Apple Bloom's pet pigs are relentlessly attacked by the angry birds
Apple Bloom's pet pigs are relentlessly attacked by angry birds and it's up to Applejack and the rest to protect them. But what about Fluttershy who is torn between helping the pigs and not bringing any harm to the birds? Eeyup, it's a pony/angry birds crossover!
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, or Angry Birds, although between the two afore mentioned names, they own just about everything.
My Little Angry Ponies
By GWFan (The Softcore Brony)
Applejack pranced happily back to the apple cellar, pulling a nice full cart of apples. The apple bucking this morning was going faster than usual, which meant that Applejack would probably have time to do some other much-needed chores around the farm.
After dropping off her apples in the apple cellar, Applejack headed for the barn. It was about time to water some of the apple seedlings. Just as she was reaching for the barn door, Apple Bloom ran up to her.
“Applejack! Can I help?” She asked.
“Well sure Apple Bloom. I was just gonna get the waterin’ cans.”
“I’ll get’em,” The young filly said as she dashed into the barn. After she returned, the two sisters started for the apple seedlings.
“Oh wait.” Applejack thought a moment. “Shoot. I almost forgot bout them dern weeds that been growin’ up round the seedlings. You go on ahead Apple Bloom. I gotta get us some weed killer from the barn.”
“I got it!” Apple Bloom shouted as she raced ahead of her big sister to the barn.
“She sure is bein’ helpful today. Oh I see, I bet she’s tryin’ to get her cutie mark again,” Applejack said with amusement. Her little sister wanted her cutie mark so badly that she constantly tried everything from archery to zoology, trying to find her special talent. If only she would stop and work on the things she was already good at.
After Apple Bloom returned with the weed killer, they both made their way to the seedlings again. On the way though, Applejack started thinking about some of the other chores they needed to do.
“You know as long as we’re out there, we might as well dig up the apple tree we was gonna send to our relatives in Fillydelphia. Can you go to the tool shed and get us some shovels?”
“Sure thing Applejack.” Apple Bloom galloped off to the tool shed.
“While you’re doin’ that, I’ll go get the wheelbarrow.”
Abruptly, Apple Bloom skidded to a halt. “The… the wheelbarrow? The one in the barn?” She shouted back.
“Yeah. It’s the only one we got left that don’t have a flat tire.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that Applejack. I’ll get the wheelbarrow too.” That said, Apple Bloom headed straight for the barn, completely forgoing the tool shed.
“Okay. Thanks,” Applejack said slowly. It was nice that Apple Bloom was being so helpful, but why did it feel as if she was trying too hard? Applejack went back to the barn, wondering what her little sister was up too. As she approached, she saw Apple Bloom struggling to get the wheelbarrow out the door, which for some reason she had only opened just wide enough for it to fit through.
“Apple Bloom?”
Apple Bloom jumped. “Uh… yeah?”
“I just remembered I need to get some seeds out of the barn-”
“I’ll get’em.” She shoved the wheelbarrow out the door, shut it, and came back out a few moments later with some apple seeds. “Here ya go Applejack.”
“Thanks,” Applejack said, sounding a bit more suspicious. “Apple Bloom, why don’t you go back to the house and get us some water. It’s gonna be mighty hot out there, diggin’ up the tree.”
“Okay,” Apple Bloom said, making a beeline for the house.
“While you’re doin’ that,” Applejack shouted, “I’m just gonna head into the barn and-”
“I’ll get it!” Apple Bloom yelled, skidding to a stop.
“Get what?” Applejack said, raising an eyebrow.
“Uh… the… the thing you needed in the barn,” Apple Bloom said slowly.
“Uh huh,” Applejack eyed her sister as she slowly made her way back to her. “Apple Bloom, why does it seem like every time I need somethin’ in the barn, you always gotta go get it?”
“No reason. I just wanted to be helpful-like. That’s all.”
“Are you hidin’ somethin’ in the barn?”
“No!” Apple Bloom said quickly. “Why would I?”
“Then you won’t mind if I just go into the barn-”
“Wait!” Apple Bloom shouted, stepping in front of the barn door. “You uh… you can’t go in there now.”
“And why not?”
“Because uh… cause uh… it’s a surprise party. You wouldn’t wanna spoil the surprise.”
“Surprise party for what? It ain’t my birthday.”
“It’s for uh… for uh…,”
“Step aside little sister,” Applejack said sternly, pushing her out of the way.
“No Applejack! Wait!”
Applejack opened the barn door wide. “What in tarnation?” Before she could react, Applejack was run over by a stampede of pigs.
“No! Come back! It ain’t feedin’ time yet! Soo-wee! Soo-wee!” Apple Bloom called out.
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack shouted angrily, her face covered in pig tracks.
Apple Bloom ceased her pig calling and turned sheepishly back to her big sister, “Uh… yeah?”
Applejack picked herself up off the ground. “The last time I checked we only had four pigs. Why do we have… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...13!? Why do we have nine more pigs?”
“Well…,” Apple Bloom nervously moved dirt around with her hoof, “A while back, I found a pig in the rain and thought it would be okay to take her in. But when I checked her the next day, she had eight little piglets. They was so cute that I couldn’t just kick’em out.”
“Oh Apple Bloom,” Applejack sighed. “It’s fine that you let them stay while they were piglets, but look at’em now. Them pigs is almost full-grown. How are we gonna feed’em?”
“The foods no problem. I’ve just been lettin’em out to graze.”
“Graze? Cows graze. You don’t let pigs out to graze. You feed’em corn and slop.”
“But it’s been workin’ out just fine. They’ve been eaten all the rotten apples that fall off the trees, all those big mushrooms that grow everywhere, and lots of other stuff too.”
Applejack shook her head. “Apple Bloom, we can’t keep all these pigs. We just don’t have the budget for’em. Now we gotta… Big Macintosh!” Applejack spied her older brother coming up the hill with a cart full of apples. “Come on over here. I’m lecturin’ Apple Bloom bout responsibility.”
“But Big Macintosh is the one who said I could keep the pigs.”
At the mention of the pigs, Big Macintosh paused.
“He said… Big Macintosh! Is that true?” Applejack said accusingly to her big brother.
Big Macintosh looked around nervously, before lowering his head a little and replied, “Eeyup.” Then he slowly backed up his cart of apples until he was behind the barn.
“I don’t believe this,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “Untrusted by my own kin. Am I a real hard flank or somethin’? What made you two think you couldn’t just tell me instead of hidin’em in the barn?”
“I didn’t just hide’em in the barn. I hid’em other places you weren’t, too,” Apple Bloom said quietly.
“Apple Bloom, I-” But before she could say another word, Applejack abruptly heard the distinct squeal of a pig in distress.
“Oh no!” Apple Bloom screamed. “Big Macintosh, it sounds like those birds are back again.” Apple Bloom galloped to where she had heard the squeal
Applejack watched Apple Bloom go, feeling a little confused. “Birds? What birds?” Then Big Macintosh raced past her, chasing after Apple Bloom. “What they hay is goin’ on out there?” Applejack said in bewilderment as another loud pig squeal filled her ears.
Apple Bloom raced to where she heard the squeals and sure enough, a dozen brightly colored birds were attacking the pigs. They were quite large, almost the same height as the pigs. They pecked mercilessly at the pigs, corralling them together as they flew around them on their stubby looking wings.
“Get! You get outta here ya mean ol’ birds!” Apple Bloom shouted, trying to charge them.
But the birds flew around her, not giving up their relentless attack on the pigs. Before Apple Bloom could turn around for another pass, Big Macintosh hurled himself at the nearest bird and knocked it out of the air.
“Apple Bloom, stay back,” Big Macintosh ordered. “There’s too many of em.”
It was true. Apple Bloom had never seen this many birds attack before. The last two times it happened there had only been three and five respectively.
“Look out!” Apple Bloom screamed as three of the birds dive-bombed her big brother.
The force of all three of the red birds together was enough to force Big Macintosh to his knees. These birds meant business. They squawked, squealed, and made a terrible racket as the same three birds targeted Big Macintosh with their sharp beaks. Big Macintosh was no fool though. He forced himself up and ducked into some bushes. As soon as he did, the three birds returned to the larger group and continued their onslaught on the pigs.
“Big Macintosh! Are you all right?” Apple Bloom yelled, running to her brother’s side.
“Eeyup.”
For once, it seemed that Big Macintosh had actually lost his cool. He stood up and started to paw the ground, as if getting ready to charge. Before he could though, two apples flew through the air and nailed two of the birds, dead on. Then two more struck two other birds. Then two others. The birds were so stunned that they flopped on the ground and bounced into some other bushes. All except for one that simply sat on the ground, it’s big, fuzzy, black eyebrows lowered in the angriest look Apple Bloom had ever seen.
The bird abruptly took to the air and tried for the pigs again. Another apple promptly pelted him and he fell to the ground.
Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh looked back to see where the apples had suddenly come from. Applejack stood valiantly in the clearing.
“Get you’re filthy beaks off my pigs you dern, dirty birds,” She said menacingly, holding another apple on her hoof, ready to buck it.
The red bird with the eyebrows wiped the apple off its body and hopped up and down angrily, making his way towards her. Applejack raised her apple preparing to throw it, but the bird paused.
“How dare you interfere with us!” It said in a surprisingly deep voice.
Applejack nearly dropped the apple. “You can talk?”
“Of course I can talk. Now answer me, little pony!” The bird said, despite the fact that he only came up to Applejack’s neck. “Why are you interfering with us?”
The rest of the birds suddenly sprang out of the bushes, looking ready to attack again. Lined up the way they were, Applejack could see that they came in five colors: red, blue, black, yellow, and white. The one that had spoken to her was red and stood maybe two inches taller than the other red birds.
“I said answer!” The red bird ordered a second time.
