Camaraderie is Sorcery

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 1:12 - A Priest from the East

Chapter 1:12 – A Priest from the East

A driving rain pounded down upon Ponieville. It was hard to believe that just a week earlier, the entire town had been buried under snow, but the denizens of Equestria had learned to live with the irregularities brought about by the White Procession’s infrequent forays into their world. The rain was especially welcomed by those who had lost crop to the centaur raiders and were trying to grow new produce so late in the season to make up for it. However, though Applejack welcomed it for that very reason, she did not appreciate the downpour halting the progress on the Apples’ new farmhouse.

While the farmer, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and several other members of the Brave Companions who’d been helping her took shelter in the barn, Apple Bloom was in a far different locale. She and several other foals from the area were seated in the Ponieville Chapel listening to the oration of Sister Cheerilee. As the nun narrated the early history of the Church of One, raindrops pattered against the stained-glass windows and ran down the portraits of saints and illustrations of important events in the Church’s history. A distant peal of thunder rang out as Cheeriliee finished her speech.

“Sistah Cheerilee?” a filly with a curly red mane said as she raised her hoof.

“Yes, Twist?” the nun replied.

“Why was Hallus a fahmah if dat wasn’t he was meant t’ do?” Twist inquired, “His cutie-mahk can’t’ve been fah fahming.”

“The great prophet Hallus had no cutie-mark, nor did anypony else at that time,” Cheerilee replied, speaking to the group, “Cutie-marks are a gift from Faust that were bestowed upon us after the Cataclysm prophesied by Saint Alinus. During the Cataclysm—which scholars call the Conjunction of the Spheres—we were tested with many terrible trials: monster entered this world then, and the White Procession was able to reach us for the first time. But, we were also blessed: magic came into the world, as did earth ponies.”

“An’ cutie-marks?” a younger foal piped up.

“Yes, and cutie-marks,” Sister Cheerilee confirmed, “Ever since the Cataclysm, every pony has been blessed to have a mark representing their destiny appear on their hindquarters. At about your age,” she pointed to Twist and Apple Bloom next to her, “when you discover what your talent is, a cutie-mark will appear on your flank in confirmation. I remember when I received mine, and knew then and there that my duty was to minister to you little ones who have no chance of private tutelage.”

The heads of everypony turned as one as the chapel’s door banged open. The chapel’s priestess trotted in, her robes dripping, and made her way down the aisle. She paused at the crowd of foals for a moment before asking to speak with Cheerilee in private. Excusing herself, the nun followed the priestess and stood with her before a stained-glass window with an abundance of red. It was a depiction of the destructive wars between the unicorns and the Great Lizards when the world was young. Ponies burned as dragons circled overhead, except for the family of Alginon, who had heeded Faust’s warning and followed her to the safety of the Valley of Uinor.

“You must return to the convent immediately,” the priestess announced, “A heathen priest of the Red Faith is in Ponieville, spreading his blasphemy, and he’s brought thugs along for protection.”

“My place must be here with these foals so that they are not led astray,” Cheerilee said.

“No, you will return to the convent,” the priestess commanded firmly, “You will be safer there, isolated. The red priests have been known to set fire to chapels, but convents are too far from towns to have much effect.”

“Surely you don’t think he will be allowed to set the chapel ablaze?” Cheerilee said, alarmed.

“I would not suspect my parishioners capable of such a thing, but darkness lurks within the hearts of us all,” the priestess admitted with a sigh, “These red priests have a queer way of twisting ponies’ hearts and finding the anger and hatred buried inside. As a precaution, I have sent word to the Brave Companions. It is in their hooves now.”

“And in Faust’s,” Cheerilee added.

“Yes, of course,” the priestess said, looking up at the stained-glass window again, but seeing only the flames.

***

Apple Bloom and Twist walked side-by-side down Ponieville’s muddy streets, the former lost in thought. When Cheerilee had returned, she'd seemed perturbed about something, but didn’t say anything except to say her usual prayer over the foals and dismiss them. That concern had quickly given way to other worries in Apple Bloom’s mind, though. Twist’s questions about cutie-marks had only served to remind her that she was without one while all the other foals her age (besides Twist) had theirs already. When will my cutie-mark finally appear? When will I know my purpose?

“Apple Bloom!” Twist called out a warning, but it was too late for Apple Bloom to stop before she bumped into a pony she’d been too distracted to notice before.

“Watch where you’re going, blank flank!” a snobby voice said as a hoof shoved Apple Bloom back and into the mud.

Having collapsed into a puddle, Apple Bloom looked up at who she’d run into, and groaned. Filthy Rich’s daughter, Diamond Tiara, stood the closest, and it was she who had pushed her away. The filly looked down on Apple Bloom like one would look at a dog that had nipped at one’s ankles and needed a reminder of who was master. Given her father’s status and her own over-inflated ego, it wasn’t unlikely that this was exactly how Diamond Tiara saw somepony who didn’t have her advantages. Beside her stood her ever-present companion Silver Spoon, who at the moment was holding an umbrella over Diamond Tiara to shield her from the slight drizzle that was still coming down. It was curious how Silver Spoon yielded to Diamond Tiara’s every whim, given that her mother was Mayor Mare, but it had always been like this, and probably always would be.

“What are you two doing here?” Diamond Tiara said cruelly, “Shouldn’t you be rolling in your own filth?”

“Sistah Cheerilee was giving lessons,” Twist replied while Apple Bloom tried to wave her off.

“Ambitious; now you can count your lice!” Diamond Tiara mocked before returning to her regular tone, “I don’t know why you bother listening to anything Cheerilee has to say; what can she know, anyway? Compared to the private tutor from Los Pegasus my father hired, she may as well be as dumb as you.”

“Now, see here!” Apple Bloom objected as she pulled herself up out of the puddle, “Don’t talk about Sister Cheerilee like that! She’s th’ smartest pony I know!”

“That’s really rather sad,” Silver Spoon interrupted before Apple Bloom could list off all the things the kindly nun had taught her, “Though, it does explain why you still don’t have your cutie-marks.”

