Chapter Three: Disappointing Reunions
CHAPTER THREE:
DISAPPOINTING REUNIONS
Even though the temperature was cold, the sun gave off a warm sheen, helping the air to feel warmer than it actually was. Snaps and cracks were heard as Twilight Sparkle led a group of twelve young teenage unicorns out of the great forest that laid adjacent to the metropolis that was Fillydelphia.
They stopped at the edge of a cliff and looked out at the ginormous Lake Pegasi that outstretched as far as the eye could see. Twilight stood and paced in front of her students the way an army drill sergeant does with his or her recruits.
“What are we doing here today Miss Sparkle?” asked a young male unicorn.
Before Twilight could answer, the world around her began to fade out and then–
~~~
Twilight Sparkle awoke in a cold sweat. She instinctively patted her body all around, checking for injuries. She was relieved that she hadn’t found any, until she put her hoof to her mangled horn, serving as an instant reminder to Twilight why she was in the boat that she was in. She stretched out her legs and looked around the room.
It was still pretty dark in the room, although thin slivers of natural sunlight from the boarded up windows indicated that it was indeed morning. Twilight stood up straight and rolled her neck. It was a Tuesday, so she didn’t have to be in Canterlot until the next morning. As Twilight exited the room and descended the staircase, she felt a large and rather loud rumbling in her stomach. She had barely eaten anything much at all in the past week, but it had never been made apparent until now. Twilight Sparkle didn’t think that anything edible would be left in the kitchen, but she decided that she would make an attempt regardless.
The door to the kitchen was opened for the first time in what was probably multiple years. Twilight opened up one of the pantry doors; there was nothing in the cabinet except for some unidentifiable crumbs. She shut the door. Over in the next pantry, all that was there was a long expired box of saltine crackers, and old can of beans. Twilight stuck her tongue in utter disgust. She hated beans more than any other food out there. It wasn’t necessarily because of the taste, although it was a taste that Twilight could’ve done without, but because beans never agreed with Twilight’s digestive system.
Finally, she checked the third pantry door. It held multiple cobwebs, and a spider with an egg sac filled with countless younglings, but it had no food meant for ponies.
Twilight Sparkle slammed the third and final pantry door. She grumbled over her futile attempt at finding food in the library. It was then that she heard and felt her stomach growling once again, this time, more violently than before. The unicorn looked in the main foyer and saw that the once burning fire had been reduced to nothing but ash and dust. She had remembered that all of the dry firewood had been used when she had returned less than twelve hours previous.
Well, Twilight thought, I might as well go gather some firewood. And some food for that matter.
Twilight approached her tan and khaki cloak and rubbed her hoof on it to see if it had dried out overnight. The thick, wool cloak was still slightly damp, but it was wearable. Twilight picked up the garment and tossed it onto her back. The dampness of the fabric sent chills down Twilight’s spine.
No matter, it would do for now.
She opened up the door to the outside. A blast of arctic wind was the first thing to greet Twilight, who reflexively clenched her eyes shut. Her tear ducts activated trying to keep her closed eyes from drying out. Finally, the gust of icy wind dissipated and Twilight stepped out of the almost abandoned library and shut the door behind her.
The sun was out and shining, however, it made no difference to the temperature as the oldened, Twilight Sparkle wandered through her old hometown, where it appeared that the years were even more unkind to the town than they were to Twilight herself. Town hall, sitting in the center of Ponyville, looked like a rotting brown specter against the brightness of the sun in a contrasting clear and blue sky. The wind perked up once again, sending Twilight’s teeth into a loud chatter, as well as sending her hood flying off of her head, now exposed to the arctic, almost in-equine elements. Twilight trotted towards Sugarcube Corner, which appeared to be the only business in the downtown district that hadn’t closed shop. Twilight was hungry, but she knew that the confectionary wouldn’t be open yet.
Twilight turned and set her gaze off into the west side of the once thriving small village. She walked towards the western outskirts of Ponyville, looking at an all too familiar place off in the distance. With each passing step, Twilight drew closer to the estate of a once dependable, old friend.
~~~
The sun had become hidden by a passing gray cloud as the barn door to Sweet Apple Acres swung wide open, allowing Applejack to step out onto the frozen wasteland of the apple orchard that she had called home since she was a foal. Like Twilight Sparkle, the past ten years had aged Applejack as well. She sported a more muscular figure, however, her eyes showed circles darker than Princess Luna’s night, and her face was haggard and showed a weight of utter exhaustion. Applejack sighed, just as a gust of icy wind sailed through her apricot hued coat, leaving her to stamp her hooves on the ground to try and drive the sudden chill from her very body. As the burst of wind ceased, she noticed Big Macintosh off in the distance sitting under a barren and brittle tree, staring at a small stone monolith.
As Applejack began to slowly approach Big Macintosh on the other side of the farm, Apple Bloom left the confines of the barn and stepped out onto the barren earth. Apple Bloom had transformed from being a small filly into a fully-grown mare, being roughly about the same size as Applejack. She wore her mane cut slightly shorter and still sported her trademarked big red bow in her mane. However, now that Apple Bloom was bigger, it didn’t look quite as big on her. Perhaps the biggest difference in Apple Bloom now wasn’t her size, it was the cutie mark on her flank. Apple Bloom’s cutie mark consisted of an artist’s palette constructed into the shape of an apple, with all of the colors of the rainbow filling in each little paint tray. This was a rather fitting cutie mark for the pony that had singlehoofedly redesigned and repaired Applejack’s old tree house into the Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse all of those years ago
Apple Bloom caught up with Applejack just as she sat on the frozen tundra next to Big Macintosh. Apple Bloom did the same, except she sat on the on the opposite side of Big Macintosh.
