattress for a floor and filled with all sorts of pillows and blankets. Spike says that room will be the sleepover room."
Scootaloo was quiet as she thought that over. "That sounds cool." She said and she couldn't deny that she honestly found the thought kinda cool. But her tastes lay more towards the other end of the spectrum. "But I have a better place for us to explore."
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I had totally forgotten about this... But now it's back?
IT LIVES! *ahem* Right, got that out of my system. This is going to end very badly for the CMC, isn't it? A mama bear alicorn princess is something even a Saiyan would steer clear of.
7663967 I'm not well versed in the Dragonball franchise, but even I know Saiyans are powerful foes so yeah.
7664575 Super powerful, get stronger the longer they fight, the closer you beat them to death, the stronger they get, and this one is still scared of a little pony that barely comes up to his waist.
Scootaloo is taking way too much after Rainbow Dash
. Here's to hoping Zecora finds them before they get too deep into the Everfree and/or trigger some of Sombra's memories and dormant dark powers!
Adorable as ever, I look forward to seeing more~ What shenanigans will the CMC conjure up?
I so wanna hug little Sombra...
7670214 Thank you and I'm glad that you like it. Actually, I kinda want to ask you something if that's okay.
7670384 Sure, what's up? ^_^
Sorry for the delay in responding, it's been a really rough week and I've been completely avalanched by crazy life stuff...
7682807 Well, I was kinda wondering if you could make a cover for this story. I don't have any money to pay you with and if that's not okay then it's fine. I won't fault you or anything like that. It's cool, I just thought I may as well ask.
7682813 That's okay, I don't do commission work, so don't worry about money.
What kind of cover did you have in mind? What ponies will be featuring and so on? The more details the better~
Sorry again for being late. I'm having terrible trouble with my router, and I'm having to ration the mobile data on my iPhone. Hopefully the phone company will have it fixed by next week! It's driving me crazy...
7687955 One can only hope. I know I didn't enjoy when we had issues with our internet because a windstorm damaged an important thing. Anyways, I'll pm you details.
7687965 After part 2 of Sisters, could you maybe do a Halloween special? I would love to see Luna scare Sombra and have her baby him trying to cheer him up. That would be cutie.
7689411 it's a thought. Though Halloween has already past so shouldn't a Thanksgiving special make more sense? I know that a lot of folks skip over Thanksgiving, but it's a holiday that is pretty easy to fit into MLP. The first Thanksgiving was basically a harvest festival and since Ponyville was pretty much founded as a farming community, it fits.
7689423 I understand, but maybe you could make a Halloween one first then a Thanksgiving one next. Have Luna in the Halloween one, and Shining armor and Cadence and Twilights parents in the Thanksgiving one.
7689433 Maybe. We'll have to see.
7802917 Exactly.
7803006 When is sisters part 2 coming?
7826112 I don't know. Things are kinda crazy right now. I've recently started a new job at my local movie theater and this week is crazy busy. Thankfully things will slow down in January.
7826153 How is part 2 coming?
7976229 Slowly.
7976235 Is part 2 almost done?
8052586 Unfortunately no. It's going to take a while until it's done.
8052587 Need some help?
8052588 Nothing that I haven't gotten already. I just need to kick my butt into gear. At this point it's a combination of writer's block and laziness.
8052594 Well just think about how it should go. I'll send you somethings and you decide what you think is how it should go.
8052599 Yeah, okay.
8052604 How is part 2 coming?
8074560 As well as can be.
Ssssssssiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggghhhhh oh Crusaders