Apple Bloom was swiftly becoming furious. It wasn’t enough for them to pick on her and Twist because of the gap in their social classes or to insult Cheerilee; Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon consistently mocked them just because they were without cutie-marks yet, when they themselves had only gained theirs within the last few months. It stung doubly so since Apple Bloom’s absent cutie-mark was still foremost in her mind after what Cheerilee had said.

“Just face the facts that all you’ll ever be is a peasant. If you really wanted your cutie-mark, you’d go back to your farm and earn it for rooting around in the mud. Know your place,” Diamond Tiara said as she shoved Apple Bloom back into the puddle again and trotted smartly away, Silver Spoon rushing after her to shield her from the rain.

***

“‘Tis not fair, Applejack!” Apple Bloom complained to her elder sister once she was back on the Apples’ farm, “How come I haven’t got m’ cutie-mark yet?”

“No Apple ever ripened fast without spoilin’,” Applejack answered from atop the partially constructed farmhouse. After the rain let up, the rest of the Brave Companions had returned to business elsewhere, leaving the work of rebuilding to her and Big Mac.

“What’s that s’posed t’ mean?” Apple Bloom asked in confusion.

“It means that th’ Apples are often late in gettin’ their cutie-marks,” the older mare said as she jumped to the ground, “But, you will get yours in time, an’ ‘til then, all y’ can do by worryin’ is work yourself into a lather.”

“But I don’t want t’ wait!” Apple Bloom objected, “Maybe Diamond Tiara is right, an’ I’ll never get my cutie-mark, or th’ only way I’ll get it is in farmin’.”

“Nothin’ would please me more. We could use all th’ help we can get around here,” Applejack said.

“I know, but what if it isn’t what I’m meant t’ do?” Apple Bloom said as she followed her sister around the house.

“Then you wouldn’t get your cutie-mark in it, would you?” Applejack said with a wink.

Through Apple Bloom’s eyes, Sister Cheerilee was the smartest pony in the world, followed by wise old Granny Smith, and then Applejack. What she said made a lot of sense, but it didn't completely get rid of the filly’s anxiety. She was desperate to get a cutie-mark, and it didn’t matter to her what it was perhaps as much as it should have. The only way to be sure would be to try different things out and find out if it was her destiny. Given how the Apples all tended to have a knack for farming, she could start right here on the farm and follow Applejack around, trying everything she did.

“Big Mac, I’m goin’ in t’ town for more supplies,” Applejack announced to her brother once she reached where he was working.

“I’m comin’ along!” Apple Bloom announced. She could help out on the farm any time; Ponieville would have more opportunities, and she could tell Applejack her plan along the way.

***

Apple Bloom would be better off if she were patient and waited until she earned her cutie-mark naturally, Applejack knew, but she couldn’t crush her sister’s enthusiasm entirely. She was eager to discover what it was that made her special, just like all little fillies her age. Wasn’t I the same way?

Of course, though Applejack would be proud of her sister no matter what her destiny turned out to be, she would prefer that it have something to do with the farm. Big McIntosh and herself had both found their place there, but they were the only two adult ponies working the land that had once been tended to by a family of hundreds. Unless the Apples rebuilt their numbers soon, they would be forced to sell off some of the land just so that it wouldn’t lay fallow and be seized by the mayor. It certainly couldn’t hurt Apple Bloom’s chances of gaining a preferred cutie-mark if she spent more time helping out on the farm.

One of the things Applejack had come to Ponieville for was more nails, so she and Apple Bloom set a course for Rarity’s shop. The town blacksmith was nowhere to be found, however, no matter how many time the sisters knocked on her door. They even tried out back by the forge, but she wasn’t there either.

“Th’ coals’re still warm; she can’t’ve been gone long,” Applejack observed after holding her hoof over the forge.

Where could Rarity have gone? When she left the homestead, she’d said she had some work here to get done before sunset. If she was sewing something up inside, she’d surely have come to the door. Maybe she needed to retrieve more materials, but it looks like she left here in a hurry.

“Let me try!” Apple Bloom said, seeing an opportunity to try to earn her cutie-mark.

“That’s not a good idea,” Applejack warned, but the filly was already in motion.

Apple Bloom jumped on the forge’s bellows a few times to heat up the irons Rarity had left in the fire. After drawing one out (before it was heated enough to be properly shaped), she trotted over to the hammering mechanism. With repeated and uneven blows, she struck the metal, trying to shape the end into a nail. When she let go of the iron to put more force into the hammering, she sent it flying off the anvil and it spun through the air.

“Good heavens!” Rarity exclaimed as the iron nearly struck her head, “What’s going on here?”

“Forgive her, Rarity,” Applejack said as she pulled Apple Bloom out of reach of the smith's tools, “She’s eager t’ try things t’ earn her cutie-mark.”

“Reminds me of somepony,” Rarity mumbled to herself, then addressed Applejack, “What are you doing here? Twilight went to go look for you at your farm.”

“I needed more nails. Why is Twi’ lookin’ for me? Is somethin’ wrong?”

“There’s a red priest in Ponieville stirring up trouble, and the priestess asked the Brave Companions to help take care of the matter.

“A red priest!” Applejack exclaimed angrily before turning to her sister, “Apple Bloom, I don’t want you comin’ with me for this.”

“Why not?” the filly protested as she turned away from the tongs she’d been eyeing, “What about earnin’ m’ cutie-mark?”

“You’ll just have t’ try somethin’ else on your own,” Applejack said, “Aren’t there any other ponies y’know without cutie-marks?”

“There’s Twist,” Apple Bloom admitted.

“Well, maybe th’ two o’ you can try some things t’gether,” Applejack said, relieved that it was somepony who lived close enough that Apple Bloom could make it there before it occurred to her to defy her sister and follow her anyway.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom said excitedly, her mind now set on working with her friend to earn their cutie-marks together, and took off down Ponieville’s streets to find her.