The three Apple Family siblings stared in silence at the small grey stone monolith that laid no more than two feet in front of them. In the center of the monolith was a faded inscription that read:
GRANNY SMITH
Beloved friend and grandmother
Applejack sighed at the sight of Granny Smith’s simple stone memorial. Even though it had been a couple months since she had passed in a blissful sleep, the mental wounds still resided in the mind of not only Applejack, but also of Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom.
The Apples silently stared at the memorial before Applejack sighed. This sigh was followed by Apple Bloom letting a few tears of grief fall from her eyes. Big Macintosh noticed this and he lifted his mammoth right hoof and wrapped it around Apple Bloom’s body. He reeled her in and she buried her face into his warm red coat and began to sob uncontrollably. Applejack wrapped her hooves around her beloved brother and sister. After about a minute, Applejack let the two ponies go, and Big Macintosh followed suit and released Apple Bloom from his grasp.
The blood red stallion sighed, knowing that it was time to leave now before it would be even harder to do so. He stood upright and his sisters mimicked his action. Apple Bloom grabbed a rolled up blanket and a saddlebag. She draped the blanket and bag over the large back of Big Macintosh. Applejack used her teeth to grab a large metal helmet from the ground. Big Macintosh lowered his head, allowing his orange-coated sister to place the helmet over his gruff, towheaded mane. Big Macintosh lowered his head and gave Applejack a hug goodbye. Then he turned over towards Apple Bloom and gave her a tight embrace that almost lifted her off of the ground. He nuzzled his nose against her forehead and finally gently placed her back on the frozen earth below.
The stallion turned and took one last look at his homestead and sighed. He turned and began to walk towards the town.
“Ya’ll be careful now big brother! We love ya!” Applejack cried out.
Big Macintosh stopped dead in his tracks. He turned his head around and tried his best to smile.
“Eeyup.” was the only response that the mammoth red stallion could give. With that, Big Macintosh sadly trotted towards the entranceway of Sweet Apple Acres.
~~~
Twilight Sparkle took a look up at the entry to Sweet Apple Acres, the hanging sign was rotting off of its rusted hinges. It creaked as it swayed freely in the breeze. Twilight sighed and crossed the threshold into the Apple homestead. As she slowly walked through, she noticed Big Macintosh walking towards the entrance. She stopped and watched as he left the orchard, seeming almost oblivious to Twilight standing there. The red stallion disappeared into the distance and Twilight turned her sights at the dilapidated barn off in the distance and started making her way towards that very sight.
~~~
Applejack felt a hoof touch her shoulder; she spun quickly to see Apple Bloom retracting a hoof of her own.
“What is it Apple Bloom?” Applejack inquired.
“Do you want a cup of tea Applejack? I’m making a cup for myself to go.” Apple Bloom said.
Applejack sighed.
“Actually, I would,” Applejack said, “Ya’ll head back inside now, I’m gonna see if I can get some more firewood.”
Apple Bloom nodded and headed back towards the barn. Applejack walked to the other side of the aged and rotting barn. She came to a structure against the wall that was covered up by a blue tarp. Applejack approached the tarp, noticing that a couple of never before seen rips were strewn across the tarp. The shroud was removed from the pile of firewood, and Applejack patted the logs neatly stacked against the side of the barn.
“Shoot.” Applejack said, dejectedly.
She shook her head in frustration. The firewood had become wet and damp from the torrential storm the previous night.
At least I have enough firewood to stretch through till tommora, Applejack thought.
She began to pull a few of the larger pieces of wood from the configuration when she heard the sounds of hoofsteps behind her.
“What is it Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked, not taking her eyes off of the wood in her hooves.
“I’m not Apple Bloom,” a familiar voiced softly replied.
Applejack’s red and veiny eyes popped open, and she dropped the damp firewood to the ground. Slowly she turned to see a pony whose voice she hadn’t heard in just over a decade. Twilight Sparkle stood nervously about a few feet away from Applejack. The apricot coated earth pony could do nothing except drop her jaw as she correctedly deduced who was standing behind her.
Mixed feelings rushed through Applejack. Sure Twilight Sparkle stopped communicating with Applejack, as well as the rest of her friends, several years prior, however, at the same time, Applejack was happy to see her.
“I… I… Thought you was in Fillydelphia…” was all that Applejack could stammer out.
“I was.” Twilight replied.
Applejack slowly stepped forward and hugged her old friend. Twilight returned the awkward, yet genuine hug. The middle Apple released Twilight from her grasp and stepped slightly back to get another good look at each other.
“You sure look… Different Applejack,” Twilight quietly said in disbelief.
“ I reckon I could say the same about you sugarcube,” Applejack responded.
She noticed a part of Twilight’s disfigured horn underneath the worn, tan shroud that Twilight had on.
“What happened to your horn?” Applejack asked with a voice filled with awe and concern.
Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“It’s a long story AJ,” Twilight said, “Do you have a couple minutes to talk?”
Applejack nodded.
“I do,” Applejack immediately fired back, “Are you hungry? I mean, I already ate breakfast, but I’m sure Apple Bloom and I could rustle up something for ya.”
Twilight thought about it for a moment.
“Sure.” The shrouded unicorn responded.
The wind picked up again, sending shivers through the bodies, and souls, of Applejack and Twilight Sparkle.
