(Note: Not an "Avatar" Parody)Since before time immemorial, Alicorns have ruled over nearly every country in Equestria save for the griffon kingdom and a few other uncharted locations. However, when the world needed them most... They vanished...
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT A AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER PARODY! THIS MEANS THERE WILL BE NO "BENDERS", NO "AVATAR", OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT!
Since before time immemorial, Alicorns have ruled over nearly every country in Equestria save for the griffon kingdom and a few other uncharted locations.
However, when the world needed them most...
They vanished...
Alicorn's soon faded away into myth and legend as hundreds and even thousands of years flew by..
It was at the very end of a long and gruesome war that something miraculous and unprecedented happened:
Since before time immemorial, Alicorns have ruled over nearly every country in Equestria, save for the griffon kingdom and a few other uncharted locations.
However, when the world needed them most...
They vanished...
Alicorn's soon faded away into myth and legend as hundreds and even thousands of years flew by. Each race of Pony soon banded together with their own kind and began to keep to themselves as the years went by. Eventually, this seclusion turned to resentment and even hostility between the races of pony...
Thus the now legendary three hundred year war began.
The unicorns struck first, traveling from their hometown of Canterlot, they wished to seize control of the town they viewed as their own for many years now:
Ponyville.
Unlike any other city or town in the world, Ponyville was unique as all three races lived in harmony with one another. The descendants of The Elements Of Harmony beseeched the Unicorns, asking them to leave in peace and that they didn't want to wage war with them.
One unicorn in particular who happened to be the leader of the army had been raised to respect the fabled descendants of The Elements Of Harmony. He, however, was bound by his superiors and would face grave punishment if he returned to Canterlot without word of Ponyville's capture and anything other than unicorns remaining in the small town. General Hooves gave the citizens of Ponyville a painful choice to make, All earth ponies and Pegasi would be forced to leave, but the unicorns could remain and keep their hometown.
Applejuice Smith, the descendant of the element of honesty, stayed true to his heritage and told the unicorns that their terms were unfair, that Ponyville was founded by earth ponies, and that they had every right to be there as any other race of pony did.
General Hooves however remained firm in his terms for several months as the descendents of the Elements Of Harmony did their best to negotiate terms with the general that he would accept so they could avoid conflict with the Canterlot nation.
However, just as they were starting to make progress with the General, his basecamp was ambushed during the same night he had decided to accept their terms. The next day, Canterlot forces invaded Ponyville.
Ponyville, the last bastion of harmony in Equestria that had stood for over three thousand years, stood no more.
Meanwhile, The Pegasi of Cloudsdale had decided to make their own move and had their sights set on their neighbors:
Canterlot.
However, Canterlot was fully prepared for this attack and the Pegasi were forced to retreat back to their home only to find it under siege by the same nation which they had just attacked. Due to sending the majority of their forces to attempt to seize Canterlot, and the low numbers that had returned from the devastating loss they had endured, Cloudsdale was crushed under Canterlot's iron hoof.
At the same time, the earth ponies of Fillydelphia, Manehatten, Appleloosa, Dodge Junction, Hoofington, Trottingham, Las Pegasus, Baltimare, and Maretonia had banded together to create a very large and threatening presence in Equestria. The now proclaimed "Earth Pony Nation" marched across the lands, crushing any foe they came acrossed.
Even the unicorn's of Canterlot had no clear method of attack against a force this large. Soon the Earth Pony Nation was at Canterlot's doorstep and thus the very long, bloody, and final chapter of the three-hundred year war begun.
By the time the war ended, each race of pony had been hurt greatly and the once grand and beautiful face of Equestria bore many scars across her lands. Each race of pony had agreed to an uneasy truce, in large part thanks to the dedication of decedents The Elements of Harmony who had survived the attack on Ponyville, bore foals, and raised them to bring peace to Equestria.
It was then at the very end of this long and gruesome war that something miraculous and unpresented happened:
The sounds of a newborn foal rang out in the small town of Trotterson, deep within the earth pony nation. Shocked gasps were soon to follow as the foal came into clear view of the family who had watched the mother give birth.
"She has wings… and a horn?" A stallion exclaimed in shock at the sight that he beheld.
"This can't be possible! As far as the Swifthoof line has been recorded, no unicorn, Pegasus, let alone, and whatever the buck that thing is, has ever been born!" The stallion exclaimed in mild disgust.
"Father, please! You're upsetting Merrybelle!" A small yet strong looking stallion exclaimed as he put a hoof around his wife, whom looked like she was on the verge of tears.
The stallion's father huffed aloud in annoyance before sighing. "Listen, Steel. Whatever that thing is, it will only lead to problems down the road." he said in the most calm and collective manner he could muster.
"Stop calling our daughter a thing! She's a pony just like you or me!" Merrybelle exclaimed which caused the foal to begin crying in her arms. "Shhh, it's okay, Sapphire. Mommy's here." She cooed softly as she gently rocked the foal back and forth to calm her.
"I'm telling you, this foal is bad news for us! We need to get rid of it!" Mr.Swifthoof exclaimed which was met with a horrified gasp from Merrybelle, and a glare from Steel.
"It's time for you to leave." Steel said calmly yet threateningly to his father.
"Fine! Keep your freak foal! You'll regret keeping it once the locals find out just what it is!" Mr. Swifthoof yelled, which caused Sapphire to begin crying anew.
Steel took several threatening steps towards his father, each step clearly heard as the stallion approached him. "Get out!!!" Steel roared into his father's face, reared his right front hoof back, and slugged his father square in the snout, which caused the stallion to go barreling back into the wall close to their front door.
"How dare you hit your own father?! We raised you to respect us! You're mother would surely turn in her grave if she knew of this!" Mr. Swifthoof exclaimed in both anger and shock of his son's actions as he held his bloody snout.
"I said, get out!!!" Steel roared once more as he rose his front legs up and for a moment his father thought he was going to trample him only for the stallion to stomp the floor just an inch from his hind legs. "I never want to see your face around here again!" he added as his father stumbled to the door, opened it, and left.
Merrybelle did her best to calm Sapphire as she cried loudly and eventually quieted. "What are we going to do? Your father surely won't let this matter rest." Merrybelle remarked fearfully as she rocked their daughter back and forth.
"You let me deal with my father." Steel said as he calmed himself and walked over to rejoin his wife. "Today is a joyous day. Today we are officially parents!" Steel said happily as he leaned in and kissed his wife.
Steel and Merrybelle slept soundly next to one another as Sapphire slept in a cradle next to their bed. However unknown to the couple, a shady figure appeared inside the home in a silent flash of magic.
The figure then levitated a small dagger from their belt and silently walked towards the unsuspecting foal. The unicorn was about to thrust the dagger at the infant foal when suddenly he was tackled to the ground by Steel, who had heard the figure’s hoofsteps. This action caused both Merrybelle and Sapphire to awaken, the latter of which began to cry loudly.
"Who are you, and why are you here?!" Steele demanded before he looked to his wife. "Take Sapphire and run!" Steel commanded at which point Merrybelle bolted from her bed, lifted up the still crying Sapphire from her crib, placed her into a foal carrier, quickly put the foal carrier on, and began to make a dash for the door as Steel fought against the unicorn, only for the door to be magically sealed by the assassin.
"The Alicorn will not leave here alive!" The unicorn exclaimed, channeled magic into their horn, and blasted Steel against the wall, knocking him out.
Merrybelle was next to be attacked as the unicorn used their magic to levitate her and Sapphire and threw the two against the wall next to Steel. Sapphire cried out more loudly than ever now as the unicorn approached her while both her parents lay unconscious before her.
The unicorn once again drew their dagger and approached the Alicorn, positioning the dagger precisely in order to silence the infant foal once and for all.
Sapphire looked to her father for help as she cried, then her mother, and then looked back at the unicorn and cried even louder, if possible.
Just as the unicorn was about to thrust their dagger into the infant's head as they stood mere inches from her now, Sapphire's crying suddenly came to a halt and the infant foal began to float into the air as a great sapphire colored magic began to surround her.
The assassin wasted no more time and thrust the dagger at the infant foal with all his magical power only for the dagger to bounce back as if it had hit a solid wall. The unicorn slowly backed away from the foal as its eyes snapped wide open, staring straight at him, yet the infant’s eyes did now hold their normal sapphire appearance. In their place, two blank white and glowing eyes stared at the unicorn. Soon a great current of wind and magic began to swirl under the infant Alicorn as she continued to stare at her assassin.
In a panic, the unicorn attempted to teleport to safety, only for the infant Alicorn's horn to glow brightly and seemingly stole the magic they had channeled to cast the spell away from them. "I-Impossible!" The unicorn exclaimed in fear as they ran for the door only for it to refuse to budge.
As a last resort, the unicorn manually drew another dagger from their belt and lunged at the infant Alicorn only to be halted mid-air by Sapphire's magic.
Meanwhile, Merrybelle and Steel began to awake from their unconscious states only to gawk in shock at the sight that beheld them.
The unicorn stared at the Alicorn infant in fear, though she had them suspended in the air, they realized were still able to move all their limbs and were close enough to strike the infant. In a last ditch effort, the unicorn thrust a hoof forward in hopes of knocking the foal out, only for their hoof to be halted in its tracks by none other than Sapphire’s own right front hoof.
"It-It's a monster!" The unicorn blurted out without thinking just before Sapphire's eyes began to radiate with a light sapphire colored glow, and in the next moment, the entire house was blown to smithereens while the unicorn was launched from where they were held into the sky and soon faded from sight.
At the exact moment this had happened, Steel thrust himself over his wife in order to protect her, only to realize once the blast was over that they were completely unharmed.
Sapphire then turned to look back at her parents. At once as if a switch had been flicked inside the infant Alicorn. The magic that surrounded her disappeared, the wind suddenly calmed, and the filly's eyes returned to their normal state as she fell towards the ground.
Merrybelle bolted to her hooves and dove to catch her daughter on instinct, successfully catching her as Sapphire immediately began to cry aloud in her arms.
Steel and Merrybelle looked about themselves in astonishment of what their daughter had done. "They called her… an Alicorn. Steel, could the legend be true?! Did I give birth to the legendary Alicorn?!" Merrybelle asked in a semi-shocked manner as she looked at her husband.
Steel looked at his wife, the events that had just transpired were still sinking in. "I don't know, honey." He said softly as he held her and their daughter close. "But if somepony is willing to attempt to assassinate our daughter, you can bet they won't stop at their failed attempt to kill her tonight." Steel said calmly yet firmly.
"Oh dear, Luna. What will we do?" Merrybelle asked fearfully as she gave a paranoid glance at her surroundings, as if expecting another assassin to show up.
"We must leave town, now. No doubt the damage done to our home has already attracted the attention of more than one local. If we want to get out of here alive, we need to grab all we can and leave as soon as possible." Steel said in a matter of fact tone as he shifted some rubble to the side and began to pack whatever supplies he could salvage from their home.
Not long after, Steel and Merrybelle left town and after many months of looking, settled down in a remote town on the very borders of the Earth Pony nation...
A teenage filly pulled a large plow across the ground, digging up dirt behind her as she moved along with ease. The filly looked back to her father, who was several feet behind her planting seeds into the ground. "Keep up, Dad!" the filly jeered, knowing full well that she had been able to outperform her father for a few years now as she came to a halt to let him catch up.
"Sapphire, please." her father drawled as he planted three more seeds into the ground before he looked up at the sun and wiped sweat from his forehead. "You know I'm not nearly as strong or as fast as you are." Steel remarked, and began planting the last seed into the ground before he gave Sapphire the go-ahead to keep plowing the fields.
"Sapphire's stronger than daddy, Sapphire's stronger than daddy!" A young dark brown colt jeered as he ran around the stallion and Sapphire, whom looked at the colt with minor annoyance.
"Go bother somepony else, you little pest." Sapphire said sourly as she glared at the young colt.
"Sapphire, that's no way to speak to your little brother." Steel reprimanded his daughter, whom folder her ears back in guilt upon her father scolding her.
"Okay, Okay." The filly lamented and sighed. "I'm sure Mom needs help in the kitchen. Jasper, why don't you go help her?" Sapphire suggested in a much kinder manner than she had spoken to her little brother earlier with.
"Aw! You're no fun!" Jasper remarked with a pouty expression before he darted off and back inside the house.
"I still can't believe that after all the fun you had raising me, you'd want another ten years of torment." Sapphire joked with a smirk at her father, who chuckled in response to this.
"It was your mother's idea, not mine." He joked back.
"What was my idea?" A light grey earth pony asked, which caused Sapphire and her father to look guiltily at her.
"Uhh, the idea to…" Steel began to say, only to trail off. The stallion was at a loss for words.
"Plant the pumpkin seeds next to the cherry seeds!" Sapphire quickly added for the save.
Merrybelle put a thoughtful hoof to her chin. "Huh, I don't recall suggesting that." she remarked thoughtfully.
Eager to quickly change the topic, Steel quickly approached his wife and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I see you brought us some lemonade." He remarked as he sat down, picked up a glass, and began to drink the ice cold beverage. "I don't know about you, Sapphire. But I could use a break." He remarked as he wiped more sweat from his forehead.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire's expression turned into a scowl. "That's the third time today! If we keep on taking breaks like this, we won't finish planting the seeds until next harvest!" she protested.
"Not all of us have your seemingly endless supply of energy, sweetie." Steel replied after he took another drink of his lemonade.
"Come on, Sapphire. I know how much you love my homemade lemonade!" Merrybelle said with a big smile as she reached behind herself and displayed the crisp and cold beverage to her daughter.
Sapphire's scowl soon turned into one of a comically conflicted expression until she let out a defeated sigh, unstrapped herself from the plow, walked up to her mother, sat down, took the ice cold beverage, and drank it gratefully. "Fine… but this is the last break we can take today! The rainy season starts in a few days, and we need to have all these seeds planted before then!" She said in a strict and matter of fact tone.
"And here I thought I was the one in charge." Steel joked with a smirk, to which his wife let out a light laugh and nuzzled his cheek affectionately.
"Our daughter is just really enthusiastic about farming, dear. You should be proud. We raised a wonderful and dedicated farm pony." Merrybelle said with a proud smile toward her daughter, who blushed bashfully.
"I wouldn't call myself that dedicated…" Sapphire muttered aloud, before she took another drink of her lemonade.
Once the two finished their drinks, Steel stood up, stretched his front and hind legs with a loud groan before they snapped wide with a pained expression as a soft "Pop!" rang out from his backside. It soon faded into a relieved smile as he stood on all four hooves again.
"I'll go grab the next bag of seeds from the barn." Steel said reluctantly as he trotted off, leaving the two females alone.
"You should go easier on your father. He's not as spry as he used to be." Merrybelle suggested as she looked to her daughter, whom scowled in response to this suggestion.
"I have been going easy on him! In fact, I think I'm going too easy on him! If we keep going at this snails pace we've been going, we'll be halfway into the rainy season before we finish planting!" Sapphire replied, and let out an annoyed sigh, much to amusement of her mother, whom giggled softly before she put her arms around her daughter.
"I know you just want us to have plenty of harvest so we have plenty to sell come next spring, honey, but unlike us, you have a remarkable amount of strength and not to mention nearly limitless energy." Merrybelle said as she ran a hoof along her daughter's mane.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire let out a dejected sigh. "You mean a freakishly large amount of strength and energy." she remarked sourly.
"Sweetie…" Merrybelle began to say as she did her best to choose her words carefully. "You're not a freak. You were just born special, that's all." Merrybelle said in the most comforting tone she could muster.
"Special is just another word for 'freak', mom." Sapphire replied in a depressed tone before she gently broke the embrace and began to walk towards the barn. "Dad's taking to long, I'm going to go check on him." She said as she trotted towards the barn, leaving Merrybelle with a saddened expression upon her face.
"Hey, Dad? Need help with the sack of pumpkin seeds?" Sapphire asked aloud as she walked into the barn and noticed her father struggling to lift the large bag onto the cart.
"No, no! I've got it!" Steel grunted between gritted teeth as he tugged with all his might at the bag of seeds, only for it to refuse to budge from its position.
Sapphire rolled her eyes and sighed. She knew her father wouldn't let her help no matter how much she offered. He was "too proud" to ask her for help. "Alright, I'll just sit here and wait, then." She replied as she planted her rump on the cold ground, watching her father continue to struggle with the large bag of seeds.
