Episode 22: The Matter of Apples
12th of Rising Heat, 1006 BA
The second part of Pinkie’s plan was in full swing. She’d fired off a colorful flare using her ‘party cannon’, and within seconds the artillery pieces at the base were pounding the hills and valleys behind the retreating band. If Cayenne and the Bad Apples were still alive out there, they would have a hard time pressing on through the barrage.
The noise was deafening, but Rarity hardly noticed it. All her attention was on Cerulean and the blood dripping from Coco’s side. They moved as fast as their sand lizards could manage, Cranky taking up a big lead as he urged Cerulean ever faster. Rarity’s heart throbbed with the thought that she might have gotten one of her dearest friends killed. Her mind ran on repeat: This is my fault. This is my fault. This is my fault!
No matter how she looked at it, all roads led to Rarity. Oh, she might have saved Coco’s innocence all those months ago, but was that worth it if she died here and now?
Oh, Sisters, Coco was going to die.
After what might have been an eternity, the base came in sight. Soldiers were lined up behind the palisades, ready and waiting for action as the guns continued to blast the distant hills. Idly, Rarity wondered if they would all get in trouble for acting so forcefully against the Gang, but she couldn’t worry about that now. Ophelia entered the camp right behind Cerulean, and the little pony in the back of Rarity’s mind noted that the hostages appeared to have all made it there safe and sound. Praise Luna for small miracles.
And curse her if she took her friend as payment! Rarity jumped off Ophelia, ignoring Sweetie’s calls, and hurried to help Cranky get Coco off Cerulean. “Is she okay? Coco, tell me you’re okay!”
Pinkie barreled onto the scene, her Dust Devil rearing back wildly when she forced it into a sudden stop. “Second Lieutenant! Somepony get Catharsis out here, now!”
Coco’s face was a hideous grimace of agony, and she cried out as Rarity and Cranky dragged her off Cerulean. They laid her down in the dirt, and she clutched Cranky’s hand in a deathgrip. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed.
“You’re okay, Coco,” Cranky told her, voice firm. “You’re gonna be okay.”
Grabbing Coco’s face and forcing it towards her own, Rarity urged, “Look at me, Coco. Look at me!” When the eyes managed to open at last, shining with fresh tears, Rarity spoke with equal firmness. “The doctor’s coming. You’ll get through this.”
“It h-hurts,” Coco hissed through clenched teeth. “Oh, Goddess, Rarity, it hurts!”
“I know it does, love.” Rarity pressed her forehead to Coco’s and took slow breaths, for both their sakes. “Just breathe. We’ll fix you up right as rain and you’ll be back to making pretty dresses in no time.”
“Out of the way! Everypony, give her room!” A stocky, silver-coated pegasus with an aqua green mane arrived. She dropped a medical field bag down next to Coco and shoved Rarity aside to get to the wound. As she eyed the injury, she spoke in a more motherly tone. “What’s your name, Dearie?”
Coco took a few sharp breaths before squeezing out a “C-Coco. A-am I going to die?”
“The names Second Lieutenant Catharsis, but you can call me Cathy. Don’t worry, I’m a doctor.” Cathy offered a sweet smile that had Rarity reeling. How could she look so calm and kind in the face of possible death? “Let me get a better look at this wound, okay?” Without waiting for an answer, she plucked some scissors from her bag and delicately snipped a hole in Coco’s dirty blouse. Peeling the fabric away with great care, she revealed the wound.
Rarity had seen bullet wounds before, of course. Even so, it amazed her how seemingly insignificant the hole was. For that’s all it was, a hole. Larger than the one she’d put in Braeburn, but otherwise just a hole. Rarity would have thought—
A hand caught her shoulder, pulled her away. Jerking out of that grip, she turned around to find Applejack watching her. Those concerned green eyes lit a fire in Rarity’s brain, and she wasted no time letting it out. “Don’t you look at me like that, you hussy! Let’s not forget it was your ponies who did this.”
Rather than take offense to her lashing out, Applejack placed a hand on her shoulder once again. “Come on, Rares. You don’t need to be here for this.”
The hand was slapped away. “Like Tartarus I don’t! Coco is my friend, and—”
Cathy’s voice had none of its prior motherliness. “You three, bring her to the Cafeteria. I need her elevated.” She spun to face Rarity and Applejack just as they were turning their own attention on her. “And you two, stay out! The last thing I need is a pair of bickering ninnies distracting me from my work.” Without another word, she snatched up her bag and followed the soldiers and Cranky who were carrying Coco away.
Before Rarity could even take one step to pursue, Pinkie was in her path. Her normally cheerful face was marred by a deep frown. “I really think you should listen to Cathy, Rares. The last time somepony interrupted her during something like this didn’t end well.” She gave a little shudder, then pointed to the headquarters building. “You should rest up while I sort out what to do with the hostages. I Pinkie Promise, somepony will come to see you as soon as we know Coco’s okay.”
She hurried off to the group of weary ponies near the palisade being tended to by her soldiers. Rarity watched her go, then looked to the cafeteria. Coco had already been taken inside. That familiar little pony in the back of her mind was begging her to go in and watch, but she reprimanded that voice. Her knees were shaking and her breath came in little hitches. Her eyes burned and her throat felt as dry as the Great Salt Plains. She was on the edge of a breakdown, and that wouldn’t help Coco at all.
So, though her heart ached from the effort, she followed orders and plodded for the headquarters, her boots dragging in the dirt. The air thundered with the ongoing roar of the guns, but it all seemed so much quieter in her head. All she could think about was Coco and whether she’d survive and who was responsible for this whole screwed up fiasco.
She soon found herself in the stateroom, the most internal place in the headquarters. It muffled the sounds of the artillery pieces outside, but the chairs and tables still rattled from the vibrations. Choosing a seat at random, Rarity slumped with her head in her hands and tried to keep her emotions at bay. But Coco… dear, sweet Coco. Barely out of her teens, and now lying on some cold table and hoping she’d live to see another sunrise. It was all Rarity’s fault. If she’d moved faster, if she’d not joined Roma’s caravan, if she hadn’t dallied in Hoofington talking to Raven... Little hiccups threatened to become full on sobs. How could things have gone so horribly, horribly wrong?
Amidst the struggling gasps keeping her together and the earth-shaking booms of the guns, there came the sound of chairs being scooted into place. Rubbing her eyes, Rarity lifted her head. Applejack settled on the opposite side of the table, face solemn as she rested her elbows on the surface and watched her. Winona sat in the chair by her side, her chin on the table and looking weary.
“What are you looking at?” Rarity could only halfway sit up, but she channeled all her pain into what she hoped was proper venom-filled glare. “N-Never seen a mare at the end of her rope before?”
Pain passed across Applejack’s face, but it seemed more for Rarity than because of her. “I just thought you’d like some company.”
Rarity almost snapped at her, but bit her lip. After a moment of struggling to keep from speaking anything too rash, she finally settled on, “Better you than nopony, I suppose.” She did desperately need a distraction. Lowering her chin onto her hands, she asked, “Why are you really here? I’d have thought you’d have tried to kill me again by this time. Luna knows I’ve given you a few opportunities.”
“I never wanted to kill you, Sugarcube.”
Lifting her head, Rarity peered at the pony. Strange, she couldn’t detect any hint at deception. It couldn’t be true though. “I distinctly remember you hitting me with two bullets. Or was that an accident?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one that demanded a duel in front of the entire town.”
Rarity sat up once more, her hands pressed tight on the tabletop. “If you really didn’t want to kill me, you’d have aimed somewhere else!”
A smile wormed its way onto Applejack’s face, smug and wry at the same time. She reached over to pet Winona as she replied, “I hit exactly what I meant to hit.”
“Oh, is that… so?” Sucking in a sharp breath, Rarity reached up to feel over her chest where the two bullets had impacted it. Her fingers touched the metal through a single hole in the fabric of her shirt. She gaped at the gunslinger opposite her in startled comprehension. “You knew?”
“Pinkie Pie told me before the duel,” Applejack admitted, not losing her smile. “She knew I didn’t want to kill ya, but we had to make it look real.”
“You…” Rarity didn’t know whether to be furious at Pinkie or confused that she was still alive. Those two shots had been perfect. Only now did it really dawn upon her that if Applejack had wanted her dead, she would be already. She never stood a chance of winning that duel. “You threw the fight?”
Applejack’s face turned serious once more. “That’s not what Ponyville saw. As far as everypony else in Equestria knows, you won. That’s the story I want. That way when the rest of the Apple Family gets my letter stating that the Apples have no quarrel left with the Bulletproof Heart, they’ll accept that the hatchet’s been buried.”
Perhaps Rarity should have felt relief at that declaration, but all she really felt was muddled. “You mean the bounty will be lifted?”
With a heavy sigh, Applejack shook her head. “The Apple Family never had a bounty on you, Rarity. If we want revenge for blood lost, we get it ourselves. It’s the Bad Apples that put the bounty up. All I’ve done is keep my kin – those not in the Gang, that is – from wanting to put a bullet in you on sight.”