Applejack got over her shock and matched his glare. “Why shouldn’t I interfere? These are my pigs and they’re my responsibility.”
Apple Bloom looked at her surprised. Apparently, Applejack had changed her mind about keeping the pigs.
“If you’re responsible for them then keep them out of our territory!” The bird squawked at her.
“You’re territory? This is the Apple family’s farm. You’re trespassin’ on our land.”
“Your land?” The bird said with distaste. “This has been our territory for generations. You can’t just claim it!” If the bird had teeth, he probably would have started grinding them right about then.
“It’s been my family’s land for generations and I ain’t ever seen you on it before. You wanna attack my pigs on my land and you got trouble on your hooves.”
“So you’re siding with the pigs eh? The pigs have become our mortal enemies. We are going to destroy them.”
“If you think I’m goin’ to sit on my flank and let you do that, then ya’ll are crazy.”
“Crazy?” the bird said slowly as if chewing on the word. Then his feathers puffed up and he angrily shouted, “We are Sparows!” Then he kicked the nearest apple splatter as hard as he could, a small amount reaching Applejack and splattering on her chest.
“I don’t care what you are. Ya’ll stay away from my pigs and my farm,” Applejack said menacingly.
“Little pony, if you-”
Applejack launched an apple at the bird but he jumped in the air to avoid it. The bird looked about ready to attack, but then he noticed Big Macintosh holding more apples, ready to buck them his way.
“Fine. The pigs win this round, pony. But mark my word we will be victorious. Consider this a declaration of war. Tomorrow we come for the pigs in greater numbers. If you don’t want to be hurt little pony, then stay away.” The bird pointed his wing at her threateningly before turning back to his subordinates. “Sparows! We return to our home to prepare for battle!” The birds all squawked in a cheer. Then they took off and flew towards the mountains.
“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Applejack said, watching them go. “This is crazy. All this cause of the pigs? What are those birds so ticked about?” Then she turned to her two siblings. “Well I hope you two are satisfied. I don’t really understand what’s goin’ on, but those pigs gotta go.”
“Now? But Applejack, we can’t just kick’em out,” Apple Bloom pleaded.
“I know. Not now, but we gotta get rid of em soon.”
“It’ll be mighty hard findin’ buyers for these pigs in just a day,” Big Macintosh reasoned. “But even if we only have four left, those strange birds’ll probably come back.”
“Yeah, I think you’re probably right. Apple Bloom?” Applejack turned to her little sister. “You’re partly responsible for this, so do me a favor and run on over to Twilight’s and Fluttershy’s and ask’em to come over to the farm. Fluttershy knows a lot about animals and Twilight knows a lot about everythin’, so between the five of us, maybe we can figure out what to do about those angry birds.”
“Sure thing Applejack,” Apple Bloom said, happy that she could help. Of course, she did feel guilty that the pigs she had hid somehow caused this. As she raced over to Twilight Sparkle’s library, she tried to think of a way to fix it.
Before too long, Applejack saw Apple Bloom heading back with Twilight and Fluttershy right behind her. She was surprised though to see Rainbow Dash flying slightly in front of them as well.
“So what’s this bird problem you’ve got?” Rainbow questioned as soon as they arrived.
“Hey Rainbow. Not that I’m complainin’ but what are you doin’ here?”
“Twilight wanted to test this new spell on me that she cooked up. But when I found out what it was, I was like, No Way. That’s when Apple Bloom showed up, so I’m here partly out of thanks for getting me out of that mess.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal. It’s not like it would have been permanent,” Twilight argued.
“Wasn’t willing to test that. Not with that kind of spell.”
“It was perfectly safe… oh never mind. Sorry Applejack. Apple Bloom said your pigs were attacked by birds?”
“As crazy as it sounds, yeah. I was hopin’ you and Fluttershy could help me deal with’em.”
“I’m sure we can figure something out. What kind of birds are they?”
“They’re called Sparows. You ever heard of em?”
“You mean sparrows?” Twilight corrected.
“No, they distinctly referred to themselves as Sparows.”
“They can talk?” Twilight said surprised.
“Yeah. What’s more, they said they was gonna come back tomorrow with reinforcements. Said they was itchin’ to have a war.”
“Dealin’ with just a few of em is pretty difficult,” Big Macintosh added. “I don’t wanna think about what tanglin’ with two dozen or more might be like.”
“Are they really that bad? I mean, I’ve never even heard of Sparows before, but they’re just birds, right?” Twilight asked.
“They attacked the pigs and brought Big Macintosh to his knees. I’m not about to say they’re ordinary birds,” Applejack said with concern. “Don’t you know anythin’ about them, Twi?”
“I’m sort of familiar with Sparows,” Fluttershy spoke up. “Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s quite all right Fluttershy,” Twilight comforted her timid friend. “So what do you know about these Sparows?”
“Well, they’re very large, intelligent birds that live up on the mountain over there.” Fluttershy pointed to the very same mountain they had once climbed to save Equestria from a sleeping dragon. “Because they’re such naturally large and pudgy birds, they never fly very far and usually only at night so they don’t overheat. But when they eat, they eat a lot. They’re not like other birds that eat seeds and worms either. They eat lots of other things like green vegetables, fruits, and their preferred meal of mushrooms.”
“Mushrooms? Apple Bloom, didn’t you say the pigs was eatin’ the mushrooms around here?” Applejack asked.
“Yeah. And everythin’ else on the ground too,” Apple Bloom confirmed.
“I get it. The pigs are eating their food supply,” Twilight reasoned.
“So that’s why they don’t like the pigs,” Applejack said understandingly. “But it’s not like I can just feed em whatever we got on hoof. We’d run out of food and money. Big Macintosh would hafta rebalance our monthly budget first and that would take time. And I can’t just get rid of the pigs overnight either.”
“I could keep the pigs at my house,” Fluttershy offered.
“I don’t know Fluttershy. What if the birds come look’en for’em? You got so many critters over there already, it could start a real fiasco.”
“And those crazy angry birds are supposed to come back tomorrow?” Rainbow Dash put in. “Sounds like you’re going to have to deal with them the hard way. Kicking their little bird butts.” Rainbow made a show of bucking her hind legs in the air, while flying.
“No. Don’t do that,” Fluttershy pleaded. “You can’t hurt them.”
“Then what do you expect me to do Sugar-Cube? I’m not about to let those dern birds hassle my pigs. They sounded like they’re out for blood,” Applejack worried.
“You have a way with animals Fluttershy,” Twilight said completely unnecessarily. “Maybe you could talk with those birds and convince them not to attack.”
“Well, if it helps. I don’t want to see Applejack’s pigs or the Sparows get hurt.”
“Maybe you could tell them that Applejack isn’t going to have the pigs for much longer. Then they can have their feeding ground back,” Twilight suggested.
“I’ll try,” Fluttershy said, though she looked rather uncertain of herself.
“Well, if you’re going to do it that way,” Rainbow Dash said, sounding just a little disappointed, “I guess we should fly up there right now. I’ll go with you.”
“Thanks Rainbow. It would be kind of scary going up there alone.”
“You two can fly up there faster than the rest of us can climb, so we’ll wait here,” Twilight informed them.
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be back with good news faster than you can say, Sonic Rainboom,” Rainbow said enthusiastically.
Fluttershy looked at the mountain peak and shivered. She had met only one Sparow in the past. From what he had told her about them, the ever-proud Sparows probably wouldn’t be very reasonable.
It was a little past mid-afternoon when Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash reached the peak of the mountain. Of course, Rainbow had to comment on how much easier it had been to fly then going up the slow way like the last time they went up. They were actually quite close to where the dragon had been sleeping which brought back not so fond memories for Fluttershy, even if she had found the courage to stand up to the dragon like a strict mother. The only question was where on the mountaintop did the Sparows live?
The two pegasus ponies walked to the exact opposite side of the former dragon’s cave entrance and found their answer. Almost as soon as they stepped foot onto some flattened rock, a series of large birds in several colors started to squawk. Naturally, Fluttershy’s first reaction was to tremble. Even more naturally, Rainbow Dash’s first reaction was to challenge them.
“So, we finally meet eh? Come on you stupid birds, put em up. I’m ready for you.”
“Rainbow, please. This isn’t what we came for,” Fluttershy pleaded.
“I can take them,” Rainbow assured her. “This is for the… pigs…,” Then Rainbow thought about it. “Why are we fighting for pigs?”
“You’re asking that now?”
At the mention of the pigs, the birds suddenly squawked even louder and more birds started to join them. Rainbow gulped, realizing that some twenty birds had gathered around them. Perhaps it had something to do with her early years spent with Gilda, but Rainbow knew she didn’t want to go down like a punk. Maybe the birds would like a taste of the Sonic Rainboom.
“Sparows, hold!” A deep voice suddenly called out. Rainbow focused her attention behind the birds and Fluttershy uncovered her eyes. A red bird, slightly larger than the other red birds, stepped forward, examining the two intruding ponies. Surprisingly, his eyes stopped on Fluttershy. “Did you come here for a reason or are you lost?” He said a little quieter than before.
“Um… um… we came here to talk…,” Fluttershy stammered.
“And kick your butts!” Rainbow added.
“No. We only came to discuss what happened with the pigs earlier.”
“And kick your butts!” Rainbow added again.
The red bird looked at Rainbow Dash with his eyebrows furrowed. Then he started to laugh. Then the other birds started to laugh. After almost thirty full seconds of this, the leading bird stopped laughing. The other birds stopped barely a moment later. “How amusing, that a mere pony thinks she can come up to our roost and beat us in a fight. Clearly you don’t know much.”
“Why you little-” Rainbow took a step forward, but the red bird held his wing up.
“Keep the blue pony here and make sure she doesn’t do something stupid. Let the yellow one come in.”