She sat there for several minutes more before she let out an irritated sigh, stood up, and walked over to her father. "Look, if you take any longer, it'll be sundown before you get that bag onto the cart, let me help." Sapphire said in a mildly annoyed tone.
"I said, I've got it!" Steel growled as he tugged harder than ever at the bag of seeds.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire rolled her eyes once more and sighed aloud. She looked curiously to see if her father was paying attention. "Hmm, maybe if I try to use my magic to move it, he won't notice." Sapphire thought to herself though she wasn't sure it was such a great idea in the first place. Her past experiences with using magic have had… unpredictable consequences.
Against her better judgement, she gave one last glance at her father whom looked as if his full attention was on the bag of seeds he was struggling to move, channeled magic into her horn, and attempted to gently move the bag forward so her father wouldn't realize she was helping him.
Sadly for her, using her magic once again had an unpredictable side effect and caused the bag to launch from the ground with such force and velocity, that Steel was yanked into the air before releasing his grip on the bag and landed squarely on his rump with a thud. He proceeded to slam his hooves against his mouth, thinking for a brief moment that his teeth had been yanked straight out of his muzzle.
Sapphire's expression became one of panic as she saw the bag of seeds sail for the door. "Uh, don't worry! I got this!" She said in a fast yet panicked tone as she channeled magic into her horn in an attempt to catch the bag with her magic.
"Wait! Don't use-" Steel began to exclaim, only for the bag that Sapphire had successfully caught with her magic to explode into bright pink and blue fireworks. "-Magic…" Steel finished his sentence on a dreading note as he watched the last bag of seeds they owned burst into a display of fireworks.
Sapphire looked to her father, whom bore an annoyed expression, and donned a sheepish smile. "Um… Oops?" she remarked in a tone that was a few octaves higher than her own voice.
"Yeah… Oops." Steel replied in a less than enthused tone before he stood up and sighed. "Guess I'll need to take a trip into town and buy a new bag of Pumpkin seeds." he added before he took another step only for another soft "Pop!" to emit from his backside, only the expression of relief did not follow this time around, as the stallion fell to the ground and held his backside.
"Moooooom!" Sapphire shouted in a panicked tone as her father groaned out in agony.
A doctor pony walked out from the bedroom in their house, at which point both Merrybelle and Sapphire looked at him with worried looks. "How is he?" Merrybelle asked worriedly.
"No lasting damage was done, thankfully." The doctor began to say, much to relief of both females, who sighed in relief upon hearing this. "But he'll be out of commission for at least a week since he fractured his lumbosacral joint." The doctor finished as he looked at Sapphire and Merrybelle. "Can I ask what happened?" He asked curiously.
At once, Sapphire began to speak. "It was all my fault, Mr. Snips! My dad was trying to move the Pumpkin seed bag onto the cart and I just wanted to help, so I used my magic to try and help him move it without him noticing, but my magic got out of control. And then, I tried to catch the bag of seeds with my magic and I ended up completely destroying it!" Sapphire exclaimed all in one breath before she let out a depressed sigh and lowered her head in shame.
The doctor merely sighed upon hearing this. "I suppose I'll need to make something up again." He remarked in a less than enthused tone, and ran his right front hoof through his mane with yet another sigh.
"Thank you, Mr. Snips. We can't begin to express how grateful we are for keeping our daughter’s abilities a secret." Merrybelle said as she approached the stallion and shook his hoof with hers.
"You'll be getting my usual fee by mail." Mr. Snips replied dryly as he walked past the two and towards the door, before he stopped and let out a sigh and turned to face the two females once more. "Look, I can't keep making things up like this. Sooner or later the ponies down in the medical office will notice something is up and I'll lose my medical license. You'll always get my help when you need it, but this is the last time I cover up for your daughter, understand?" Mr. Snips said in a firm tone to the two, who nodded solemnly before he opened the door and closed it behind him.
Once the stallion closed the door, Sapphire bit her lower lip as tears filled her eyes. "I'm so sorry! I never meant for any of this to happen!" She exclaimed as she began to cry where she stood.
Merrybelle immediately went into her role as the supportive mother as she walked over to her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Oh sweetie, we know you didn't. Your father doesn't blame you for what happened, and neither do I." She said in the most supportive tone she could muster as she rubbed her daughter’s mane gently with a hoof.
"I'm such a freak…" Sapphire uttered out between sobs.
"Sapphire Swifthoof, you are not a freak!" Merrybelle exclaimed sternly as she yanked her daughter back so she could make eye-contact with her.
Sapphire broke away from her mother's hooves and turned away from her. "Yes I am! Do you see anypony else in Equestria with wings and a horn?!" Sapphire shrieked as she continued sobbing.
Merrybelle looked at her daughter for a short time before she let out a sigh. "I know things seem hard right now, but they'll get better." Merrybelle said softly as she walked over to her daughter and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
"Yeah, they'll get better alright, right after I get my cutie mark which will never appear." Sapphire remarked morbidly with a soft sniff.
"Sure it will, Sweetie! You'll get your cutie mark once you realize what your special talent is! You're not the first to wonder what their purpose is in life and you surely won't be the last. But one day, you will find it, and I hope I'm there to see that flank of yours flash brightly and your magnificent cutie mark appear!" Merrybelle said with a wide smile.
"That sounds kinda of creepy when you say it like that." Sapphire remarked with a mildly creeped out expression as she sniffled and wiped her nose. Though her mother's efforts to cheer her daughter up were bearing fruit, she was far from in the best of moods, still.
Merrybelle put a hoof to her chin with a thoughtful expression for a few moments before her eyes popped wide in realization. "Ya know, it kinda does." she remarked aloud with the same mildly creeped out expression her daughter wore.
The two looked at each other for a few moments longer until they both broke out laughing. "Somepony get Crust Hansomehoof, we got a pedopony over here!" Sapphire joked aloud as she pointed a hoof at her mother.
"Oh, stop it, you! Somepony might hear!" Her mother joked back as the two female's laughter slowly died down.
"Thanks for cheering me up, Mom." Sapphire said softly as she embraced her mother in a loving hug, who returned it.
"That's what I'm here for, Sweetie." She replied softly before the looked to the door. "You should go see your father." Merrybelle suggested warmly.
Sapphire’s smile turned into a nervous frown as she looked to the door to her parent's bedroom. She didn't really feel like facing her father this soon but she knew it would make her mother feel better if she did so now instead of later.
The Alicorn reluctantly opened her parent’s bedroom and put on the best smile she could muster as her eyes met with her father's. "Hey, Daddy. How you holding up?" She asked meekly as she walked over to the bed.
"As good as any stallion could be after they had their butt-bone fractured." Steel joked with a smirk, though once he realized his daughter didn't laugh at his bad joke, he gave a grunt of pain as he sat straight up in bed and placed a hoof on her daughter's cheek. "Listen, Sweetie. I don't blame you for what happened. You were just trying to help stubborn old me while trying to let me keep my earth pony pride. A gesture I'm grateful for." He said softly as he rubbed her cheek.
"So much for that. I ended up hurting a lot more than your pride." Sapphire remarked sourly, and sighed.
"Your heart was in the right place, and that's what matters." Steel replied, only to let out a grunt of pain as he slowly laid himself back against the bed to relieve pressure to his hindquarters.
"Your father's right, Sapphire." Merrybelle remarked as she walked into the bedroom herself. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you know me." She added as she sat down on the bed next to her husband.
Steel let out another grunt of pain as he turned to his wife. "Merrybelle, I'd hate to ask you to do this but could you go into town and get us a bag of Pumpkin seeds? Sapphire can keep an eye on Jasper while you're gone." He asked as he placed a hoof on his wife's.
"I would, dear, but I was in the midst of making dinner when this happened and that cabbage casserole isn't going to prep itself." Merrybelle replied with a soft smile.
"Oh, Oh! Let me go! I totally promise to wear the coat and hoodie!" Sapphire exclaimed, eager to make up for injuring her father.
Steel and Merrybelle exchanged worried looks with one another before they turned to their daughter. "I'm not sure that's such a great idea." Steel remarked, doing his best to choose his words carefully as she spoke.
"Oh come on! I know where all the shops are and I totally promise not to use any magic!" Sapphire pleaded.
Steel and his wife once again exchanged worried glances with one another before looking back at their daughter. "Sweetie, it's not that we don't have the utmost confidence in you, but if something were to happen…" Merrybelle said this time, also choosing her words carefully as she spoke.
"Nothing will happen! I promise! I'll go straight to the seed shop and be back before you know it!" Sapphire exclaimed, she was practically begging at this point. A fact her parents took note of.
Sapphire's parents once more exchanged worried looks before they looked back to their daughter, at which point Steel let out a sigh. "Okay, straight to the seed shop and back. No detours or shortcuts, are we clear?" Steel said in a strict and fatherly tone.
"Oh thank you, thank you! You won't regret it! I promise!" Sapphire exclaimed joyfully as she hugged both her parents, much to the pain of Steel, who let out a grunt of pain as his daughter's right hind hoof pressed against his upper chest.
The sun was high in the sky, telling the Alicorn that it was around noon as she strolled through the business district of Rockybottom City pulling a cart full with a large bag of pumpkin seeds in behind her.
Sapphire stopped as she looked to her left at the small cafe her parents would often take to her too when she was younger. "I don't think mom and dad would mind if I spent a few bits on something to drink." Sapphire told herself as she pulled the cart over to the cafe, unstrapped herself from it, and walked inside.
"We don't serve your kind!" A large and buff black stallion exclaimed to a young Pegasus mare with a snow white fur coat and dark blue mane with icy blue highlights.
"H-Hey! I have you know that my great,great,great,great,great…" The pegasus began to retort before she trailed off and attempted to count in her head the amount of times she'd need to say the word great until she shook her head and let out an irritated sigh. "Look, my ancestor was the element of loyalty! Doesn't that account for anything?!" The Pegasus asked with an annoyed look at the black stallion.
The black stallion scoffed upon hearing this. "If that title you're boasting is so great, why don't ya go back to your own kind and use it to get something to drink from their cafe!" He exclaimed before he looked over to see Sapphire. "Oh, Sapphire! I didn't see ya there! Come, sit down!" The stallion greeted with the cheerful smile she was used to seeing, only it was accompanied by him shoving the Pegasus from her stool.
"H-Hey! I was sitting there!" The Pegasus exclaimed in outrage.
"These seats are reserved for paying customers." The stallion remarked with a glare at the pegasus. "Now are ya gonna keep that featherflank trap of yours shut, or am I gonna need to call the local authorities to remove ya from my cafe?"
Upon hearing the "featherflank" remark, the Pegasus's eyes flashed with anger as she glared at the stallion. "Whatever…" She retorted with a glare before she turned around. "Leadhoof." She muttered under her breath.
Several offended gasps from nearby patrons could be heard as the black stallion's eyes now flashed with anger as well. "What did you call me?" He asked with a threatening tone as he leaned in so his face was mere inches away from the pegasus' face.
Before the Pegasus could retort however, Sapphire rushed between the two and moved them away from one another in an attempt to defuse the situation, which was quickly turning hostile between the two ponies. "Say, why don't we just pretend this never happened, okay?" Sapphire said nervously to the two as they continued to glare at one another. Neither seemed willing to let this matter drop. "Okay, I'm sure some rude things were said, but I don't think you want to get into a scruff with an underage Pegasus. It'd be bad for business, right?" She continued as she looked at the black stallion whom glared a few moments longer before letting out a angry huff.
"Teh! You're right, the featherflank isn't worth it." He remarked as he withdrew back behind his counter and began to find something to occupy himself.
With one of the two calmed, Sapphire quickly turned her attention to the Pegasus, bit onto her tail, and dragged her away from the counter. "Are you nuts?! I don't know how you were raised but making a remark like that in this town in likely to get your covered in bruises, or worse!" Sapphire whispered in a calm yet lecturing manner to the Pegasus.
"Hey, he started it!" The Pegasus retorted defensively.
"Doesn't mean you should finish it!" Sapphire snapped back, and took several deep breaths to calm herself once she realized she was starting to get upset herself.
The Pegasus glared back at her a few moments longer before she let out an irritated sigh. "Whatever…" She said finally as she sat down at one of the nearby cafe tables, crossed her front hooves on the table, and laid her head down on them.
With the situation successfully defused, Sapphire let out a sigh of relief as she turned around, walked over to the stool, and sat down. "I'll have a strawberry milkshake." she said calmly before she gave a look over at the Pegasus. "Make that two strawberry milkshakes." she corrected herself.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to be ordering for that featherflank would you?" The stallion asked curiously as he gave her a suspicious look.
"So what if I am? You're getting more bits either way." Sapphire replied with a mild glare at the stallion.
The stallion looked at her for a few moments longer before he let out a annoyed grunt. "It's your bits you're wasting, but who I am to tell ya how to spend your money." The stallion remarked as he began to work on the two milkshakes.
The Alicorn gave a curious look about herself and realized she was getting dirty looks from every other customer in the shop before she returned her attention to the table. "So much for being able to drink my favorite milkshake in peace." She muttered to herself dismally as the two shakes were placed in front of her.
Just as she was about to take a sip, however, a random pony latched their mouth onto her hoodie and yanked it off, revealing her horn to the entire cafe. "H-Hey! Give that back!" Sapphire exclaimed in a panic as she frantically rushed to grab the hoodie back from her attacker.
"Hey, everypony, look! She's a Spikehead!" The colt exclaimed as Sapphire quickly picked up her hoodie, placed it back on her head and looked about the room. If she thought she was getting dirty looks before, the looks she was getting now make the previous ones look like smiles.
Sapphire let out a dejected sigh before she sat back down at the stool only to find the milkshakes she had ordered were now missing from where they stood. "Hey, where are my milkshakes?!" She exclaimed as she looked about the table for them.
"We don't serve your kind or hers." The black stallion remarked aloud with a glare at the Alicorn.
"Oh come on! It's me, Sapphire! I've come in here hundreds of times with my parents!" The Alicorn retorted with a glare.
"That was when we thought you were an earth pony. Things are different now." The stallion replied, his tone and behavior towards her reflecting the same he showed towards the Pegasus.
"How the heck are they any different?! I'm the same pony you've known since I was five!" Sapphire retorted, her temper quickly rising.
"They just are! Now, are ya gonna get off that stool for paying customers or am i gonna have to call the authorities on ya." The stallion said with the same threatening tone he gave the Pegasus not long ago.
"Fine! At least give me my money back!" Sapphire snapped with a glare at which point a smug grin appeared on the stallion's face.
"What money?" He asked feigning ignorance.
"Uh, the money I just gave you less than five minutes ago for those two milkshakes!" Sapphire shot back as she stood up from the stool and glared even more so if possible at the stallion.
As if to spite her even more, the stallion grinned as he turned to his co-worker. "Hey, Bonnie! Did this spikehead pay us any money?" The stallion asked smugly.
"Nope!" The mare replied with the same smug grin the stallion wore.
"There ya have it, missy, you paid us no money for anything." He replied and turned away to attend to another patron.
"Why, you!" Sapphire roared as she attempted to lunge at the stallion, only for her tail to be bit upon and yanked as the Pegasus she had just got done telling to calm down was using all her strength and wingpower to keep the filly from making a grave mistake.
"Whoa, there! You just got telling me less than three minutes ago that he wasn't worth it!" The Pegasus exclaimed through gritted teeth as she continued to struggle to hold Sapphire back.
Sapphire struggled a little longer against the Pegasus before she finally came to her senses, let out an angry growl, and stomped her way out of the cafe to pick up her cart, only to find the bag of Pumpkin seeds bearing a large hole in it with most of its contents spilled onto the ground and clearly looked as if they had been stomped into the ground.
Upon seeing this, the Alicorn let out a rage-filled cry as she bucked the side of the cafe with all her might which caused her to punch a hole in the wall of the restaurant. Upon realizing what she had done, the Alicorn's ears flattened as she stared through the hole at the patrons in the cafe whom all stared back at her in shock of what she had done.
Before the Alicorn knew what had happened, the same Pegasus whom stopped her from throttling the cafe owner earlier darted out of the cafe through the front doors, bite onto Sapphire's tail and dragged her down the street at a very high speed.
------------------------------------------------
"I can walk, you know…" Sapphire remarked aloud in an annoyed tone as she leaned her head against her right front hoof as her body was still being dragged by the Pegasus.