Once Applejack was certain that Apple Bloom was out of sight and wouldn’t follow her, she and Rarity took off. Big Mac would tell Twilight where Applejack had gone once she arrived at the farm, and she would probably go looking for Fluttershy next. That left Pinkamena and Rainbow Dash for Rarity and Applejack to search for. When they spotted the priest in the distance and the small crowd around him, Applejack had to resist going up at that moment to drive him out of town. Rarity claimed Twilight had a plan, and once all six of the Brave Companions were together they would strike, but it killed Applejack that she’d have to wait and let the priest be until then.

***

Twist’s family lived outside Ponieville’s palisade in a cottage just beyond the north gate. Apple Bloom was in such a rush to reach her friend’s home that she didn’t notice the absence of the guard normally stationed at the gate, who had been called back by Mayor Mare to keep the crowd around the red priest from growing out of control. After Cheerilee’s lessons, Apple Bloom had snuck off here with Twist a few times before heading home, and knew that the best way to find her would not to be to go through the house. Instead, she trotted around the pen of bedraggled chickens out front and looped around to the back of the house, ducking under a clothesline strung across the gap to the nearest cottage.

None of Twist’s numerous siblings were around at the moment, leaving the filly alone with her habits. She was always trying something new, and for the last few weeks it had been rope-making. Her failed attempts lay all around the small garden behind the house, partially disintegrated by the rain. However, Apple Bloom saw something new in the backyard today: completed lengths of rope. Twist was spinning her makeshift ropewalk when she spotted her friend approaching.

“Apple Bloom! You won’t believe what happened!” she exclaimed as she abandoned the rope and bounded over, “I got my cutie-mark!”

Apple Bloom thought she could feel her heart drop. This wasn’t supposed to happen! How can we search for our cutie-marks together if Twist already has hers? She’s younger than I am! It’s not fair!

“You wanna see?” Twist asked, then checked nopony was around to see her immodesty before shifting her dress to show that her hindquarters now bore the image of a knotted length of rope.

“That’s … great, Twist,” Apple Bloom said sadly, trying and failing to come across as sincere but Twist was too excited to have her cutie-mark to notice.

“So, what did you come hah fah?” Twist asked.

“Oh, I guess nothin’,” Apple Bloom said and began to walk away.

“What? You had t’ have wanted t’ do somethin’,” Twist said, “Do you want t’ help me make rope?”

“I said no, Twist!” Apple Bloom snapped and galloped away, fighting tears.

***

Apple Bloom sniffled beneath a gnarled old tree outside of Ponieville. She was ashamed to be sobbing like a baby, but the crushing weight of her uncertain destiny had come down on her all at once. She knew that Applejack was right, and she still had time to earn her cutie-mark. She also knew that it would appear and signal her destiny when the time was right, and nothing she could do would hasten its coming. Apple Bloom knew all this, but it didn’t matter.

She wanted her cutie-mark, so that she’d have certainty of her purpose, and so that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would cease their picking on her for that reason. With Twist now possessing a cutie-mark of her own, Apple Bloom was the last pony her age that she knew without one. Several weeks earlier, she’d been instrumental in helping the Brave Companions and Zecora reconcile, but it may as well have been nothing to the filly if she didn’t have a cutie-mark to show for her efforts. How much longer would she have to wait, and would she have to do this waiting alone now?

The filly’s face was sprinkled with icy water as something shot past her before she had a chance to look up. Rainbow Dash whizzed by a moment later, sword in mouth. As Apple Bloom’s eyes followed the Hunter, she also spotted what she was pursuing. The creature was shaped shockingly like a mare, but there was no mistaking the monster for a pony. It had been a naiad once and wouldn’t have dared to hurt a soul, but that was before the White Procession had poisoned its mind and body with their unnatural winter. While the naiad’s coat had once been covered in moss and ferns and perpetually shimmering with a fine layer of water, the plants were now brown and dead and the water was crisscrossed with frost crystals.

Rainbow Dash threw out traps as she approached where the corrupted naiad stood and stared at the Hunter, flicking her tail and showering the ground with droplets that killed whatever plants they touched. As the traps formed a magical barrier through which the naiad couldn’t retreat, Rainbow rushed in. The corrupted naiad opened her mouth wider than a pony could, splitting the frostbitten edges, and let out an unearthly screech. Rainbow Dash flattened her ears against her head to block out the sound and lunged for the beast.

Rainbow Dash was fast, but the naiad was faster, and jumped onto her back and over her before she could strike. She didn’t have the naiad boxed in by barriers anymore, but instead of fleeing, the crazed river spirit let out another screech and charged Rainbow again. The naiad once again jumped over Dash, but this time struck out at the back of the Hunter’s head with her hindhooves. Rainbow Dash took the hit and spun around as the naiad launched off her back, her sword slicing through one of the monster’s hindlegs.

The naiad screeched as it tumbled across the ground, its stump bleeding a muddy half-frozen slurry. Pushing itself back up, it charged Rainbow Dash again, but its mobility was severely impaired with only three legs. With hardly any effort, the Hunter spun her sword around and sliced off both the naiad’s forelegs. Now unable to go anywhere, the corrupted naiad screeched piteously until Dash put it out of its misery by separating its head from its body.

As the corpse began to rabidly decompose into river mud and seep back into the ground, Rainbow Dash opened a pouch at her side and sprinkled powder over the area. The shrinkage slowed, but didn’t stop until the Hunter impaled the corpse where the heart would have been in a pony with a stake of holly. The mud quickly dried up and drifted away, and Dash trotted over to the nearby stream to wash the off the gunk still on her and confirm that the water was no longer under the corrupted naiad’s influence.

“Wow, that was amazin’!” Apple Bloom marveled as she approached Rainbow Dash.

“Thanks; tell the Wonderbolts next time you see them,” the Hunter deadpanned before looking up from the river at who was talking to her, “Hey, aren’t you Applejack’s sister … Apple Bloom, right? What’re you doing out here?”