“I don’t understand.” Rarity pointed at herself. “I killed Braeburn. Me, with his own gun. Don’t you want revenge for that?”
Winona growled, and Applejack gave a derogatory sniff. “Braeburn was a punk, and more than that, in league with the Bad Apples. I did what I needed to in order to satisfy my kin, but frankly, he wasn’t worth a bushel of rotten apples. I’m glad to have this mess over and done with, just like I’m glad his perverted ways got him what he deserved in the end.”
“You’re one to speak about perversion,” Rarity growled, hands clenching into fists. “You think you’re better than him because you used a less violent method?”
That one made Applejack flinch. She brushed her hand over her blonde bangs with a sigh and slumped backwards in her chair like a puppet with the strings cut. Winona shot her a glance, eyebrows raised. “I swear to the Sisters, Miss Belle, I’ll do everything in my power to make up for that.”
“I don’t know how you possibly could,” Rarity grumbled.
They lingered in quiet for a time, only the sound of the rattling furniture and the artillery rounds coming between them. Thoughts of Coco, lying just a few hundred feet away and possibly on her death bed at that, threatened the tenuous stability of Rarity’s emotions. Seeking to defend herself from them, she turned her attention to her depressed-looking companion. The leader of the Apple Family was startlingly young. Rarity’s age, perhaps. How did one so youthful get to lead one of the great families of the Agricultural Elite, and why was she running around Equestria getting into duels and dirt and blood instead of having tea in Manehattan ballrooms?
And then another thought came to mind. Once it did, it ate at her until she had no choice but to ask. “Did you know who I was back in Hoofington?”
As if coming out of a trance, Applejack shook herself and sat up properly. She studied Rarity like she’d forgotten she was there, then sighed. “Yep, I knew. Had a feeling when I saw you at the bar with them guns. Then you told me to my face, and it was pretty clear it wasn’t the lie of some pony looking for attention.”
Rarity frowned at this. “So you knew I was your enemy even then, and yet you still… did that to me? Is it common practice for Apples to play with their food?”
“Y’all were never my enemy,” Applejack corrected patiently.
“So I was what? A toy for your entertainment?”
Pursing her lips, Applejack glanced away and rubbed her face in an anxious gesture. When her hand dropped away, her cheeks were hot pink. Her brow furrowed and her ears folded back as anger clouded her expression. It took a few tries before she was able to answer. “I wasn’t thinkin’.”
“Well, that much is obvious.”
Applejack turned to her, but rather than anger or frustration, her expression was suppliant. “Can I please just get my story out?” When Rarity said nothing, she looked away once more and resumed talking. “I wasn’t thinkin’. I couldn’t think. All I had in my head when I saw you at that bar was ‘it’s really her!’ I left the farm and spent weeks trying to find you, going on clues that you were headed for the city. I’ll admit, when I first heard of the Bulletproof Heart, I thought it was all rubbish. But the stories kept comin’ in, and I started to weed out the real ones from the fakes.”
She hunched down and turned away again, as though ashamed. “I… I got all excited. Finally, somepony out there was doin’ it right. I started gettin’ ideas of what kind of pony you were, making you out into somethin’… somethin’ I wanted you to be. I was infatuated with the idea of us joining together, drifting around Equestria fixing the wrongs and putting away the outlaws. Just like my granny did.”
Though the shame didn’t leave her face, Applejack managed to meet Rarity’s gaze. “When I saw you at that bar and got confirmation it was you, I… I sorta lost my head. I wanted to get on your good side. Impress you.”
Rarity, having been too embarrassed by this story to say anything before, threw up a hand. “You thought throwing me in a bed and having your way with me would impress me?”
“I know it looks bad!” Again, Applejack ran a hand across her scowling face. “I was stupid, and I’m sorry. But you were there, really there, and you were so much prettier than I thought, and I just… You didn’t say no!”
Rarity bared her teeth. “I was smashed.”
“So was I! Well, maybe not as smashed as y’all, but I’d definitely hit one too many bottles of cider that night, and my head was full of all these fancy ideas and you were hotter than the Scorched Plains and… and…” She clasped her hands together and dropped her forehead onto them, knocking her hat away. “I’m sorry! I swear to Celestia, Luna, and Discord, I’m more sorry about that than anything I’ve ever been sorry about! I knew I fucked up when I woke up and you were gone, but I’ll make it up to you, Miss Belle. Please, let me make it up to you!”
Rarity stared at the prostrate posture on display before her, unmoving even as Winona stared at her with big, begging eyes. By Mother Night, she might actually believe Applejack’s story. Which was patently ridiculous. It had to be a lie, a part of the scheme.
…what scheme? What could Applejack possibly gain by toying with her?
You’re being paranoid.
This is the pony who had her way with me. I have a right to be paranoid.
Do you really think she could fake that level of guilt?
I’m at the point where I’ll believe just about anything.
Good, then you can believe she feels horrible about it.
The internal debate crashed when she realized she had no counter for that last argument, save that she dearly wanted one. She couldn’t simply forgive what happened. “You took the last bit of innocence I had left.”
That blonde head lifted, but dropped to the table again with a thunk without ever revealing Applejack’s face. Her hands squeezed even more tightly together, as if this might sway Rarity’s opinion. Winona let out a soft whine, ever her master’s wingpup.
It achieved nothing. Setting her jaw and crossing her arms, Rarity spoke up once more. “I can’t just forgive you. I can’t even like you, not after what you did. I want nothing more than to be rid of your presence and never set eyes on you again.”
Applejack moaned, but said nothing and didn’t move. Her hat trembled and fell off the back of her head as the world shook from another round of artillery outside.
“That being said, I do believe you are sincere in your intentions.”
Both dog and master’s heads whipped up, revealing glassy but hopeful green eyes for the latter. She opened her mouth—
Rarity shot a hand forward with a raised finger. “Don’t. Say. One word.” Applejack’s jaw clamped closed. “Frankly, I don’t believe it is possible for you to make this up to me. If it is, it will take a lot of work on your part. I won’t make it easy for you. I think that’s fair enough, don’t you?”
Despite the hard words, Applejack gained a relieved smile and appeared on the verge of tears. “I think it’s mighty generous of ya, is what I think.”
“That makes two of us.” Her declaration made, Rarity promptly slumped forward, elbow on the table and hand to her forehead. “But if you don’t mind, I’m going to stay mad at you for the time being. It’s either that or thinking about how my best friend might be about to die.”
“I think I can take being your punching bag for a while.” Wiping her eyes, Applejack sat up once more and reached out to scratch Winona’s ears. “And Coco ain’t gonna die. I’ve survived a shot like that myself.”
“Forgive me if I’m not filled with confidence at the word of a complete stranger.” But the declaration did bring something else to mind, and Rarity peered at her companion’s shoulder. Still no blood. “Why aren’t you bleeding from that hit I got on you?”
“What, this?” Applejack smirked and tapped her shoulder as if in demonstration. “Earth pony magic. Threw up a toughenin’ spell the instant the first bullet hit. Hardest spell I know, no pun intended, and it only lasts for a hit or two, but it’s saved my life more than once.” Her eyes drifted to Rarity’s vest where Ruby Heart was hidden. “That fancy gun of yours took it out in one.”
A bulletproof enchantment for the body? Rarity was impressed. Applejack must have an unusually fine grasp of how earth pony magic works to pull off something that effective. “And your hip?”
Applejack frowned, her hand dropping under the table. Probably to feel at the spot. “Nope, that one was real. I’ve survived far worse. Just a scratch, really.” At Rarity’s narrowed eyes, she added, “Honest. All that motion was just me reactin’ to the surprise.”
Rarity sighed and nodded. She wasn’t sure if she believed the mare, but she wasn’t going to go out of her way to feel guilty and make a fuss over it. Still… “I could have killed you. You threw the fight, but you had no idea that I wouldn’t aim for the heart.”
“Beggin your pardon, Rares, but it wouldn’t have mattered if ya had.” Noting Rarity’s nonplussed expression, Applejack grinned and undid the top few buttons of her shirt before reaching in and pulling something up.
Rarity gasped at the familiar sight of a bronze necklace with cloud filigree. Set in the middle was a gemstone cut in the shape of a red apple that glowed dimly in the ill-lit room. “Y-you have one too?”
Applejack’s grin faded. “Too?” She snapped her fingers, and Winona hopped down from her seat.
“I thought you said Pinkie told you?” And come to think of it, how did Pinkie know?
“Pinkie just told me you had protection over your heart.”
Rarity promptly repeated Applejack’s actions, revealing her own bronze necklace. She noted with some satisfaction that the gem had regained and even deepened its purple hue. It had even changed shape a little, becoming more pointed at the top and bottom. Was it forming into a diamond, perhaps?