Upon hearing this, the Pegasus let go of Sapphire's tail and landed on the ground as the filly stood up to face her. "Wow, and I thought I was ready to flip my lid when he called me a featherflank! You're pretty strong for a Unicorn!" The Pegasus exclaimed in astonishment.
A first Sapphire didn't quite realize that the Pegasus was talking about her but it finally sunk in that she wasn't aware that she also had wings. "Oh yeah, right...unicorn." She said sheepishly.
"Name's Snowbreeze Dash!" Snowbreeze exclaimed with a proud smile.
"Dash?" Sapphire inquired aloud curiously until her years of homeschooling that her mother had given her sunk in. "Oh, that's right! You said that your ancestor was the element of loyalty right?" Sapphire asked excitedly.
"You got it!" Snowbreeze exclaimed proudly as she placed a hoof on her chest, showing a bit more ego than she had meant to. "So, what's your name?" Snowbreeze asked.
"Oh, Sapphire. Sapphire Swifthoof." The Alicorn introduced herself as she reached a hoof out to shake Snowbreeze's, only for the Pegasus to give her a curious look, at which point she lowered her hoof. "Surprised you didn't hear my name in the cafe, it was mentioned like five times." She added with a scowl at the memory that had just occurred not long ago.
"Oh, heh. I wasn't really paying attention until you kinda screamed at the Leadhoof." Snowbreeze replied with a sheepish grin only to notice Sapphire giving her a mild glare. "Uh, I say something wrong?" She asked with a worried look.
"My parents are both earth ponies. So yeah, I find that term offensive." Sapphire replied irritably, as she walked past the Pegasus.
"Ohh…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud in realization of what she had just done, and shortly after shut her eyes as she slammed a hoof on her forehead several times over, repeating the word "Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!" over and over.
Sapphire looked back at the Pegasus who seemed to be punishing herself relentlessly, rolled her eyes, and sighed. "Look, its fine. You can come to my house if you like. I'm sure my parents would like to-" Sapphire began to say only for her eyes to snap wide in realization of something vitally important that she had left back at the cafe. "Oh, horseapples! My parents are going to kill me!" she exclaimed as her hoof slammed against her own forehead.
"Uhh, I feel like I'm missing something important here." Snowbreeze remarked with a confused look at Sapphire.
Sapphire let out a sigh as she allowed her hoof to rest back on the ground and look at the Pegasus. "My mom and dad trusted me to go and buy some Pumpkin seeds and come straight back!" Sapphire exclaimed as she frantically looked for a clock, and once she had found it, gasped in horror. "Buck, Buck, Buck!" The Alicorn sweared over and over as she stomped the ground with her eyes closed tightly.
"Wow, I've heard some pottymouths but dang, you beat all of them by miles!" Snowbreeze joked, though it was clear that Sapphire wasn't finding this situation nearly as humorous as she was.
"This isn't funny, Snowbreeze! I'm going to get into some serious trouble here and this was the first time they trusted me to come out here alone!" Sapphire exclaimed as she paced back and forth.
"So? Just tell them what happened and everything should be fine." Snowbreeze replied calmly, still not seeing what the big problem was.
"The problem is that I wasn't even supposed to be in that cafe!" Sapphire exclaimed, and let out a dejected sigh.
"Thank you so much for all the moral support." Sapphire replied sarcastically with an annoyed look at the Pegasus before she let out a sigh. "May as well get this over with." She added with a sigh as she began to walk toward her house.
"Mind if I tag along?" Snowbreeze asked curiously as she began to hover along next to the Alicorn.
"I already said you could, but I'm not sure that's such a good idea now, you're likely to hear a lot of yelling before this is all over." Sapphire replied morbidly as the two continued through town towards the outskirts.
"I've got your back, Sapphire." Snowbreeze replied reassuringly as the two now approached the gates to a large farm on the outskirts of town.
"Heh, thanks Snowbreeze but I don't know how much good it'll do." Sapphire remarked with a weak smile.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze approached the Alicorn's home to see Merrybelle standing outside and rushed up to her once she noticed the two approaching. "Oh thank Celestia you are alright! With how long you were taking, I was afraid something terrible had happened!" Merrybelle exclaimed as she hugged her daughter tightly before allowing her to be released from her embrace.
"Where are the Pumpkin seeds and who's this?" She asked curiously, taking note that her daughter was not pulling the cart she left with.
Sapphire turned to look at the Pegasus and gestured a hoof towards her. "Oh, this is Snowbreeze Dash! Her ancestor was the element or loyalty!" Sapphire said with a wide smile. She was actually quite happy to avoid the topic of the pumpkin seeds if she could.
Much to even Sapphire's shock, Merrybelle suddenly bowed low towards Snowbreeze. "It is an honor to meet one of the decedents of The Elements Of Harmony." She said not bothering to look up as she continued to bow to the Pegasus who blushed as she rubbed the back of her head nervously.
"Yesh, wish I got this kind of reception at the cafe." Snowbreeze remarked aloud as Merrybelle rose up to look at her.
"Yes, even though each race of pony has agreed to a truce, it's been such a short time after the war that tensions are still high between them. You'll come to find that our family is much more accepting of all the pony races than most in this town." Merrybelle said with a warm smile before she looked to her daughter. "You should go see your father before he tries to get out of bed to look for you again." she added with a nervous look towards the door.
"Right, I'll be back in a few, Snowbreeze." Sapphire said before she quickly headed inside.
"So, how did you and my daughter meet?" Merrybelle asked curiously.
"Oh, we met in the cafe, see this Lead-erm... Earth pony was refusing to serve me a drink even though I told him that my ancestor was the element of loyalty and he called me a featherflank! I was about ready to beat the hay out of the big bully when Sapphire walked in and broke up the fight before it even started!" Snowbreeze exclaimed only to realize she had just blurted out the exact kind of information Sapphire surely wanted to avoid her parents finding out.
"Really now?" Merrybelle responded in a knowing yet stern tone. "Would you care to tell me more?" She asked aloud with a facial expression that caused the Pegasus to look back at Sapphire's mother with a nervous look. ------------------------------------------------------
Sapphire walked into her parent's bedroom to see her father attempting to get out of bed again. "Hey! You're supposed to be in bed! That fractured butt-bone won't heal if you try walking too much!" Sapphire lectured her father as she rushed over to help him back into bed.
"Where have you been? You've had me and your mother worried sick!" Steel remarked as he hugged his daughter.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire let out a nervous laugh. "Funny story actually." She began to say only for the door to swing open as her mother and Snowbreeze walked in.
Sapphire looked to her mother and took note of the look of disapproval on her face then to Snowbreeze who mouthed the words "I'm sorry!" inaudibly at her before she turned her gaze back to her mother.
"I've already heard one story today young filly and it's not one I'd like to hear again." Merrybelle remarked aloud in a strict and motherly tone at which point Sapphire's ears flatten back in guilt as she bit her lower lip.
"Okay, look. I just wanted to get a drink and all but I didn't mean to buck a hole in the cafe wall!" Sapphire exclaimed defensively at which point her mother's expression flashed wide in surprise and anger while Snowbreeze slammed her hoof against her forehead and groaned. The young Pegasus had managed to sugarcoat the story of how the two met but Sapphire was quickly blasting any attempts she had made to avoid getting her new friend in even deeper trouble to the moon.
"You what?!" Steel blurted out which caused Sapphire attention to be yanked back to her father.
"On second thought, I think I would like to hear this story again… in full." Merrybelle said in a stern manner though the final two words of her sentence bore such a motherly strictness to them that it made Sapphire want to crawl into a corner and die.
So Sapphire told her parents the full story and by the time she was finished, she was sure that by the time her parents were done with her, she'd have her cutiemark alright, a large and very red cutiemark in the shape of her mother's hoof.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze now stood outside as the Alicorn's parents decided her fate from within their bedroom. "You couldn't keep your trap shut could you? I was this close to avoiding having to tell them anything at all!" Sapphire remarked aloud with a glare the snow white Pegasus who glared back.
"Hey! I know I bucked up but you're the one who blabbed off the finer details of what happened that I had worked painfully to smooth over for your mom to save you getting in even more trouble!" Snowbreeze retorted with a glare.
"Ya well, as far as I knew, you had already told her everything! The only thing I read from your lips was 'I'm sorry!' so how the flying buck was I supposed to know you sugarcoated it?!" Sapphire retorted back.
"Oh I don't know…" Snowbreeze began to say, the sarcasm heavy in her voice. "The fact that before you blabbed off the fact you bucked a hole in the cafe wall, your mom didn't look like she was ready to throttle you!" She exclaimed her temper quickly rising.
"Pssh! Oh yeah, my mom looking even more pissed off than she was is such a big clue!" Sapphire restored sarcastically.
"Don't blame me for your buck up!" She retorted before she turned away from the Alicorn. "Stupid spikehead." She muttered aloud.
"Look who's talking, featherflank!" Sapphire shot back at which point the two began butting heads with one another.
"You wanna go hoof to hoof with this Pegasus?! Bring it on!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as the two continued butting heads.
"Yeah, right! Like you'd last three seconds against me!" Sapphire shot back.
"What in equestria is going on out there?!" Merrybelle's voice erupted from inside the bedroom which caused both teenage fillies to suddenly stop butting heads and look to the door fearfully.
"N-Nothing!" Sapphire called out to her mother.
"It better be nothing!" Merrybelle's voice called back before the house went silent once again save for the muffled conversation from within Steel and Merrybelle's bedroom.
The two fillies remained silent for a time before Snowbreeze finally spoke up. "Look, sorry for calling you a spikehead, that was uncalled for." she apologized as she looked to the Alicorn who looked back at her and sighed.
"And I'm sorry for calling you a featherflank." Sapphire apologized back with a soft smile. "So, friends?" She said as she reached a hoof out to the Pegasus.
"Heh, you know it!" Snowbreeze replied back as she hoof-bumped the Alicorn much to her confusion at first until she caught on.
The two were once again silent for a time until a question popped into Sapphire's head which she couldn't help but ask. "So, why are you in Rockybottom? This place is a long ways from any Pegasi cities." she asked curiously.
"Yeah, about that…" Snowbreeze began to say only for the door to Sapphire's parents bedroom to swing open and Merrybelle to walk out and close the door behind her.
"As you know, me and your father have been talking about what punishment would be suitable for you. Naturally the first thing we thought of was making you work the fields more but then we remembered you actually like doing that, plus with your father out of commision you'll be doing much more work anyways." Merrybelle began, her voice strict and motherly as she spoke.
"We then thought about grounding you but since you never leave the farm anyways, that would be pointless." She continued but stopped to let her daughter take this in. "But then your father mentioned the fact you had bucked a large hole into the cafe wall which made us think that working out a deal with the cafe owner would work." She said and paused once again to allow her daughter to take this next set of information in.
"However, since the owner now knows that you have a horn, that idea is toast since he would most likely refuse to associate with you from this day forward." Merrybelle continued and let out a dejected sigh. "To be quite frank Sapphire, me and your father can't begin to think of a punishment for you." She finished much to the astonishment and delight of Sapphire and Snowbreeze.
"So… I'm off the hook?" Sapphire asked hopefully only for her mother to clear her throat which caused the filly to fold her ears back and frown.
"You're not getting off that easy, young filly. Consider yourself on parole until we can think of a suitable punishment for you. Until which point and time you are not to leave the house without me or your father supervising you." Merrybelle replied in the same strict and stern motherly tone.
The mare then turned to look at Snowbreeze who attempted to smile at the mare but the smile soon turned into a frown as she folded her ears back as well guiltily. "While I'm not your mother, I found your actions very disappointing young filly. I would like to know you and your parent's address to we can head over there as soon as possible and explain to them what happened. I'm sure they will decide a suitable punishment for you." Merrybelle said in a stern tone to the Pegasus.
Upon hearing this, Snowbreeze bit her lower lip before she let out a depressed sigh. "The thing about my parents is… They're dead." she replied in a saddened tone much to the shock of both Sapphire and her mother who stared in shock and sympathy of the young filly. "I've been on my own for three years now." She finished and sighed once more.
The two fillies once again sat silently as Sapphire's mother went back into the bedroom to discuss this new found information with her husband. "Wow, I had no idea. I'm so sorry." Sapphire said softly as she looked to Snowbreeze whom was looking up the ceiling at the present time.
"It's cool. It's not like you could have known." Snowbreeze replied nonchalantly though she never looked at Sapphire directly.
"How did it… I mean what…" Sapphire attempted to ask the same question twice yet she couldn't muster the words.
"How did my parents die?" Snowbreeze asked though she continued to stare at the ceiling.
"Y-Yeah… I mean if its not to painful to remember." Sapphire stuttered out slightly.
"Heck if I know. See, my parents were often off on peace missions. My mom being one of the decedent's to the Elements of Harmony and all. My caretaker got a letter in the mail one day when my mom and dad were deep in griffin territory. Apparently there was some kind of misunderstanding with the locals and a civil war broke out with my parents caught smack dab in the middle of it. According to my caretaker, they were killed while on their way to negotiate peace terms with a neighboring griffin nation."
"Wow, you couldn't have taken that well." Sapphire remarked morbidly as Snowbreeze continued to look up at the ceiling.
"You're right, I didn't. The very night after I got the news, I ran away. Been on the road ever since. Drifting from city to city, doing odd-jobs for bits to survive and all that. I ended up town earlier today actually. Stopped into the cafe to buy a drink since I had been flying for like six hours straight, then you walked in and the rest you know." Snowbreeze finished, sighed, let out a groan as she stretched all four legs, and stood up.
"So, I think I'm gonna blitz. Nice meeting ya Sapphire but I think I've caused you enough trouble." Snowbreeze said as she began to walk away.
"But you just got here and we just became friends like ten minutes ago. Why don't you stay a little while longer?"
Snowbreeze stopped walking away, turned around and gave her a soft smile. "Thanks for the offer but I'll pass. Last thing you need is me mooching off a family of hard working farm ponies." She said before she struck what Sapphire thought was a rather egotistic pose. "Besides, I'm a free spirit and all that. Ya keep me tied down to one place for too long and I'll wither up and die!" She proclaimed dramatically to which Sapphire rolled her eyes as she stood up and walked over to the Pegasus.
"Just for a few days? Please?" Sapphire asked as she put on the best puppy-eyed look she could muster.
"Gah! Enough with the mushy puppy-dog eyes! I'm stay a few more days, okay?" Snowbreeze replied and let out an annoyed groan as Sapphire wrapped her hooves around her and hugged her tightly. "Come on! Enough with the mushy stuff! You're gonna mess up my mane!" The snow white Pegasus protested as she half-heartedly attempted to detach the Alicorn from her.
"Aw…" A voice that could belong to none other than Sapphire's mother came from a few feet away. It was upon seeing Sapphire's mother giving such a dawwing expression that the Pegasus blushed beet red and put much more effort in detaching the Alicorn from her.
Once she had, Merrybelle approached the Pegasus. "So, me and my husband have been talking and well, with Sapphire's father out of commision for the week, we could use a few more helping hooves around the farm. "If you'd like, we can offer you a place to stay for a little while in exchange for helping around the farm." Merrybelle offered the Pegasus.
"Yeah, that's cool. I already told Sapphire I could stay for a few days after she practically begged me to stay." Snowbreeze replied with a smirk towards Sapphire who now blushed crimson and gave the Pegasus a soft punch to the shoulder. "Yeowch! That hurts ya know!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she rubbed her sore shoulder.
"Careful Sapphire, I know you were only being playful but you have a habit of not knowing your own strength at times." Merrybelle warned to which Sapphire gave a guilty look at her new friend's shoulder.
"Oops… Sorry. I didn't hurt you too badly did I?" She asked as Snowbreeze rubbed her shoulder a little longer before she put her hoof to the floor.
"Nah, the pain's already gone. I'm tough like that." Snowbreeze boasted proudly.
"Well, in that case, it's close to bedtime for Sapphire. You're welcome to sleep in her room if you'd like. I'd offer to let you sleep in the guest bedroom but we don't have one." Merrybelle replied with a mildly embarrassed expression as she spoke.
"That's cool, I'll just run outside real quick, grab a tuft of cloud and make my own bed." Snowbreeze replied coolly as she turned around and began to follow Sapphire as she walked towards her bedroom only to stop once she was sure neither pony was watching.
The Pegasus looked to her bruised shoulder and rubbed it with a soft wince. "Ow…!" she remarked aloud with a pained expression before she followed Sapphire to the bedroom.