“Come on in Twi,” Applejack said, guiding Twilight to the nearest door.
~~~
The kettle loudly whistled in the kitchen, leading Apple Bloom to remove the boiling hot water from the stove. She poured the contents of the kettle atop three different dry tea bags in three different cups. The saturated leaves began to discolor the clear, hot water into a translucent copper toned liquid.
Apple Bloom let the tea sit and brew for a few moments before grabbing two of the steaming cups and bringing them to Twilight and Applejack in the dining room. She placed the cups on the table.
“Thank you, Apple Bloom.” Applejack said.
“No problem.” Apple Bloom replied as she exited the room.
Applejack grabbed her cup from the center and blew on the liquid inside. Twilight tried to pick up her cup by way of magic, forgetting for a moment that her deformed horn rendered her magical capabilities null and void. Twilight sighed as she remembered why and picked the cup up with her hooves. She sipped the beverage, and although the temperature of the tea dropped to lukewarm, it still was hot enough to remove the chills she had in her body.
Twilight sighed and placed her cup back on the table and cleared her throat.
“So what has happened to Ponyville? Twilight asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence, “I thought things would look different, but not like this.”
Applejack took a deep breath and shut her eyes.
“It all started ‘bout maybe a year ago,” Applejack said, “All was still pretty well, until strange monsters started attacking the town.”
“Strange monsters?” Twilight interrupted.
Applejack nodded. “You didn’t see no monsters out there in Fillydelphia?” Applejack inquired.
Twilight thought for a moment. In Fillydelphia, at least when she was still there, the city was not attacked by monsters of any kind. Sure, the weather had been colder than normal, and it had been a lot snowier than it should have been, but other than that, all was normal in Twilight Sparkle’s second adopted home.
Then Twilight’s thoughts drifted towards wondering whether or not any other place in Equestria had experienced these monster attacks.
“No,” Twilight finally responded, “I can honestly say no. What did these monsters look like Applejack?”
Applejack stood up and pulled some papers out of a drawer from a cabinet on the other side of the dining room. She placed a stack of photographs clipped from The Ponyville Express in front of her friend.
Twilight spread the photos out in front of her and took a long, hard gaze at each one of them. In the leftmost photograph, a rough scaled apelike creature was destroying a two-story building with the aid of a rather large spider twice the size of the demonic creature. The two middle photographs depicted a scene of a pure black boar decimating a row of crops, and a pack of large, grotesque looking bugs approaching Ponyville from the Everfree Forest. The clipping furthest to the right showcased perhaps the most disheartening scene of all, a stallion, attempting to ward a black, sharp-clawed entity away from his huddled and frightened family.
Haunted by the snapshots she had just laid eyes on, Twilight brushed the pictures aside and took a deep breath.
“Oh dear,” Twilight said, “Are these the only ones?”
“Nope,” Applejack responded back, gathering the brushed aside newspaper clippings, “These were the only ones that managed to be clearly photographed.”
“Does anybody know where they came from?” Twilight quickly asked.
“Nobody knows where in Equestria they came from, but they nonetheless caused a lot of damage to Ponyville. Eventually, nearly everypony got sick of this and packed their belongins and head out to live in other parts of Equestria. The monster attacks still happen, but not as bad as when they first started. But it has still taken a mighty toll on our crops. With them eating a good portion, as well as them destroyin’ a lot of our trees. Nor has the weather been very kind to our crop as well.”
“Why didn’t you leave?” Twilight asked.
“We couldn’t,” Applejack retorted, “Granny Smith was too sick to travel anywhere at this point, and we refused to leave her behind. And besides, this here Apple farm has been in our family since Ponyville was founded. I couldn’t just up and leave like that.”
“What happened to Granny Smith?” Twilight Sparkle sympathetically inquired.
“She first got sick not too long before these monster attacks started happenin,” Applejack said before pausing to sigh, “At first, we thought it was just nothing but a simple cough, which we thought we could handle. However, as the days n weeks passed, she didn’t get any better, and her mobility dropped dramatically. We had the doctor visit her and he said that Granny Smith showed signs of muscular dystrophy.”
Applejack paused for a minute, choking up just thinking about what she was going to say next. Twilight began to get glassy eyed as well.
“Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh and I spent the followin’ months not only dodging vicious monster attacks on our town and our crops, but we also watched the mare who raised all of us slowly wither away into nothing. By the end, she was completely bedridden, unable to move until she finally died in her sleep this past Hearth’s Warming Day.”
Tears were falling from Applejack’s eyes and Twilight shed a few as well.
“After she died, the three of us decided that we were going to pack up and leave for Appleloosa once the Winter Wrap Up ended. However, once Big Macintosh got drafted into the Equestrian Army, we had to alter our plans slightly. Now once he gets discharged, we will leave. I don’t want to, Apple Bloom don’t and neither does Big Macintosh, but we just can’t live like this no more.” Applejack told as she wiped the tears from her face.
Twilight took another sip of her tea.
“So that’s where Big Mac was heading? Why did he get drafted?” Twilight then asked.
“An army is being raised to help deal with the monster attacks that have been plaguing Equestria, at first they started taking volunteers, then when they didn’t get enough volunteers, they instituted a draft.” Applejack stoically replied.
“Oh,” was all that Twilight could say, wanting to sound more sympathetic.
“Anyhow,” Applejack started, “What has been happening with ya’ll Twi? How long are you staying in Ponyville?”
“I have to go to Canterlot tomorrow, then I don’t know. I might come back, but I haven’t decided yet.”
“I see,” Applejack replied.