Rainbow and Fluttershy both looked at each other in surprise. They hadn’t expected the bird to act so civil.
“I’ll go talk to him,” Fluttershy said with a little bravery.
“Are you sure about this? Something doesn’t seem right.” Rainbow looked around, worried.
“I’ll be fine… I think.”
“If anything happens, just scream and I’ll come flying in, hooves bucking.”
Fluttershy nodded and slowly followed the leading bird. He walked in silence, if not still conscious of her presence.
“Excuse me, Mr. Bird-”
“Big Red,” he suddenly answered. “My name is Big Red.”
“Excuse me Mr. Big Red, but why do you hate the pigs so much?”
Big Red stopped walking and looked at her sternly. “How would you feel if some stupid animal was eating your food? Wouldn’t you do something about it?”
Twilight had hit the mark exactly. They were angry about the food. Fluttershy thought carefully about her words. “Well, I would ask them to stop and-”
“Ask them? Stupid animals like that? You must think we are soft.”
“Oh no, never. It’s just, I care for all animals and I would hate to see you or the pigs get hurt over a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding!” Big Red hopped up and down, stomping the ground. “This is no misunderstanding! They eat what they want! I’m not going to let my brethren starve! The pigs must die!”
Fluttershy backed up a little. She didn’t want to anger Big Red anymore than he already seemed to be. “I’m so sorry. The pigs didn’t mean any harm, honest. Applejack is going to get rid of the pigs as soon as she can.”
“Applejack? Is that the name of that orange pony from earlier?”
“Yes, she’s one of my best friends.” Fluttershy smiled.
“That friend of yours doesn’t care if we starve to death. Little pony, I’m not about to believe anything that stupid mare says.”
“Oh, please reconsider. Applejack is the most honest pony I know. She wouldn’t lie without good reason. She just doesn’t want you to harm her pigs. She doesn’t want to fight anymore than I’m sure you do-”
“Fight? Little pony, we are Sparows. We have fought for what we believe in for generations. We fought to live, we fought to eat, we’ll fight again no matter who the opponent.”
“You can’t fight Applejack. She’s really such a nice pony. She just wants to protect her pigs at any cost, so if you would just-”
“What was that?” Big Red stepped closer to her, nearly coming beak to muzzle with her. “Any cost? What does that mean?”
“Well she doesn’t want you to hurt her pigs, so-”
“She’s willing to fight us? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Well, um… yes, but uh…,”
“I see. I get it. So the ponies are willing to challenge us too.”
“I… I didn’t say that exactly,” Fluttershy tried but Big Red turned away from her.
“I know what must be done now, little pony. This conversation is over. Our war has already begun.” Then he started to walk away.
“Please Big Red, please reconsider-”
“Your name is Fluttershy, isn’t it?” Big Red suddenly asked. Fluttershy stopped and stared at him.
“Yes, but how did you know my name?”
Big Red gave her a more solemn look. “You nursed my son back to health once. He told me about you. It’s the only reason I was willing to listen to you at all. In truth, I owe you a favor for that.”
Fluttershy nearly gasped. This was the father of the only Sparow she had met just a few short months ago. The young bird had mentioned that his father was powerful.
Big Red walked away again and around the side of the mountain.
“Wait. If we could just talk this over a little…,” Fluttershy ran around the corner and stopped dead. There were birds, hundreds and hundreds of birds gathered on the flat surface. It wasn’t just Sparows, there were birds of all kinds present. Meadowlarks, blue jays, robins, pigeons, and just about every other kind of bird save for birds of prey and waterfowl.
Big Red hopped onto a rock and held his wings up for silence. “My brethren!” He began. “We’ve come together today for the purpose of defeating our gravest of enemies, the pigs!” A cheer rose up among the audience, even the regular birds. “Tomorrow morning we will swoop down on their farm and annihilate them once and for all.” Another cheer arose from the birds, but Big Red held up his wings again. “But this is only the beginning of our…,” Big Red stopped when he felt a hoof tapping him on the shoulder. “What?”
“Please Mr. Big Red. You can’t do this. Won’t you reconsider?” Fluttershy asked him.
“Not now little pony. Can’t you see I’m in the middle of making my speech?” He turned back to the legion of birds before him. “This is only the beginning. I have just been informed that the ponies, those dastardly rulers of the land themselves, are challenging our very right to eat!” A series of jeers erupted from the audience. “It is true! I’ve only just spoken with one of their kind, and they intend to fight for the pigs to the last breath.” More jeers. “However, my brethren, we will not let these four legged tyrants…,” Again, a tap on his shoulder. “What!” He whined.
“Mr. Big Red, I never said that. I’m trying to say-”
“Little pony, don’t you have any manners? You’re ruining my speech. Get away.”
“But Mr. Big Red-”
“We will not let these four legged tyrants rule over us any longer!”
“W-w-what?” Fluttershy stammered as the crowd buzzed with anticipation.
“The morning will be filled with the cries of dying pigs, but we won’t stop there. No, my brethren, we will then turn our sites and gorge ourselves on the food of the ponies and give them a taste of their own tyranny!” Before the crowd could cheer, Big Red held up his wings for silence. “In the morning we will take the farm! And in the night…,” he paused for dramatic effect. “In the night, we dine in Ponyville!” Cheers erupted.
Fluttershy paled. “Oh my,” she whispered. Again, she tapped Big Red on the shoulder and amidst the cheers, he turned to her.
“What do you want?”
“Please Mr. Big Red, you don’t have to do this. Please!” She pleaded, trying to think of anything that could change his mind. “Just do me a favor and find another way.”
At the mention of the favor, Big Red visibly shook. For a moment and from the expression on his face, it appeared he might actually consider her request. But then he shook his head and spoke relatively softly, or at least as soft as one could speak among a chirping aviary of birds.
“Little pony, I can’t grant you that favor. This is the way of the Sparows and I can’t back down now.” He hopped down from his perch on the rock and started to walk towards a cave entrance. Fluttershy followed him.
“Mr. Big Red, I beg you-”
Big Red held up a wing to silence her. “Go back to your friends and tell them to hide in the forest until the battle is over.”
“But Mr. Big Red-”
“I’m allowing you to warn them. Consider that to be the favor I owe you. Now leave. I won’t stop my warriors from kicking you out anymore.” With that, he walked into the cave.
Fluttershy tried to follow him, but Sparows blocked her way and started pushing her back. Tears escaped her eyes as they forced her back to a waiting Rainbow Dash.
“Fluttershy, you’re all right!” Rainbow said excitedly. Then she saw her tears. “Aren’t you? What did they do? Did they hurt you? I’ll kick their butts.”
Fluttershy shook her head, “No. I made things worse.”
Fluttershy’s despair hampered her ability to fly. She just couldn’t do it. Although Rainbow Dash felt an urgency to fly quickly back to Ponyville and warn everypony about the birds, her sense of loyalty wouldn’t allow her to abandon Fluttershy on the mountain. She had also tried to rush into the birds’ roost in order to kick Big Red’s butt, but there were so many birds pecking at her, that she had given up on the idea. Not to mention the relative pain she was in from the damage they had inflicted slowed her flying down as well.
It took them the rest of the day and most of the night, but they finally climbed their way down the mountain and galloped back to Ponyville a little before sunrise. As they entered town, they were a little surprised to see Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, already up, wearing their saddlebags and heading in their direction.
“Oh thank goodness you two are all right,” Rarity cried. “I was so worried when I heard about you going to see those awful birds. We were just going to look for you. What took you so long?” Then she saw the miserable look on Fluttershy’s face. “Fluttershy, are you all right? Have you been crying?”
“I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy whimpered.
“What’s the matter darling? Did they hurt you? I’ll make pin cushions out of them.”
“No, that’s not it,” Rainbow said, sounding rather down herself. “The birds want to attack Ponyville when they’re done with the pigs.”
“What?” Twilight’s eyes bugged out. “What do you mean they want to attack Ponyville? Fluttershy, you weren’t able to convince them?”
“I made things worse!” Fluttershy wailed.
“Come on Fluttershy, I told you it’s not your fault.” Rainbow had been trying to comfort her all night, but Fluttershy had taken her failure to heart and wouldn’t forgive herself.
“Maybe we could throw them a party when they get here. Maybe that would calm them down,” Pinkie Pie suggested.
“I don’t think those birds want to party. They’re just jerks,” Rainbow said, putting a comforting hoof on Fluttershy’s back. Rainbow then proceeded to tell the others what she had managed to get Fluttershy to tell her. All the while, Twilight’s eyes grew larger and larger.
“This is so bad,” Twilight finally said. “We have to warn everypony.”
“Twilight, do you really think anypony is going to believe that a bunch of birds are going to attack Ponyville? Not to mention that it’s before dawn and anypony who would even listen is going to be half asleep,” Rarity pointed out.
“Yes well… well…,” Twilight’s mind raced. “Okay, they’re going to attack the pigs first no matter what, right? So they’re going to head for Sweet Apple Acres. If we can find a way to stop them there, they won’t be able to attack Ponyville.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Rainbow said excitedly. “I’m ready to get back at them for what they did to me yesterday.” In the darkness of the early morning, the others hadn’t immediately noticed the various peck marks that adorned Rainbow’s body. She looked terrible.
“If they’re capable of something like that then we better hurry and think of something fast. Come on everypony, to the farm!” Twilight commanded, and the five ponies galloped off.
The sun had just peaked over the horizon, giving Twilight and the others enough light to see by. As they reached Sweet Apple Acres, they were surprised when they almost ran over Spike, who apparently had fallen asleep on his feet.
“Spike? Spike!” Twilight shook him. “Wake up. What are you doing here?”
“Hmm, wha… Who took the muffins?” Spike rubbed sleep from his eyes. “Can I go back to bed now, Applejack? I brought the book,” Spike very nearly started snoring again.