The next morning, Sapphire woke up bright and early as she often did to get ready to work in the fields. She gave a quick glance over to Snowbreeze who had brought in more than a "Tuft" of cloud and rolled her eyes with a smirk as she stepped onto the cloud bed and walked over to the slumbering Pegasus. "Time to wake up sleepyhead." She said as she gently nudged her friend.
"Just five more minutes…" Snowbreeze muttered aloud as she drowsily opened one eye to look at Sapphire, paused to make sure she was seeing what she was correctly, then another, and finally opened both eyes completely as she stared at her friend in shock. "Uh, how are you walking on clouds?" She asked curiously as she looked up at Sapphire.
The Alicorn's expression suddenly became mildly worried as she struggled to think of a reason. "Um, Uh… A walk on clouds spell?" Sapphire replied meekly. She had no idea if such a spell even existed but it was the only thing that came to mind.
Snowbreeze looked at her friend curiously before she gave a long yawn and rolled to her side so that she was facing away from the filly as she closed her eyes. "Seems like a waste of magic just to wake somepony up to me but oh well." She remarked aloud drowsily.
"Well, I didn't want to ruin your bed." She replied sheepishly. "Even if it's taking up half of my bedroom." She added sourly.
Sapphire soon noticed that the Pegasus was snoring softly again and rolled her eyes as she hopped off the cloud bed and left her bedroom only to be greeted by her mother. "Morning Sweetie!" Merrybelle greeted warmly until she noticed her daughter was still wearing the coat from yesterday. "Did you sleep in that?" She asked curiously as her daughter folded her ears back with a frown.
"She doesn't know I have wings as well yet, okay?" Sapphire replied and sighed softly.
"Sapphire…" Her mother began as she placed a hoof on the filly's shoulder. "You can't hide the truth from her forever." She finished with a mildly frown.
"I know, I know! I'm just not ready to tell her yet…" Sapphire replied and sighed once again before she looked at her mother with pleading eyes. "Please don't tell her! I promise I'll tell her when i'm ready but until then, please don't tell her!" The teenage filly pleaded with her mother who could only sigh in response to this.
"Tell who what?" Snowbreeze asked from behind the Alicorn which caused her to jump a few feet off the ground and if not for her coat, her wings would have sprawled out as well before she landed back on the floor, whirled around, noticed the Pegasus was hovering, and let out an annoyed sigh.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Sapphire snapped angrily.
"I wasn't sneaking. This is how I normally get around. I only walk when my wings get tired." Snowbreeze replied defensively as Sapphire's breathing slowly returned to normal.
Sapphire let out an annoyed sigh upon hearing this before she turned to face her mother. "We're going to get started on the fields, see you at breakfast." Sapphire said with a smile before she walked past her mother and towards the front door.
"Wait, I'm used to eating before I work." Snowbreeze remarked with a worried look before she looked to Merrybelle whom smirked at her.
"Things work a little differently around here than what you're used to. Breakfast isn't for another three hours." Merrybelle replied as she walked past the Pegasus. "You better get out there, I'm sure Sapphire will want you to plant the seeds behind her." She added before she walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Snowbreeze curiously looked over at the clock and the teenage filly's jaw dropped in horror.
Sapphire had already strapped herself into the plow and was walking towards the field when Snowbreeze hovered over to her with a look that told the Alicorn she wasn't pleased. "I was wondering where you were. Since the bag of Pumpkin seeds got trashed, we're going to have to plant more tomato seeds. It's over there." Sapphire chirped as she pointed to the bag of tomato seeds not far from where she stood.
The Pegasus looked over at the bag of seeds then back to Sapphire, her expression unchanged from what it was when she approached her moments ago. "Something wrong?" Sapphire asked, looking mildly confused.
"Its too early in the bucking morning to be working." Snowbreeze remarked irritably which caused Sapphire to let out a bout of laughter. "I'm not joking! Who gets up at this time to do anything except sneak out of their parents house to get laid by the colt down the street?!" She exclaimed as she flung both front hooves above her head as she shouted this.
"Welcome to the life of the farm pony, Snowbreeze." Sapphire replied with a wide smirk, began to walk towards the field only to halt less than two steps later, and look at her friend. "Wait, fillies get up at this time to get laid?" Sapphire asked with a shocked yet curious expression.
"Duh! Why else would anypony get up this early in the morning other than you?" Snowbreeze replied and sighed aloud in defeat. "I'll get the seeds." she added as she hovered off towards the bag.
Snowbreeze returned a few moments later with the bag in hoof. "So, do I just put the seed in the ground or what?" Snowbreeze asked curiously.
At first Sapphire rolled her eyes until the obvious occurred to her. "Oh, right. This is your first time working the fields." She remarked aloud sheepishly before she unstrapped herself and walked over to the Pegasus.
The Alicorn reached into the bag and scooped up a seed"Okay, so the first thing you do is wait for me to dig up the dirt with the plow, then you place the seed in the dirt like this." Sapphire instructed as she dug up some dirt with her free hoof, placed the seen in the dirt just so, and proceeded to cover it with the fresh dirt she had just dug up.
"Huh, that's easier than I thought it would be." Snowbreeze remarked aloud in understanding.
"Well, you also need to make sure each seed has at least half a foot of distance between each other or the tomatoes may not grow properly." Sapphire added to which the Pegasus gave her an unsure expression.
"Um, do you use measuring tape for that or something?" Snowbreeze asked her previous confidence she had to do her job properly was quickly wavering.
Sapphire let out a soft giggle upon hearing this. "I know it sounds really hard but after you plant the first few seeds, you'll see the pattern and catch on real fast. Here, I'll plant the first three for you so that you have an idea of how far apart each seed needs to be." Sapphire replied as she reached into the bag of seeds, scrooped out two more, and planted the two as Snowbreeze watched. "See? Nothing to it!" She added with a bright smile at her friend who smiled back. Thanks to Sapphire showing her, she had a much better idea of how to do this now.
"Alright, I'll give it a shot." The Pegasus remarked as Sapphire walked over to the plow and strapped herself in only she didn't begin moving. "Uh, did I do something wrong already?" She asked uneasily as Sapphire turned to look at her.
"No but I was just wondering. How do you know that fillies get up at this time to get laid?" Sapphire asked curiously.
Upon hearing this, Snowbreeze blushed crimson. "Uh, lets just say that I sorta have first hoof experience in the matter." Snowbreeze replied with an awkward expression as she ran a hoof through her mane though she didn't look Sapphire in the eye as she spoke.
"Wait, you mean that you're not a virgin?" Sapphire asked curiously which caused Snowbreeze to slam a hoof against her face and groan aloud as she blushed even redder if possible.
"Were you born in a barn or something?!" Snowbreeze snapped as she gave an embarrassed yet annoyed glare at the Alicorn.
"Geez, sorry for asking." Sapphire replied in a mildly annoyed tone as she turned away from her.
Snowbreeze once again sighed aloud and groaned in response to this. "No, I'm not a virgin." She deadpanned.
"Whoa! T-M-I!" Sapphire exclaimed as her face burned hot upon hearing this.
"Oh, come on! You asked!" The Pegasus retorted.
Sapphire let out a sigh upon hearing this. "I guess I kinda did, didn't I? Look, lets just focus on getting those seeds planted, we've wasted enough time." She replied and began to pull the plow along the dirt.
"No argument here." Snowbreeze replied still blushing from the embarrassing topic.
Breakfast couldn't come soon enough for the Pegasus as the hours crawled by and finally heard Merrybelle calling them in to eat.
"Oh, sweet delicious food, how I missed thee!" Snowbreeze exclaimed dramatically much to amusement of the other four ponies as they began to eat pancakes covered in strawberry syrup.
"How goes the seed planting? I'm sure with a Pegasus as your help, you've already filled half the left field." Steel remarked after he swallowed a mouthful of pancakes.
"Actually, I had to slow down since Snowbreeze is really new to working the fields." Sapphire replied casually, took another forkful of pancakes, shoved it into her mouth, swallowed, and continued. "But she's catching on fast. I'm sure we'll be up to full speed by mid-day." she finished as she looked to Snowbreeze who practically choked on her mouthful of pancakes upon hearing this.
The Pegasus gave several light coughs as she managed to swallow the food and looked to Sapphire. "Midday?! We were out there already for three hours!" Snowbreeze remarked dramatically as she looked to each pony at the table in hopes this was nothing more than a cruel joke for an experienced farm pony.
When none of the Swifthoof family began to burst out laughing, the Pegasus's facial expression reflected that of one who had just been told they were to be executed that very afternoon. "What have I gotten myself into?" she asked herself aloud in a dreading tone.
This remark actually caused the three to began laughing but it wasn't for the reasons she thought it was. "Don't worry, Snowbreeze. It might seem really hard right now but in a few weeks, it'll get a whole lot easier as your body gets used to the work schedule." Sapphire replied confidently.
"Uh, You do realize that I agreed to stay here just for a few days right?" Snowbreeze replied in a mildly confused voice.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire's expression looked shocked at first. "Oh… Right." She replied, her voice carrying a strong note of sadness in it as she spoke.
Steel and Merrybelle looked to each one with saddened expressions as well before the mare spoke. "Well, you'll be here for a least a few more days. Who knows, you just might decide to stay here longer." She suggested warmly in an attempt to lift her daughter's spirits.
"Heh, doubt it!" Snowbreeze replied quickly only to fold her ears back in mild guilt as she looked to Sapphire whose expression became even more saddened if possible. "Uh, well.. I mean, I don't know, maybe?" She replied in an unsure tone.
The rest of breakfast went by with a very depressing atmosphere hovering over the five until it was over and Sapphire stood up from the table. "I'm going to go back outside and get back to working the fields. Come on out when you're ready, Snowbreeze." she said depressingly as she left the table, opened the front door, and closed it behind her.
Merrybelle and Steel looked at one another once again, both exchanging worried looks before Merrybelle looked to Jasper. "Jasper, Sweetie. Why don't you go on out and help your big sister?" The mare suggested warmly.
"Okay!" Jasper exclaimed excitedly, hopped off his chair and darted out the door which left Sapphire's parents and Snowbreeze alone.
An awkward silence ensued for a short time until the Pegasus spoke up. "So, uh, doesn't Sapphire have like a few other friend's around town?" She asked in an uneasy tone.
Steel and Merrybelle exchanged glances with one another before they looked back at the Pegasus. "I'm afraid not." Merrybelle replied and sighed.
"You see, our daughter is very unique to these parts since she has a horn and w-"
"Ixnay on the Ing-nay!" Merrybelle hissed softly in her husband's ear as she kicked her husband's hind legs with her hoof which caused Steel to let out a grunt of pain.
Snowbreeze found Merrybelle cutting off her husband odd at first but she brushed it off as she replied. "Oh, yeah. I guess being exposed as a unicorn in a town of racist earth ponies would kind of destroy any friendships she had."
"Actually, you're the first friend she's ever had." Merrybelle remarked which caused Snowbreeze's jaw to drop.
"No way! You're serious?" Snowbreeze asked in astonishment of this new set of information from the Alicorn's parents.
"Very much so. You see, our daughter has never been very social. In fact, the only time's she's set hoof into town has been with us. Yesterday was the first time we let her go out on her own, ever." Steel replied calmly as he looked at the Pegasus who could barely believe what she was hearing.
"Wow, no offense Mr. and Mrs. Swifthoof but you two are waaaay too overprotective of her. You should have seen that hole she bucked into the cafe wall! That filly can take care of herself, take it from one who's been on her own for three years!" Snowbreeze replied with a prideful smile only to fold her ears back as the two ponies once again exchanged looks before looking back at her.
"I suppose you're right. We have been a little too overprotective of her but its not for the reasons you think." Steel replied only to let out a yelp as his wife kicked him in the hind legs once more with a glare at him.
"Oh? What reasons are we talking about here?" The Pegasus asked curiously.
"Very nice, dear." Merrybelle remarked in an annoyed tone to her husband who looked back at her guiltily before she looked at Snowbreeze. "You should ask Sapphire. She made me promise not to say anything." Merrybelle replied calmly.
"Oh-kaay…" Snowbreeze replied uneasily. "It's nothing bad is it?" She asked.
"Oh, no, no! It's nothing bad we swear. She's just got a little more than a horn going on under-YE-OUCH!!!" Steel began to say only be cut off as he let out a shrill pained cry as the more than obvious sound of Merrybelle giving her husband a swift kick to the shins rang out at the table.
"You should go ask Sapphire." Merrybelle said sweetly before she turned to glare at her husband as Snowbreeze awkwardly left the table as Steel nursed his very sore hindlegs.
"So, what are ya packing under your tail?" Snowbreeze suddenly asked from behind the Alicorn which caused her to comically seize up, and dig up nearly a half a row of seeds as she whirled around and stared at the Pegasus.
"What?!" Sapphire asked with a crimson red blush.
"Hey, you can tell me. I won't blab anything." Snowbreeze replied casually as the Alicorn looked back still trying to process what she had actually asked her.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Sapphire replied still blushing crimson.
"Oh come on, you father practically spelled it out for me. So what if you're packing a dick. You won't see me complaining." Snowbreeze remarked aloud with a smirk.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire's face burned bright red. "I'm not packing a dick under my tail!" Sapphire blurted out and sighed.
"Well you're packing something under somewhere! Come on, you can tell me! I promise I won't judge!"
"You promise?" Sapphire asked as she bit her lip while she folded her ears back.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" The Snow white Pegasus exclaimed as she made motions that looked completely ridiculous to the Alicorn.
"Come again?" She asked, clearly confused by what Snowbreeze had just done.
"Oops, sorry. Its something my mom taught me when I was little. Look, point is, I totally swear not to judge! Come on, show me!" The Pegasus pleaded.
"Should've known my father couldn't keep his trap shut." Sapphire muttered irritably as she unstrapped herself, walked away from the plow, and yanked off her coat which revealed a set of wings to the Pegasus.
"You've got… Wings?" The Pegasus asked in shock as her brain had not fully processed what she was seeing.
"Here it comes… She's going to call me a freak." Sapphire thought to herself dismally as she snapped her eyes shut, bracing for the insult only to suddenly feel a hoof prodding her right wing. Curiously, she opened one eye, then the other and stared in mild shock at her friend who was now tugging at it as if to pull it out to its full length.
"Are they real?" Snowbreeze asked curiously, still not completely processing what she was seeing despite the fact she was tugging the Alicorn's wing at the moment.
"Of course they're real!" Sapphire snapped, sighed aloud, stepped a few feet away from the Pegasus, and extended both wings to their full lengths. "See?" She said and retracted them back to her sides.
"So, awesome!" Snowbreeze suddenly squeed aloud much to Sapphire's shock who expected the next words out of the Pegasus's mouth to be some kind of insult.
"Wait, you don't think I'm a freak?" Sapphire asked with a confused look.
"Are you kidding me?! You've got both wings and a horn! That's like the coolest thing ever! No wonder you could walk in my cloud bed! You're part Pegasus and part Unicorn!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she once again began to prod the filly's wings much to Sapphire's annoyance.
Sapphire watched her friend prod her right wing a little longer before she let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Not that I'm not happy you don't think I'm a freak and all but could you stop poking my wing? It's getting kinda creepy." Sapphire remarked with an annoyed look.
"Oh, eh-heh...sorry!" Snowbreeze replied sheepishly as she backed away from her friend. "Say, you wanna take a quick flight around the town? I wanna see those bad boys in action!" Snowbreeze asked as she spread her own wings, eager to take off from the ground.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire bit her lower lip before she let out a depressed sigh. "I… can't fly." She said depressingly before she quickly looked up at Snowbreeze. "N-Not that I haven't tried! It's just that I can't keep my hooves off the ground for more than ten seconds without face planting in the dirt." She added quickly before she sighed once again.
Much to Sapphire's annoyance, the Pegasus began laughing. "H-Hey! It's not funny ya know!" She exclaimed with a glare.
Snowbreeze managed to stop laughing and looked at Sapphire who looked genuinely hurt. "Hey, I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at the fact that you tried to fly without at least three month's of training from a Flight Master!" Snowbreeze replied and began to laugh again but for a much shorter period of time.
"A Flight Master?" Sapphire asked curiously. She genuinely had no idea such a pony even existed much less where they might be.