“Well, I’ll be.” Applejack grinned as Winona hopped back onto the chair with hat in mouth. She took the hat from the dog and carefully set it back on her head. “Granny told me there were more of ‘em out there, but I never thought I’d see another one. Where’d you get yours?”
All curiosity and pride crashed. Rarity rubbed at the gem, glad for the calm it now gave her. Strange, she hadn’t been feeling all that calm five minutes ago… “Coco, my friend currently under the surgeon’s knife, gave it to me right before I had to flee for my life back in Spurhoof.”
“Oh.” That was as much as Applejack seemed willing to offer on the subject, and the two drifted into an uncomfortable quiet.
This was interrupted by the door to the state room opening. “Rarity?”
Her head shot up, eyes settling upon the pink-maned filly peeking at her behind the door. “Oh, Sweetie!” She shot to her hooves and hurried across the room, sweeping her sister up in a hug. “I just left you out there, didn’t I? I am so sorry!”
“It’s okay, Sis.” Sweetie gave her a tight squeeze. “You’re not used to having me around, right?”
The statement was a knife through Rarity’s heart. She leaned back, holding Sweetie by the shoulders, and took in her dear little sister’s face. Sweetie was trying to smile for her, trying to be understanding, but her eyes put her own pain on full display. “Oh, Sweetie…” Rarity ran a finger along her sibling’s cheek, relishing the sensation of it. “I’ve been a terrible sister.”
Sweetie shook her head. “You were busy, that’s all. Mom and Dad said you were trying to earn the money to get back.”
“I wish that was true.” Settling on the floor, Rarity heaved a sigh and pulled her close once more. “This little adventure has taught me that I could have come home at any time. I just… didn’t. And Celestia herself couldn’t understand how I regret that. I missed you so much.” Her eyes began to burn once more.
“I missed you too, Rarity.” Sweetie squirmed a bit, getting comfortable in her sister’s lap. The fact that she was a little too big for that now only made the tears come even faster. “It’s okay, honest. We’re together now, right?”
But for how long? Rarity knew their time was short. If only she could find a way to bring Sweetie with her everywhere, could ensure her safety. An impossible dream, but one she would cling to. For a little bit, anyway. “Of course, Sweetie. Y-you’re going to have to tell me all about the years I missed. Did you… did you get your cutie mark, yet?”
“No, but who cares?” Sweetie pulled back to offer a grin, and this one was for real. “Forget me, I wanna hear all about you! I thought you were eating dirt when that bad pony shot you. How’d you survive that, any—wait.” Sweetie hunched over, eyes going wide as she looked over Rarity’s shoulder. “What’s she doing here?”
Rarity turned to see Applejack had moved to the far corner, her chair tilted on its hind legs, her boots on the table, and her hat over her face. A means of giving them privacy without actually leaving the room, no doubt. Winona lay on the floor by her side, though the dog watched the two of them with rapt curiosity. Rarity scowled, but decided not to risk another fight with the mare. “She and I had some unfinished business. And, I suppose, still do.”
Applejack’s ear twitched at that, giving away her eavesdropping, but Rarity didn’t bother to point it out. Instead, she returned her attention to Sweetie. “Don’t worry about her, Darling. We’ve come to an agreement. I promise, she won’t cause us any trouble.”
“She shot you,” Sweetie groused, hands balled into fists as she continued to peer at Applejack. “Twice. Are you sure?”
Not really. “I’m sure.” Rarity paused to properly examine her sister. Her naturally curly mane was a mess of dirt and grit. She wore a white dress with a thin, pink overshirt, both a mess of stains and hideously filthy. Not that Rarity blamed her, considering her company in the last few weeks. More importantly, Sweetie was taller, and had lost a good bit of the baby fat that had made her so cute as a child. Not that she wasn’t cute now, that is; her cheeks were no less round and soft and pinchable, something Rarity promptly tested with a grin.
“Rarity!” Sweetie jumped back, rubbing her cheek with the most adorable of pouts. “I’m fourteen, not four! You can’t do that anymore.”
Indeed, she wasn’t much of a child anymore. Sweetie was a teenager, just about ready to cross that tender boundary into proper adolescence. Goodness, she probably was on the tail end of puberty! So many important lessons that Rarity should have been there to help with. Was it even possible to make up for all the lost time?
“Did you really fight griffons?”
The question pierced Rarity’s thought processes and sent them flying in all directions. She stared at Sweetie’s eager, excited expression and felt a chill run down her back. “Excuse me?”
“Griffons! They say you fought a whole bunch of them off by yourself. And, and… fought a whole army of bandits outside Hoofington! Is it true?”
Oh, no. No, no, no. She couldn’t have her dear, innocent little sister getting interested in such things! “I, um… Well, some of that may be true, b-but—”
“Wo~ow.” Sweetie bounced on her heels with a giddy giggle. “My sister’s a gunslinging hero! This is so cool!”
“No!” A spike of horror brought Rarity forward to catch her by the shoulders. “No, Sweetie, it is not cool! It’s not cool at all, and you absolutely must not think otherwise!”
“What? Why?” If anything, Sweetie’s grin actually broadened. “You’re stopping the bad ponies! And looking amazing while doing it, of course.” That part with no small hint of pride. “Come on, Sis, what’s cooler than that?”
“I…” Rarity’s jaw worked, but proper words wouldn’t come out. How was she supposed to explain all of this? The fear and grit and pain of her life over the last few seasons? To explain it to Sweetie in detail would be… She couldn’t traumatize her like that. Absolutely not! But if she didn’t say something, Sweetie might start getting ideas. Ideas leading to actions, and then what?
“Rarity?” Sweetie’s smile vanished as she observed her sibling’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ll tell ya what’s wrong, Sugarcube.” Applejack was standing at their side, her expression stern and her arms crossed. Sweetie jumped and hid behind Rarity, who only looked upon the unexpected guest anxiously.
In the absence of Rarity saying anything, Sweetie managed a halfhearted, “Y-you don’t scare me.”
“Good, I don’t like bein’ feared.” Applejack leaned forward, looking Sweetie in the eye. “But y’all tell me somethin’. How did it feel when you thought I had killed your sister?”
What kind of question was that? Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but Sweetie beat her to it.
“It felt horrible,” she admitted, her hands squeezing Rarity’s shoulders. “Like sompony had ripped a hole out of my heart.”
Not sure whether she needed to intervene, Rarity reached up to hold Sweetie’s hands and peered at Applejack. What was she doing?
“Yeah, it’s a terrible feelin’. And for you, it wasn’t real.” Applejack looked away, her gaze focused on something beyond the walls of the stateroom. “Now imagine how it would feel if you caused that pain to somepony else. How do you think that would make you feel?”
Sweetie whimpered and leaned against Rarity’s back. At last feeling as though she knew where this was going, Rarity said nothing.
Applejack gave her words a few seconds to sink in before looking down at Sweetie, expression somber and voice gentle. “Do y’all think Rarity enjoys it, Sweetie? Havin’ to hurt ponies all the time?”
“N-no…” Sweetie hugged Rarity from behind. “I’m sorry, Sis. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s okay, Sweetie,” Rarity whispered, rubbing her sister’s arms. “A lot of ponies make that mistake.” Her attention went to Applejack, who had already turned away. As much as she didn’t want to give the mare any credit, Rarity had to admit it was a good first step towards building that bridge between them.
The door opened again. This time it was Pinkie who poked her head in. “Um, hey, girls,” she said apologetically. “Is it okay if I come in?”
Taking a big breath and patting her sister’s arm one more time, Rarity stood and turned to the door proper. “Of course, Major. What can we do for you?” The air shook with the rumble of artillery that, up until now, she’d completely forgotten about. “How’s Coco?”
“Still in surgery.” Pinkie used her hip to bump the door open, revealing a tray balanced in each hand. One held bread, butter and some vegetables. The other held a collection of cupcakes with purple icing. “Thought you girls might be hungry.”
Rarity’s stomach chose that opportunity to voice its agreement, much to her embarrassment. Soon the four of them were munching on what the base had to offer, which wasn’t that bad compared to what Rarity was accustomed to by now. The cupcakes in particular were delicious, and she decided to be naughty and eat three. Yes, three; one need not worry about gaining weight when she spent all her time travelling and eating carefully rationed amounts of food. Even Winona got one, and looked immensely pleased with the fact.
When they were a good ways through the lunch, Pinkie spoke up again. “I hate to be a party pooper, but I’ve got some bad news.”
Thoughts of Coco made Rarity tense up. “Y-yes?”
Pinkie pointed at the ceiling just when the booming round of an artillery piece shook the building. “Hear that? We can’t do that forever. In a few hours we’re gonna have the Second Battle of Ponyville.”
“She’s right,” Applejack said, sitting a bit apart from the others. Her face turned hard. “Y’all did good rescuin’ them hostages like that, but you also put Apple Split in a right bad spot. If he doesn’t at least try to get them back, Velveteen’s gonna rip him a new one.”