The silence settled in as both the prematurely aged mares took a gulp from their respective teacups.
“Ya know Twi,” Applejack began, “You never did answer my question from earlier.”
“Which question would that be?” Twilight inquired with only one eyebrow raised.
“You never told me what happened to your horn.” Applejack stated.
Twilight desperately tried to search for the best possible response to this question. Finally she found what she thought was a palpable reply and took a deep breath.
“I had an accident, Applejack. An experiment went wrong,” Twilight said, trying her best to hide her lie, “So I took a leave of absence from the academy so I could have some time to recuperate.”
Applejack frowned. Twilight noticed this and gave off an uneasy smile.
“Twilight,” Applejack said sternly, “You don’t need ta lie ta me, I’m still your friend after all.”
Twilight Sparkle’s eyes shot wide open, knowing her bluff had been called.
“What makes you think I’m lying AJ?” Twilight nervously responded.
“I may not’ve seen ya in ten years, but I can still tell when you’re lyin’ Twilight Sparkle. And besides I am the element of Honesty,” Applejack said.
Twilight sighed, Applejack was right, she was a really bad liar. But she could not reveal her real reason for leaving Fillydelphia, not now at least, not while her future was in limbo. Twilight cleared her throat.
“Can we save this conversation for a later time Applejack?” Twilight asked.
Applejack didn’t respond right away, instead she stared at her troubled unicorn friend.
“Certainly,” Applejack finally responded, “Do you promise?”
“I Pinkie promise,” Twilight said, forcing a smile.
Twilight Sparkle’s response seemed to startle Applejack. It was almost as if the words that had just fallen out of Twilight’s mouth had emitted an electrical shock. Twilight noticed this in Applejack.
“What’s wrong Applejack?” Twilight asked.
Applejack recomposed herself and cleared her throat. “Nothing,” Applejack replied, “It’s just, I haven’t heard that phrase for a long time. To tell you the truth, ever since Granny Smith got sick, I haven’t been keeping up with the rest of our friends. I didn’t have time to do anything. All I did was either work in the fields, or sit by Granny Smith’s bedside.”
Twilight was saddened to hear this. She took the last gulp of tea from the cup and wiped the sticky sugar residue from her upper lip. She placed the emptied cup back on the aged and rotting table.
“Do you know if they all still live in Ponyville?” Twilight inquired.
“As far as I know. I haven’t seen anybody really since Granny Smith’s funeral.” Applejack responded.
Twilight took a deep breath, knowing she was wasting her breath asking Applejack any questions about her friends since Applejack knew next to nothing about them.
“Thank you for the tea Applejack,” Twilight said, throwing her hoof around Applejack’s neck in an embracement. Applejack returned the hug.
“You come back when you can Twilight. Don’t leave us again,” Applejack said, trying to smile.
“I’ll try AJ,” Twilight replied, “I’ll try.”
That was the last of what was said between the two ponies, as Twilight re-shrouded herself in preparation for her return to the frozen wasteland that was now Ponyville.
~~~
Twilight trotted as carefully as she could back towards Ponyville, trying to avoid slipping and sliding on the many sheets of hidden ice that covered the dead and browned grass. The sun, which had been shining brightly and clear earlier, had been replaced by a thick pillow of gray clouds.
A gust of bitter wind shot through Twilight’s shroud, almost blowing the hood off of her head.
I wonder what has happened to the rest of my friends, Twilight thought. I hope that their lives haven’t turned out as rough as mine or Applejack’s.
Twilight was too wrapped up in her thoughts to notice a gathering shadow from directly above her.
I just hope that all is well–
Twilight Sparkle’s train of thought was interrupted when she felt a massive weight fall upon her back. Her legs immediately buckled and succumbed to the unseen object that had unceremoniously landed atop her weakened back. Both Twilight Sparkle and the fallen object crumbled to the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dirt and dust into the air.
As the debris cloud slowly dissipated, Twilight tried to stop her panting and take a few slow, deep breaths to calm her suddenly racing heart rate. After a few attempts, Twilight’s heart rate finally returned to normal, the dirty cloud had finally vanished. Hearing quick breathing behind her, she turned her head with a look of utter disdain upon her face. However, the sight that greeted her was that of a mare of whom she had not seen in a decade.
This mare sported a tussled, multicolored mane that was accented by a powder keg blue coat. Twilight’s jaw dropped as she realized that she was staring at her old tomboyish friend, Rainbow Dash.
Now Rainbow Dash, not able to recognize Twilight under her tanned disguise, shot a look of concern over at the disguised pony.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” The blue pegasus rapidly fired, “I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to, a fast-moving cloud took me by surprise, and knocked me off course! I-”
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight interrupted, “It’s okay!”
“How do you know who I am?” Rainbow Dash asked confusedly.
Twilight Sparkle removed the shroud covering most of her head. Rainbow Dash gasped at the reveal.
“It’s good to see you Rainbow,” Twilight said.
Rainbow Dash could not respond. Not even as Twilight wrapped her hooves around her back for a friendly embracement.
Rainbow reflexively put a hoof around Twilight and hugged back.
Twilight Sparkle let her pegasus friend go.
Rainbow Dash looked upon her long lost friend, who looked much older than she would have expected and with a mangled and disfigured horn.
Twilight took this moment to also take a good look at Rainbow Dash, and like Applejack and herself, Rainbow Dash looked more middle aged and haggard than she should have.
“Twilight,” Rainbow Dash weakly said, “What happened to you? You look so, old.”