"Oh yeah, there are plenty of them back in Pegasi territory. See, when a Pegasus hits age six, they go to flight school with a bunch of other ponies their age. Most Pegasi can fly on there own without any help within the first year with the help of a Flight Master." Snowbreeze replied with a large smirk before her eyes lit up. "Hey… I could teach you the basics! That way you can keep your hooves off the ground for at least more than ten seconds!" Snowbreeze suggested eagerly.
"Didn't you just say that I'd need the help of one of these 'Flight Masters' in order to learn to fly?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Well yeah, if you wanna learn how to manipulate weather clouds, create tornadoes, and all that boring stuff but the basics are all you really need to be able to fly like me!" Snowbreeze boasted as she took off from the ground and soared around for a few minutes before landed back in front of her.
"And you could teach me?" Sapphire asked hopefully. For the first time in her life, she didn't view her wings as some kind of deformity but rather a real part of her thanks to Snowbreeze's encouragement.
"Of course!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she drew out the sound of the two words longer than they needed to be, once again displaying a little more ego than she had meant to. "So, you wanna learn to fly now?" She asked eagerly.
"Would I ever!" Sapphire exclaimed excitedly until her eyes fell upon the plow. "Right after we finish getting all these seeds planted." She added much to the disappointed of the Pegasus whose expression went from an eager smile to a frown.
"No, No, No! You've gotta flap them harder!" Snowbreeze exclaimed aloud in an annoyed tone as Sapphire pulled her face from the dirt and looked up dismally at her friend as the sun beamed down on the two during the afternoon.
The Alicorn stood to her hooves and sighed. "I'm trying, okay?! We've been at this for the last month and a half, but I've made no progress!" Sapphire exclaimed and sighed. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" She asked curiously with an annoyed look at her friend.
"Hey, I'm a Pegasus, not a miracle worker." Snowbreeze retorted with a mild glare.
"Oh! So you're implying that me flying is impossible then?" Sapphire shot back with a glare as well.
"Ugh… No, but even some of the weakest fliers in my class could at least hover within the first month." Snowbreeze replied as she calmed herself and sighed. "Look, maybe I'm not the best teacher for you, but at least I'm trying." Snowbreeze exasperated.
"I am trying!" Sapphire snapped and growled under her breath.
It was then that the two noticed Merrybelle approaching them. "How goes my daughter's flying lessons, Miss. Dash?" The mare asked with a smirk, much to Snowbreeze's embarrassment due to the mare referring to her as some kind of professional flight teacher.
Sapphire let out a dejected sigh before she spoke. "Not so well…" She replied dismally. "Snowbreeze is really trying to teach me, but I'm just not grasping the basics as fast we both thought I would." She added in attempt to credit her friend despite her lack of flying ability after a month and a half of training.
"I know I'm not a Pegasus, but I think I may have some advice." Merrybelle began, but looked to Snowbreeze for approval to continue.
"Go ahead. I'm at my wit’s end here." The Pegasus said candidly as she flung her hooves up and hovered a short distance away.
"I'm really trying, Mom, but this flying business is way harder than I thought it would be. Maybe these things just weren't meant to support my weight enough for flight." Sapphire remarked to her mother as she extended her wings, looked at them, and sighed.
"I think you're problem may not be your wings, but rather your mindset, sweetie." Merrybelle suggested, much to Sapphire's confusion.
"My mindset? What's that got to do with anything?" The Alicorn asked with a purely confused expression.
"Me and your father did our best to raise you as an earth pony. In hindsight, that may have been our biggest mistake since you're not just an earth pony but also a Pegasus." Merrybelle replied warmly as she stroked her daughter's wing gently before she put the same hoof on her cheek.
"You forgot that I'm also a Unicorn." Sapphire added as she made a non-verbal motion to the horn on her head.
"Forget about the horn for now, Sapphire. Right now, I think what you truly need to do is think like a Pegasus. Now tell me, what do you think Snowbreeze would do in your situation?" Merrybelle asked curiously, which caused Sapphire to give a thoughtful expression as she placed a hoof on her chin.
"She'd probably just run off a cliff and yell 'Come on wings, fly!' Sapphire remarked aloud nonchalantly until her eyes lit up. "That's it! Thanks mom!" Sapphire exclaimed, hugged her mom tightly and ran off before her mother could utter a word to stop her.
It was at this point that Steel walked up to his wife and nuzzled her. "So, what's Sapphire up to?" he asked curiously.
Merrybelle looked to her husband and gave him a worried look before she spoke. "I think I may have just unintentionally told our daughter to jump off a cliff." Merrybelle remarked aloud in a dreading tone.
"Uh, come again, honey?" Steel asked as he blinked in confusion at his wife.
"Uh, are you sure this is a good idea?" Snowbreeze asked skeptically as Sapphire stood roughly twenty feet away from a cliff face on the outskirts of Rockybottom.
"Of course it is! I got the idea from mom, and she'd never try to put me in harms way." Sapphire chirped as she took several deep breaths in preparation for the sprint.
"Not trying to question your mom's wisdom or anything, but I seriously doubt this is what she had in mind with whatever she told you." Snowbreeze replied once again in the same skeptical tone.
"Of course it is! She told me to try and think of something you'd do in my situation and this is the first thing that came to mind!" Sapphire replied excitedly.
"Okay, I know I've bragged about doing some pretty scary stuff, but I know I never said anything about jumping off a cliff when I couldn't even fly!" Snowbreeze exclaimed dramatically as Sapphire posed herself to sprint.
"Doesn't matter. I'm thinking like a Pegasus and that's what matters!" Sapphire exclaimed and darted down the path much to Snowbreeze's horror.
"There's no way she'd be crazy enough to jump off a cliff!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she took off from the ground and caught up to the Alicorn. "H-Hey, you were just bluffing, right?! You aren't actually going to jump off a cliff in hopes it will let you fly, are you?!" Snowbreeze asked as she flew alongside her friend who was picking up a great deal of speed in her gallop.
"Of course I am! Wish me luck!" Sapphire exclaimed and lept off the cliffside.
"Holy motherbucking Luna.... She actually jumped!" Snowbreeze remarked aloud in shock until it fully dawned on her. She then quickly dove over the cliff after her friend and caught up with her. "Say, uh, now would be a good time to get to opening those wings!" She exclaimed as the Alicorn up till this point was panicking.
"Oh yeah, right!" Sapphire exclaimed in a semi-panicked tone as she snapped her wings open, nearly slapping her friend upside the head with her left wing. Sapphire however, continued to plummet, the ground growing closer and closer by the millisecond.
Snowbreeze gave a worried look down towards the ever growing closer ground and then back to Sapphire. "You might wanna start flapping those wings!" She exclaimed in a semi-frantic tone.
"I-I-I'm trying, but the wind is pushing too hard against them! I can't even move them at this point!" Sapphire exclaimed frantically.
"Flap harder!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she closed in to her friend, clamped her mouth on the Alicorn's wings and began to flap with all her might to slow her friend's descent.
"I'm trying!" Sapphire shrieked back.
The ground was now less than ten seconds away and despite every ounce of Snowbreeze's wingpower, she wasn't able to slow her friend down anymore than she had thirty seconds ago, but she wasn't about to give up.
"Oh, Luna, Noooo!" Sapphire shrieked as she slammed her eyes shut, expecting the inevitable painful impact, and most likely nothing more afterward.
However in the next second, Snowbreeze was suddenly ejected from Sapphire, her grip on the Alicorn's mane completely severed which caused her to flip back several times in the air. Once the Pegasus had recovered, she gawked in shock at the sight that beheld her.
The Alicorn hovered in place, her eyes a blank white glow, her body surrounded in a field of sapphire colored magic, and a current of wind erupting around her.
"Holy bucking Luna…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud slowly in pure shock of what she was seeing.
As quickly as the event happened, it ended as the Alicorn's eyes returned to their normal appearance, the ball of magic gone, and the wind dissipated. Almost immediately, Sapphire put a hoof to her head and groaned aloud. "Ohh, what happened?" She asked wearily.
"Wait, you mean you didn't do that? It just happened on its own?!" Snowbreeze asked in astonishment.
"Wh-What happened on its own?" Sapphire stuttered as she sat on her rump since her legs were feeling particularly weak at the present time.
"Oh my gosh! It was so cool! You're eyes were all white and glowy and your body was surrounded by this huge ball of magic and you were making so much wind that I don't even think a Flight Master could generate that kind of wingpower!" Snowbreeze exclaimed all in one breath.
"I did all that?" Sapphire asked incredulously, still not believing what her friend had told her.
Merrybelle rushed up to her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Oh thank Celestia you are alright! You didn't really jump off a cliff, did you?!" She asked in a worried manner at which point Snowbreeze and Sapphire exchanged worried glances before they looked back at her. "Y-You did? You flew?"
"Not exactly…" Sapphire replied as she looked to Snowbreeze.
So Snowbreeze told Merrybelle everything, how she did her best to save Sapphire's life and how the Alicorn herself managed to save her own life. By the time the Pegasus had finished, Merrybelle looked as if she knew something, and her daughter could tell this easily by the way she was looking at her.
Before Merrybelle could speak however, she was suddenly knocked several feet away by a blast of magic which caused Snowbreeze and Sapphire to look at her attacker, only to see several unicorn's dressed in jet black clothing with their faces hidden behind masks.
"Merrybelle!" Steel exclaimed as he witnessed his wife blasted to the ground from the house, rushed to her side, and looked up at her attackers. "Oh no…" was all the stallion could say as the unicorn's approached the four.
"Is mom okay?!" Sapphire asked frantically as she rushed to her father alongside of Snowbreeze.
Steel however, wasn't looking at his daughter as he held his wife while the unicorns continued to approach them. Sapphire looked in her father's line of sight and then back to her father. "Daddy, who are those ponies?!" She asked, yet when she didn't get an answer she shook her father, which seemed to snap him out of his blank stare.
"Sapphire, you need to get out of here, now!" Steel commanded his daughter, much to the Alicorn's confusion.
"I'm not leaving you or mom! I won't let them hurt you or mom!" Sapphire exclaimed defiantly as she stood in front of her parents to protect them.
"Sapphire listen to me! Get out of here! Get as far away as you can! They aren't after me or your mother!" Steel exclaimed as he laid his wife down, walked in front of Sapphire and Snowbreeze and stood firm.
"What are you saying?! They just attacked mom didn't they?!" Sapphire exclaimed as she looked to her unconscious mother.
"Give us the Alicorn and we will spare your family." One of the unicorns said in a deep yet commanding tone.
"Alicorn? Who are they talking about, Daddy?" Sapphire asked fearfully as she looked at her father who didn't look back at her, but rather continued to stare back at the unicorns.
"You…" Steel said in calm yet firm manner much to the shock of both fillies. "If you want my daughter, then you'll have to go through me first!" The stallion exclaimed valiantly.
"Very well." the unicorn replied darkly as he channeled magic into his horn at which point Steel found himself lifted into the air. "You have chosen the fate of not only yourself, but your family." He added darkly and moments later Steel began to gag and choke as if he couldn't breath.
"Stop it! You're killing him!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she gave Steel a panicked look, then back to the unicorn, who seemed to be ignore her. Once she realized that the unicorn wasn't going to stop, the Pegasus took off the ground and began to quickly circle the group of unicorns. "Come on Snowbreeze, Chapter fifty-two, how to generate a tornado. You can do this!" The Pegasus said aloud to herself as she flew faster and faster around the group, yet she wasn't making much progress.
However, one of the unicorn's caught onto her, stopped her with their magic and chuckled at her. "What was that? Another pegasus your age could have generated a wind stronger than that in half the time you did!" He jeered before he used his magic to launch the filly through the sky much to Sapphire's horror. "Pathetic!" the unicorn added moments later.
"Please! I'll do anything! Just let my father go!" Sapphire pleaded as tears streamed from her eyes.
Upon hearing this, the unicorn's eyes narrowed at the Alicorn and the magic around her father disappeared at which point Steel took a sharp breath of life giving air and coughed afterward. "Very well. Come with us and we'll spare your family." The unicorn said in the same deep commanding tone he had earlier.
Sapphire was about to begin walking towards them when her father spoke. "D-Don't go with them, Sapphire! I don't know what they want with you but it can't be good!" He exclaimed hoarsely.
"Silence!" The unicorn commanded as he shot a burst of magic at Steel which launched him off the ground several feet into the air and landed with a thud a few feet away from Sapphire.
"Daddy, no!" Sapphire shrieked as she darted to her father's side
"Leave him and come with us if you value his life." The same unicorn spoke once again.
Sapphire looked to her now unconscious father as tears streamed from her eyes then back to the unicorns with a deep sense of loathing in them. "Go choke on a horn you Spikeheads!" She yelled at them.
Upon hearing these words, the unicorn's eyes flashed with anger as his horn glowed once more. "Very well! You have chosen your family's fate!" The unicorn exclaimed, anger clear in his voice as Sapphire watched her father and mother levitate into the air, and soon after, began to choke and gag.
It was at this point that Jasper came outside, completely unaware of what was happening until now. The young colt knew at once that her parents were in trouble and rushed over to them. "Mommy! Daddy!" He exclaimed as he looked at them.
Sapphire gave a horrified gasp as she gave a fleeting glance to the unicorns then back to Jasper. "No, Jasper! Get back inside the house! Run!" Sapphire screamed, but she was too late to warn her little brother as he took was soon caught in another field of magic and began to choke and gag as well.
The Alicorn continued to watch in horror as her family choked and gagged before her eyes. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs with her eyes clenched shut. However less than two seconds later, they shot wide open, only they were pure white.
Sapphire's body soon rose into the air as a field of sapphire magic surrounded her and a great wind current began to swirl around her. The lead unicorn noticed this and gasped. "Quick! Kill the Alicorn! We can deal with the earth ponies later!" He commanded, at which point Sapphire's family dropped to the ground alive, but barely, as she all three gasped for air and coughed aloud.
The group of unicorn's quickly rushed forward only to struggle to hold their ground against the sheer power of the wind the Alicorn was generating. Sapphire looked to the group who had approached, at which point her glowing pure white eyes flashed wide and the wind's strength tripled in strength, forcing the group of unicorns off their hooves and swirling into the sky around the Alicorn.
The unicorns gave cries of terror as they were flung in circles, but this didn't deter the lead unicorn. "Quickly! Cast your strongest and most lethal spells you have! The Alicorn must die, even if we go with her!" The unicorn commanded, at which point the remaining unicorns channeled magic into their horns and fired their strongest and most lethal spells at the Alicorn.
By this point in time, Snowbreeze had recovered from being flung halfway a crossed down and returned in hopes of helping Sapphire, only to stare on in shock at the sight that beheld her once again. It was like last time, except ten times more powerful.
"Holy mother of Celestia and Luna…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud in pure shock.
The unicorn's spells all impacted with Sapphire's magical barrier, each one creating a large explosion of raw magical power, though none seemed to have penetrated the barrier. "Again!" The lead unicorn commanded, at which point the unicorns once again channeled magic into their horns in preparation to attack, and fired.
However unlike last time, their spells never connected with the barrier as the Alicorn's eyes flashed wide once more, and their magic was halted in place in the air less than a foot from Sapphire.
The unicorns gasped in shock as they witnessed this, even the lead unicorn gasped in shock and began to back away, unknown to the rest of his fellow unicorns. It was only once Sapphire began channeling magic into her own horn which caused the spells the unicorns had cast to begin swirling around and slowly melding together in a vertical motion that they realized their leader had already fled as he turned about-face, ran, and teleported moment's later.
"Run!" One of the unicorns shouted, at which point the group turned about face and began to flee from the Alicorn but by this point it was too late as the swirling magic suddenly erupted towards them in a large sapphire colored beam of magic. The unicorns were enveloped in the beam which stretched out to the very borders of the ten mile long farm and vanished as if somepony had blown it out like a candle, leaving no trace of the unicorns which had been fleeing, but rather a charred path in their place with nothing remaining but a faint wisp of smoke that radiated from the ground along the destroyed path.
Sapphire slowly opened her eyes wearily and immediately realized she was laying in her bed. She attempted to sit up, only to realize she didn't have the strength to. She then weakly turned her head to left and noticed that Snowbreeze was fast asleep in a chair next to her bed.
"She hasn't left your side since we brought you in here." A voice remarked which Sapphire at once knew belonged to her mother, which caused her to snap her head forward as her mother walked into the bedroom, stopped next to Sapphire's bed, and placed a hoof on her forehead.