Sweetie fidgeted, her cupcake forgotten. “They’re gonna attack the camp?”
“Soon.” There wasn’t an ounce of cheer in Pinkie’s voice. She met Rarity’s gaze with all the seriousness the situation warranted. “Probably as soon as we stop shelling the hills. I bet they’ll be circling the town. If you’re going to leave, you need to do it before nightfall.”
A siege. Rarity had been in plenty of shootouts, but to get involved in an actual military engagement? The thought left a cold feeling in her stomach. And yet… “I put you into this situation, Major. It wouldn’t be proper for me to abandon you to it.”
“Now hold on, Rares,” Applejack interrupted.
“Don’t you ‘hold on’ me. I started this, I need to finish it.”
Sweetie’s voice, though so very quiet, caught her full attention. “B-but I don’t want to be anywhere near it.”
All eyes fell on her, and the cold of Rarity’s insides were joined by a squirming feeling. The desire to help Pinkie and the Sixth warred against her need to get Sweetie as far away from danger as possible. It would be the height of irresponsibility to let Sweetie stay here another minute, but the soldiers here defied their standing orders to help. She couldn’t just—
“There’s more,” Pinkie said, stalling Rarity’s inner battle. “The hostages need to get out of here. All the fighting’s going to be pointless if the Gang gets their hands on them again.”
Applejack grunted and stood up, stretched her arms over her head. “I think I see where this is goin’.”
Rarity did, too. “N-now wait a minute. What about the Sixth? Can you defeat the Gang? I can’t let you all sacrifice your lives over this!”
At that Pinkie smiled, although it was a wan one. “We won’t lose this fight, Rares. They might outnumber us three to one, but any military strategetigest worth her sugar knows it takes a lot more than that to win in a siege. The Gang has no discipline. The fight’ll last a couple days, tops.”
“Don’t lie to me, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity hissed, slapping her hand on the table. “You just said you want the hostages out of the camp so they can’t be recaptured. Why would you be worried about that if you thought victory was assured?”
“No victory is assured,” Pinkie replied just as quickly, but with no heat. “I believe we’ll win, but I might be wrong. I want you and AJ to escort the hostages out of camp tonight, while the guns are still going off.”
“It’s the smart thing to do,” Applejack added.
Rarity pointed a finger at the mare. “You stay out of this! What about Coco? I won’t leave her here!” She felt Sweetie’s grab her vest and looked down. Her sister pressed tight to her side, but she wore a determined frown. The message was clear; she’d back Rarity up on this. Even so, it left her more uncertain and fearful than reassured, for she’d been reminded that staying would put Sweetie in danger.
With a hand to her sibling’s shoulder, she focused her attention on Applejack. “You do it. Take Sweetie and the hostages and get out of here. I’m not leaving.”
Pinkie sighed and stood up. “Sorry to argue with you so much, Rarity, but yes, you are. I already talked to Cathy. Coco should be out of surgery in an hour or two, and the doc says she’ll be right as rain.”
All arguments faded as Rarity let that claim sink in. Coco would be okay! She sagged against the table and let out a long, slow exhale. The worst part by far had passed.
Pinkie pressed on. “Assuming nothing goes wrong. But nothing will, because Cathy’s an amazing fixer upper pony, and Coco’s owie isn’t all that bad.”
Rarity lifted her head to frown at the Major. “You choose your words in a way that is meant to achieve maximum positivity, don’t you?”
“Yep!” The Major grinned, and it was almost believable. Except for the strain in those blue eyes, eyes that were begging Rarity to stop fighting with her. “Coco will get all bandaged up, then we’ll put her in a wagon and she’ll go with you. She won’t be awake, but that’s probably a good thing. Riding around in a wagon after seeing Cathy’s not gonna feel too good.” She slumped a little, but regained her posture in no time. “But yeah, we’ll load you up with everything you need! Head back to Hoofington as fast as you can and we’ll keep the bad guys off your tails.”
Biting her lip, Rarity considered the situation and the opportunity presented. The idea of leaving the Sixth to deal with the aftermath of her actions felt… wrong. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to engage in such a large scale fight as this, and she really didn’t want to. But to run away like a coward…
“Rarity?” Applejack waited, perhaps to make sure she’d be given permission to speak. Rarity couldn’t silence her this time, for she was willing to take any advice she could get right about now. “You did what you came here to do. You saved Coco and Sweetie. But more than that, you saved a bunch of innocent ponies who were bein’ used as pawns. You have no idea how much you’ve hurt the Gang with this move. You’ve done good, more than most ponies could have hoped. It’ll all be worthless if you die before making sure the job’s done.”
Frowning, Rarity asked, “What job?”
Applejack merely pointed to Sweetie.
A moment of quiet passed as Rarity and Sweetie stared at one another. The world shivered and trembled to the blasts going on outside, each one making Sweetie flinch. Those precious green eyes spoke of fear and doubt. It suddenly struck Rarity just how brave Sweetie had to be to have offered to stay with her, even if indirectly, when she was so clearly unprepared to do so.
And upon seeing her kid sister’s shaking, Rarity knew she couldn’t possibly send her out of this place with strangers and no idea if she’d survived the coming fight. She’d already put Sweetie through a lot. To add to the list now would be nothing short of cruel.
With a heavy sigh, Rarity turned to Pinkie. “Alright, you win. I’ll go as soon as Coco’s ready. Supplies?”
Pinkie grinned and saluted. “Already being taken care of! While you wait, I think you should go visit the hostages. They’re all real eager to meet the pony responsible for getting them out of Ponyville, and it’ll do them loads of good to know you’ll be going too.”
“They’re not going to treat me like some kind of hero are they?” She grimaced at the very idea.
Applejack smiled and tipped her hat back. “Hate to break it to ya, Rares, but you are one as far as they’re concerned.”
“It was pretty amazing, seeing you win that duel,” Sweetie admitted, though she averted her eyes when Rarity glanced at her. If only she knew that Applejack had lost on purpose.
“Speaking of that,” the mare herself stated, “I think I’m gonna stay in here. They might not be so happy to see me around.”
Pinkie Pie giggled as she performed an acrobatic twirl out of her seat. “Don’t be silly, AJ! That’s my job, and I like my job. You helped defend the ponies against Cayenne and her gang, so you’re a hero too!”
Applejack hesitated, her eyes drifting from Pinkie to Rarity. “Well, I guess since I’m going with them, anyway…”
“What?” Rarity shook her head forcefully. “Oh, no, don’t even think about it. There is no way I’m letting you accompany me anywhere!”
A blonde eyebrow rose. Applejack turned to Pinkie. “Major, how many soldiers are ya sending to protect the hostages as they leave?”
All eyes turned to Pinkie, who hesitated and began toying with her tail. “Um, well, we really need everypony. I was gonna send a few to escort them out a safe distance, but then they’d have to come back before the circle closes. They do outnumber us three to one, y’know.”
“Right.” Applejack was facing Rarity again. “You plan on protectin’ all them hostages all by yourself?”
“But… You… I…” Rarity growled and rubbed her temple. How was she supposed to work with this pervert if she didn’t even want to be in the same room as her? “I’ll have Cranky with me, I’m sure.”
“Ah, two to protect a couple dozen. Much better.”
“Listen, you—!” A tug on her hand brought Rarity up short. She glared down at Sweetie, who flinched but didn’t stop hugging her arm. The sight of her sister’s concern dumped water on her fire, and she took a moment to collect herself. She needed to be tolerant… for now.
Settling her firmest expression on Applejack, she all but growled her answer. “We’ll leave together. But once we’re well away from danger, we will have another talk about this, and that will obligate you leaving my presence.”
Applejack pursed her lips and studied Rarity through narrowed eyes. After a while she shrugged and relaxed her posture. Whatever her thoughts on the matter, she kept them to herself.
Pinkie clapped her hands with a grin. “Great, that’s settled! Now, how about those hostages, huh?”
It took some effort not to groan at that prospect. Still, Rarity had to admit that it would be worth it if it gave the ponies some good cheer. Who knew what they had been through so far in the care of the Bad Apples? If her going over to say ‘hello’ brought a little happiness to their lives, she couldn’t deny them. Plus, she abruptly realized, going to talk to them now might give her an opportunity to mitigate the rumors that had been spreading about her. Who better to correct the record than a bunch of ponies she’d personally rescued?
Despite Pinkie’s prodding, Applejack decided not to join them as they went to the barracks where the hostages were being housed. Pinkie only went so far as to escort them there before running off to continue preparations for the inevitable Apple Gang retaliation. Sweetie held Rarity’s hand as they went inside, holding her head up high and looking quite proud. Rarity refrained from chuckling at her manner.
The hostages – former hostages? She really needed a different term for all of them – were settled in a few large rooms near the barracks entrance. Recreation rooms, going by the billiard tables and other objects of entertainment, many of which had been pushed against the walls to make room for the guests. The Sixth’s medical teams were busy checking out the various ponies, making sure they were healthy, while another group could be seen through a doorway providing food and water. Other hostages came out of a back room, wet but clean (well, cleaner).