Twilight wanted to be mad at Rainbow Dash, but at the same time, she thought that it was nice to know that Rainbow Dash still had her brash and rather blunt personality.
“You know Rainbow, I honestly could ask the same about you.” Twilight said taking more notice on how her powder blue winged friend looked way too mal-nourished for a pony as active as she was.
“I know Twilight,” Rainbow ashamedly replied, “I know. I’ve been busting’ my tail to keep the weather as in order as possible. What happened to your horn?”
Twilight bit her lower lip, faced with the same question that she had barely dodged answering earlier with Applejack. She gulped and cleared her throat.
“I had a mishap with an experiment,” Twilight fibbed once again, “I took a leave of absence from the Academy and thought that I would stop by and see how everyone was doing since it’s been a while since I talked to anybody.”
Rainbow Dash nodded with a slight frown on her face. “It has,” Rainbow Dash said, “It sure has been.”
Twilight noticed her look of disdain, and slowly opened her mouth to respond. “What happened with you?” Twilight inquired, hoping to change the subject, “You look like you’ve lost a lot of weight.”
Rainbow Dash nodded with a look of sadness on her face. “I see you noticed.” Rainbow Dash added.
“What happened Rainbow?” Twilight prodded.
“I haven’t had much time, nor funds to each very much this winter,” Rainbow began, “the weather has been completely insane, with the bitter winds and the constant snow slash rainfall and all.”
Twilight was slightly baffled by what Rainbow Dash had said.
“But why would you pegasi schedule weather like this if you couldn’t handle the fallout?” Twilight asked.
“Because Twilight,” Rainbow Dash replied, “this isn’t being caused by the Cloudsdale weather factory. I know, I’ve checked on several occasions, I’ve witnessed perfectly normal weather patterns leave the factory, only to arrive atop of Ponyville doing something completely different. We don’t know where this weather keeps coming from. It’s like it’s doing this all on it’s own.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and exhaled after delivering that mouthful. After a moment of awkward quiet, Twilight kicked a clod of dirt, which broke apart into a tiny cloud of dust.
“Is anypony at least helping you keep this weather at bay Rainbow?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yes actually,” Rainbow Dash replied.
It was then that Twilight, as well as Rainbow Dash, heard an additional pair of flapping wings above. With all of the birds down in the southern plains of Equestria, it was obvious that it was another pegasus pony in the air above. Twilight stretched her neck out to see who was above her, but could not make out who it was due to the distance in the air.
“Rainbow Dash,” a slightly gruff, yet feminine voice called from above, “who are you talking to?”
“Come down and find out!” Rainbow Dash yelled back.
A shadow appeared on the ground next to Rainbow Dash, growing bigger as the sound of flapping wings grew louder. The pegasus pony settled on the ground next to RD. Twilight instantly recognized who this pony was. Sporting a long pink mane, albeit a bit shorter than it was back in the day, and a coat the color of faded yellow, was Fluttershy.
Twilight Sparkle looked at her yellow pegasus friend, out of everypony she had seen that morning, she looked the most unchanged, albeit a bit more muscular.
“Hey Fluttershy,” Twilight said.
“Twilight,” Fluttershy started, “It’s been a long time.”
Twilight looked away ashamedly. “I know.” Twilight meekly replied, “Since when do you work on the weather?” She asked, trying to change the subject.
“For about–” Rainbow Dash began.
“About six months now,” Fluttershy angrily interrupted, “I started this job when most of the animals either left Ponyville or died because of this weather.”
Twilight looked at her dumbfounded. “They all died?” Twilight asked.
“’fraid so.” Fluttershy responded.
“I’m sorry Fluttershy.” Twilight responded.
“Don’t be.” Fluttershy almost instantaneously snapped back, “You have no reason to be, just like you had no reason to just up and stop talking to us.”
Twilight was taken aback at this new way Fluttershy was acting. Sure, the faded yellow pegasus had grown to be willing to stand up for herself when Twilight was still living in Ponyville, but this was something that the physically scarred Twilight Sparkle was not prepared for.
“Nothing to say Ms. Headmistress?” Fluttershy snarled, bringing Twilight back to the conversation.
“I don’t know what to say,” Twilight said in a tone reminiscent of Fluttershy many years prior.
Fluttershy began to physically confront Twilight, all with an almost frightening glare upon her face, leading Twilight Sparkle to futilely attempt to retreat.
“Wow, I’m not surprised,” Fluttershy began to rant, before Rainbow Dash inserted her hooves between the quarrelling pair, like a mother trying to separate her two fighting children.
“Okay Fluttershy, that’s enough, I think she gets the point.” Rainbow Dash said, breaking off a major conflict just before it began, “Why don’t you go take care of that patch of clouds out there, it’s not supposed to be cloudy today after all.”
After a grim pause, Fluttershy nodded and quickly soared back off into the air, almost as fast as Rainbow Dash herself. Rainbow Dash looked back at Twilight who looked somewhat shaken up by the experience.
“You okay, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I guess,” Twilight started, “I thought some of you might be mad, I just didn’t expect Fluttershy to be the one who would call me out on it. What happened with her anyway? Is it because of the animals?”
Rainbow nodded and sighed.
“Did you hear about the monster attacks that were taking place throughout the town?” Rainbow Dash inquired with a look of sadness on her face.
“I did, actually.” Twilight responded, “Applejack told me on how the monsters decimated her crops.”