“I don’t have m’ cutie-mark yet, though everypony else I know does. Applejack says it takes time t’ earn your cutie-mark an’ y’ can’t force it, but I can’t wait no longer. I thought helpin’ her out an’ tryin’ diff’rent things would help me get m’ cutie-mark quicker, but she had t’ go wi’ Rarity, an’ so I thought I’d go try t’ earn m’ cutie-mark w’ m’ only friend. But now m’ friend has her cutie-mark an’ I still don’t have mine, so I’m alone and wi’out a mark an’ don’t know what t’ do!” Apple Bloom rapidly spilled her entire story to Rainbow Dash.

“Well, that’s a lot to take in,” Rainbow Dash said, having not expected such a long explanation, “Well, good luck with that. I’m sure you’ll have your cutie-mark in no time if you keep trying. Not everypony can get theirs as fast as me, after all.”

“What if I did get one like you?” Apple Bloom asked as she trotted alongside Dash on her way to collect the bounty on the naiad.

“Unless you know how to fly and duel, I don’t think that’s possible,” Dash replied, “The tale of how I got my cutie-mark is quite a story.”

“I meant I could become a Hunter, like you,” Apple Bloom said, and Rainbow Dash stopped walking to face the filly.

“Listen, I can tell you right now that that’s not a possibility,” Rainbow Dash said seriously, “You gotta be a pegasus to become a Hunter, or find a Hunter school that trains ponies in a technique that doesn’t require flying, but those are rare. Also, you have to start training for combat young. I suppose you could still do that, but not to become a Hunter. A mercenary, maybe.”

“Aren’t mercenaries all fiends ‘n’ vagabonds?” Apple Bloom said, scrunching up her nose.

“Some ponies say the same thing about Hunters,” Rainbow Dash said as she resumed walking, “And sometimes they’re right. But, there’re a lot of Hunters who aren’t like that, and the same thing goes for mercenaries. You’ve heard of Iron Hammer-hoof?”

“Applejack told me how he fought off a hun’ed barbarians,” Apple Bloom replied.

“He’s a mercenary, and a hero,” Rainbow Dash said, “It all depends on the pony. If you want, I suppose I could try to teach you a thing or two once we get back to Ponieville.”

“Okay!” Apple Bloom said, excited about this new avenue that had opened up for her.

***

After collecting the corrupted naiad’s bounty (which would barely pay for the materials she’d needed to neutralize it), Rainbow Dash led Apple Bloom to the corner in Ponieville she trained in. The barrel she stored the mock weapons in when she wasn’t around wasn’t quite as watertight as she’d have liked, but the weapons were well-wrapped and mostly dry when she retrieved them. The real difficulty here would be finding something that Apple Bloom could use, as the weapons were designed with an adult pony in mind. Fortunately, like most Hunter orders, the Order of the Falcon preferred speed over striking power, so Rainbow’s arsenal here contained no warhammers, battleaxes, or polearms, though she did keep a few handy for training occasionally at her home, just in case. Some of the blades would still be too long and heavy, but Apple Bloom ought to have been capable of wielding the rest in an improvised manner at least.

Apple Bloom watched attentively as Rainbow Dash selected a war axe from the row of weapons. Surely the filly had chopped wood with an axe at some time in her life, and the war axe really wasn’t all that different. In fact, most of the time the axes wielded on the battlefield were the same axes the peasants pressed into service had used at home for splitting firewood. The Hunter went to work on a post, striking it repeatedly and moving slowly so that Apple Bloom could follow her motions before passing the weapon to the filly.

Clutching the padded grip in her teeth, Apple Bloom tried to copy Rainbow Dash’s moves. However, the axe was still ungainly for her, and she didn’t have the height needed to put the necessary force into her swings. The weapon repeatedly bounced off the post or missed entirely. Rainbow Dash gave another demonstration, but Apple Bloom’s technique didn’t seem to improve at all.

After a few more tries, the Hunter decided to switch weapons. Unfortunately, Apple Bloom proved to be just as inept at using a short sword. She also proved equally incapable of fighting with a mace, a flail, a dagger, or a longsword. After once again failing to strike her target with the speed, strength, or accuracy necessary to do damage, Apple Bloom sat down in defeat.

“I’m never goin’ t’ get it, am I?” the filly remarked.

“No, you just need a lot of practice,” Rainbow Dash said sympathetically, “Or a weapon more suited to your size. You’d still need to practice, of course, but you could get the hang of it easier.”

Apple Bloom wasn’t so sure she liked the sound of that. Practice meant time, and that wasn’t an option for a pony who wanted her cutie-mark right now. She felt she had a better chance of earning her cutie-mark by continuing to try out new things until she found something she was already good at instead of sticking to one thing for a long period of time in an attempt to become good at it.

“There y’ are, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said, turning sharply as she nearly trotted past, “Rarity ‘n’ I have been lookin’ everywhere for you. What’s going on here?”

“I was trying to teach her some fighting techniques,” Rainbow Dash said as she gathered up her practice weapons and rewrapped them.

“What?” Applejack exclaimed, turning to her younger sister, “I thought y’ were going t’ be with Twist.”

“Well I was, but when I went t’ Twist’s house, I found her out back makin’ rope, like she’s taken t’ lately, an’-”

“Okay, y’ can tell me all about it later,” Applejack cut Apple Bloom off upon recognizing she was about to launch into one of her long, roundabout stories, “Rainbow Dash, y’ve got t’ help us find Pinkamena.”

“Why, is she missing?” the Hunter asked as she stowed her weapons back in their barrel.

“Well, we haven’t found her yet,” Applejack replied, “Twi’ is getting th’ Brave Companions together. There’s a red priest in town stirrin’ up all kinds o’ trouble, and we’ve been asked t’ take care o’ the matter.”

“A red priest, huh,” Rainbow Dash said, thinking about the poor experiences of some of the Hunters she knew because of the True Faith’s denouncement against everything that wasn’t earth pony, “All right, I assume madam sorceress has a plan?”

“So I’ve heard,” Applejack said, “She’s busy fetchin’ Fluttershy, so we need t’ gather th’ rest afore she returns.”

“On it. You take the streets, and I’ll keep an eye out from above,” Rainbow Dash replied before taking off into the sky.