Rarity watched the scene, abruptly realizing… she’d done this. These ponies were going home because of her. If she hadn’t insisted all the hostages be freed, they’d still be hidden and unknown in Ponyville. How should she feel about that? Proud? Relieved? Another, darker thought struck her: was rescuing these two dozen ponies (oh, and one griffon! She was coming out of the bath area now) worth the lives of those who would be killed in the coming battle?
It took a moment for anypony to notice her, but when one did, so did another, and another, until all activity in the room had ceased. Rarity’s insides churned as every single pair of eyes locked onto her. Were it not for the ongoing blasts of the artillery outside, the room might have gone completely silent. Was she expected to say something? It wasn’t like she’d prepared a speech. Why were they just gaping at her? She really should have stuck to the headquarters. Being trapped there with Applejack didn’t seem quite so bad anymore.
The stillness came to an end when one pony, a tall yellow mare with a sandy brown mane, walked up. She paused, staring at Rarity with wide, glassy eyes. Her lips moved, but no sound escaped. At last, she came forward and embraced her, leaving Rarity no less stunned for it.
“I’ve been trapped in that place for five years,” the mare whispered into her ear. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“I…” Not knowing what else to do, Rarity gingerly returned the hug. “You’re welcome.”
With that, the floodgates were opened. The ponies hurried to meet Rarity and offer their gratitude. Handshakes, hugs, one teary-eyed elder stallion even kissed her hand. How interesting, that a gesture she’d once fantasized about coming from a charming young noble was now her most embarrassing moment of the day. The ponies ranged widely in age and appearance. The elder stallion had to have been in his seventies whereas the youngest was a filly that couldn’t have been more than six, clinging to the skirts of a middle-aged mare who confessed to not being related to the child in any way, but having taken care of her since her arrival eight months ago.
A great many questions were asked. How did Rarity know where they were? Was she really the Bulletproof Heart? How did she survive getting shot twice? What was she planning to do next? She answered to the best of her ability, sticking to facts when she could and being vague when she deemed it necessary. So yes, she was the Bulletproof Heart, but she wasn’t about to reveal all her survival secrets. They seemed perfectly willing to accept her dodges when she offered them, perhaps as a way of acknowledging their debt to her. At least, that’s how one of the mares put it.
When the rush of ponies finally died down, Rarity found herself standing aside from them all save for a lone grey-coated, dark-maned mare with a pleasant Trottingham accent. It appeared she was the impromptu leader of the hostages. Her collected manner and authoritative tone certainly helped with the image. “So you really didn’t know we were here? Then why were you in Ponyville at all? Most ponies avoid it at all costs.”
Rarity smiled and nodded to Sweetie, who was talking excitedly to the younger ponies in the next room. Boasting about her ‘awesome’ sister, no doubt. “They took my little sister and my friend Coco. I wasn’t about to let that stand.”
The mare set hands to her hips as she watched the foals. “Well, we’re all lucky they had you watching out for them, Miss Heart.”
“Belle, actually. Rarity Belle.” If there was anything she was no longer worried about, it was admitting her real name. She was reasonably sure the entire Bad Apple Gang knew it by now anyway. “And you would be…?”
“Octavia Melody.” Octavia gave a small curtsy, managing to make it look graceful and pleasant even in the ugly brown and white dress she was wearing.
“Oh!” Rarity pushed her hat back to get a closer look at the mare. “You’re that cellist who disappeared a year back, the one headlining the Manehattan Orchestra. Isn’t your mother a political figure?”
“Which is exactly why the Gang decided to kidnap me and drag me here,” Octavia replied with a grimace. “It makes me ill to think of what they are forcing my mother to do in the name of my safety, but the fact I’ve not been dragged away in the dark of the night tells me she’s been meeting their demands.”
The image that offered cast a dark shadow on Rarity’s thoughts. “Does that really happen? Ponies spirited away?”
“Plenty.” Octavia crossed her arms and glared over pursed lips at nothing in particular. “It’s happened half a dozen times since I was brought here. We aren’t told what happens to those who are taken away, but they never come back.”
The thought sent a fresh shiver down Rarity’s spine. Torture? Just plain death? Or perhaps sold in slavery to the griffons. At least everyone appeared healthy, generally speaking. No protruding ribs or obvious injuries. Which brought to mind… “The entire endeavor suggests a significant investment by the Bad Apples. I mean, they had to feed, clothe, and shelter all of you.”
“At bottom bit, I assure you.” Octavia picked at her dress with a scowl. “Our clothes are all hand-me-downs the outlaws didn’t want anymore, the food is the same gruel every day twice a day, and our cells did nothing to protect against the cold… or provide privacy.” She sighed and shrugged. “But then, I’ve heard from some of the others here that there are far worse places to be imprisoned, so I guess the Gang gets a little credit.
“As long as you’re an earth pony, that is.” She pointed to one mare sitting in the corner and nursing a bowl of soup. Rarity flinched at the sight of a jagged shard poking through her bangs. “They knocked Jasmine’s horn off with a hammer for fun.”
Whatever respect for the Bad Apples Rarity had been harboring died. Her horn tingled, a phantom ache brought on by just the idea of that happening to her. She looked away and tried hard not to think about it. Horns could grow back, true, but with damage like that it could take over a decade. “I’m so glad I got you all out of there.”
“As are we.” Octavia hesitated, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I know you said you don’t know what’s going to happen next, but… do you have any idea at all?”
“All I know is that we – everyone here – will be leaving within a few short hours. The Major thinks the Gang will attack the base soon in an attempt to get you back. I intend to have you all long gone before that happens. After that? I have no idea.”
With a light hum that was rather nice on the ears, Octavia took another cautious look around. “They’ll all want to go home as soon as they can, of course. I don’t think anypony will object. But let’s keep it quiet for now, let them enjoy the fact they are free at all before worrying about that.” She looked to Rarity with concern. “I heard your friend got shot in the escape.”
The unspoken question was as clear as could be. Rarity placed a hand over her necklace, rubbing at the gem through her shirt and letting her worry bleed out a little. “I am told she’ll be fine. We’ll be taking her with us. I refuse to leave her here.”
“Of course. I am pleased to know she’s okay. I would hate to think your actions today might come at such a great cost.”
They fell into companionable silence after that, watching as the former hostages went about the process of feeding and cleaning themselves along with their celebration of freedom. A few came over to thank Rarity again, which she tried to accept with grace and humility. One overenthusiastic colt of perhaps nine years wrapped her in a hug and refused to let go for nearly five minutes, and then only after Octavia bribed him with some of the cookies being offered by the base cooks. All told, there were twenty-six hostages, ten of whom were foals under the age of twelve. And then…
“What’s her story?” Rarity tilted her head towards the door farthest from where she and Octavia stood. From the other side occasionally peaked the head of the young griffon hen, her manner ever-anxious. Rarity had seen her accept the food and go for a bath, but generally she kept away from the others even when they tried to talk to her.
Octavia smiled warmly towards the griffon, who promptly ducked her head back behind the doorway. “Ah, that would be Roan Quill. They brought her in only a few months after me.”
With a concerned frown, Rarity asked, “She’s been here almost a year but still hides from the others?”
“Actually, she’s hiding from you and the soldiers.” Octavia chuckled at Rarity’s nonplussed looked. “She has trouble with new faces. Once she warms up to you, she may be the sweetest child you’ll ever meet. Nothing like the stereotypical griffon.”
Curious. Rarity watched the door for a few seconds, making no attempt to hide her interest. She was eventually rewarded by Roan peeking at her once more with wide eyes. An attempt to wave at the young hen only led to another quick retreat, but Rarity didn’t mind. It was kind of cute, really. “What would the Apple Gang want with a griffon hatchling?”
Octavia shook her head. “She says her uncle is the Tribe Talon of the Ashfeather Roost.” At Rarity’s cocked head, she added, “Yes, I’d never heard of them either. She claims they live in the Siren’s Fin just south of Mareami and are engaged in an ongoing war with the Buffalo. She also claims she doesn’t know a thing about griffons kidnapping ponies, but she may have simply been unaware.”
Rarity crossed her arms and considered this possibility. Her mind drifted back to the griffons that had briefly captured her and the rest of Long Horn’s caravan. Oh, Sisters, that seemed like an eternity ago. If she recalled correctly… “The griffons I ran into were trying to drive us north. I don’t think they were part of the same Roost. Which is interesting. I had no idea there was more than one Roost in Equestria.”
With another of her melodious hums, Octavia asked a nonchalant, “Are those the ones you defeated to save a caravan?”
Ugh, why could nopony get that one right? “I didn’t single-handedly rescue that caravan,” Rarity grumbled. “It was a group effort. Someday I’m going to set all these rumors about me straight, I swear to Celestia.”