“Book? Spike, pay attention. What book?”
“Huh? Oh, hey Twilight. What are you doing in my dream? Usually I only dream about kissing Rarity, not you.”
Twilight paused, with an expression that seemed to say, what the hay are you talking about? Rarity just smirked at Twilight, clearly amused by Spike’s cute behavior.
Twilight rolled her eyes and shook Spike again, “Okay, dreams over Romeo. What book did you give Applejack?”
Spike rubbed sleep from his eyes again and focused. “Oh! Twilight! And Rarity! Uh… I didn’t say anything silly just now did I?”
“Just tell me about the book.”
“Book? Oh, that’s right. Applejack wanted to know more about fighting so I gave her a book called, Art of War.”
“Art of… Oh boy,” Twilight gulped. “It’s not really going to be that serious is it?” She asked Fluttershy.
“I’m not sure. There were an awful lot of birds there yesterday.”
Worrying at the thought of a full-scale war in Ponyville, Twilight quickly lifted Spike onto her back with her magic and the ponies galloped to the farmhouse. As soon as they got close to Applejack’s barn however, they stopped and stared.
“What did they do?” Twilight said in shock as she saw Big Macintosh and Applejack digging some kind of long hole.
“Overkill much?” Rainbow commented, looking around at the sandbags, barbed wire and trenches the Apple Family had built overnight around the barn. The ponies even saw Granny Smith slowly walking out of the apple cellar with a basketful of apples.
As the ponies got closer, they saw Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle running up from the other side of the barn.
“No sign of the birds yet, Applejack,” Apple Bloom said, while she and the other two saluted.
Applejack looked at them with an angry expression. “Apple Bloom, I told you and your friends to stay in the house. This is no place for fillies.”
“But we want to help,” Sweetie Belle said.
Then all three of them shouted together, “Cutie Mark Crusaders, pig defenders!”
Rarity paled an even deeper shade of white, regretting sending Sweetie Belle over for Applejack to watch while she and the others went looking for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. How soon before the birds got there?
They raced to the trench Applejack and Big Macintosh were digging.
“Sweetie Belle, listen to Applejack and get in the house. This is dangerous,” Rarity ordered as soon as they got close.
“But sis…,” Sweetie Belle argued.
“No buts about it. It’s not safe here. Those birds could attack at any minute.”
As soon as Rarity mentioned the birds, Applejack lifted her head out of the trench. Twilight and the others were surprised to see that she had replaced her usual hat with a camouflage helmet.
“Huh? What’s that about the birds?”
“Applejack, what’s all this?” Twilight asked, implying the barbed wire and sandbags.
“This? Military conditions.”
“Huh?”
“Look, it says so right here, see. I’m settin’ myself up for victory by followin’ these rules.”
Applejack produced a book and opened it to a particular page. Twilight then read the part she pointed at. “Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise: (1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral Law? (2) Which of the two generals has the most ability? (3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? (4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? (5) Which army is the stronger? (6) On which side are officers and ponies more highly trained? (7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?”
“See I got the Moral Law or whatever on my side cause I’m protectin’. I’m the best athlete in Ponyville so I got the ability. These here trenches is makin’ use of… well of the earth part anyways, and I know I run a tight ship round here so I got the discipline. The army… well… I ain’t got an army and I’m not really trained for combat or nothin’, so the Sparows probably have that. But we got better reward since we got justice on our side and those birds are in for a heck of a punishment so we got that part too. Five outta seven means we got the clear advantage.” Applejack looked truly proud of herself.
“I’m not so sure you’re interpreting this the right way, A.J.” Twilight said feeling rather confused as she read further into the book.
“Whether we got it right or not, me and my family are totally ready to fight the Sparows off. They won’t lay a wing on my pigs.”
“Well that’s all fine as long as they don’t try for Ponyville next,” Rarity said.
“Ponyville? What’chu talkin’ bout Rarity?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.
“The Sparows, they want to attack Ponyville.”
“They’re gonna attack Ponyville!” Applejack was shocked.
“After they’ve finished with the pigs,” Fluttershy said dismally.
“Them birds have gone plum loco.”
“I’m so sorry. I made things even worse.”
Applejack smiled at her. “It ain’t your fault Fluttershy. Those Sparows are just crazy. If they’re gonna be serious about this then so am I.”
Fluttershy stared at Applejack. “What do you mean? We can’t hut them.”
“If they wanna attack Ponyville then we ain’t got much choice.” Though Applejack sounded confident, the expression on her face showed concern. “I hope I ain’t talkin’ out my keester when I say I’m ready. Do ya’ll think I done enough?”
“Probably,” Twilight said sarcastically, looking around.
“Ya think?” Rainbow confirmed, untangling a hoof from some stray barbed wire.
“I don’t know about this. I don’t want to hurt them, but I don’t want them to attack either. I’m so frustrated I could scream.” Fluttershy let out a tiny scream that barely seemed above her usual volume. “Sorry. I hope that wasn’t too loud.”
“This is ridiculous,” Rainbow said disgruntled. “I can’t believe we’re going through all this for bunch of pigs. Can’t those stupid birds just go somewhere else?”
“I don’t know. They seem to have a real attachment to this area for some reason,” Fluttershy told her. “Do you think maybe they like to party here? I’d fight for that,” Pinkie added.
“I somehow doubt it,” Twilight sighed. Fluttershy was right. This was frustrating. Why were these birds so bent on getting back this one feeding ground? Surly they must have others. “Since Ponyville’s on the line too, we should be ready for anything the Sparows try to throw at us.”
“Oh come on,” Rainbow guffawed. “What are they really going to… hey, why’s it getting so dark all of a sudden?” Rainbow and the others looked around, noticing that the sunlight seemed to be disappearing.
“Holy cow!” Pinkie Pie yelled. Abruptly, a nearby cow mooed. “Not you. That.” She pointed to the horizon.
The ponies all looked. The Cutie Mark Crusaders gaped in shock. Rarity very nearly fainted. Granny Smith sat down in a chair. Birds. The sky in the distance was filled with birds.
“Land sakes. There must be thousands of em,” Applejack uttered slowly, only now realizing what they were getting into.
“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh agreed, actually looking a bit tense himself.
“Remember what you said about overkill earlier?” Rarity asked Rainbow. “Clearly, that is overkill.” She pointed at the tidal wave of birds approaching them menacingly.
Under normal circumstances, they would have been considered quite a large group. Twilight and her five friends, Applejack’s two siblings and grandmother, Apple Bloom’s two best friends, and Spike. All together, yes, a large group. But when compared to the vast army of birds soaring through the sky by the thousands, they were little more than a tiny band of do-gooders, hardly of any consequence to the unstoppable hoards overhead.
“Well, we lost. See you all later,” Spike announced, turning around.
“Hang on a minute Spike,” Twilight stepped on his tail to stop him. “We can’t leave now. Ponyville is in danger if we give up here.”
“Yeah? And what do you expect to do against that? Their numbers are blotting out the sun.”
Twilight looked at the sky, but remained silent. What could they do? She tried to reason out a plan but panic had set in among her friends and everypony was talking at once, arguing about what to do about the legions of birds overhead. Only Big Macintosh and Granny Smith remained calm, Big Macintosh because that was his way and Granny because it was nearing her naptime.
“Hold up!” Big Macintosh commanded loudly. The ponies all stopped talking at his out of character bellow. Well, almost all of them.
“So what’s wrong with oatmeal anyway?” Scootaloo argued with Pinkie Pie. When she realized everpony had stopped talking but her, she smiled and pretended to look at something far away.
“Anyway…,” Big Macintosh cleared his throat. “Ya’ll got to stay calm. Twilight is right. We can’t let the Sparows get any further than Sweet Apple Acres. Now does anypony have an idea? Any idea’ll be appreciated at this point.”
The ponies were all silent. Tension grew in the air as they all knew the angry birds were getting ever closer.
“Hey, you guys aren’t going to believe this, but I’ve got an idea,” Rainbow suddenly announced.
“I don’t think charging into combat is going to help with this one, Rainbow,” Twilight immediately retorted.
“Not that. Not now anyway. What about that spell you were working on, Twilight?”
“The… oh that’s right. I totally forgot about that.”
“What’s this spell?” Applejack asked hurriedly.
“It’s a spell to take away a creature’s wings,” Twilight announced proudly.
“But you can’t do that. How will the birds live?” Fluttershy spoke up.
“Don’t worry. It will only last for about three days. I’m sure we can work something out with them by then.”
“Then hurry up and make with the magic, cause here they come!” Spike said, pointing.
“Here goes nothing.” Twilight stood up tall as light began to gather on the end of her horn.
“That’s our Twilight. You’ve always got the most plot convenient magic ready to go,” Pinkie Pie cheered.
“Uh… thanks… I think…,” Twilight answered, not sure what Pinkie was talking about.
In any case, Twilight decided to forget Pinkie’s odd remark and concentrated on the spell. The white light on her horn slowly amplified and Twilight stood on her hind hooves and pointed at the sky. This was going to be big. She emitted a beam of light from her horn straight at the birds. She radiated so much magical energy that her eyes glowed white. The sky ignited in brightness and for almost a full minute, Twilight let her spell loose. When it seemed the sky couldn’t get any more luminescent, Twilight stopped.
“Did it… did it work?” Twilight said slowly, breathing heavily.
“Look, they’re falling!” Sweetie Belle pointed out.
“Oh my gosh! Twilight, you have to save them!” Fluttershy shouted.
Twilight looked at the thousands of birds and agreed. She certainly didn’t want to kill them. Again, light ignited on her horn and she aimed her magic at the falling birds. A gentler light enveloped and caught them but she wasn’t catching all of them.
“Rarity… help me…,” Twilight strained.