In the rush, Applejack completely forgot about Apple Bloom, and left her standing alone on Ponieville’s streets. Though Ponieville was never a particularly lively village, the streets weren’t usually so empty. Apple Bloom spotted only a single pony draped in a cloak hauling a cart filled with sacks of flour. As the cart bounced through a puddle, the flour sacks shifted, and one slipped off and onto the ground. With nothing better to do, Apple Bloom bounded over and hefted the sack onto her back before pursuing the cart pony.

“Excuse me, but y’ dropped this,” she announced as she caught up to the mare.

“Oh, thanks a million,” Pinkamena said as she flipped back her hood and returned the sack to her cart, “Master Cake would have my hide if I lost one of these again.”

“Pinkamena?” Apple Bloom said with surprise, “What are you wearing?”

“Oh, this,” Pinkamena said, looking at the drab cloak before pulling it off to reveal her normal attire beneath, “I admit, it’s not very fun, but it was all I had to protect me from the rain.”

“But, it stopped raining a while ago,” Apple Bloom said curiously.

“So it has. Glad you told me,” Pinkamena said, completely sincerely.

Apple Bloom sighed. Sometimes it was just better to not question things when talking to Pinkamena. There was no understanding this strange mare.

“Hey, what’re you doing in Ponieville, Apple Bloom?” Pinkamena asked.

“Well, I was tryin’ t’ earn m’ cutie-mark,” was all she was able say before Pinkamena resumed her chatter.

“No way! Well, you should come with me to Sugar Cube Corner. I’ve got all this flour, so you can try your hoof at baking. I’m sure Master and Mistress Cake won’t mind, but it doesn't matter if they do, ‘cause they won’t be there!”

“Weren’t y’ just sayin’ that you’d be in trouble if y’ lost the flour,” Apple Bloom said, trying to puzzle out why Pinkamena would care about that, but thought it perfectly all right to invite somepony in to bake with the flour the Cakes surely meant to be used for other things.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Pinkamena said, completely ignoring Apple Bloom’s comment as she lifted her into the wagon and took off for Sugar Cube Corner.

***

Apple Bloom had done some simple cooking back on the farm, and though the Apples did have their own mill for grinding grain, it was nothing like baking at Sugar Cube Corner. She had to knead large quantities of dough by hoof, and though Pinkamena helped her out in this (jabbering incessantly the whole time), it was still quite a lot of work. Then there was the matter of getting the bread into the oven, which was tricky for a pony who wasn’t even tall enough to see into the oven. A few dropped loaves later, and she was back to kneading dough while the bread baked.

“I think you’ll get the hang of this in no time,” Pinkamena encouraged her as she worked, “Why, you’ve already lost less dough than I did on my first day.”

“I don’t know, Pinkamena,” Apple Bloom said, no longer as enthusiastic about baking as when she’d started, “I guess I could be good at it, but is it really what I want t’ do?”

“Well, it’s not my first choice either,” Pinkamena admitted, “But after singing and merrymaking, I think baking is one of my favorite things, especially when I can make something sweet. Combining all my favorite things makes them better, too. I’ve written a song about baking that I find helps pass the time.”

“Why don't you sing it?” Apple Bloom said, searching for some way to escape the monotony of kneading dough.

“Really? Usually when I want to sing a song, Twilight tells me it’s not the right time. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she didn’t like me songs,” Pinkamena said, then was quiet for a long time, “Good thing I know better!”

Bounding up to her tower bedchamber, Pinkamena returned with her lute. She strummed it a few times and made some adjustments before settling in in front of Apple Bloom and finding the right tune.

“Let’s see, how does this go?” the bard said.

“Twelve kings stand upon the hills,”
“Their kingdoms cold and dead.”
“Thirteen kings now on the hills,”
“The new one’s coat a bloody red.”
“‘Surrender now!’ the new king yells,”
“The twelve stand firm and strong,”
“‘Give unto me your dales and dells,”
“I shall do you no wrong.’”
“Twelve kings stand upon the hills,”
“‘Leave now!’ they say as one.”
“Thirteen kings still on the hills,”
“The red king won’t be gone.”
“‘I offer’d you the peaceful path!’”
“The red king cries with frown,”
“‘Now you shall know my furious wrath!”
“Your blood shall stain the ground!”
“The twelve kings shiver at their fate,”
“They know their end is nigh.”
“And so they seek a ruler great,”
“Within the city of the sky.”
“Before the mare the twelve kings pled,”
“‘Do not let our blood be spill’d,”
“By this king with coat so red,”
“Across our dales and rolling hills.”
“We will do whate’er you say,”
“We only ask one thing,”
“That when we’re asked, we can say,”
“Upon these hills, we still are kings.’”
“The kings bowed to the lady’s will,”
“And so the lady great did bring,”
“The towns and peoples of the hills,”
“All underneath her wings.”
“The red king left the land of hills,”
“Returning home in spite,”
“The twelve kings now stand ‘pon their hills,”
“Within the lady’s light.”

“That’s great, Pinkamena, but does that have t’ do with bakin’?” Apple Bloom asked once the bard finished her song.

“Oops, wrong song,” Pinkamena said, “I guess the smell of burning bread threw me off.”

“Burning bread!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she rushed to the oven and extracted her loaves.

Pinkamena’s nose hadn’t misled her; they were burnt beyond recognition. Setting her lute down as Apple Bloom tried to fan the smoke away, Pinkamena bit into one. Scrunching up her face, the mare still somehow managed to swallow the charred bread.

“Could use some cream,” she croaked out.

“It’s no use, Pinkamena,” Apple Bloom said in defeat, “I don’t think I’m meant t’ be a baker. I’m startin’ t’ doubt I’m meant for anythin’. I’ll be a blank flank forever.”

“See, I told you circling back wasn’t a waste of time,” Rarity said as she and Rainbow Dash burst into Sugar Cube Corner’s kitchen, “Pinkamena, we’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“Everywhere? I was pretty sure I was somewhere,” Pinkamena said, confusing everypony in the room, “What’s going on.”