"H-How long have I been out?" Sapphire managed to utter out though speaking in itself seemed to be a challenge for her.
"Nearly two weeks. Snowbreeze told us what happened." Merrybelle said softly as she ran a hoof through her daughter's mane.
"I've been out for two weeks?! And what happened?" Sapphire choked out in astonishment before she let out a sigh.
"You mean, you don't remember anything?" Merrybelle asked with a worried expression now. "I don't remember anything past screaming for them to stop hurting you, dad, and Jasper." The teenage filly replied and groaned softly as she struggled to sit up in her bed.
It was about this time that Snowbreeze's eyes fluttered open drowsily then snapped wide once she realized that Sapphire was awake and at once lunged over to hug the Alicorn. "You had me worried sick about you! Are you alright?! Do you need anything to drink?! Are you hungry?!" She asked all in one very fast breath.
"My mouth is as dry as sandpaper." Sapphire replied, taking note of the fact that she was swallowing dryly.
At once, Snowbreeze darted out of the bedroom in a flash and returned moments later with a glass of ice cold water. Sapphire quickly took the cup and drank its contents in one quick gulp and let out a relieved sigh afterward.
It was then that Steel walked into the room and stood next to his wife. "Sapphire… it's time we told you the truth." Steel began and sighed.
"The truth?" The teenage filly asked with a confused expression.
Merrybelle let out a long sigh her and continued to speak where her husband left off. "We have actually known what you are for many years now, but we were afraid to tell you." Merrybelle said softly, but stopped to allow her daughter to take this information in.
"What am I?" Sapphire asked softly though she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
"You're an Alicorn." Steel said simply.
"Wait… as in The Legendary Alicorn?" Sapphire asked as her eyes widened in shock. "B-But you told me that they were nothing more than myths and legends!" She exclaimed as she gawked her parents thinking the two were playing some kind of cruel joke on her.
"We thought so too, until you were born…" Merrybelle replied as she leaned her head against her husband while the stallion rubbed his wife's shoulder affectionately.
"So wait, you decided to wait until those guys came and tried to kill you before you told me that I was some kind of myth come to life?!" Sapphire exclaimed, looking positively outraged as her former strength began to quickly return to her.
"We wanted to tell you for many years now, but until Snowbreeze told us what happened, we weren't sure. We didn't want you to be lead on by some myth that we had nothing to back up with." Steel continued and paused to wait for his daughter to reply.
When she didn't, he continued. "Of course, this isn't the first time those unicorns showed up." He added and sighed.
"Wait,Wait, Wait! You mean they tried to kill her before?!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in disbelief.
"When was this?!" Sapphire added looking just as shocked as the Pegasus was.
"The very night after you were born, we were attacked by a unicorn dressed in black. It was then that we found out you were an Alicorn. Your father did his best to protect you while I fled, but we were both rendered unconscious."
"Wait, if you two were knocked out while she was an infant foal… then how in the blueberry buck did she survive?!" Snowbreeze asked dramatically. This was the same question Sapphire was going to ask but the Pegasus beat her to the punch.
Steel and Merrybelle exchanged glances before they looked back at the two. "The same thing that you told us happened two weeks ago." Merrybelle said simply.
"You mean she was that powerful even as an infant?!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in shock as she slumped back in her chair. "Great… my best friend's a magical time-bomb waiting to blow." She remarked dismally and sighed dejected moments later.
"Snowbreeze! That's a very mean thing to say!" Merrybelle remarked in a stern tone toward the Pegasus, who folded her ears back guiltily.
"But she's right! I can't even begin to figure out how to control this huge power I have! What if one day I just suddenly lose control and blow up the house!" Sapphire exclaimed dramatically.
Merrybelle and Steel once again exchanged worried looks before they looked back at their daughter. "Sweetie, we don't think it works like that." Merrybelle said softly as she reached out to touch her daughter only for the Alicorn to recoil away.
"No! Don't touch me! I don't want to hurt you!" Sapphire shrieked as she leapt from her bed and darted out of the bedroom.
Snowbreeze looked to Sapphires parents. "I'll make sure she doesn't get into trouble." She said quickly and darted off after her.
Sapphire ran and ran for so long, she lost track of time, and soon came to a halt as she stared at a familiar cliff face as tears streamed from her eyes.
"You're not thinking of jumping, are you?" Snowbreeze's voice asked aloud which caused Sapphire to whirl around and gasp in surprise at first. "Because we both know how that ended last time." She added with a smirk.
Sapphire however took several fearful steps away from her friend. "Stay away from me! You said it yourself! I'm a magical time-bomb waiting to blow!" She exclaimed as tears streamed from her eyes.
"That was just me being a feather-flanked idiot! I didn't mean it!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she reached a hoof out to her friend only for the Alicorn to take several more fearful steps away from the Pegasus. "H-Hey! Watch it! You're like two steps away from falling off the cliff!" Snowbreeze exclaimed fearfully as she once again attempted to reach out to her friend.
"I said stay away from-" Sapphire being to exclaim only for her hind legs to slip off the edge of the cliff and let out a shrill shriek as she fell off.
"Oh horseapples! Not again!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she once more dove over the cliff after her friend.
Sapphire continued to scream in horror as she fell while the Pegasus closed in on her, latched her mouth onto her mane, and once again used all her wingpower in an attempt to slow her descent. "Now would be a good time to open those wings, Sapphire!" The Pegasus exclaimed between gritted teeth.
The Alicorn snapped her wings open upon hearing this and attempted to flap them only for the same result to occur as last time. "It's not working! The wind is too strong!" She exclaimed frantically.
"Yeah well, I'm no bucking expert, but I don't think that super powerful magic of yours is going to kick in this time around since you just woke up after using it took weeks ago!" Snowbreeze replied through gritted teeth as she continued to struggle to slow her friend's fall, but seemingly to no avail.
Sapphire looked to the ground, which was quickly approaching, then to her wings. "Come on wings, fly!" Sapphire exclaimed as she used all her strength to beat them once more.
Snowbreeze gave one last fearful glance to the ground before she snapped her eyes shut. "Never thought I'd go out like this!" She thought to herself dramatically as the ground was now less than ten seconds away as she continued to beat her wings with all her might.
However the impact never came, instead the Pegasus suddenly felt a soft jolt which she thought for a moment her friend had gone magical supernova again, only to open her eyes and realize Sapphire was flying! Upon realizing this, the Pegasus let go of her friend's mane and flew alongside her. "Holy buck! Sapphire, you're flying!" She exclaimed joyfully only to realize her friend still had her eyes tightly shut. "Yo! Open your eyes! You're not dead!" She exclaimed as she tapped the Alicorn on the head with her right front hoof, which caused Sapphire's eyes to snap open.
"I-I'm flying?" She exclaimed in disbelief as she flapped her wings alongside of Snowbreeze, taking in the fact she was in fact flying on her own. "I'm flying, Snowbreeze!" Sapphire exclaimed joyfully as she looked to her friend, who beamed back at her.
"Duh! I just got done saying that didn't I?" The Pegasus joked with a smirk as the two turn a one-hundred and eighty turn back towards the farm.
Merrybelle and Steel could barely believe their eyes as they saw their daughter and Snowbreeze approaching their house from the skies. "Mommy, lookit! Sapphire's flying!" Jasper exclaimed excitedly as he pointed a hoof at the two.
"I see that, sweetie." Merrybelle remarked proudly.
The wonderful moment however, was ruined once Sapphire attempted to land onto to comically hit the ground, bounce three times while doing a somersault between bounces, and skidded to a halt in front of her mother and father. "Ohhh… Uh, Hey mom, I can fly now! Isn't that great?!" She exclaimed wearily as Snowbreeze landed next to her.
"Yeah, but you can't land for a buck." Snowbreeze joked comically only to get a hoof to the shoulder from the Alicorn. "Ow!" She winced as she rubbed her sore shoulder.
Once Sapphire stood back up, an awkward silence ensued between the five until at last, Sapphire spoke. "Look, I'm sorry for running off like that. Its just that this whole 'Alicorn thing' was a little too much to take in at once." She said and sighed aloud.
"It's quite alright, Sapphire." Merrybelle began to say before she looked to her husband and then back to her daughter. "And we're sorry we didn't tell you sooner." She finished as she leaned in to embrace her daughter, who gladly hugged her back.
Once the two broke from their embrace however, Sapphire frowned at her mother. "So uh, listen. I think I should leave." Sapphire began, only to raise a hoof to her parents to stop them from objecting right away. "I know this is sudden and all, but Snowbreeze has a point. Even if it was over the top. This power I have is a magical time-bomb waiting to explode, and I need to find somepony, anypony, who knows about Alicorns to help me learn to control it." She explained calmly.
"Sapphire... " Merrybelle began as tears swelled in her eyes. "I really don't like this idea of yours. I'm sure we can work things out if we just-"
"Mom, this isn't something we can just put a lid on and pray nopony noticed." Sapphire deadpanned, cutting off her mother.
"Steel, say something! I don't want my baby filly out there alone!" Merrybelle exclaimed dramatically as she looked to her husband for support.
Steel looked to his daughter, then to his wife, then back to his daughter once more before he closed his eyes and sighed aloud. "Sapphire's right, Merrybelle." He finally said, much to the outrage of his wife.
"Steel! You can't possibly be siding with her?!" Merrybelle exclaimed as she glared at her husband.
The stallion turned to face his wife and smiled at her. "Merrybelle, we don't have the knowledge she needs in order to teach her how to control her power. She needs to go out into the world and find somepony who does." He said calmly to his wife, who merely huffed at him.
"This is absurd! I will not send my baby filly out into Luna knows what kind of danger! She's only sixteen, Steel!" Merrybelle protested.
"Mom! I'm not a foal anymore! I can take care of myself!" Sapphire exclaimed with an annoyed look at her overprotective mother.
"Hey, I'll watch her back for ya!" Snowbreeze interjected, only for the mare to glare at her with such ferocity that the Pegasus felt like she had shrunk fifteen inches under the mare's gaze.
"Besides, if those unicorns in black figured out where I am, they'll surely be back to come after me again." Sapphire said calmly as she frowned. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost any of you." She added softly as she looked at her parents.
Merrybelle looked into her daughter's eyes and knew her words to be true. The mare placed a hoof on her daughter's cheek and sighed in defeat. "I don't want to lose you." She said softly as tears swelled in her eyes.
Sapphire reached a hoof up and placed it upon her mother's, rubbing it softly. "You won't. As soon as I find a teacher to help me control this power, I'll be back. I promise." She said with a soft smile.
"Um, mom? I don't think we'll be needing that." Sapphire remarked in an uneasy tone as her mother placed an overly large sink into the saddlepack which didn't even come close to fitting inside.
"Nonsense! You can never been too prepared." Merrybelle remarked confidently as she gently tried to shove the sink into the saddlepack.
"Hey honey, where's the kitchen sa-" Steel began to say only for the sight that beheld him to cut the stallion off mid-sentence as he slammed a hoof against his forehead. "Honey, I think you're overdoing it." He remarked with a smirk as he walked over and lifted the sank from the saddlepack.
"I just want my baby filly to be as prepared as she can be." Merrybelle retorted hotly as her husband dragged the kitchen sink back into the house.
"Mom! I'm going to be fine!" Sapphire exclaimed in a half-whiny, half-annoyed tone.
"So, we ready to go, or is she gonna try to shove the bathroom sink in there next?" Snowbreeze joked with a smirk.
"I think we're ready to go." Sapphire replied as she put the saddlepack on and stood straight up.
"Remember to be careful out there! And if you see any of those unicorn's dressed in black-"
"Yes, Mom. I know, get away from them before they even know we're there. I got it!" Sapphire replied and sighed.
It was at this point and time that Steel walked back from the house as he watched Sapphire hug his wife before he walked up and gave her a hug of his own then turned to look at Snowbreeze. "You will watch out for her, I hope?" He asked with a soft smile to the Pegasus.
"You bet! Besides, she'd be lost without me!" Snowbreeze replied with a smirk, but was quick to dodge yet another punch from the Alicorn as she was prepared for it this time.
The two fillies both struck their respective take off positions, burst into a sprint, and were off to the skies. Sapphire gave one last glance back to her home she was leaving behind and let out a depressed sigh.
"Not getting homesick already, are we?" Snowbreeze remarked with a smirk.
"Heh, not a chance!" She replied as the two soared east and through the very heart of the Earth Pony Nation.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze landed just outside of the city of Trottopolis where the Alicorn quickly put her saddlepack down, pulled out her coat and hoodie, put them on and then looked to her friend who hadn't started putting her own disguise on yet. "Hurry up and put the coat on, Snowbreeze. I'm so hungry I could eat half of my farm's harvest!" Sapphire said in a mildly desperate tone as her stomach felt like it was screaming at her for some kind of nourishment.
"I really don't see why I have to put on some stupid disguise. I hate walking." Snowbreeze remarked in disdain with a scowl. "Besides, they're after you, not me."
"Yeah but they saw you with me so if they recognize you, they'll know I'm close by." Sapphire explained calmly as she looked towards the town.
The Pegasus gave one last groan of protest before she reluctantly put on the coat and hoodie. "Fine but we're back in the skies no sooner we get something to eat okay?" She said irritably.
"Yeah, Yeah. Don't worry, you'll be able to stretch your wings again in no time." The Alicorn replied with a smirk as she rolled her eyes at her friend. The two fillies put their saddlepacks back on and slowly walked into town.
"I can't wait to dig my mouth into some cabbage…" Sapphire began to say excitedly only to notice the town wasn't exactly bursting with activity. In fact, it looked as if it was all but a ghost town.
Snowbreeze also noticed this as she walked next to her friend, looking about as a feeling of uneasy came over the two. "Uh, where is everypony?" Snowbreeze asked curiously as the two came to a halt next to a building which had all its windows boarded up along with a sigh that red "The Singing Donkey".
"No idea. I knew the earth pony nation wasn't as grand as it boasted it was but I didn't think a whole town would be abandoned." Sapphire remarked as she looked about the city for signs of life.
The two were about to turn around and leave when a faint galloping met the Alicorn's ears. "Hey, you hear that?" Sapphire remarked curiously as her right ear twitched to the sound of galloping hooves.
"Uh, no?" Snowbreeze replied with a confused expression at first until the group of galloping hooves grew much closer at which point she turned around along with Sapphire to see a group of earth ponies dressed in western style apparel galloping up to them.
The group of ponies came to a screeching halt just before the two fillies which caused a dirt cloud to erupt and drift past Sapphire and Snowbreeze to which the two coughed lightly and waved their hooves in front of their faces in an attempt to wave away the dirt.
"Well looky what we have here boys." One of the stallions remarked with a smug grin as he looked at the two. "Hey, Joey. What do ya reckon we have here?" the stallion asked one of his colleagues who walked up next to him.
"Looks to me like a couple of newcomers." The other stallion remarked as he placed a hoof against Sapphire's chin and lifted it so he could see her face properly. "A couple of mares by the looks of em'." He added with a smirk before Sapphire recoiled away and glared at him much to the stallions displeasure.
"What's your deal?!" Sapphire exclaimed irritably as the stallion once again attempted to place a hoof on her chin only for her to back away and glare at him.
"Why you little-" Joey began to say only for the other stallion to cut him off. This one seemed to be the leader of the gang by the looks of it.
"Don't lose yer temper Joey, these two are new so they don't know how things work around here." He lead stallion remarked as he looked to his colleague then back to Sapphire.
"Ah don't know, Butch. Somethin' seems mighty off about em' " Another stallion from the group remarked aloud.
"Wait, Butch? As in the leader of the Steel Raiders, Butch?" Snowbreeze remarked aloud in realization of who she was actually looking at.
"Haha! Looks like at least one of em' knows who Ah am!" Butch exclaimed with a toothy grin towards the two.
Snowbreeze then quickly pulled Sapphire to this side, a expression of fear and nervousness about her as she spoke. "Lets blitz! These guys are bad news, Sapphire! If this gang controls this town, then its no wonder all the houses are boarded up!" The Pegasus whispered urgently.
"We can't just yank our disguises off and 'Fly off' or they'll know that at least one of us is a Pegasus!" Sapphire whispered back as she glanced at the group who seemed to be eying her hindquarters which caused the filly to quickly use her tail to thoroughly cover any parts of her that they might be trying to sneak a peek at before she looked back at her friend. "Besides, who knows if any of these ponies work for those unicorn's in black." She added.