“Now would be a good time,” Octavia noted, making a sweeping gesture to the ponies around them. “Everyone here is going to spread your name far and wide after this. Any place in the four corners of Equestria that doesn’t know your name soon will. You just need to tell them all the truth.”
“And believe me, I would love to take advantage of it.” Even as she said it, however, Rarity began rubbing her necklace and shrinking in on herself. “But I’m not sure how. If this were something I loved doing, that’d be one thing, but I’m not comfortable with this life, and I fear they will glorify it and me.”
“That’s entirely possible.” Octavia watched her with a lecturing frown, hands on her hips. “You can’t ‘correct the record’ without accepting that what you’ve done is going to amaze everypony who hears it.”
Groaning, Rarity lowered the brim of her hat to hide her eyes from Octavia’s. “And what would you suggest? That I stand up on a table and regale everypony about my exploits? Rescuing all of you is the one thing I’m proud of, and even then my heart aches when I think of the soldiers who have to pay for that.”
Yet another musical hum. Octavia seemed to do that a lot. She lowered her head, lips hidden behind her fist as she thought. After a few seconds of this, she snapped her fingers and turned away. “Peachy, could you come over, please?”
Peachy was a unicorn of a pale green complexion (Spring bud, Rarity. We must keep practicing our colors!) and a two-toned amber mane. Unlike poor Jasmine in her corner, Peachy still had her horn, though it was marred by a pair of cracks, one of which ran all the way up to its tip and brought the phantom soreness back to Rarity’s own horn. Despite her injury, she was all bubbly smiles. “Hey, Octy! And Bulletproof, I just gotta say how great it is to be out of that place! Thank you again, thank you so much.”
Recalling this pony had already thanked her twice, Rarity gave a strained, anxious smile and nodded. “You’re very welcome.”
Octavia wasted no time getting on topic. “Peachy, your brother owns a newspaper in Seaddle, right?”
Peachy nodded vigorously, her ears flopping. Rarity imagined she’d get along well with Pinkie. “The Hornblower Gazatte! Inherited from our grandfather, bless his pea-picking heart. Probably why those goons kidnapped me in the first place.”
Octavia faced Rarity once more. “I know from experience that Peachy Pitt here is phenomenal at telling stories. You can tell her the truth, then she can spread the news in her own… ‘emphatic’ way.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun.” Peachy rubbed her hands together with a gleeful grin and eyes that might have had actual stars in them. “I can be Bulletproof’s Boastful Bard! You like that? Made it up on the spot.”
Rarity tried to keep her scowl at bay and the bite in her tone weak. “I would prefer ponies not think of me as boastful, thank you.”
“Suit yourself, I can come up with others pretty easy. Oh, The Heart’s Hearty Hawker! No? Rarity’s Raconteur? Eh, not mainstream enough…”
“Whatever the name,” Octavia said with a chuckle, “Peachy can spread the real stories you tell her to the rest of the hostages, that way they only get the truth. And when it’s all said and done, she returns to Seaddle to get an official news article out there with your stamp of approval.”
“Oh!” If Peachy’s eyes had stars in them before, now they might have held whole galaxies. “Equestria’s first real interview with the Bulletproof Heart. Do you have any idea what my brother would give up for a scoop like that? It’d be the article of the decade. No, the century! Now you’ve gotta let me do this!”
Despite her misgivings, Rarity couldn’t deny the mare’s enthusiasm was infectious. She dared a smile and glanced about the room at all these ponies going to their respective homes. Proper stories of what she was doing and why. It almost felt like a public relations strike against the Bad Apples. At the very least, she might earn the sympathy and support of ponies across Equestria, which in turn might make run-ins with bounty hunters less frequent.
…at what point had ‘Bulletproof Heart’ become a brand name? The very thought made her uncomfortable, and her enthusiasm promptly waned. She wasn’t fighting a one-pony war against the Bad Apples. Her sister and Coco were safe – well, almost – so now she could get back to what was important.
Then again, ‘what was important’ largely involved avoiding getting killed by none other than the Bad Apples. Maybe she really was at war with them. A war which they started, but a war nonetheless. A cold bitterness filled her as she imagined having to spend the rest of her life fighting for nothing other than survival. Not much to celebrate there.
“Miss Belle?”
“Bulletproof?”
Shaking herself from her negative thoughts, Rarity focused on Octavia and Peachy once more. “I’m willing to do this,” she said with a glower. “As long as you stick to the truth.”
“You have my word. And don’t worry, I’ve got an excellent memory.” Peachy tapped the side of her head with a lopsided smile. “You tell it, I’ll tell it right back. So, you wanna start right now? What do you wanna share first?”
Rarity hesitated, her thoughts drifting to Coco and the journey they’d soon be making. How much longer did they have? Pinkie had said ‘a few hours’, which surely had passed by now. “Let’s wait until later. I’ve got some things to get ready for, and a friend to keep an eye on.”
Peachy’s disappointment was plain on her face, but she traded it for a smile quickly and nodded. “Whatever you say. You’re the boss!”
The boss? By Celestia’s mane, I pray not. She didn’t want to lead anypony right now, much less two dozen hostages.
Half an hour later, Rarity was lingering outdoors near the cafeteria, braving the cacophony of the artillery in hopes that she’d be able to see Coco as soon as she was ready. Her patience – or at least willingness to be frustrated by the noise and the occasional stare of a passing soldier – was rewarded at last when Second Lieutenant Catharsis emerged from the building and gestured her over. The first thing Rarity noted as she approached was the weariness apparent in the doctor’s slumped shoulders and worn expression. Even so, the mare smiled after ushering Rarity into the small entry hall.
“Your friend is going to be fine,” Cathy declared with no small hint of pride. “I had to do some invasive surgery to remove the bullet shards and some of the cloth of her shirt to prevent infection, but she was lucky enough to not have anything important damaged.”
Heaving a sigh and feeling an entire day’s worth of tension leaving her, Rarity slumped against the wall and silently thanked the Sisters for this. Several ponies had told her similar things, but only now that she’d heard it from the surgeon herself was she willing to accept it. “You have my most sincere and heartfelt thanks, Second Lieutenant. How is she now?”
Cathy smiled tenderly. “Sleeping, and you’re very welcome. I had our nurse hit her with a sleep spell so that she wouldn’t feel me digging around her insides. And given the stress her body has been through today, I fully expect her not to wake up until at least tomorrow, maybe later.” The smile faded for a stern expression as she crossed her arms and took on an authoritative, straightened pose. “Now, the Major tells me you intend to travel with her.”
Rarity returned the frown, pushing herself off the wall. “Not my idea, let me assure you. I wanted to stay here and help hold the fort. Or camp, as the case may be.”
“It goes against my professional opinion, but the Major insisted,” Cathy replied with a roll of her eyes. “And when the Major insists on something, it happens regardless of who disagrees. That’s why I have Staff Sergeant Iron Dust preparing a wagon to carry her as you travel. Riding on a sand lizard is sure to reopen her wound, and I shudder to think of a bunch of amateurs trying to put that back together. Coco’s very fragile right now, you understand?”
The Second Lieutenant was speaking as if Rarity were completely ignorant of the situation, but she elected not to let this bother her. After all, she was only concerned for her patient, as well as trying to ensure her apparently challenging task of the last few hours didn’t amount to nothing. So Rarity only nodded and said, “I understand. We will be as careful as we can be.”
Just as she finished speaking, the door to the outside opened. Pinkie walked in, her hard expression not suiting her at all, or so Rarity concluded. The Major paused upon seeing the two of them, then nodded at Cathy. “I heard Coco’s out of surgery. How soon can she be moved?”
No effort was made to hide the bitterness in the Second Lieutenant’s answer. “Against my better judgement, immediately.”
“Good. When you leave, tell Captain Fall to inform the civilians. They move out in forty-five minutes. All the supplies they’ll need to get to Hoofington’ve been prepared. The shelling will stop an hour after.”
So soon? “Will that be enough time?” Rarity asked. “Coco will be in no condition to move quickly.”
“It’ll have to be,” Pinkie replied solemnly. “We’ll be practically out of ammunition by then.”
“Then I better get to work preparing this place to receive casualties.” Cathy turned for the door. “The eggheads at Command didn’t give us anywhere near enough supplies for an encounter like this.”
She was stopped when Pinkie placed a hand on her shoulder. Pinkie offered a small smile to the scowling surgeon. “Get some rest, Second Lieutenant. You’ve trained the staff well enough to get the job done without you, and you’re not going to have much time. I can’t have my superior medical officer dead on her hooves when the real fighting starts.” When Cathy’s scowl deepened, Pinkie added a quiet, “That’s an order.”
With a heavy sigh and an unpleasant “Major”, Cathy left the building. Rarity watched her go with a sense of foreboding, then turned to Pinkie. The Major’s ears were flat against her skull and her mane had somehow lost some of its curl. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Pinkie shook her head and returned a strained smile. “I hate having to be serious. I got my cutie mark bringing joy and happiness to everypony around me. Being responsible like this is… hard.”