“We’ll explain on the way,” Rainbow Dash promised as she pushed past Rarity, “Twilight needs us right now.”

At the call to action, Pinkamena followed them out of Sugar Cube Corner. All day, whatever pony she was with had kept getting called away for something, and Apple Bloom wasn’t going to be left behind this time. The others hardly noticed the little filly trotting behind them and listening to their conversation as they rapidly made their way to the Ponieville Chapel, outside of which a large crowd had gathered.

In front of the chapel doors stood a stallion robed like a monk, except that no monk Apple Bloom had ever seen had worn robes dyed such a vibrant scarlet color. At the moment, the red priest was silent, preparing to address the crowd, which many of those assembled didn’t intend to allow him to do. They shouted at him to leave the town, though there were others in the crowd shouting back to let him speak. Some ponies looked ready to expel the priest from Ponieville by force, but they were deterred from acting by the priest’s companions. Two ponies stayed near the priest at all times, while two others paced the distance in front to keep the crowd back. Their garb was no different than a regular townspony’s, but the way they carried themselves spoke of experience in combat. No townspony carried a sword at their side either, and all four of the red priest’s companions were armed with blades ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice.

Apple Bloom spotted her sister, and began to trot over to her before she took off in the opposite direction and plunged into the crowd. She had been speaking to Twilight Sparkle, and Apple Bloom now approached the sorceress instead. She looked busy, but Twilight always looked busy, and it couldn’t hurt to ask for help in some way for her cutie-mark problem.

“Madam Twilight, can I ask you a question?” Apple Bloom asked as she reached the sorceress and tugged on her robes.

“Sorry … Apple Bloom, I have more important matters to attend to at the moment,” Twilight said as she went back to observing the crowd.

“It’s just, you’re th’ fourth smartest pony I know, an’ I thought y’ might be able t’ help me,” Apple Bloom said.

“The fourth smartest pony you know?” Twilight objected.

“I’ve been tryin’ t’ get m’ cutie-mark, ‘n’ nothin’s been workin’,” Apple Bloom continued, taking Twilight’s response as a sign that she was listening, “I was wonderin’—hopin’, really—that y’ might know some spell t’ help me get m’ cutie-mark.”

“That is not possible,” Twilight replied with a shake of her head.

“Why not? I saw y’ do all kinds o’ impossible things in th’ blizzard!”

“Cutie-marks are a post-Conjunction phenomenon we do not fully understand yet, even given how long we have had to study them,” Twilight shifted into lecture mode, “We are not even sure that they are magic, though if they are, they are an old magic beyond our grasp, like the Elements of Harmony. No spell can make a cutie-mark appear, and one may never exist.”

“Oh, I see,” Apple Bloom said dejectedly.

“That is no reason to be disheartened,” Twilight said upon realizing what her statement meant to a young filly with no cutie-mark, “I received my cutie-mark when the time was right, as has everypony else since the Conjunction. Yours will appear in time.”

“I suppose, but what am I supposed t’ do until then?”

“Find something you like and work at it,” Twilight advised, and pushed Apple Bloom away from the crowd as she realized that things were reaching a boiling point, “Why not start now? Like I said before, I have important matters to attend to.”

As Apple Bloom walked away, some ponies in the crowd began to chant for the red priest to speak. Most of them Twilight had never seen in Ponieville before, and she suspected that the priest had brought them with him and planted them to rile the crowd up. This priest had timed his visit perfectly. At most other times of the year, ponies would be suspicious of new ponies in a town of such a small size, but with the autumnal equinox only a week away, all kinds of ponies were passing through on their way to the White Tail Tournament. As the red priest raised his hooves, the crowd instantly quieted, except for the few who still called out for him to leave, until they too were silenced by glares from the priest’s bodyguards.

“My fellow earth ponies, it lights a fire in my heart to see such fervor for the truth here in the shadow of the Devil Queen’s castle!” the priest began his speech, “And to those who reject my message, I see you! Unicorns and slaves of unicorns! These single-horned demons have made you subservient with their witchcraft and their false religion! The Church of One is hollow and empty! The building I stand before is a prison of stained-glass where you pray to a dead goddess whose form you praise as divine because it has the horn of your masters! Embrace the truth that earth ponies knew long ago, when they did not bow before a winged unicorn, but communed with the world around them! We of the True Faith know there is no goddess, only the raw powers and spirits of nature!”

“You know nothing of nature!” Fluttershy spoke up from the crowd, lending her credibility on the matter as a druidess, “You claim to commune with the world, but your priests and militants burn down forests and slaughter ponies who’ve done no wrong!”

“You druids! You are the ones who don’t understand nature!” the priest replied, “You would have us believe it is about peaceful harmony among plants and the creatures of the forest, but the world’s natural forces are savage and wild! Have you seen the power of the all-consuming flame on the Fiery Isle that has blazed for a thousand years? Do you know the fury of the waves when they wash over a city on the coast and drag it from the shore? Can you comprehend the earthquakes that reshape the fragile ground we tread upon or storms that strip the bark from trees and flesh from ponies alike? This is what is natural! This is the world!

“Anything that would fight against this natural order is wrong! The druids, who would have us believe in a tame world, are wrong! The pegasi, who move the clouds when we can’t wait for nature to take its natural course, are wrong! And, above all, the unicorns, with their wretched witchcraft that draws on dark unnatural forces to subvert the world’s laws, are wrong!”

“Not all sorceresses are unicorns, and not all unicorns are sorceresses,” Rarity objected from her tactical position in the crowd, “I work just as hard as an earth pony, without magic.”

“Liar!” the red priest screamed as he pointed an accusatory hoof at the blacksmith, “The unicorns, that vile race, will always use their witchcraft to pervert the natural order and lord themselves over the earth pony, the rightful inheritors of this world! We once believed the lie that there could ever be a good witch, when Celestia and Luna ruled Equestria as queens! That was before the Tearing of the Veil, when Luna revealed the true face of the sorceress as Nightmare Moon!”