“Well the monster attacks also took its toll on the wildlife here around the town, and the Everfree Forest as well,” Rainbow said, “At first, Fluttershy was keeping really busy, you know, attending to all of the wounded and dying animals. But she was overwhelmed with all of the work she had, and with everypony else leaving the town in droves, she was on her own tending to the animals. Soon enough, whatever animals that hadn’t died, also migrated from Ponyville.”
“Oh my,” Twilight said, she could feel her heart sinking.
“Anyway,” Rainbow Dash began, “This was about the time that the weather started going all wrong so I convinced Fluttershy to stay and help me. I trained her really well so she could be as good of a cloud buster as me.”
“That doesn’t explain her personality change,” Twilight said, “Why has she become such a cynic?”
Rainbow Dash shut her eyes, lowered her proud head, and sighed.
“To be honest,” Rainbow Dash said, “I blame myself for that.”
Twilight was taken aback by Rainbow’s startling admission.
“I berated her for so many years, you know, calling her weak and such. I just wanted her to toughen up and be more like me so other ponies would stop giving her a hard time. Now that she has toughened up and changed, I feel horrible for instigating this whole issue. I feel like I was an awful friend to Fluttershy.”
As a few tears began to be shed by Rainbow Dash, Twilight had no idea what she wanted to say, she had never seen Rainbow show this much emotion. In fact, she never remembered her athletic pegasus friend admit so readily that she was wrong.
Twilight was about to place a consoling hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder when an unexpected swirl of snow flurries fell from the sky. Both coldly hued ponies took an almost immediate notice of this sudden change in the weather, leading Rainbow Dash to quickly wipe her tears away and take off like a rocket into the sky.
“Wait! Rainbow!” Twilight cried into the windswept, gray sky, “Where are you going?
“I’m going to get Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash called back, “It’s not supposed to snow at all today! We gotta stop this weather now!”
Twilight wanted to call out something else, but she correctly figured that Rainbow Dash at this point was well out of earshot.
The snow flurries began to accumulate on the ground and become more intense in the air. The wind blew a mess of snowflakes at Twilight’s face, stinging her face with every hit from a pure white flake. The shivering unicorn noticed Sugarcube Corner off in the near distance. She trudged through the snow, which was extremely unusual in how quick it was accumulating.
She finished her thought just as she reached the main, and only ground entrance of Sugarcube Corner. The oldened pony struggled against the mighty wind to pull the door open, which she finally did, after a few futile attempts.
Twilight took off her hooded garment and hung it on the coat rack by the door. In a rather shocking surprise, the interior of the confectionary was the opposite of practically everywhere else in Ponyville. A comfortable warmth spread throughout Twilight’s shivering and battered body, putting her somewhat at ease. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she finally felt truly warmed for the first time all day.
As Twilight slowly approached the countertop of the seemingly deserted pastry shop, she looked at the rest of the shop’s layout. Pristine and clean, and quite lavishly decorated, Sugarcube Corner looked extremely different from the local hangout that Twilight Sparkle constantly frequented when she was a Ponyville resident so many years ago.
Twilight leaned her head over the glass-covered countertop to see if anypony was behind it, which there wasn’t. However, there was a little silver bell, along with a fancily hoofwritten note underneath the bell that read:
Please ring bell for service
Shrugging her shoulders, the magically crippled unicorn lightly tapped the little bell, leaving a somewhat loud ping to resonate throughout the eerily silent and possibly deserted building. After about a few moments of unresponding silence, Twilight decided to tap the bell again. Finally, a voice from the rear of the shop, shouted out in response:
“Just a minute! I’ll be out there!” a high classed trans-Atlantic accented voice called out from the other room.
Twilight’s ears perked up to this voice, it was most certainly not the voice she was expecting, but it was indeed a voice that she recognized.
As the responding pony stepped out of the kitchen and behind the counter, Twilight’s suspicions were confirmed at the sight of the unicorn she had just now seen.
Rarity stood in the doorframe, her mouth hanging open in a surely un-ladylike manner.
“I never thought I’d see you again Twilight Sparkle.” Rarity said in astonishment.
Twilight honestly did not know how to respond to this statement. “Rarity, do you work here?” Twilight asked.
The unicorn with a pure snow white coat nodded. “I do Twilight darling,” Rarity replied, “How have you been? Why haven’t you spoken to us in a while? And what in the name of Equestria has happened to your horn?”
As with every other pony who asked that question throughout the day, Twilight Sparkle had no honest answer to give.
“It’s a long story, Rarity,” was the only feeble response that she could make as a reply.
Twilight quickly looked at her unicorn friend whose beautiful complexion had changed very little, if at all over the previous decade of separation. She thought that it was somewhat nice that that at least one of her friends hadn’t changed, on the outside at least.
“Anyway,” Twilight began, “Why do you work here now?”
“I’m sure you’ve seen and heard how nasty things have been around here in the past year?” Rarity asked.
Twilight nodded. “I have.”
“Well, after weeks turned to months of dwindling customer base, I had to do close the Carousel Boutique.” Rarity responded.
“I’m sorry Rarity,” Twilight responded sympathetically.
“It’s quite alright darling. No need to feel sorry. That’s what happens when you have nopony to buy clothes from you.” Rarity responded rather indifferently.
Twilight immediately thought it was strange how Rarity was acting over her having to give up the Carousel Boutique. This was the pony who threw on an overdramatic performance, with a couch included, when she forgot to bring plates to a picnic and she was acting so stoically about something far more disheartening and less trivial?
For now, Twilight would let it slide, as she had more important things she wanted to know.
“So why did you come to work here?” Twilight then asked.