“I’m right with you.” Rarity’s horn lit up and she joined her magic with Twilight’s, catching every last bird and dropping them gently on the ground. As soon as the last bird was safely grounded, the two unicorns let up.
“We… did it…,” Twilight dropped to her knees, breathing heavier than Spike had ever seen her, even when she was sick.
“Twilight!” Spike screamed with concern. The other ponies all joined him, shouting her name and asking if she was all right.
“I’m… okay…,” Twilight said slowly, still breathing hard. “I’m burnt out… I can’t… I don’t think I can use magic for a little while at least…,”
“Just rest Twilight. Ya’ll have done more than enough,” Big Macintosh said, smiling gently.
“Thank you so much Twi. Because of you, we won,” Applejack said triumphantly.
“Wait. Wait a minute.” Rarity squinted her eyes towards where they had dropped the birds. She used her magic to pull out a pair of binoculars from her saddlebag and looked through them. “They’re running into the bushes…,” Rarity’s horn glowed brighter, and she took a long look. “I can see them. Quite a number of the smaller birds are running away, but not all of them.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow shouted. “Let’s go kick their little bird butts! Charge!” She took off and flew across the grass to the birds.
“Rainbow Dash, come back here!” Applejack commanded, but Rainbow had already disappeared through the bushes and apple orchards.
A few moments later, they heard her yelling, “Ow! Ow! Ouch!”
“Rainbow!?” Applejack called.
“I see her,” Rarity said, still looking through her binoculars. “The birds are… they’re chucking apples at her.”
“They can do that without wings?” Applejack asked her.
Abruptly, Rainbow Dash galloped back as a hailstorm of apples rocketed from behind her. Who knew the Sparows could throw so far without wings?
“Rainbow! Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked her as soon as she arrived safely in the trench behind the sandbags.
“Darn those birds,” Rainbow growled. “I swear I’m going to- awww!” Rainbow tried to fly, but she fell back down almost instantly. She stood up slowly. “My… my wing…,”
Taking a close look at her, Rarity noted that one of her wings was slightly bent in a way it shouldn’t have been bending.
“That looks bad. Can you move it at all?” Rarity asked.
Rainbow attempted to stretch it, but she winced and froze.
“Your wing might be broken,” Fluttershy announced, taking a closer look herself. “You shouldn’t fly until you have it looked at.”
Rainbow stared at Fluttershy in shock. Of all the things the Sparows could have taken away from her, why did it have to be that? “Stinking birds,” Rainbow said bitterly.
“I still think you’re the coolest pegasus ever,” Scootaloo told her. “Especially the way you charged those birds. Hiya!” She made a chopping motion with her hoof.
Rainbow smiled. “Thanks squirt.”
“Dagnab birds. How dare they use my apples against us,” Applejack fumed.
“So what now?” Rarity asked, looking through her binoculars again. “I still see some of the smaller ones running away, but it doesn’t look like those big ones are leaving.”
“Those big ones are probably the Sparows.” Applejack borrowed Rarity’s binoculars and checked the scene out herself. “Yep. It’s those dern Sparows all right. I can’t believe how stubborn they are. What do they think they can do without wings?”
“They do have plenty of apples to defend themselves with out in those orchards,” Big Macintosh added. “Probably shouldn’t get too close.”
The ponies sat in silence for a few moments, deciding how best to approach their bird problem when Fluttershy suddenly stood up.
“I know the leader of the Sparows. He might talk to me, if I go over there.”
“But Fluttershy, isn’t that dangerous?” Rarity worried.
“I have to try.” What had really gotten Fluttershy’s courage up was that she still hadn’t forgiven herself for accidentally spurring the birds on before. She absolutely had to make up for it. She just had to show a little kindness and maybe Big Red would see the error and pointlessness of their conflict.
Fluttershy slowly peeked her head over the top of the sandbags.
“Should I go with you?” Rarity asked.
“It’s okay. It might be better if I go alone so that they don’t think we’re going to try something.”
Before Rarity could disagree, Fluttershy hopped out of the trench and stepped onto open land. As soon she did, several Sparows appeared from behind the bushes, toting apples in their beaks. Fluttershy froze. Before the Sparows could do anything, another red bird, slightly larger than the rest, jumped out of the bushes and bellowed a command to hold. The sight of him and his fellow birds without wings was quite shocking.
Getting up her courage, Fluttershy made a slow advance towards them. Big Red and the rest made no move to stop her, though they all watched the bunker behind her closely. It seemed they were willing to let Fluttershy come into their midst.
“I’m not sure how I feel about this, but Fluttershy is in safely,” Rarity announced.
“Great. So now what?” Rainbow pouted.
“We watch and wait,” Applejack announced. “After what Twilight’s done to em, the Sparrows have to listen now. Besides, the other birds are still runnin’ back there, so we’ll see how those Sparows feel when they don’t got the numbers to back’em up anymore.”
With little else they could really do, the ponies sat down hoping for Fluttershy’s success.
Day 22, our food is running low and the enemy refuses to give up. Many of our comrades have fallen and now I finally know the meaning behind the words, war is heck. I don’t know how much longer we can last in this barren land, deprived of all good pony things. If this should be my very last letter, then know that I and many others died, defending what we believed in. For honor, for glory, for Equestria, for
“Spike, what are you writing?” Twilight asked the baby dragon as she peered over his shoulder.
Spike looked up from his letter. “Oh, uh… just some memoirs.”
Twilight read the contents of his letters and grimaced. “Spike, nothing has happened for over two hours now. You can’t just make a bunch of stuff up.”
“Hey, don’t diss my memoirs. You won’t be saying that when this becomes a bestseller.”
“Uh huh,” Twilight said dismissively. She looked around at all her friends. Since she had cast the spell to make all the birds wingless, her friends had been sitting around, waiting for something, anything, to happen with the angry birds. So far at least, it didn’t seem the birds intended to surrender, though what else they could possibly do without wings was a mystery.
Scootaloo had fallen asleep nuzzled up against an also sleeping Rainbow Dash. Both of them had apparently grown bored of the situation. Nearby them was Granny Smith, sleeping, not out of boredom, but because this was her usual naptime. Rarity lay behind a camouflage she had erected, built specifically above the trench and to the side of the sandbags. She was still eyeing the orchards for signs of what the birds were up too. Sweetie Belle lay right next to her, using crayons to color in a coloring book. Every now and then, she would ask Rarity if she could try looking for the birds and with nothing better to do, Rarity had let her try, though so far, with no more success than she had. Twilight herself had been waiting for Pinkie Pie and Big Macintosh to finish a game of chess in order to play the winner. The game however was so intense that even after two hours, it still looked as if no winner was in sight and Twilight had given up on the idea of playing at all. Applejack stood by vigilantly, ready to cream any birds with her stockpile of apples. Apple Bloom stood ready to do the same, though she looked more worried than determined. It seemed she didn’t like the idea of hurting the birds anymore than Fluttershy had. In fact, the afore mentioned yellow Pegasus was still over in the birds’ camp trying to talk them out of attacking or whatever they planned to do.
“Sure has been quiet over there,” Applejack suddenly broke her silence. “Rarity, have you seen anythin’ yet?”
The light from Rarity’s horn grew slightly brighter as she tried to find the birds behind the trees. Though she couldn’t actually see specifically what was going on behind the apple orchards and bushes, she was using her unicorn magic to detect heat signals from the birds. “I’m not sure what they’re doing back there, but most of them have definitely run away.”
“It’s soundin’ better all the time. How many are left?”
Rarity silently counted for a moment. “It looks to me like 300 exactly, all of them Sparows. The smaller birds are all gone,” she concluded.
“That’s still a lot, but I can’t imagine they can do much without their wings,” Applejack said confidently.
“Wait! Wait! Fluttershy’s moving again. I think she’s coming back,” Rarity dropped her binoculars and stuck her head over her camouflage for a better look. “She is.”
The ponies all stopped what they were doing while Rainbow Dash rubbed sleep from her eyes. Fluttershy made her way back more quickly than she had walked over and the ponies greeted her with excitement.
“Well, how’d it go?” Applejack immediately asked. “You all right? Are the birds surrenderin’?”
The ponies all smiled, looking hopeful. However, Fluttershy lowered her head, her long pink mane slightly obscuring her face. “I tried everything I know, reasoning, and pleading, and begging, and-” “So in other words, they still want to attack,” Twilight finished for her.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t convince him.”
A feeling of sinking hearts spread among the group and Applejack stamped her hoof on the ground. “That stupid bird. Doesn’t he know he can’t do nothin’ else?”
“Big Red said that he and his warriors won’t back down, and that by the end of the day, even if the Sparows are no more, the pigs will… die…,” The sound of that last word coming from Fluttershy’s mouth sounded unnatural and pained.
“They’ve sure got guts. I’ll give them that,” Rainbow said.
“But how do they expect to do that? Did you see what they were planning?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy shook her head. “They were doing something, but Big Red kept me away so I couldn’t see what it was.”
“Anythin’ else? Did he say anythin’ else at all?” Applejack questioned her.
Fluttershy’s eyes shifted from side to side as if she wasn’t sure what to say until she finally answered, “He also called you some words I don’t want to repeat.”
“Ooooh. Burn,” Rainbow said with amusement. Applejack on the other hoof was not amused.
“It’s like Granny Smith taught me: Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will get your teeth kicked in.” Applejack turned her attention back to the Sparows’ side. “In other words, he can say whatever he wants, but it ain’t gonna do him any good.” Applejack stood up on her hind legs to get a better view above the sandbags and barbed wire. “No matter what they decide to do, I ain’t letting’ em near those pigs.”
“Hey, does anypony else hear something?” Sweetie Belle suddenly asked.
The ponies all perked their ears and listened. She was right. There was a strange sound. It sounded sort of like a long birdcall. And it was getting closer.