Many of the ponies in the crowd that had been standing skeptically by now began to mumble uneasily among themselves. How does this priest know all this? They’ve always ranted against Celestia, but never before have I heard of them using Nightmare Moon’s Rebellion to turn ponies against sorceresses. Then again, the rebellion and the fact that Celestia and her sister had once ruled Equestria was lost until recently. The only records I’ve heard of on the matter were sealed in the archives of the Church of One and Celestia has been very careful about the spread of this lost history. The True Faith can’t have gotten ahold of the Church’s records, unless … unless this is what Gunter warned me about regarding the records the True Faith had found. Could this be the origin of their hatred of sorceresses? Could it all be traced back to Nightmare Moon’s Rebellion?

“The Devil Queen banished her sister to the moon for her treachery, but she was no better!” the priest continued to rant, “She repressed any mention of that terrible moment when the truth was revealed! All sorceresses, all unicorns, are devils to their very cores! Give them the chance, and these witches will lay waste to this world! The Church of One hid the truth, and when the College of Winterm refused to do the same, the Old Witch put it to the flame! Only the True Faith remembered and kept alive this truth and warning! You may have fallen for Celestia’s spell, but be blind no more! She is a cruel tyrant who would burn this world away if she could!”

The murmuring grew louder, and fewer ponies seemed resistant to the red priest’s words, worrying Twilight. She had no intention of being burned at the stake or hanged today. She could stand idly by no longer. Her plan hadn’t involved getting personally involved, for the priest would surely find many ways to rail against a sorceress, but she couldn’t let him defame her mentor (even if half of what he said was likely true).

“Celestia has only brought good to these lands!” Twilight said from the back of the crowd, “Unlike King Hadish, she does not burn her subjects alive and threaten other kingdoms with war if they refuse to bow to her will!”

“Why would she need to threaten war when everypony is terrified of incurring the Old Witch’s ire?” the priest gave his rebuttal, “The monsters in the dark are a threat to our survival, but the Devil Queen is Equestria’s true terror! So has she been since she came into being millennia ago, no doubt through some dark art, and will continue to be until somepony stands up against her! With her witchcraft, she has lived on for centuries while the rest of us are doomed to grow frail and perish after a few short decades! You foul witches use your spells to prolong your own lives out of selfishness and greed, and bring only death and despair with your witchcraft! We can all agree that you care only for yourself, and any feigned interest in your fellow pony is only a ruse for the protection of your own pitiful form that will vanish the moment it is no longer convenient for you!”

More murmuring came from the crowd, but the opinion appeared to be turning. Perhaps the priest’s final challenge would have hit home when Twilight had first arrived in Ponieville, and the townsponies’ suspicions were as he’d said, but things had changed. Some lingering doubt as to the wisdom of allowing sorceresses in the town remained after Trixie’s stay, but foremost in the townsponies’ minds were Twilight’s actions during the latest attack by the White Procession. Not only had she placed protection over those within the Mayoral Keep, but she had also gone out into the store with three other sorceresses to do battle with the White Procession.

“Trust not in these witches’ tricks!” the red priest yelled as he sensed he was in danger of losing the crowed, “Celestia is naught but a perfumed corpse who has placed blinders upon you with her witchcraft! None stand against her but one, the future ruler of all Equestria and the only king who has seen the truth and recognized it for what it was! King Hadish the Righteous is the savior of all earth ponies! He will cleanse this world of all evil things! Monsters, witches, and unicorns will all be swept away forever by the cleansing fire!”

“Enough of your pagan babble!” Ponieville’s priestess proclaimed dramatically as she threw the chapel’s doors open and stepped outside. Right on time.

“The words of the witch have emboldened you to stop cowering within your den of lies, I see,” the red priest said as he turned to face the priestess, “Behold, everypony! She who feeds you the lies of the unicorn, bearing upon her head the symbol of that vile race’s tyranny! She would have you bow down before a horned goddess, a symbol all earth ponies ought to recognize as a lie!”

“Begone! I’ll not have you attempting to poison my parishioners against Faust any longer!” the priestess ordered, “I’ve known you all since you were foals, and cared for you as Faust’s children as if you were my own progeny. The Church has been here for you in feast and famine. Do not listen to this heathen’s lies!”

“Silence, witch! I am immune to your tricks! All these ponies here you have held under your spell until today, and I shall not let you bewitch them again! Silence her!” the red priest yelled, and ordered two of his bodyguards forward, while the other two continued to pace before the crowd.

On cue, Applejack and Pinkamena darted out to place themselves between the priestess and the armed ponies. The priest’s bodyguards paused, unsure of how to proceed.

“Kill them!” the red priest yelled, “All who stand in the way of the True Faith must be cut down for the greater good! If they would oppose our good work, then they shall be burned away and swallowed up by the Pit!”

The four bodyguards drew their swords, and the crowd shifted violently. It had been a tipping point, and the priest had failed. All day he had been proclaiming that the True Faith was the protector of earth ponies, but he had proved himself just as willing to cut them down as the unicorns and pegasi he regularly demonized. The bodyguards near the crowd quickly lost their weapons as the mob turned on them, and the other two moved quickly to take out Applejack, Pinkamena, and the priestess before returning to whisk their charge away. Their blades were stopped, however, as Rainbow Dash darted in and parried them. Hearing the commotion, Mayor Mare’s guards followed their orders and rushed in from the side streets to surround the bodyguards with dozens of spear points and hold the townsponies back from inflicting any more damage than they already had.

“Take them away to the Mayoral Keep’s dungeon,” the captain of the guard ordered, before turning to address the red priest, who now had no bodyguards to protect him, “You are no longer welcome here. Leave Ponieville immediately.”

“Very well, but you will all pay for your actions this day unless you turn from your false ways and embrace the True Faith,” the priest replied, “Fire will cleanse!”

“Rainbow Dash will lead you out of town,” the guard captain replied without emotion.

“Don’t touch me, foul creature!” the priest said as he recoiled violently to the Hunter placing a hoof on his back, “Mark my words; you all shall be burned, either consumed or purified. Fire will cleanse!”