“Well,” Rarity began, “after I shut the door for the last time at the boutique, I prepared to move to Canterlot to be with my mother and father, who moved there a few years ago. However, I decided to come here one day for a cupcake. I talked to Pinkie Pie about what had happened with me, and long story short, she offered me a job and I started working here. And to tell you the truth Twilight, I like it here. Sure, I can’t decorate clothes anymore, but at least I get to decorate something for a living, even if it is cakes and pies.”
“Pinkie Pie still works here?” Twilight then inquired.
“Works here? She owns Sugarcube Corner now, darling,” Rarity said.
“Seriously? For how long?” Twilight asked, unable to fathom Pinkie Pie being responsible enough to own a store.
“Since about two and half years ago,” Rarity responded, “The Cakes left the store in the hoofs of Pinkie Pie after they decided to move to Las Pegasus.”
“Why did they leave?” Twilight asked.
“They said they wanted Pound and Pumpkin Cake to live in a safer environment,” Rarity responded.
Twilight Sparkle could at least be happy that it seemed that at least Pinkie Pie was successful today. Or so she thought.
“Is Pinkie Pie still here?” Twilight asked.
“Of course she is,” Rarity replied, “Would you like to see her?”
Twilight nodded in agreement and Rarity smiled and cocked her head towards the rear of Sugarcube Corner.
“Pinkamena, Darling!” Rarity politely shouted, “I need you to come out here!”
“Pinkamena?” Twilight confusedly asked.
“She refers to herself by her full birth name now, Pinkamena Diane Pie,” Rarity replied, “She thinks it sounds more formal and… business-like.”
“More formal?” Twilight said, concerned, “that doesn’t sound like the Pinkie Pie I know.”
“Twilight, I must first warn you that–”
“What is it, Rarity?” A dull, feminine voice spoke from behind the doorframe, not allowing Rarity to complete her warning.
Rarity spun her body around, allowing Twilight Sparkle to gaze at Pinkie Pie. Her friend looked absolutely different than when she last saw her on the platform at the train station all of those years ago.
Pinkie Pie’s mane and tail were not the poofy mess of curls that Twilight was used to seeing, they were both completely straight haired. Her coat was no longer vibrantly pink, but rather dulled and gray. She also looked extremely depressed, almost catatonic, as she had undoubtedly witnessed all of the tragedy and despair that had befallen Ponyville in the past year.
Twilight forced an awkward looking smile at her pink earth pony friend and opened her mouth.
“Hey Pinkie,” Twilight softly said.
“It’s Pinkamena now, Twilight Sparkle,” Pinkie coldly and flatly responded.
Twilight made a small laugh, trying to lighten the suddenly high tension in the room. “Rarity did say that’s what you go by now,” Twilight responded.
Pinkie did not respond. Instead, she lowered her eyebrows in an extremely menacing glare.
Twilight awkwardly smiled. Not knowing what to say in response made her uneasy.
“You have a lot of nerve coming back here, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie snarled, “a lot of nerve.”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized. “I really am, I feel awfuly–”
“YOU SHOULD BE SORRY!” Pinkie Pie screamed whilst slamming her hoof down on the glass countertop, putting a crack in the recently cleaned, translucent covering.
Twilight stood with her mouth agape, now definitely not sure how to respond. “I… I… I…” Twilight stammered in utter nervousness.
“I… I… I…” Pinkie Pie cruelly retorted, “Stutter much, Ms. Too Good For Ponyville?”
“I’m sorry Pinkie–” Twilight began.
“I TOLD YOU, IT’S PINKAMENA NOW!” Pinkie shouted.
Rarity, with a surprised look on her face, put her hoofs over her ears, trying to muffle the unusual anger oozing from the pony formerly known as Pinkie Pie.
“Listen Pinkie,” Twilight said, trying to regain some control of the conversation.
“NO, TWILIGHT!” Pinkie roared in response, “IT’S ABOUT TIME THAT YOU LISTENED TO ME!”
Twilight Sparkle said absolutely nothing in response.
“You know how disappointing it is to wait by the mailbox, day after day, waiting for a letter from Somepony I loved as a friend, and not get a response from that same pony?” Pinkie Pie asked Twilight, her anger had calmed but it still was boiling under the lid. “You promised to keep in touch, but that stopped within a year, and you promised to come back and visit, but you never did.”
“Pinkie, I’m here now,” Twilight softly replied.
“Yeah, a full ten years later, Twilight Sparkle,” Pinkie Pie snapped in response.
“I-” Twilight started.
“I’M NOT FINISHED YET!” Pinkie Pie immediately interrupted, “I waited by that mailbox almost all day, every single day for over year after you sent our last letter! I at first thought that it was something that I did, and it messed me up inside.”
Pinkie Pie lifted up her right, front hoof, revealing a series straight and faded scars on the underside.
“You see that?” Pinkie Pie snapped, “That’s what happened, I was in the trauma ward of Ponyville Hospital for two weeks after one of these went too deep.”
Twilight Sparkle stood appalled, as did Rarity, who did not expect Pinkie Pie to become emotional so suddenly.
Tears began to well up around Pinkie Pie’s eyes, as she continued to unleash a decade’s worth of grievances at Twilight.
“Luckily, I had Rarity to help me through after being discharged,” Pinkie Pie said as she shifted her line of sight towards Rarity. “She helped me to see that it wasn’t my fault that one of my best friends just stopped talking to me. She even moved in here later when the Cakes left to help me run the store. She’s been my real friend through all of this.”