Rarity wasn’t sure how to answer that. She thought on Maud and Marble Pie and the way they spoke of Pinkie as being very capable. Had they ever seen this side of their dear sister? Probably. Maybe not. She wondered if they knew how a life of leadership was affecting their fun loving, playful sibling. Granted, Rarity hadn’t known Pinkie for very long, but what little she had seen suggested she’d never been meant for this.
The Pie sisters. She’d last written to them in Bitter Ergot. She’d intended to write them while here, but… how could she explain that their sister was about to engage in a dangerous battle because of her actions? If they hated her for it, she could hardly blame them. She only hoped they wouldn’t pass that anger on to her parents when they inevitably arrived. It would be a few weeks yet before that happened.
And all of that led to one last topic Rarity had been hoping to address for some time. “What’s going to happen to the Sixth when Hoofington finds out that you’ve willingly engaged the Bad Apple Gang?”
“Nothing good,” Pinkie admitted, slumping a little more. “If I know the big wigs right, they’ll court marshall me and a few others then recall the Sixth to be replaced by a more trustworthy brigade.” Just as Rarity was about to offer her apologies, however, the Major perked up and grinned, her hair returning to its normal vibrancy. How does she do that? “Or at least they’ll try!”
Rarity’s words got caught on her tongue at this unexpected and upbeat turnaround. After a moment of wrangling them back down her throat, she managed to bring out an “I beg your pardon?”
Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. “The thing to remember about the Sixth is that we all wanna be good ponies. We think the Bad Apples and other gangs in Equestria need to be stopped, not catered to, especially when they aren’t even paying for the service. And we’re about to get a real taste of what that means for the first time ever! Do you think we’re gonna stop just because a bunch of scaredy ponies with general stars on their epaulets told us to? No ma’am!”
The mare shook her head forcefully before looking at Rarity with a fire in her bright blue eyes. “When this party’s over, I’m spreading the word. What I did in Ponyville is already almost mutiny, so I’m making it official. Anypony who wants to join me is free to do so, and those that don’t won’t get into any trouble because, hey, it’s not their fault their Major goaded the Gang into attacking, right? Everypony wins!”
Rarity felt her insides squirm at what she was hearing, and she whispered a brief apology to Maud and Marble for what she’d brought about. “Not everypony. You have certainly lost! You’ll lose everything. Your pay, your hard-won position in the army, the respect of your peers. You’ll be a fugitive. Whatever will you do then?”
“Find this.” Pinkie’s finger darted forward to touch the necklace under Rarity’s shirt.
Rarity stepped back, hands going up to feel the hard plates of the jewelry. “This? Whatever would you want one of these for? What good does that do you? You don’t even know if there are anymore.”
“Yes, I do,” Pinkie responded with absolute conviction. “There are six Elements of Harmony, and three have already been found. I know I can get one.”
Elements of Harmony? She’d just jumped to that conclusion? Or perhaps there was more to Pinkie’s knowledge than she ever expected. Rarity had to admit, Spike’s claim felt a little more plausible these days, but Rarity still had her doubts. After all, the Elements each represented something. What was Applejack supposed to represent, Honesty? What a laugh. “And how do you know this is an Element, or that there are more out there?”
Her doubt did nothing to phase the Major’s enthusiasm. “There are six Elements because the Church of Mother Night says so.”
In afterthought, Rarity realized that was a thoroughly legitimate point.
“Aaand my mentor Rutherford told me that I was destined to get one, so it must be true!”
Aaand there went Rarity’s potential for belief. “Rutherford,” she replied in deadpan. “Another pony happened to tell you that you are to get an Element of Harmony, a mythical object that has been lost for hundreds years, and you just believe him?”
Pinkie giggled. She snatched Rarity’s hat, patted her head playfully, then put the hat back on. “No, silly! Rutherford’s a yak.”
“A yak.” Rarity’s faith dwindled down to nothing. “Pinkie Pie, yaks are extinct.”
“I know, everypony says that.” Pinkie pulled out her hatchet and baton and displayed them to Rarity like trophies. “But if they were, would they have taught me how to fight with these, hmm?”
Frowning, Rarity pointed at the hatchet. “That’s a buffalo weapon. Distinctly and clearly not yak.”
Pinkie leaned in close and raised an eyebrow so high Rarity wondered if it wasn’t somehow defying physics. “Is it? How do you know? Are you an expert on buffalo and yak weapons now?”
“Ah, um…” Rarity stared helplessly at the items, realizing that at least one way the Major had a point. “M-maybe not, but Pumpkin is clearly a hatchet, and buffalo use hatchets. I at least know that much from having met them before.”
Demonstrating her mastery of the weapon, Pinkie twirled the hatchet from the bottom of the handle on one finger, watching Rarity with a smug expression as she did. “And how do you know the buffalo didn’t get the idea from the yaks, hmm?”
Rarity raised her finger to offer an argument, paused, let out a groan. Why were they discussing this nonsense? “Let’s just settle on this as a difference of opinion, shall we? We both have work to do.”
“Right.” The grin disappeared as Pinkie replaced her weapons in a blink. “The Staff Sergeant should have the wagon ready by now. Go check on Sleeping Beauty, I’ve got a few more things to do before you go.”
Feeling a little guilty about Pinkie’s abrupt lack of excitement, Rarity bade her farewell and entered the main hall of the cafeteria, a large room predictably filled with rows of tables. A pair of soldiers, presumably the nurses, were busy rearranging the area. Perhaps they intended to make this the field hospital?
Her speculation came to an end at the sight of Coco lying on an isolated table, Cranky sitting close by and holding her hand. He raised his head upon their approach, greeting her with his trademark scowl. “There you are,” he groused. “I was starting to wonder.”
“Don’t blame me,” Rarity replied with mild humor. “I’d like to know why you got to stay in here and hold her hand like a doting father while I was forced to wait outside.”
“That’d be because you were two seconds away from getting into a fistfight with that Apple mare.” He ignored her glower and turned back to Coco. “Doc said she’ll be fine if we’re careful.”
“Indeed. We’re going to move her now, and then we’ll all have to go before the Gang attacks the camp.” Rarity looked down at Coco’s sleeping form. They’d cut away the waist of her shirt, leaving the bandages around her midsection exposed. They were remarkably clean. Rarity had expected to find more blood. It was a relieving reminder that the Second Lieutenant and her nurses knew what they were doing.
As her examination reached Coco’s face, she felt a growing sense of unease, as though she’d made some catastrophic mistake that couldn’t be identified. Coco’s slumbering expression, neither smiling nor frowning, brought forth a disturbing vision to Rarity’s mind of that same pony upon a bed of roses. Still. Silent. Cold. The full weight of that momentary vision nearly sent her to her knees, and she soon realized her hands were shaking.
This did not go unnoticed by Cranky. “Miss Belle?”
“She could have died.” Rarity’s hands grasped at air, as if the mere motion might relieve some of her anxiety. “I’ve been trying to deal with so much at once, the sheer fact of it has just been… background noise. B-but she could have died. I—”
“It’s not your fault,” Cranky noted gruffly, watching her with a firm frown. “Don’t you go blaming yourself for this.”
“That’s not what concerns me, although it certainly should.” Hiding behind hands that refused to stop trembling, she let in a slow breath. “What have I become? My best friend has been in surgery all this time and I’ve been thinking about everything except that.”
Cranky’s brow furrowed as he considered this. “So? You’ve had a lot to deal with.”
“That’s no excuse!” She reached down to hold Coco’s hand, taking some comfort in its warmth. “What would all those ponies we’re about to lead out of here think if they knew their ‘hero’ was so callous as to not be there for her dear friend in her time of need?”
“Okay, this shit needs to stop.” Cranky stood and placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to face him and look into his hard gaze. “There is nothing wrong with you. You’re not a bad pony. If anything, you’ve become a better pony over the last few months.”
Shoving him back with an ease that surprise her, she gestured emphatically to the unconscious Coco. “You call this a sign of improvement?”
For the first time since she’d known him, Cranky raised his voice. “Where would she be if you hadn’t come here? What would her life be like if you’d not chosen to stand up for her and the others, if you’d just run away to hide in some hole until the Gang found you and killed you? I promise you, this is far better than being in the clutches of those hooligans! No, wait.” He waved his hand in her face just as she opened her mouth to speak. “Let’s take it back even further! Where would she be if you’d not come to Mooisville looking to save her? You know as well as I do that the minute the Gang believed you didn’t care about her she’d be facing an entirely different disaster, only then with your little sister and parents added to the mix.”
“But I—”
“And further still! What do you think would have happened to her if you hadn’t shot Braeburn? Where would you both be?”
As much as Rarity wanted to, she could not answer. Any potential words that might refute his point eluded her. Perhaps they didn’t exist, but even so the fact she could say nothing left her feeling very small. She looked down at Coco and flinched at the needle poking her heart. “You can say all of that, and it might even be true. But they don’t make this hurt any less.”