Abruptly, something smacked into the barricade and some of Applejack’s carefully placed sandbags fell over.
“Great Celestia, what the hay was that?” Applejack said in shock. Then she heard another noise, just like the first.
“Incoming!” Pinkie Pie shouted.
Applejack looked up and nearly bugged out from what she saw. A red bird came flying through the air and crashed into the barricade right in front of her. Applejack quickly backed away as more sandbags tumbled down and landed right where she had been standing.
“It… it flew. How’d it fly? Did the spell wear off?”
“Oh my stars,” Rarity exclaimed looking through her binoculars. “I can see them. They… they’ve erected some kind of giant slingshot. Several of them.”
“Say what?” Applejack grabbed the binoculars from Rarity and looked through them herself. “I don’t believe it. Their usin’ themselves as ammo?”
“You mean like kamikaze? That’s nuts… and yet strangely awesome,” Rainbow commented.
“I suddenly have the urge to command an army of kamikaze birds,” Pinkie Pie said.
“I know, right?” Rainbow agreed.
“Would you two stop talkin’ nonsense and focus? We’ve got a real problem on our hooves,” Applejack scolded them.
“Oh come on. They’re just birds. How much damage can they do? I say we return fire and kick their butts,” Rainbow said enthusiastically. Abruptly, they ponies heard the sound of yet another bird flying through the air. By the time they looked up, another red Sparow was already on top of them.
The red bird collided with Rainbow Dash, knocking her away. She landed hard on her back, while the bird bounced off and landed softly on the ground.
“Okay… I’m done,” Rainbow uttered before laying her head back and passing out.
Fluttershy gaped at the sight of Rainbow Dash, lying injured on the ground. Then her shock turned into something akin to anger. “You hurt my friend!” She started yelling at the red bird. “Look here mister, trying to harm innocent pigs is one thing, but if you think you can just come over here and hurt my friends…,” Fluttershy stopped. The red bird was lying on the ground, swirls gracing his eyes. Like Rainbow Dash, he was also knocked out. “Oh my goodness,” Fluttershy’s anger faded and she covered her mouth with her hooves in horror. “You’re… you’re really willing to sacrifice yourselves for your cause? Oh, this is awful.”
Abruptly the sound of another bird screamed through the air. The ponies looked skyward, this time seeing three blue birds flying together like a bundle. Just before they got close, the three birds split. Two hit the barricade and another nearly hit Fluttershy. All three passed out upon impact.
“I said it before and I’ll say it again… this is crazy!” Applejack shouted.
“There’s more!” Twilight shouted, pointing to the sky at two red birds and another bundle of blue ones.
“Scatter!” Big Macintosh ordered. “Protect the kids!” Big Macintosh immediately rounded up Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and stood over them protectively. But where was Scootaloo?
“Scootaloo!” Fluttershy shouted, running over to the still sleeping filly.
“Huh?” Scootaloo woke up from her nap groggily. She was bowled over when Fluttershy jumped on top of her just as a red bird descended right for them.
The sound of four birds bombing all around them, made Fluttershy flinch as she braced for the impact of the bird above her. But she never felt it. Looking up, she saw the bird floating just above her, embraced in a magical glow. Rarity had caught the bird in a weave of magic.
“Pesky little bird,” She said nonchalantly and tossed it back over the barricade.
“Here come some more!” Pinkie Pie shouted, pointing at three more sets of blue birds.
The ponies scattered again, with the exception of Rarity. “Oh please,” She said haughtily.
As the blue birds separated into a blazing rain of nine, Rarity’s horn ignited in light. She caught all nine and thrust them back the way they had come. Another bombardment of two sets of blue birds and a red one flew over, but Rarity caught those as well.
“Come now felons, you’re making this too easy,” Rarity mocked. “I could keep this up all day.” Truly, her eye for precision and years of weaving many fabrics and materials together had made her an unexpected expert at anti-aerial bombing.
“Come on now ya’ll! Let’s back her up!” Applejack shouted as she tossed several apples in the air and bucked them over the barricade straight at the birds’ camp.
“Direct hit! You creamed some of them!” Pinkie Pie cheered, using Rarity’s binoculars to spy on the birds.
“I don’t know about this,” Twilight said as she tried to weave her magic and throw some more apples over the side. Even though she had had plenty of rest, her magic wasn’t back up to 100% yet, and she could only pick up a few at a time.
“All right! Counterattack!” Spike shouted, tossing a few apples as well. However, since it was a relatively long distance to their enemy, the apples fell quite short of their target and landed lazily on the ground. “Or not…,”
“More incoming!” Pinkie Pie announced.
“I see them,” Rarity answered.
There were two more sets of blue, one red, and strangely enough, a yellow one. As the blue birds separated, she easily caught them again and set her sights on catching the yellow one. However, the yellow Sparow abruptly sped up, as if suddenly propelled by an incredibly powerful fart. It proved too fast even for Rarity to catch in time. It took direct aim and slammed right into her.
“Sis!” Sweetie Belle screamed as the red bird came down and landed on top of Rarity as well. She skidded across the ground, swirls forming in her eyes. The birds had managed to knock her out cold.
“Noooooooooo! Not Rarity!” Spike cried out! Then he stopped shouting and turned to Twilight. “You know, on the other hand, my memoirs aren’t so inaccurate anymore.” Twilight just glared at him. “But still… Nooooooooooo! Take me instead you accursed birds!” As he finished shouting, two more yellows and a red bird came soaring through the sky. “I wasn’t being literal!” Spike covered his head, but the birds weren’t aimed at him.
The two yellow Sparows sped off ahead of the red and aimed straight for the barn where the pigs were being housed. They rammed into the roof, but otherwise bounced off it, doing no real damage. A few moments later, the red one hit the roof as well, but bounced off.
“This is gettin’ bad, but at least they can’t get into the barn,” Applejack said, watching the birds roll off the roof, unconscious.
“What are we going to do? Everyone is getting hurt,” Fluttershy worried. “How do we stop this?”
“We do what Rainbow Dash would do and kick their butts!” Scootaloo jumped up and down excitedly.
“I… I don’t know…,” Fluttershy answered her miserably.
“I think it might be best if we move into the barn,” Big Macintosh suggested, still standing firmly over Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “As long as they can’t get in-”
“New Sparow!” Pinkie shouted.
As she had stated, a single black Sparow came shooting through the air towards the barn.
“What are they up to now?” Twilight asked nopony in particular.
The black bird hit the roof… and shockingly exploded. Black feathers rained down on the ponies. The pigs in the barn started to squeal. There was now a sizable hole in the barn roof.
“I don’t… I don’t believe it… did that bird really just blow up?” Twilight asked aloud.
“B-blow up? You mean he…,” Fluttershy clutched her heart and fell over.
“Hey wait, isn’t that the Sparow right there?” Spike pointed out. There was a little bird lying on the ground nearby. It had swirls in its eyes, just like the other birds and was completely devoid of feathers.
“Wow. That was cool. Can I learn that trick?” Scootaloo asked.
“If you do, I’ll be really surprised,” Twilight said a little annoyed as she helped Fluttershy up off the ground.
“So he’s all right?” Fluttershy asked, though she could clearly see the Sparow lying unconscious on the ground.
“These Sparows have some pretty amazing and unconventional powers. What else do you think they’ll do?” Twilight wondered.
As if in answer, three white birds soared overhead. Right there in the air, the three birds laid a single egg each that dropped and exploded on the barn roof. Though the explosions were very minor compared to the black bird, it was enough to expand the hole that was already there.
“This is bad,” Twilight concluded. “We’re dropping like flies out here, and with powers like that, there’s no place for us to take cover.”
By her calculations, some forty-two birds were now laying unconscious all around them assuming the ones Rarity had tossed back weren’t conscious. Add that to however many Applejack had hit with her apples and there were close to fifty birds already incapacitated. Only about two hundred and fifty to go, and at this rate, it probably wouldn’t take that long, but the Sparows might easily take them out in that short amount of time as well. The odds didn’t look good at all.
Among the confusion of the battle, Applejack had managed to pull the still unconscious Rainbow Dash and Rarity into the barn with Big Macintosh’s help. At present, Twilight was standing on the roof of the damaged barn, doing her darndest to divert the Sparows from getting inside. It was extremely tedious, as her magic still wasn’t at full strength. Pinkie Pie perched in the hayloft of the barn, staring across the battlefield with Rarity’s binoculars, warning Twilight whenever the Sparows were launching their way. Granny Smith was still napping and Big Macintosh had moved her to the barn as well. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stood worriedly by, hoping that Rainbow and Rarity were all right, though Scootaloo continuously suggested revenge. Spike sat in a corner feverishly writing more memoirs, this time more accurate and unoptimistic ones. Fluttershy and Apple Bloom peered out the entrance of the barn, both feeling quite useless among all the commotion.
“Fluttershy?” Apple Bloom asked, breaking the dreary spell that had cast over them all. “What do you think is goin’ to happen?”
“I don’t know, Apple Bloom.”
Fluttershy watched the sky almost in a daze. More and more Sparows were launching themselves and knocking themselves out as soon as they either missed their target and hit the ground or whenever Twilight diverted them away, also resulting in them hitting the ground. How much longer was this horridness going to last?
“Dagnabit!” Applejack cursed. “This ain’t right. This just ain’t right. We can’t go on like this.” Applejack stormed out of the barn and back into the trenches.
“A.J! Don’t do anythin’ hasty!” Big Macintosh called after her. “Or stupid.”
Applejack looked back at her older brother. “I may not be the smartest pony around, but I ain’t gonna sit her and wait for those derned Sparows to finish us all off.”
“A.J! Look out!” Big Macintosh suddenly cried.
Applejack whipped her head around. There were two yellow Sparrows aiming right for her. Apparently, her exit from the barn hadn’t gone unnoticed. Before she could even react, Big Macintosh butted her out of the way and took the full force of the two Sparows.
