Two lost apples

by PaladinponyT

Chapter 6: I'm sorry

The smell of cinnamon and apples filled my muzzle as I slowly opened my eyes. My body hurt all over as I tried to look around; I was wrapped in a blanket. Bright Mac sat across from me; I realized then we were in the wagon. I sat up as best I could with the blanket still wrapped around me. I felt very cold. Bright Mac looked at me and gave me a little smile. He looked very tired. I looked over the wagon wall to see Buttercup slowly pulling us. She looked tired too, her husband's hat was on her head.

"Are you alright, Sunblade?" asked Bright Mac. I looked at him; he was asking me that. I should be asking them that. I nodded slowly; it hurt a little to move. Looking around the wagon, I saw that nearly all the pies were gone and my sword was lying next to Bright Mac. He saw me looking at it and pushed it over to me, "I found it on the ground after you passed out," he said smiling. I took my sword and placed it on my lap.

"Thank you," I looked up at the sky; the sun was starting to go down. "Where are we?"

Buttercup looked back at us, "Not far from Sweet Apple Acres, about one more hour." She looked very happy about that, "Finally, we are leaving this forest." I was happy about that, too. I had a lot to tell the princess, and the fight with the Alpha wolf had drained me deeply.

"Hey Sun, what was that spell you used?" asked Bright Mac. I closed my eyes, feeling very exhausted, but I still answered him.

"Pyrokinesis, a high level unicorn spell." I had learned that spell when I was younger; it had been difficult to master, however, it came in handy.

"Well it was amazing how you beat that giant timberwolf with it," said Bright Mac with joy.

I shook my head and looked at him. "I didn't beat it." Bright Mac's face was grim as I continued. "Though the fire I used was powerful, it was not strong enough to end the Alpha forever." The wind moved through the trees as silence fell over us. I knew the Alpha would rebuild itself; no less than dragon fire could destroy an Alpha. The princess learned that after seeing a green one burn an Alpha to dust.

The tops of the trees were awash with the colors of sunset. Night was my favorite time, where other ponies live in and loved the day. I loved the stars, "Night eternal," I thought to myself, remembering the legend of Nightmare Moon. I was probably the only pony who didn't have a problem with that. My tired eyes closed once again; dreams of stars over wide seas filled my mind.

Suddenly, something large struck the wagon. I flew through the air and hit the ground hard; my eyes slowly opened as more pain passed through me. The Alpha wolf returned as I suspected; it loomed over me, its red eyes blazing. Buttercup was trying to help Bright Mac to his hooves. The Alpha turned to look at them, then started to move towards them.

"Leave them alone!" I yelled, firing magic at it.

My power was so weak that the large timberwolf didn't even notice; it reached the others. I watched helplessly as the Alpha attacked, Buttercup leapt in front of her husband, only to be thrown into a tree.

With horror I watched as Bright Mac was next; the Alpha raised one of it's great paws and crushed him. Tears filled my eyes as anger welled up inside me. I got to my hooves, my body burning with pain and fury, "You will pay for that." I said coldly, my horn glowing with red energy. I saw my sword on the ground near what was left of the wagon, I levitated it over to me as the Alpha charged. I rolled out of the way and cut one of the wolf's back legs; it staggered forward and hit a tree, breaking it.

As the Alpha struggled to get up, I was trying to think of a way to end it, but none of my spells were strong enough. In that moment a miracle happened, my ears caught the familiar sound of a cockatrice moving through the bushes. Following the sound, I grabbed the creature with my magic and I pulled it over to me. The creature kicked and thrashed in my magical grip; the Alpha turned to face me and met the eyes of the cockatrice. The Alpha's wooden body turned to stone and I threw the cockatrice back into the bushes.

I walked over to the petrified wolf, and with one strike from my sword I cut its stone head off. I put my sword away and carried the head over to Buttercup; she had a very bad wound and blood covered the ground around her. I cradled her in my hooves as I cried for both of them. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at me, "Sunblade....." she said weakly. "Is Bright Mac alright?"

More tears fell from my face; how could I tell her? At this point I could not hurt her, "Yes, he is ok," I said trembling.

She smiled, "That's good."

I could feel her heart beginning to slow; her time was near. "Too soon," I thought. "Much too soon." All I could think of was their children, "I'm so sorry." I said to her out loud.

She kept smiling at me, "It's alright, this was not your fault." Then her eyes closed, never to open again.