"Crud, good point." Snowbreeze remarked aloud dismally. "Trust me though, you don't wanna stick around with these guys. The things I've heard about what they use mares for makes me wanna vomit just thinking about it!" Snowbreeze remarked with a nervous glance at the group before she looked back at Sapphire.
"Okay, let me handle this." The Alicorn replied confidently as she turned about-face to look at the group. "So, uh, it looks like we just got a little lost. This doesn't look like Martonia to us!" She exclaimed with a nervous smile as she looked at the group. "So, uh, yeah. We'll just be leaving now." She finished as she two nervously began to back away from the group only for three stallions to gallop behind them and cut off their escape.
"Hey! She just got done saying that we got lost! Let us go!" Snowbreeze exclaimed angrily at Butch whom simply grinned at the two.
"Sorry little missies but yer in Steel Raider territory. So what Ah say here goes." He said with a smug grin as he walked up to Snowbreeze and placed a hoof on her cheek. "And Ah say ya ain't leavin'." He added before he turned to look at his collages. "Looks like we got some fresh flank guys!" He called out to the group which was met with cheers and hooting before he looked back at the two.
"If stick your dick anywhere near my tail, I'll bite it off!" Snowbreeze exclaimed with a loathing stare at Butch who chuckled as he grinned at her.
"Ohh, I like em' fisty! Makes it all the enjoyable once I break em' in." Butch replied smugly before he turned to the group once more. "Lets round em' up and get em' back to the camp! We're getting some fresh tail tonight!" Butch exclaimed to the group who once again began cheering and hooting at their leader.
"Now can we ditch these lame disguises?!" Snowbreeze exclaimed at the Alicorn who looked extremely nervous at the moment. "Unless you wanna lose your virginity to a bunch of criminals." She added sourly which caused Sapphire to look at her and sigh.
"Looks like we don't have any other choice." Sapphire remarked much to Snowbreeze's delight at which point the two fillies quickly yanked off their coats and hoodies much to the shock of the group as they took off for the skies.
"Holy buck! They're featherflanks!" One of the stallions exclaimed in shock.
"Wait a second…" Butch remarked aloud as he looked at Sapphire's horn and wings. "That's there Alicorn thing we read about on the wanted poster! Quick! Get the Bolas! We'll be set for life if we capture her!" Butch called out at which point the other stallions quickly began to set up a miniature catapult to fire at the two fleeing fillies.
"This is exactly what I wanted to avoid!" Sapphire exclaimed with a glare at her friend who shrugged.
"Hey, don't look at me! It was either this or most likely ending up as teenage mothers to a bunch of Leadhoofs! I don't know about you but I'd rather keep my Pegasi pride!" Snowbreeze retorted with an annoyed expression.
"I'm going to choose to ignore your blatant racism while we-" Sapphire began to retort only to nearly fall out of the sky as a bolas flew past her head, looked down, and gasped as she watched the gang prepare to fire another. "Uh, Snowbreeze, we have a major problem!" She exclaimed to which Snowbreeze was confused about since she had not seen the bolas fly past her friend.
"What are you- Waaah!" Snowbreeze began to say only for a bolas to hit her directly, quickly wrap around her midsection, snap her wings firmly to her sides, and fall out of the sky.
"Snowbreeze!" Sapphire exclaimed as she dove for her friend and caught her.
"Get this thing off my wings! Use your magic!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she gnawed at the rope but was making no progress due to the fiber of the rope being made out of a very tough material.
"I can't! Everytime I try to use my magic, I end up blowing something up!" Sapphire replied as she did her best to evade another bolas as it flew past her side.
"Then you better kick your flight speed up about fifty notches!" Snowbreeze exclaimed before she looked down and gasped "Look out!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she catapulted herself from Sapphire in order to shove her away just in time to avoid a bolas which would have hit her directly if not for the Pegasus's quick thinking.
Due to being so suddenly bucked, Sapphire was sent spiraling away and by the time she recovered, she realized that the group had caught the Pegasus in a net safely and were quickly tying her up.
"We're out of Bolas, Butch." Joey remarked as he walked up to his leader.
"No matter. The Alicorn will come to us. We have her friend." Butch replied aloud with a malicious grin as the group put Snowbreeze into a cage, and galloped off much to Sapphire's horror.
"Hey, Alicorn! If you wanna see your friend alive, you'll meet us at the sunnyside gorge by sundown!" Butch yelled out to Sapphire before he turned about face and followed his gang.
"Oh no…" Sapphire remarked in horror as she hovered in the skies watching helplessly as her friend was soon out of sight behind the many trees outside of town.
Sapphire landed in the middle of the town once she thought it was safe and noticed immediately that inhabitants of the town were coming out of their homes and looking at her with a mixture of fear, curiosity, and even hostility among the townsfolk.
"Excuse me! Can anypony tell me where sunnyside gorge is?" Sapphire called out only for nopony to say a word to answer her question. "Please! I need your help! If I don't, my friend will die!" She added after a few moments longer of silence between her and the townsfolk.
"Pssh! She'll be lucky if they kill her right away!" One stallion exclaimed aloud which caused the Alicorn to look at the pony who spoke and approach him.
"Please, can you tell me where they've taken her? I have to save her!" Sapphire exclaimed desperately.
"Ha! You save her?! That's a laugh!" The stallion retorted bitterly before he began to walk away from her.
"But she could be killed!" Sapphire exclaimed as she rushed in front of the stallion once again.
The stallion merely scoffed in response to this. "I'd be praying they kill her if Ah were you. Cuz they usually do much worse." He replied as he pushed the Alicorn to the side and walked past her only for Sapphire to run in front of the stallion once again much to his annoyance.
"How can you be so heartless?! Why would I want to wish for my best friend to be killed?!" Sapphire exclaimed angrily at the stallion.
"Heartless? Killing her fast would be a mercy!" The stallion retorted as he attempted to shove her to the side again only for her to not budge this time around.
"What do you mean?" The Alicorn asked curiously though she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
"Ya born in a barn missy?" The stallion asked with a skeptical expression towards her. When she didn't reply he sighed. "Ah'm sayin' that most mares they take back with em' aren't killed right away." He added.
"But that's good right?" She asked to which the stallion once again scoffed.
"If ya call bein' used as a cock-sock for the next five years a 'good thing' then it is." He replied grimly yet candidly only to sigh aloud once more. "Ah know yer heart is in the right place missy but take mah word on this, if ya march into their camp, ya ain't leavin'. Not even unicorns have escaped em' once they have em' in their camps." The stallion replied and walked around the Alicorn to continue on to wherever he was going.
Sapphire however lept into the air, hovered over the stallion, and landed in front of him once more. "I have to try! She's the only friend I have!" She exclaimed desperately.
The stallion sighed aloud once more. "Are ya sure about this missy? If ya get yerself caught, nopony is comin to save yer hide." He said in a calm yet firm manner.
"Dead serious." Sapphire replied in a firm tone to the stallion.
The stallion ran a hoof through his mane and sighed once more. "Fine. Ah'll need mah map to show ya where to go." he said as he walked past the Alicorn and led her to his home.
Sapphire looked about the house as she walked inside, the walls were covered in what looked to be awards of some kind. "Wow, that's a lot of awards." Sapphire remarked aloud in astonishment.
"It's ancient history now, Missy." The stallion remarked depressingly as he opened the door to what looked like an small office to the Alicorn. In this room, many more awards were plastered on the walls but one stood out to the filly. It was an award with a badge on it which read.
The award for the display of the most bravery and selflessness this town has ever seen goes to:
Chief Lightning Thunderhooves
"You're a… police chief?" Sapphire asked the stallion in shock as she looked over at him as he placed a map on his desk.
"Was a police chief. That's ancient history now like Ah said before, Missy." Lightning replied and sighed. "So, here's where ya need to go. Ya need to head out of town to the north, take a left here, and then walk for five miles. There you'll find their basecamp." He instructed as he pointed to each location that Sapphire would need to go to on the map as he spoke.
"What happened to turn you into such a coward?" Sapphire asked without thinking much to the annoyance of Lightning who glared at her.
"Ah ain't no coward!" He snapped at her with a glare.
"Then help me save my friend!" Sapphire snapped back.
"You listen here, missy. There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity!" He retorted as he rolled up the map. "You've got yer directions, now get out of here. Hope ya enjoy life as a sex-slave because that's what yer trottin right into." He added bitterly as he placed the map where he had taken it from earlier.
"Not until you tell me why you won't help me!" Sapphire exclaimed defiantly as she stood firm.
Lightning sighed aloud as he sat down in his desk chair. "Because it's pointless." He said simply.
"That's not a good enough answer for me!" Sapphire replied with a glare at the police chief who sighed aloud once again.
"Ya really wanna know? Fine! Fact is, we tried to mount many rescue missions in the past and all of em failed. What's worse is that mah wife was captured on our last botched attempt to rescue em' over five years ago. They told me that if Ah tried to come and save anymore that they'd kill mah wife!" He finished with a glare at the Alicorn.
"That's so horrible… but if she's still alive then that means…" Sapphire began to say only to trail off as the horrifying truth set in.
"Ya got it little missy. Mah wife's in their base camp right now and Ah don't wanna even picture how many times they've…" he began to say only to trail off, clinch his eyes shut in fury, and abruptly slam a hoof onto his deck which caused a cup of pens to clatter to its side. "So, you've got yer answer. Now will ya leave mah home in peace?" He asked a few moments later as he opened his eyes to look at the filly whose expression was one of sadness.
"I understand." She said softly as she turned around only to stop and look back at the police chief. "I'll rescue your wife and all the other ponies in that camp of theirs, I promise!" She exclaimed aloud valiantly before she left the stallion's office and the faint sound of a door being shut could be heard moments later.
"Humph! Ah'm not holdin' mah breath…" Lightning remarked bitterly as he looked at his wife's portrait on his office desk.
Sapphire soared through the skies towards the camp but landed several miles before she got close to the camp thinking they would be expecting it. By the time she arrived at the basecamp, the sun was already setting behind the hills.
The Alicorn gave a quick look around as she hid behind a nearby tree. There she saw a large camp surrounded by large wooden wall with sharp points at the top of each log of wood that surrounded the camp. She then risked a peek at the entrance, taking note of four guards she could see in front of the entrance and scowled. "Should've known the entrance would be heavily guarded. I'll need to find another way in." She thought to herself as she silently crept from tree to tree looking for an opening.
She found it but it wasn't the most ideal way to sneak into the camp. Near what she figured was the very back of the camp, there was a small hole large enough in size and width for a small foal to sneak through but no larger. "This really isn't one of my better ideas but its the only way in." Sapphire remarked aloud, channeled magic into her horn, and focused it around the wood where the small hole was, sure enough as she expected, her magic suddenly blasted a much larger hole in the wooden wall as splinters of wood flew from it. The Alicorn was quick to hide herself behind a tree once the sound of rushing hooves met her ears.
"What in the buck happened here?! Did one of the captives buck a hole in the wall or something?" One stallion asked as he looked through the hole towards the trees.
"Don't look like it. You think it was the Alicorn?" Another stallion asked curiously.
"There's no way she'd be crazy enough to sneak into this basecamp. We've got over fifty armed stallions equipped with enough firepower to take down half an army!" The stallion exclaimed but turned around to face another stallion which was none other than Butch himself.
"What happened here?" He asked firmly.
"Not sure, Boss. It looks like somepony tried to buck a hole in the wall but we've done a headcount and all captives are accounted for." One of the stallions replied in a quick and proper fashion.
"Well do another one! No pony leaves this camp alive unless I give the order, got it?!" Butch exclaimed fiercely at which point Sapphire could hear hurried hoofsteps rushing away.
It was at this point that Sapphire risked a look from behind tree only to snap back to cover as she saw Butch looking in her general direction. "Hmm…" The stallion mused aloud curiously. "Aw, well. Time to go and get that Pegasus ready. The boys should have her strapped down in the eastern quarter of the camp by now. " He remarked aloud as he turned around and walked away from the hole.
Sapphire pondered what the stallion meant for a moment until it occurred to her at which point she let out a soft gasp. "Snowbreeze!" She whispered aloud, peered over to the hole, and when she figured no pony was looking, snuck over and jumped through it.
"Look at you, pretty thing. All strapped down and ready for our boss to have his way with ya." One of the stallions remarked with a smirk as they looked at Snowbreeze who continued to struggle against the restraints. Each one of her legs were firmly secured in iron clasps, her wings were secured firmly in tight ropes, her head was forced to face forward thanks to a muzzle around her face though her mouth was left completely untouched, and her tail was being forcefully lifted up by a strong rope which exposed her filly-parts to the stallions in the tent much to her embarrassment.
"You just wait till I get out of here you sick perverts! I'm gonna stomp your balls so hard into the ground that you'll never be able to produce foals!" Snowbreeze roared as she continued to struggle against the restraints but to no avail.
The two stallions looked at one another and laughed upon hearing this. "Not likely." The stallion replied as he leaned in much too close for Snowbreeze's comfort to her hindquarters. "Ohh, looky here! Looks like this mare has seen some action before!" The stallion remarked aloud with a smirk as he prodded the filly, causing her to jolt up in both shock and rage.
"Touch that again and I'll kill you!" Snowbreeze shrieked at the top of her lungs as she struggled harder than ever to break free of her restraints but still made no progress.
"Haha, you better back off though." The other stallion remarked with a smirk.
"Why? I could plow the living daylights out of this mare here and now and she couldn't do a single thing to me." The other stallion replied smugly.
"Sure you could, if you want to lose your balls afterward. Remember, the boss always gets first dibs on the fresh meat." The other stallion warned followed by a chuckle.
"Consarn it, you're right." The stallion remarked in an annoyed tone and groaned. "I hate getting sloppy seconds all the time though." He replied and sighed much to the amusement of his colleague who laughed aloud while he walked over and stood next to him.
A few moments later somepony walked through the tent entrance only for the two stallions to realize it wasn't their boss but too late as Sapphire quickly slugged one squarely in the snout, knocking him out cold, evaded an attack by the other stallion which ended with his right behind her, reared her hindhooves up, and bucked the stallion right in the skull which sent him flying across the room and against the tent wall, completely incapacitated as well.
With the two stallions dealt with, Sapphire turned her attention to her friend and rushed over to her as she began to undo the Pegasus's head restraint. "Are you okay?! They haven't done anything to you yet have they?!" Sapphire asked in a worried tone as she successfully undid the muzzle around her friend's head and began working to undo her leg restraints.
"Nah. I was just about to break out of here when you showed up." Snowbreeze boasted as Sapphire undid her right front hoof clamp at which point she used her free hoof to rub the back of her neck.
The Alicorn rolled her eyes as she worked to undo her friend's left left restraint. "Sure you were." She remarked sarcastically just before she managed to undo the second leg clamp.
"But ya know, thanks for coming to save my flank." Snowbreeze said gratefully with a warm smile to her friend as she stood up and looked at her.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze then hugged each other tightly. "What kind of friend would I be if I left you to these perverts?" she replied warmly before she broke the hug and quickly set to undoing her friend's right back leg restraint.
"Haha! I knew it!" A voice exclaimed at which point Sapphire's gaze snapped up to see Butch along with roughly ten stallions flanking him from outside the tent. "Give off a little info and we'd lure her right into our trap!" Butch remarked egotistically as Sapphire just managed to undo Snowbreeze's first back leg restraint.
"Sapphire, run! I'll hold these creeps off!" Snowbreeze exclaimed valiantly only to realize her left hind leg was still securely locked in place along with her tail.
"I'm not leaving you or anypony else that these thugs have captured! We're all getting out of here tonight!" Sapphire exclaimed as she stood in front of her friend.
"Oh-ho-ho! This mare thinks that just because she's got a horn and wings that she can outdo a group of my best stallions!" Butch exclaimed with a smug grin.
"Uh, Sapphire. Now would be a good time to go all magical supernova on them!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she struggled against her leg restraint.
"I don't know how! It's why we're even out here, remember?" Sapphire retorted with a glare at her friend before she turned her head back to face the stallions.
"Oh yeah… My bad." Snowbreeze replied sheepishly as she continued to work on undoing the leg clamp.
"Take em'." Butch ordered and at once the stallions charged into the tent.