“Big Macintosh!” Applejack screamed and rushed to her brother’s side. “Big Macintosh, are you all right?”
Big Macintosh had been forced to his knees, but he opened an eye, wincing in pain, “Eeyup.” Despite his usual catchphrase, Big Macintosh was clearly not all right. He stood up slowly, his legs actually shaking under his own weight.
“Curses and mules!” Applejack screamed at the sky. “I’m your target, ain’t I, Big Red?!”
As if in answer, two red birds and a bundle of blue ones zipped across the sky. Applejack scooped up several apples, tossed them into the air and bucked them as hard as she could. All five hit their targets and the Sparows fell from the sky, unconscious. Then Applejack stood up on her hind legs, peered over the sandbags and shouted across the field.
“As Rarity would say: It. Is. On!”
Applejack jumped back into the trench and picked up more apples. As soon as more Sparows appeared in the sky, she bucked apples and knocked them down. Her berserker onslaught was actually enough to give Twilight a much-needed breather.
“Look! We’re winning again!” Scootaloo announced happily.
Spike cheered in the corner, but Fluttershy, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, and Sweetie Belle didn’t look particularly happy. All four of them realized that this really wasn’t much better nor was it helping resolve the problem.
Big Macintosh limped back to the barn and addressed Fluttershy. “Sorry. I would try to stop her, but it’s the only thing keepin’ us safe right now.”
Fluttershy bit her lip and watched Applejack take out more and more Sparows. There had to be some way to stop this. There just had to be.
Fluttershy started walking out of the barn.
“Fluttershy, where are you goin’?” Apple Bloom asked in concern.
“I’m going to try one more time,” Fluttershy told her. “I have to stop this.” Fluttershy stretched her wings and took off into the air.
Just as Applejack was about to buck more apples, she saw Fluttershy fly right over her. “Whoa there! Fluttershy, you crazy pony, get back here!”
But Fluttershy didn’t listen. She flew as fast as she could, crossing the field to the Sparows’ camp. As she did, she heard the sound of a bird calling. Looking directly in her path, she saw three red birds and a yellow. Fluttershy tried to scream, but she collided with all four of them and fell to ground, unconscious.
“Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie yelled, having seen the whole affair from hayloft of the barn. “Applejack, Fluttershy is down!”
“No!” Applejack screamed in fury. Looking over the sandbags, she saw Fluttershy lying right in between the barn and the Sparows’ encampment. “Twilight! Big Macintosh! Cover me! I’m gonna go get her.”
“Major wajor incoming!” Pinkie Pie shouted.
Applejack looked up and paled. Four black Sparows and two white ones were coming her way. Applejack leaped away as two explosive eggs and four even more explosive Sparows exploded all around her. Black smoke filled the trench and nopony could see a thing.
As the smoke slowly cleared, Pinkie Pie used her binoculars to try to see down into the trench. Looking every which way, she suddenly spotted Applejack when she raised her head from where she had landed against the barn. She was covered in soot and had lost her helmet somewhere, but otherwise it looked like she was fine.
“Whew. That was a close one,” Pinkie shouted up to Twilight who was also looking down.
“Oh my gosh! Apple Bloom!” Twilight called when she saw the young filly galloping past the sandbags and out onto the open field.
Apple Bloom ran with tears forming in her eyes. This whole mess had started because she had tied to keep all those pigs a secret from Applejack. She had just wanted to prove that she could be responsible and maybe earn her cutie mark in the process, but she had never wanted any of this. Now, not only were Rarity and Rainbow Dash hurt, but Fluttershy and possibly Applejack as well. Apple Bloom just couldn’t take it anymore. If nothing else, she had to go out and save Fluttershy. She just wasn’t sure exactly how she was going to do that yet.
Several birds zoomed overhead, but most of them crashed behind her since she was a relatively small and fast target. Some came close to hitting her, but she managed to duck out of the way. As she finally approached Fluttershy, she tripped over her own hooves and tumbled the rest of the way, rolling to a stop right next to her. Shaking her head to get her bearings again, Apple Bloom almost screamed when she realized she was not the only one there. A red Sparow stood just on the other side of Fluttershy, staring at her with much the same shocked expression. It took Apple Bloom a moment to realize that he was considerably smaller than the other Sparows of the same color.
Abruptly the bird asked her, “Are you worried about Fluttershy too?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah. Are you?”
The bird looked at Fluttershy and rested a foot on her side as if to make sure she was breathing. “She nursed me back to health once. I could never forget that. My names Red Jr.”
“I’m Apple Bloom.” The two young kids looked at each other for a few moments. “So… here we are. Now what do we do?”
“I have no idea,” Red Jr. said, sounding more than worried.
Apple Bloom sighed. “Me neither.” Apple Bloom looked around, noting that the Sparows weren’t aiming at her anymore, possibly because Red Jr. was right there next to her. “I just wish all this fightin’ would stop.”
“My dad is pretty set in his ways. I don’t really want to fight either, but my dad is the boss, so the Sparows have no choice but to listen. They’re pretty pumped up from his speech yesterday anyway.”
Apple Bloom put her hooves on Fluttershy as well. Fluttershy thought talking was the solution. If only things could be that easy.
“Apple Bloom!” Twilight yelled again. “Apple Bloom just ran out there!” She yelled down to a slightly dazed Applejack.
“Say what? Apple Bloom?” Applejack jumped to her hooves. “That silly little filly. I thought she had more sense then that.” Applejack gathered up several apples in one arm and jumped over the sandbags. “Twilight, think you can cover me?”
“With what? I don’t-”
Applejack didn’t wait for an answer. She quickly spotted Apple Bloom sitting next to Fluttershy in the middle of the field and galloped towards her.
Carrying apples in one hoof while running was no easy task, but Applejack made her way across the open field with surprising speed. And no resistance. All was strangely quiet. Applejack looked ahead to the birds’ encampment and skidded to a halt. Apparently, upon seeing her charging, Big Red himself had jumped into a sling and aimed right at her. Applejack was not a pony to refuse a challenge. She raised her apples, preparing to turn and quickly buck them in interception of the leading Sparow’s attack. Everything was silent as the two prepared to face off once and for all, to the death.
Apple Bloom stared in horror as Applejack prepared to attack. She turned back to Fluttershy, still unconscious on the ground. How many casualties did there have to be because she had decided to hide those pigs? Red Jr. looked at Fluttershy as well, clear signs of remorse in his eyes. He was perhaps the only bird who wasn’t angry, except perhaps at himself.
“You don’t like this either, do ya?” She asked him.
Red Jr. shook his head. “No. I wanted to fight for our food, but not like this.”
“Ain’t there any way to stop em?”
The two of them continued to look at Fluttershy, who had risked her safety in an attempt to stop the fighting. She was so much braver than other ponies said of her when she found something she believed and cared dearly for. Apple Bloom made up her mind. But what could they do? They were just a filly and a young bird.
Apple Bloom thought quickly and, with little time left, came to a desperate conclusion. She leaned over to Red Jr. “You and I are both small, but our families care deeply about us. So if we’re gonna do somethin’ then how about we try this.”
Applejack was through waiting. She could easily buck her apples far enough to reach that red bird. Even from this distance, she could see that he wasn’t ready to wait either. She could practically see his angry eyes.
Applejack raised an apple… and paused. She saw Apple Bloom stand up on her hind legs in front of Fluttershy and open her arms. She was facing right at Applejack. It looked like she was trying to block a basketball shot or something… or maybe a bucked apple? It took Applejack a moment to realize that Apple Bloom was directly in her path from having a clear shot at Big Red.
Then she looked behind Apple Bloom. A rather small red Sparow had hopped on a rock and was facing the other way. If he had still had wings, Applejack could imagine he might have been in the same pose as Apple Bloom.
Looking into Apple Bloom’s face, she could see that the young filly was staring directly at her with a very determined look. For another few moments, Applejack stood there, barely realizing that Big Red hadn’t attacked yet.
“A.J?”
Applejack turned. Big Macintosh had managed to catch up with her. He nodded his head and smiled. Applejack turned back to Apple Bloom, who still stood there as if trying to block her way. No matter what happened now, it was all too possible for Apple Bloom or that small red Sparow to get hit somewhere in the crossfire of the fight.
Applejack sighed. “I know big brother, I know.” Silently, she dropped her apples.
Across the way in the birds’ camp, Applejack could see Big Red, still looking quite angry, but still not launching himself. For almost a full minute everypony and bird froze, seemingly waiting to see what would happen next.
Then, slowly, Big Red inched forward, letting the sling go slack.
Apple Bloom got down on all fours again and sighed in relief. Her crazy plan had actually worked. Her sister and the birds had stopped. Applejack was walking over alone and Big Red was slowly making his way over, unaccompanied as well.
Then Apple Bloom heard a small noise and saw Fluttershy stir.
“Oh! The Sparows! I’ve got to… huh?” Fluttershy looked around. “It’s quiet.” That’s when she saw Applejack and Big Red making their way over to her. Then she saw Apple Bloom and a small red Sparow. “What happened?” “I think the war is over… I hope…,” Apple Bloom said, noticing Applejack’s expression. She didn’t look very pleased. “Apple Bloom, that was the most reckless thing I’ve ever seen you do,” Applejack said angrily when she got closer. Apple Bloom lowered her head, but looked up again when Applejack smiled. “But I’m proud of you little sister. That took a lot of courage to do what you did.”
“Really?”
“We’ll talk about this later. I’m not sure what’s gonna happen next, but maybe that crazy stunt bought us a little time.”
Big Red stalked into the clearing, surprisingly not paying much attention to the ponies in front of him.
“Jr!” He shouted. “You better have a darn good explanation for siding with these beasts.”