Tears began to fall from Pinkie Pie’s eyes as she looked back over at Twilight who had a single tear rolling down her lavender cheek.
“Why did you stop talking to me, Twilight? Why did you cut us all out of your life?” Pinkie cried.
“I’m sorry, Pinkie, I was extremely busy.” Twilight tried to reason.
“And you couldn’t take five minutes to write a letter?!” Pinkie cried back, insulted by Twilight’s response, “That’s the best excuse you can come up with?!”
Pinkie Pie buried her face into her hooves as a floodgate of tears had opened up.
“I’m sorry Pinkie, I’m so sorry for everything,” Twilight said.
She extended out her consoling hoof and laid it upon Pinkie Pie’s shoulder. Pinkie acted as if she had been zapped by an electrical charge and smacked Twilight’s consoling hoof away.
“Don’t touch me!” Pinkie screamed.
“I’m so sorry,” Twilight repeated.
“Just go away, Twilight!” Pinkie cried as she rushed out of the room, loudly slamming the door behind her.
Twilight looked over at Rarity.
“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Rarity apologized, “I was going to warn you before Pinkie interrupted me.”
Twilight was still shaken up by the unexpected display of rage from Pinkie Pie. “Did she really try to hurt herself because I stopped sending letters?” Twilight softly asked.
Rarity closed her eyes and nodded. “I’m afraid so, darling. I’m afraid so.” Rarity responded. “It was a really bad time for all of us here. That’s another reason that I moved in here, just to keep an eye on her in case that started to happen again.”
“Why didn’t you let me know?” Twilight asked, “If one of you would have said something, I would have been out here in a heartbeat.”
“We thought you didn’t care about us anymore, Twilight,” Rarity said. “It hurt, that you stopped talking to us, it really did. I felt really betrayed, but I have forgiven you for that. I’m not going to ask why you stopped, because I know you’re not going to tell me the truth. When you are ready to tell me, and the rest of us, the truth, we will listen.”
Rarity could see how awful Twilight was feeling and she walked over and wrapped a hoof around Twilight’s back and hugged her. Twilight shed a few tears and she returned the hug.
“I’m so sorry Rarity, for everything!” Twilight cried.
“I know you are, Twilight,” Rarity softly responded.
Rarity released Twilight Sparkle from her friendly grasp. They took another long, silent look at each other, and then Rarity walked back behind the counter.
“I need to get back to work and repair this countertop, Twilight,” Rarity said, “Can I get you something to eat before you go?”
Twilight took a moment to think. She was starving when she left the decrepit library earlier this morning. However, as she discovered the fates of each of her friends, her hunger had slowly dissipated. At last, after experiencing the most disappointing reunion involving Pinkie Pie, she had officially lost her appetite.
Twilight shook her head.
“No thanks, Rarity,” Twilight stated, “I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Okay,” Rarity responded, “What are you going to do now?”
Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath.
“I’m going to meet with Princess Celestia tomorrow,” Twilight said. “After that, I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”
“Will you come back this time?” Rarity asked.
“I’ll try, Rarity,” Twilight said.
Rarity walked to the door and placed her hoof on the finished wood. “I will see you, Twilight,” Rarity said. “Take care darling.”
With that, Rarity departed through the door, leaving Twilight to stand alone in the dining room. Twilight then grabbed her shroud from the coat hook and exited the confectionary.
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I've personally reviewed Chapter 3 before the post. This is where the story starts getting good.
2312049
Thank you for your constructive criticism. I've considered a lot of what you said and have worked it into my treatment. Keep reading because I think things are about to get better! Thank you!
Wow...just wow...I must know what happens next!
I hate it so much when a part keeps being mentioned but not explained >.<
You better tell what happened to Twilight in the next chapter :P
2708672
Don't worry, it'll definitely be explained. In fact, the plotline for chapter four is dedicated to an inquiry of what happened to Twilight.
I'm glad to see this getting more reads. This is actually a sister fic to A Trusted Friend in Science and Ponies, since Flyer advised me as I advised him. So, I'd like to see this one getting more attention. There is some very good writing in this, such as at the end of chapter 3.
I have an understanding of the overall plot, which I will not give away, but the story is much more epic than the first few chapters will have you believe. You'll just have to wait...
To all the people who have favorited/commented/read what I have put out of Fallen Unicorns:
I am going to re-work the opening of the story, namely the preface/chapter one. After re-reading the story, and reading some of the responses I have recieved, I will agree with the consensus that it starts off really slow, and that the chapters I have posted thus far are not indicative of the broader story that I have written in my treatment.
So please, stay tuned. Changes and additional chapters will be coming in the near future.
Thank you to all,
Flyer
2718940
In other words, this story is under repair. Stay tuned.
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UUUU
I thin i will read it
2749272 wairs the nail she hiting
Man I am so looking forward to the next chapter!
For all those who have waited for my next chapter, I do sincerly apologize for the wait. I have been extremely busy with my final year of school for the last six months (Filming/post-production of senior project has been a real ball-buster
).
The next chapter, as well as the re-tooled chapters that have already been posted will be availiable to view by no later than one month from today (OCT 23, 2013). Ironically, a month from today is the premiere of season 4.
I digress, but anyway, thank you all for your patience.
-Flyer
3387336
Sorry to anyone who was hoping for an update in November. This story is on hiatus. Right now, Flyer is helping me address issues with my own story. When I am finished writing it, which will take a long while, I will commit myself to co-writing this. All of these chapters will have major revisions, so I will recommend that you re-read the entire thing after this is updated.