The red priest continued to yell the True Faith’s mantra as he trotted slowly away, Rainbow Dash hovering nearby. As the crowd began to disperse, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t been particularly worried about Ponieville’s residents giving in to the fervor of the red priests and burning her at the stake, but stranger things had happened. Most of the unicorn persecution was confined to Equestria’s east coast, but not even the Dominions of Cant’r Laht, a land ruled from a city of unicorns, was safe.

“Your plan worked, Twi’,” Applejack said as she, Pinkamena, Rarity, and Fluttershy approached the sorceress, “I don’t see why we had t’ let them go, though.”

“It was impossible to determine definitively if his bodyguards were mercenaries, part of the Faith Militant, or Hadish’s housecarls. It is likely they were one of the latter two, and if either of those were killed, King Hadish could consider it a provocation. Celestia intends to avoid war with Manehattan for as long as possible,” Twilight explained, “Speaking of the future of the Dominions of Cant’r Laht, I have a favor to ask all of you …”

***

Apple Bloom had stayed quiet during the priest’s speech near the back of the crowd, desperately wanting to speak up with what Sister Cheerilee had taught her, but nopony would take a foal seriously. Besides, Applejack and her friends seemed to have things under control. Once the fighting broke out, however, she quickly left. Though nopony would harm her on purpose, a pony as small as her went without notice easily, and she could be speared by accident. Unfortunately, after leaving, she almost immediately ran into the two ponies she least wanted to see.

“Oh look, there’s one of the rabble now,” Diamond Tiara mocked as Apple Bloom tried to ignore her.

“You think you can snub us? Show some respect!” Silver Spoon demanded as she stepped in front of Apple Bloom to keep her from leaving.

“Who do you think you are?” Diamond Tiara said as she circled Apple Bloom, “Even among the peasantry, you’re not special. At least they have cutie-marks to prove how good they are at providing for their betters, but you’re just a worthless blank flank.”

“Leave her alone!” a new voice squeaked, and the three ponies in the street turned to look at the white unicorn and orange pegasus filly emerging from behind some nearby crates, “So what if she doesn’t have a cutie-mark? Maybe she hasn’t found what she’s good at yet because it’s so great and special that it’ll surpass your cutie-marks.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard, but I expected nothing better from you,” Diamond Tiara scoffed, and shoved the pegasus.

Instead of falling to the ground, the pegasus tensed her legs and sprung back up to knock Diamond Tiara down instead. Befuddled that somepony had stood up to her, Diamond Tiara sat on the ground for a moment before jumping back up in anger.

“Don’t you know who I am?” she screamed, “My father will hear about this!”

At first, she looked about to try to push the pegasus down again or go after her companion, but thought better of it and took off. Silver Spoon realized she had been abandoned and took off after Diamond Tiara a second later.

“Who are y’ two?” Apple Bloom asked after watching in amazement as the bullies left.

“Sweetie Belle,” the unicorn introduced herself.

“Scootaloo,” the pegasus said.

“I’ve never seen y’ around before, at least not any time I’m in town t’ learn from Sister Cheerilee. Are y’ new t’ Ponieville?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I am,” Scootaloo said, “I met Sweetie Belle not too long after I got here.”

“I’ve never been to Sister Cheerilee’s lessons, but my sister Rarity teaches me when she can,” Sweetie Belle said.

She’s Rarity’s sister? Why didn’t Applejack tell me her friend had a sister my age? Although, I guess they haven’t been friends for long. It’s hard to believe it now, but they barely even knew each other existed before the summer solstice ceremony when Nightmare Moon returned.

“I’m Apple Bloom, Applejack’s sister,” she said before something occurred to her, “What were th’ two of y’ doin’ hidin’ over there?”

“Honestly, hiding from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon,” Sweetie Belle admitted, “I guess I’m not the only pony they like to pick on. Do you … want to be friends?”

“You want t’ be friends with a blank flank?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Only if you don’t mind being friends with two other blank flanks,” Scootaloo said.

“What! Th’ two o’ y’ don’t have cutie-marks either? I thought I was th’ last pony our age around here wi’out one! This is amazing! How have I never met you?” Apple Bloom said excitedly with a fair bit of squealing, “We should all work t’gether t’ get our cutie-marks.”

“That sounds great!” Sweetie Belle said, “We can form our own order dedicated to finding out what we’re best at!”

“Sister Cheerilee says that cutie-marks are a gift from Faust, so this is like a holy quest,” Apple Bloom said, “We’re like crusaders; cutie-mark crusaders!”

“Yeah! Finding my cutie-mark with the two of you sounds like a great quest!” Scootaloo said enthusiastically.

“It’ll be just as great as the crusade to conquer Equestria!” Sweetie Belle said excitedly, before adding, “Except with a lot less dead pegasi.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, somewhat less excitedly than before.

“Look out, Equestria,” Apple Bloom said dramatically, “The Cutie-Mark Crusaders’re comin’ for y’! An’ we won’t give up on findin’ our destiny, no matter what it takes!”

Comments

[Misty Spell]

“A heathen priest of the Red Faith is in Ponieville, spreading his blasphemy, and he’s brought thugs along for protection.”

I can't keep track. Is it the Red Faith or The One that's been burning the magical people? Because I side with the one not doing that. Also, in a dangerous world like this how dare he have protection? The monster. He deserves whatever comeuppance he gets.

“A red priest!” Applejack exclaimed angrily before turning to her sister

A guy that doesn't believe what we believe existing and talking about his beliefs?! DEATH IS TOO GOOD FOR HIM! TORTURE EVERYONE HE LOVES INTO INSANITY AND STARVE HIM UNTIL HE'S DESPERATE ENOUGH TO CANNIBALIZE THEM!

“You are no longer welcome here. Leave Ponieville immediately.”

What? Are priests immune to the law? He should be arrested for inciting an attempted murder!

[Snowdrifter]

“Look out, Equestria,” Apple Bloom said dramatically, “The Cutie-Mark Crusaders’re comin’ for y’! An’ we won’t give up on findin’ our destiny, no matter what it takes!”

"And that's how Equestria was destroyed."