He snorted and poked her shoulder. She didn’t budge, to her mild surprise, though it did hurt. “That’s what makes you so strong, Miss Belle. You knew, long before any of this started, that the route you chose would be painful. Can you deny it?” He paused, perhaps waiting for an answer, only to continue when she offered none. “You knew. You could have sat down and took the punishment that was coming, but instead you went out to face it head on, to not let a bunch of bandits and crooks dictate your future. That might make you the single strongest individual I’ve ever met, but you’ve got to realize it!”
Was she strong? Perhaps. But… “I hate being strong.” Staring at Coco’s unconscious form, she fought a losing battle against the growing pain in her chest. “I hate this life and being the Bulletproof Heart and knowing that my decisions led to the pain of others. I know that it’s either them or me, but that doesn’t make me enjoy giving it, nor does it excuse when innocents like Coco get caught in the crossfire. The only thing I might hate more is the Apple Gang for bringing me to this.”
After a moment’s consideration, he said, “That’s a very dangerous way of thinking, Miss Belle.”
She huffed. “So even my thinking is dangerous now?”
“For you, yeah.” He tapped himself on the side of the head. “It’s poisoning your mind. You need to get over this—”
“What? Get over what, Cranky?” Her hands clenched into fists. She refused to look at him, instead focusing on keeping her tone civil. “I think I have every reason to be upset right now, thank you very much. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to start moving Coco outside. It should be almost time to go.” She turned away, prepared to walk around the table to get to Coco’s other side, only to stop. Applejack stood in her way, staring at Coco’s sleeping form. Her ears were folded back and her gaze gloomy. “Oh, great. I suppose you have something to add now?”
Applejack glanced at her. With a voice so quiet as to barely be heard over the ongoing artillery barrage, her response was a simple “Wagon’s here.” She then grabbed Coco’s legs and waited, her eyes hidden behind the brim of her hat.
Rarity waited a couple seconds, but Applejack said no more. She considered telling her to take her filthy hands off Coco, but decided against it; carrying her carefully might require all three of them. So she stepped around the table and, with Cranky’s help, lifted her friend up by the shoulders.
As they left the cafeteria together, Rarity wondered how many others would end up hurt by her mere presence in the near future.
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Well, this chapter almost managed to escape my eyes unblemished ... almost ... one little thing did slip the cracks ...
That's singular, while referring to the supplies (plural) Should be. 'Hoofington've been prepared' or simply 'Hoofington are prepared'
Though I can't quite agree with Pinkie saying that 3 elements have been discovered. We have Generosity (held by Rarity), Honesty (Held by Applejack), Kindness (presumed, the one that protects Elysium) and Loyalty (presumed, held by Little Strongheart) that makes four, not three. Only leaves Laughter (likely to be found soon by Pinkie) and Magic (given how magic tends to behave likely to not be found by Twilight until the other five are gathered, unless Twilight allready has it and has assumed its ellusiveness, only appearing after the other five are brought together)
Sorry, went a bit of the rails there ... Looking forward to the next episode (since you seem to be bent on using TV-terms for a written story)
Rarity has actually seen four elements but only three have been active so the question Rarity should be wondering is how does Pinkie know about Fluttershy's element being active?
Weren't you going to do a note on the technology? Still wondering about that motorcycle over here.
9203672
It's pinkie pie. it just works. Accept that or you end up like twilly did.
regarding the World of Bulletproof Heart:
Well, maybe other places in the world, if you don't think that would be spoilery or that they'd be better placed elsewhere? The other city-states, perhaps? Or the world outside of Equestria?
God I hope they aren't. Or at least Cayenne is dead.
Well, the pain is a sign that she's alive and conscious.
And now I'm picturing Cathy being Scottish.
She's got you there.
You threw the duel.
Of course.
Hm. Better than nothing.
How?
So Granny Smith was a heroine?
She was DRUNK.
More than most would be.
Ah, good.
You are a tough mare.
The Element of Honesty.
I do not blame you for not trusting her.
It really isn't.
Exactly.
Ah, shit.
She ain't fooled.
Thank god.
Of course.
You're not winning this one, Rarity.
In order, no clue, yes, the Element of Generosity, and no clue.
Sup?
Apparently.
Jesus.
Interesting.
Thank god.
Well, it's not anesthesia, but it'll do.
Great.
I can only imagine.
You are a crazy pony.
Rutherford?
... I mean...
I love this guy.
More than you'd like, if I was to guess.
Pinkie knows the score.
Well, Cranky? Answer the damn question. And who are you to be telling Rarity to "get over it"? Or deciding that her very legitimate and valid hate is "dangerous" to her?
9203670
I believe he wrote "Hoofington's been prepared" because that's how people actually talk, not because he missed a grammatical error.
9204455
While you are correct regarding my intentions, I went ahead and made the change because it doesn't really affect anything in the grand scheme of things.
9204458
I suppose it doesn't, though I do enjoy "organics" such as that haha.
Same reason you won't flinch if a bullet wizzes by your head.
It's easy to hate a concept. "The Apple mare," "the rapist," "the despoiler." But then you actually meet the person, hear her side, and realize that the situation's far more complicated than you'd ever anticipated. Then hatred becomes a lot harder. Rarity may be giving it her all, but she may find that under all the labels, she can't help but like Applejack.
Ooh, a chance to control the message. This is a huge opportunity. Rarity may well reshape the cultural landscape of Equestria... or at least the Seaddle region.
That rebellion... Why do I see this ending in Pinkie ruling over all Hoofington?
Hmm... Putting aside the question of how Pinkie knows that—she's Pinkie, after all—what qualifies as "finding" an Element? Is it Strongheart wearing an unattuned one, or Kindness in the oasis, near a potential Bearer but still unclaimed? Or has Twilight discovered something truly amazing in her wandering?
As a side note, this means that Strongheart's wearing either Loyalty or Magic. Either way, small wonder she's not connecting with here.
I can fully believe that Pinkie was trained in hatchet combat by a yak ghost.
Any chance we could learn more about any members of the Rainbow Gang or other bygone heroic drifters without hitting spoiler territory?
Ok, thank you. Makes much more sense now. Who has the time to innovate when you're too busy not dying?
I'm not sure how being infatuated is supposed to make her actions even slightly more bearable or justified, especially given up to this point Rarity was repeatedly portrayed as downright traumatized at the thought of being objectified or the same being done to her friends. Not wanting to kill her I can understand, but I find it strange Rarity even thinks there's a bridge to be rebuilt. Forced, even.
9213020
Where did you get this idea? At no point did Rarity ever claim or imply that Applejack’s infatuation made her actions bearable or justified. The only thing she’s granted so far is that she believes Applejack’s intentions to make it up to her, and she also stated directly that it will be very hard, if not impossible, to do so. Nowhere in there is the suggestion that she feels better about what Applejack did, especially thanks to some claimed infatuation. The only things that have been established as of this chapter are Applejack’s claims and Rariy’s begrudging acceptance of her sincerity.
9213042
Maybe I'm just paranoid after reading so many fics, but the only route I see their relationship taking from here is a fairly standard "slap slap kiss" scenario where Rarity finds AJ is just a pervert with a heart of gold, in spite of their first meeting involving a fairly huge breach of trust and major presumptuousness. I just find it hard to believe Rarity would even tolerate her presence anywhere near her, sincerity or no. Not a knock against the rest of the story, that's all been fine, but that kind of twist just isn't my cup of tea.
No bad Rarity don't be like Blackjack.
Ohhhh I really like Applejack's characterization in this chapter about why she did what she did.
I need to make very clear that I do not think Applejack's actions were at all acceptable or justified. She did not have Rarity's consent, and genuinely traumized Rarity.
But her infatuation and over-eagerness to please/impress Rarity was... sympathetic... To me as a reader specifically because, when reading that scene in Hoofington, I was also getting ahead of myself and getting way too excited about them becoming a dynamic duo, and also getting way too carried away with the little things like Rarity's reaction to the cider.
Point is, Applejack's excessive levels of excitement and lack of thinking in Hoofington matched my experience as a reader, and really served to humanize applejack in a strange way.
She's an army doctor. If she couldn't handle herself around bulletwounds, she wouldn't be very good at her job.
I'm not sure how this particular problem would be helped by you being sooner to arrive. I suspect that the Bad Apples were already waiting for you by the time you got the message. A few days might not have changed anything, or they might have meant you got here before Applejack. As much as I don't like this Applejack, I think she made your rescue go much better than it might otherwise have done.
Well, at she understands what she did wasn't right. And I ain't the least bit surprised to hear that she was also drunk.
I don't know, I think she might understand it better than you think.
Hehehe. Oh, that's different. I suppose it makes sense, given that cutie marks aren't generally on display here.
Pinkie has a plan. Pinkie may be the only one with a plan. And Rutherford is the one who made the plan.
The world won't know what hit it.