“Beasts!? Why you little…,” Applejack started but Fluttershy held up her hooves.
“Wait a minute. Maybe we can talk about this.”
“I didn’t come here just to talk, little pony. I want you to surrender,” Big Red said.
“I ain’t surrenderin’ if it means losin’ Ponyville,” Applejack retorted.
“Sparows fight to the end, so you’ll have to beat us all down to win!”
“If that’s what I gotta do-”
“Applejack! Fluttershy’s right. We can’t be fightin’. We ain’t gettin’ nowhere. Everypony and bird is gettin’ hurt and it’s just makin’ everyone sad,” Apple Bloom interrupted.
“I agree father. We’ve never suffered so many injuries in past fights. There’s got to be something else we can do,” Red Jr. pleaded.
“Tell it to the ponies and pigs. They’re wrecking our livelihood,” Big Red shouted.
“And I’m plannin’ to take care of that. But you threatened Ponyville and I’m not gonna stand by and let you have it!” Applejack shouted back.
“Wait!” Fluttershy interrupted. “This has gone on long enough. We need to sit down and talk about this peacefully.”
“What’s that gonna do?” Applejack and Big Red said simultaneously.
“Well… it’s going to be peaceful.”
“Peaceful shmeashmul, Fluttershy. These birds are serious. They ain’t gonna listen.”
“Sparows are not peaceful. We fight for what we believe in. Are you asking us to break hundreds of years of tradition just so we can have some silly talk?”
“Peace isn’t silly. It’s wonderful.”
“But-” Applejack and Big Red started.
“Wonderful!” Fluttershy shouted, turning back and forth between the two, giving them her trademark Stare. Both earth pony and Sparow paled under her glare.
“Okay, okay. Let’s talk then,” Applejack said, taking a deep breath. “Dang. I didn’t know that thing was so terrifyin’.”
Big Red growled. “Fine.”
“Finally,” Fluttershy said relieved.
“Hey,” Applejack whispered to her, “Why didn’t you just give him the Stare to begin with?”
“I did the Stare?” Fluttershy answered horrified. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh boy…,” Applejack sighed.
“I don’t have all day little ponies. What are we talking about peacefully?” Big Red asked annoyed.
“Our battle,” Applejack answered. “What did ya think we were goin’ to talk about?”
“I don’t know. Pony things?”
“Now you’re just mockin’ me.”
“Applejack,” Both Fluttershy and Apple Bloom practically pleaded.
“I got it, I got it.” Applejack sighed. “Look Big Red, we don’t want to fight, but we don’t want to give up Ponyville either. I know how you feel about them pigs and frankly I didn’t want them all either. But you forced my hoof and I had to defend them cause you was going crazy out there with your huge army and everythin’.”
“It’s the Sparow way. Our way or the skyway. Deal with it.”
Applejack had to bite her tongue. She didn’t want the fight to continue. “I swear, I’m gettin’ rid of the extra pigs as soon as I can, but it’ll take some time so please give me at least a week to do that.”
“What do you mean extra? Get rid of all of them.”
“I started with four and I’m keepin’ four. If you got a problem with that then deal with it.”
“I just may have to.”
“No Mr. Big Red,” Fluttershy intervened. “What Applejack is trying to say is that four pigs won’t eat your food. Applejack can handle feeding that many so it won’t bother you. Is that okay?”
Big Red appeared to study the ground a moment before turning his slightly angry eyes back to the ponies. “Fine. You can keep four. But if they start eating our food again…,”
“I got it. I promise if they eat your food, then I’ll… well, I’ll compensate ya.” Big Red raised an eyebrow at this. “How about this, until I get homes for the extra pigs, I’ll let your clan eat as many of my apples as you want. In fact, I’ll even feed ya myself for the next week. All I ask is that you leave Ponyville be.”
“We’ve been eating your apples anyway. Have you forgotten whose land this is?”
“Listen you-”
“Applejack hang on,” Apple Bloom interrupted. “I don’t know who was here first but I don’t really think it matters either. We’ve been sharin’ this land for who knows how long and we been doin’ it peaceful-like too. I don’t see why it can’t say that way. Whaddaya say?”
Applejack sighed. “I suppose you got a point. We ain’t never had a conflict of interest before the pigs, so if you’re willin’ to let bygones be bygones then I don’t mind sharin’ the land again.”
Big Red clicked his tongue. He looked at his son who smiled hopefully.
“Fine. Done.”
Fluttershy and Apple Bloom sighed in relief.
“Is that it then?” Big Red asked.
“Well, I think so. I would shake on it, but seeing as you don’t have wings…,”
“Yeah. About that,” Big Red said angrily.
“We didn’t have any choice Mr. Big Red. We wouldn’t have been able to handle all those thousands of birds you had with you so we were desperate. My friend Twilight promises that you’ll get your wings back in a few days. If not, she’ll find a way to fix it herself,” Fluttershy assured him. Big Red looked skeptical for a moment but after glancing at his son again, he finally gave in.
“So does this mean the war between us is over?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I’ll have my warriors stand down. We Sparows always keep our word.”
“Yay,” Fluttershy said quietly.
“Dear Princess Celestia, War is a very dangerous occurrence and the fact that one happened in Sweet Apple Acres took me by surprise. We had to defend Applejack’s farm from some very determined birds who were bent on destroying ponykind as well as a few pigs. I’ll send you a more detailed report later but the gist of what I wanted to tell you is this: When two sides have a disagreement it can lead to a terrible fight and yet, as Fluttershy and Apple Bloom proved, not all conflicts have to end with anger and violence. No matter the differences, it is always possible to find something that the two sides can agree on, even if that means both have to give up something important to find it. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight smiled, happy to have learned another lesson even if it wasn’t directly related to friendship. Then again, maybe it was. Two sides of war could also be looked at as two friends fighting. In any case, the fighting was over.
“Did you get that Spike?” Twilight asked.
“I’m sorry, what?” Spike said, looking up from a series of papers in his hands.
“Spike, were you even listening?”
“Uh… no. Sorry, I’m just putting the finishing touches on my memoirs. I’m telling you Twilight, these memoirs are gold,” Spike told her excitedly.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I hope you’ll be very successful Spike,” Twilight said sarcastically.
The sun was shining brighter than usual. It had taken most of the previous night but the trenches were filled up, and the sandbags and barbed wire were gone. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Red Jr. were playing in the field with a ball. Closer to the partially destroyed barn, Applejack had set up a barbeque and she and Big Macintosh were frying up a big breakfast for their guests. Dozens of tables lined the farm where many a Sparow sat awaiting the beginning of their feast. Granny Smith rocked happily in her chair.
At the table in the front, Twilight and her other friends as well as Big Red himself waited patiently, talking of their past endeavor with mild amusement. War would probably never be an amusing topic but at least no one had been hurt… at least not too seriously. It would probably be a while before any of the black Sparows grew their feathers back and Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be flying for at least two weeks. Still, Applejack promised her two weeks of free breakfast if she didn’t try to strangle the nearest Sparow. In that light, Rainbow had been a good sport and even brought some of the ingredients for that morning’s feast.
“This is really strange sitting at the table of a sworn enemy instead of fighting for what rightfully belongs to us,” Big Red muttered.
“Look on the bright side Mr. Big Red, Applejack already found some buyers for the extra pigs and they’ll be gone within the week. And in the meantime you’re getting a nice home cooked meal instead of scrounging for food like you normally do,” Fluttershy said sweetly.
“I suppose. In the least we’ll be free to eat again once those pigs are gone.”
“Is this going to go well?” Rarity whispered to Pinkie Pie. “This is a lot of mouths to feed for just two ponies to cook for. This feast could take all day.”
“That makes it like a party. I should have brought some party favors. Oh, wait! I did. I’ve got party poppers.”
“No!” Rarity cautioned. “Nothing that will spook the Sparows. I’ve had enough of tossing kamikaze birds around and getting blown up.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“That’s because you got out of this without a scratch.”
“Sure did!”
“Okay, quite down everypony. Breakfast is served,” Applejack announced, balancing several plates of food on her nose. She skillfully sat a plate down in front of each of her guests at the first table, inviting them to dig in. “About time. I’m starved,” Rainbow said, immediately digging into the food.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Have some manners Rainbow. At least put a napkin around your neck…,”
Apparently, only Fluttershy was listening because Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Spike started eating too. Fluttershy shrugged and gave Rarity a smile. She was just happy there were no more problems. Everyone else at the table was eating. Except for one.
Big Red stared at his plate. “What is this?” He asked, pointing to a strange substance on the side of his breakfast dish, with his beak.
“Scrambled eggs. You can’t have breakfast without eggs can ya?” Applejack said with a smile.
“Eggs?” Big Red stared at the plate again. “Where did you get these eggs?”
“Well… uh… Rainbow Dash, where did you get these eggs from?”
“Found em,” Rainbow answered stuffing her mouth full of eggs.
“Whaddaya mean you found em? Found em where?”
“Out in the orchards. Why? Aren’t they from your chickens or something?”
“Why would I let my chickens lay eggs out in the orchards?” Applejack suddenly noticed Big Red shaking and his eyes practically burning.
“You found these eggs in the orchards?” Steam erupted from Big Red’s head and he exploded. “We Sparows lay our eggs out in those orchards! You dare feed us our own eggs!?”
Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight stopped chewing and stared at each other a moment before spitting out the eggs. Fluttershy and Rarity paled. Big Macintosh tried to hide the frying pan behind his back. Applejack’s ears drooped. Spike kept eating, thinking about his memoirs.
“Now hang on a minute there Big Red. This is just a big misunderstandin’,” Applejack tried to comfort him but Big Red started hopping up and down.
“This is an atrocity! Sparows! Prepare the slings!”
“Ah, crud,” Applejack said miserably.
“Well, here we go again,” Granny Smith suddenly said.