Sapphire immediately slugged one stallion to the ground, evaded one strike, but was hit by another and another as she gave a shrill cry of pain to each blow. Despite this, she continued fighting back, knocking out three stallions in the midst of evading a few others.
"It's pointless to resist missy. We have you outclassed and outnumbered. Just lay down and take it like a mare." He remarked smugly as the stallions began to overwhelm the Alicorn.
Suddenly an explosion erupted from outside, catching everypony's attention from inside the tent. "What the buck is going on out there?!" Butch called out.
"It's Lightning, Boss! It looks like he's brought the whole town here!" A random stallion exclaimed just before a group of five mares and stallions charged in and piled on top of him.
"That conniving little leadhoof!" Butch exclaimed as he stomped the ground angrily. "Get your weapons colts! If that wimp and his little townsfolk want a fight, we'll give it to em'!" Butch exclaimed at which point the stallions who were attacking Sapphire suddenly withdrew and rushed out of the tent leaving only Butch, Sapphire, and Snowbreeze alone in the tent.
The stallion stepped inside the tent and grin maliciously at the injured Alicorn. "I'm gonna beat you within an inch of your life little missy." He began as he seemed to be popping joints in his hooves with each other hoof. "Then I'm going to have fun ramming the buck out of that little flower of yours while your friend watches." Butch remarked aloud as he walked up to Sapphire, lifted her up, reared his right hoof back, and slugged the Alicorn squarely in the nose which caused her to stumble backwards into the tent wall.
"Aw, what happened to all that brute strength you had before?" Butch remarked with a smug grin as he approached her.
"Coward! Only a coward fights an injured pony who can't fight back!" Snowbreeze roared as she continued to struggle with her left hind leg restraint.
Butch however ignored him as he lifted the helpless Alicorn up and slugged her once more which sent her falling to the ground. Sapphire's face was bruised, her snout and forehead bleeding profusely, her body ached, she could barely look up at Butch as he approached her. Her vision of the stallion a bloody blur at best.
"I think its about time we get this show on the road." Butch remarked with a malicious grin as he grabbed the Alicorn by the tail with his mouth, dragged her over to another part of the tent, tied a restraint around her tail, and began to crank the rope so it lifted her hindquarters up to his chest height.
Butch licked his lips maliciously as he stared at what he viewed as his prize. "From the looks of it, Ah reckon Ah'm yer first." He remarked with a smug grin as he prodded the Alicorn much to Snowbreeze's horror.
"No! Leave her alone!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she pulled with all her might at her left hind leg clamp but to no avail.
Butch looked to the Pegasus and chuckled. "Sit back and enjoy the show." He remarked with a grin. "After all, I'd be trying my best to get in the mood if I were you. Ya know how painful it is for a stallion to go in dry." He remarked as he began to crawl over Sapphire's back positioning himself to traumatize the filly for life.
If Butch had been paying attention, he would have noticed that Lightning had stepped into the tent. At once the stallion charged at the sick stallion and slugged him acrossed the face which knocked him off Sapphire before he could do anything to the helpless filly. Butch stood up wearily from the sucker punch only to receive a swift buck to the snout from both of Lightning's hind hooves which knocked him clear through the tent door and outside.
Lightning quickly undid Sapphire's restraint which allowed her hindquarters to hit the floor with a soft thud. The stallion quickly helped the filly to all four hooves. "L-Lightning? You came?" Sapphire asked wearily as she stallion smiled back at her.
Upon hearing this, the stallion beamed back at her. "It was yer unwavering loyalty to yer friend that caused this old stallion to give himself a swift kick into gear and do somethin' about Butch and his thugs." Lightning remarked admirably as he looked to the unconscious thug leader with a deep sense of loathing. "For too long have we let Butch and his band of thugs take our mares and bully us into submission." He remarked before he looked back at the Alicorn. "You showed us that even if somethin' seems pointless, there's no reason not to try anyways." Lightning said proudly.
"Uh, not to ruin this whole inspirational moment or anything but could you undo this rope and let me regain my dignity please?" Snowbreeze asked uncomfortably as she motioned to the rope holding up her tail.
"Ya'll can't hold me forever! Ah'll get out one day! Ah swear it!" Butch roared as the prison bars slammed in front of him and fifty other stallions in the local prison.
"Put a sock in it." A prison guard replied irritably as he walked away from the prison cell which was located on a remote island in the middle of the local lake near the town.
Meanwhile just outside of the prison, a bruised but feeling much better Sapphire stood next to her best friend as Lightning looked at the two. "We can't begin to thank ya enough. If it weren't for you and your friend, we'd still be at the mercy of Butch and his thugs. Are ya sure you can't stay for a little while longer?" Lightning asked warmly as he looked at the two fillies. "We'd be more than happy to let ya stay in our best hotel for free as long as ya needed it."
"The food is thanks enough… Chief. " Sapphire replied with a big smile.
The Police Chief put his hat down to his chest and rub a hoof through his mane with a bashful smile. "Heh, guess Ah'll need to be gettin' used to bein' called that again." He remarked with a light chuckle.
"We better get going if we want to make it at least to the next town before next week, Sapphire." Snowbreeze said in a matter of fact tone.
"Ya'll take care of yerselves ya hear? And if ya find yerself in these parts again, just know you'll be welcomed with open arms." He said to the two fillies as they prepared to take off.
"Thanks Lightning and good luck!" Sapphire exclaimed as she and Snowbreeze sprinted down the dirt path and took off towards the east once more for the next city.
A campfire raged just outside of a nearby town as the stars filled the sky with numerous constellations along with the moon which seemed to stand out the most. However the sound of food being scarfed down broke the otherwise pleasant silence the night offered.
"Snowbreeze! You've already eaten five plates already! If you eat anymore, we won't have enough to last us for the rest of the week!" Sapphire exclaimed irritably as the Pegasus scarfed down her fifth plate of food.
"But I'm so hungry!" Snowbreeze whined aloud before she went to pick up a plate of celery sticks only for Snowbreeze to grab it with her mouth and yank it out of reach.
"No! No more food for today!" Sapphire said firmly as she dumped the plate of celery sticks into their respective packaging box and placed them into her saddlepack. "Honestly, with as much as you eat, I'm surprised you've kept that figure of yours." She added bitterly.
"Ha! I burn it off by flying around all the time!" Snowbreeze boasted with a smirk.
"Yeah, well it'll be daylight soon and we need to look around this town for an odd job or two if we want to make it to the next city without starving to death thanks to your… eating habits." Sapphire replied with a mild glare to the Pegasus.
"Ugh, do we really need to wear the disguises though?" Snowbreeze asked with an annoyed glance over at her coat and hoodie.
"Of course not." Sapphire replied in oddly cheerful voice until her facial expression faded into an annoyed glare. "If you want a repeat of what happened in the last two cities we stopped in where you insisted that we didn't need them because you thought no pony would recognize us." She finished.
"Hey! How was I supposed to know those unicorns in black had wanted posters out for us all over the nation?!" Snowbreeze retorted defensively.
"Well maybe if you'd been listening to Butch nearly a month and a half ago, he said he knew what I was thanks to a wanted poster he read." Sapphire replied as she rolled her eyes while she began packing up the camp tents.
"I was too busy flying for my life to bother to listen to that creep! Besides, we both figured out in the last city that you have far better hearing than me." The Pegasus replied defensively once more.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire let out a sigh. "Good point." She conceded. "I just hope we find somepony in town who knows what I am." Sapphire remarked aloud as the sun slowly began to rise to the skies.
"Uh, I thought we were going undercover?" Snowbreeze remarked with a mildly confused expression.
"We are but that won't stop me from asking a few innocent questions while we're there." Sapphire replied calmly as she picked up a bucket of water and doused the campfire out.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze walked into the entrance to the Manehatten only for a very surprising sight to behold their eyes. Not only earth ponies but also Unicorns, and Pegasi populated the cities grounds as the bustling voices of the many ponies rang out through the city as the two walked through it.
"Wow, I didn't think a town like this existed since Ponyville was destroyed over three thousand years ago." Sapphire remarked aloud in astonishment.
"Ponyville?" Snowbreeze asked curiously which caused Sapphire to look at the Pegasus with a curious expression.
"Ya know, the last bastion of harmony which had stood for over three thousand years until the Unicorn's of Canterlot destroyed it?" Sapphire replied expecting the Pegasus to know what she was talking about but when she still looked as clueless as ever the Alicorn sighed dejectedly. "Didn't you pay attention in history class?" Sapphire asked with an annoyed look at her friend.
"Well not exactly but I know that we were never taught anything about that. Most of our history classes were about the unicorns and how they crushed Cloudsdale and many other Pegasi towns under their tyranny while we tried to plead for them to leave in peace." Snowbreeze replied casually.
Sapphire scoffed upon hearing this. "I don't know what history book you were reading but from what I was taught, you Pegasi were no more innocent than the earth ponies or the unicorn's during the three hundred year war." Sapphire remarked much to the outrage of her friend who glared back at her.
"I don't know what fairy-tale book you've been reading but that's a load of horseapples! We never attacked anypony!" Snowbreeze exclaimed. The two were quickly gaining the undivided attention of many ponies in town unbeknownst to them.
"My mother would not tell me some, some, fairytale!" Sapphire shouted at the Pegasus.
"Never said she did! But whatever book she read to you was telling you both a load of bucking nonsense! We never attacked anypony!" Snowbreeze shouted back.
"You're right! You all were too busy stuffing your faces with half a months supply of food to care!" Sapphire exclaimed back her temper quickly rising as the two began to butt heads with one another.
"What would you know, you, you… featherflanked spikehead!" Snowbreeze roared much to the outrage of the Alicorn whose eyes flared with anger.
"Bring it on! I dare ya to try anything!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she shoved the Alicorn away.
"Keep pushing me and I just might!" Sapphire yelled back as she struck a combat stance.
"Like you could even touch me! The only thing you know how to do is go magical supernova and you can't even control that." Snowbreeze retorted as she struck a combat stance of her own.
"Ha! This coming from the Pegasus who would have gotten herself raped if I hadn't saved her flank!" Sapphire retorted back.
"Well I didn't ask you to save me! I can take care of myself!" Snowbreeze roared.
"Fine! I don't need you!" Sapphire exclaimed before she turned about-face and stomped off.
"You wouldn't last a day out here without me!" Snowbreeze shouted back as the Alicorn walked out of sight between the crowds of mares and stallions.
"That ungrateful, egotistic, little bucking featherflank!" Sapphire fumed aloud as she walked along the row of food stands and other goods.
"By Celestia… I can barely believe my eyes." An elderly mare's voice spoke up which caused Sapphire to look at a snowwhite mare with a royal purple colored mane and tail. "An Alicorn…"
Sapphire's eyes suddenly widened in surprise as the unicorn mare looked at her. "B-But how? This disguise should have hidden my wings and horn!" Sapphire thought to herself in a panicked tone as she quickly checked to make sure her coat and hoodie were still attached to her. When she realized they were, she looked at the unicorn in bewilderment.
"How do you know what I am?" She asked softly as she walked up to the unicorn.
"I may be old but I'm not blind." The elder mare replied with a light chuckle.
"B-But the disguise!" Sapphire sputtered out still having no idea how this elderly unicorn was able to identify her an Alicorn without her exposing her wings and horn to the mare.
"Oh pish,tosh darling! That disguise wouldn't fool anypony. At the very least, it would make it hard for those unicorns in black to recognize you right away from a distance." The elderly unicorn remarked as she turned around and began to walk towards her cart.
"W-Wait! How do you know about those unicorns in black?! Who are you?" Sapphire asked as she rushed in front of the mare and stared at her.
"If you want to talk, then pull this cart for me. My old bones can barely pull this thing for five minutes before I have to take a rest." The unicorn replied, clearly avoiding the two questions.
Sapphire wasn't sure she could trust this unicorn but she was the only pony who seemed to know what she was and she wasn't about to let somepony who could possibly teach her how to control her power get away.
The Alicorn quickly strapped herself in and began pulling the cart and immediately noticed it was a lot heavier than it looked. "Geez, what do you have in this thing, Cast Iron cannonballs?" Sapphire remarked with a grunt as she continued to pull the cart as she followed the elderly unicorn back to what she assumed was the mare's house.
"Something like that, darling." The elder mare replied with a smirk before she stopped in front of the door and looked at the Alicorn.
"Um, aren't you going to open it?" Sapphire asked only for the elderly unicorn to conjure a fly swatter and smack her upside the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?!" She exclaimed hotly with a glare at the unicorn.
"Didn't your parents teach you to respect your elders? Open it for me!" The unicorn snapped back.
"Okay, Okay… no need to get all hostile." Sapphire remarked irritably as she walked to the door and pushed it open for the elderly mare.
"Youngsters these days, no respect." The elder mare muttered as she walked into the house. She then turned around and looked at Sapphire. "Are you coming inside or what?" She snapped with a mild glare.
"Don't you need me to bring in whatever you have on that cart?" Sapphire asked with a curious look to the cart.
"You can get it later, darling. Now then, you had some questions?" The elderly unicorn asked as Sapphire walked into the home.
"How do you know what I am? and How did you know about the unicorns dressed in black?" Were the first two questions that came to mind that she asked aloud.
"Lets just say that I've known a few Alicorns in my time. As for the unicorns in black, I'll just say that I know many things and we'll leave it at that." She replied casually as she looked about the house in mild wonder.
"Known a few Alicorns in your time? But that's not possible! I'm the first Alicorn ever to be born! I'm the myth come to life!" Sapphire exclaimed only to get yet another fly swatter to the back of her head. "Ow!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her stinging head.
"Don't be so full of yourself! You're no more a myth come to life than I am!" The elderly mare snapped with a glare and sighed.
"What do you mean? There are more Alicorns like me?" Sapphire asked a faint sense of of hope that she was not alone was filling her now.
"No. You're the first Alicorn to be born that hasn't been murdered as an infant for nearly two thousand years. That's all." The Elder mare replied simply much to Sapphire's confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" Sapphire asked, clearly confused beyond belief.
The elder unicorn sighed aloud. "I'm saying, the order of the dark horn has been making sure no Alicorns have cropped up for the last five thousand years." The Elder mare replied simply.
"The Order Of The Dark Horn?" Sapphire inquired curiously only to get another stinging slap from the unicorn's conjured flyswatter.
"The unicorns dressed in black!" The Unicorn snapped and sighed. "I swear…" The elder unicorn began to say only for the following words to be muttered so low that even with Sapphire's ears couldn't pick it up completely. The most she could make out were the words "Treehouse" and "Castle".
"Okay, so if you know so much about Alicorns, then you can help me learn to control my Alicorn magic right?" Sapphire asked curiously only to receive yet another swat to the back of her head. "Would you cut that out?!" She snapped angrily at the elder unicorn.
"How in the blazes do you expect to learn to control your Alicorn magic when you barely know how to control your earth pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn magic?!" The unicorn asked her with a glare before she turned around and walked towards the other side of the room to a counter and began to examine the cabinets.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Sapphire asked and was quick to dodge another swat from the unicorn's flyswatter only to get a swift smack to her hindquarters which caused her to comically seize up as her mane and tail seemingly stood on end for a brief moment due to the sudden impact.
"Everything!" The elder unicorn shouted as her eyes flared with anger before she gave a heavy wheezing cough.
"Are you okay? Do you need me to go get somepony?" Sapphire asked with a concerned expression as the unicorn coughed and wheezed a little longer before she seemed to recover from the coughing fit.
"I'm fine, darling." The elder unicorn replied as she readjusted her mane.
"I know I have attributes from all three specie of pony but I'm still not sure what that has to do with my Alicorn magic." Sapphire asked expecting to be swatted once again only the elder unicorn didn't seem to find her question annoying since the swat never came.
The elder mare let out a sigh before she looked at her. "When you Alicorns tap into your Alicorn magic, you're not just using some higher form of power but rather your earth pony magic, Pegasus magic, or Unicorn magic respectively." The unicorn explained calmly. "In essence, your Alicorn magic isn't some higher form of power but rather an extension of the already huge amount of earth pony, unicorn, and Pegasus magic you have within you."
Upon hearing this, Sapphire made a thoughtful glance as she recalled what her friend had told her. "But Snowbreeze told me that I was using all three at once." Sapphire remarked aloud only to receive another swat to the back of her head as the unicorn walked up to her.
"That's because you lack refinement, control!" The unicorn said pointedly as she prodded the Alicorn with each word she put emphasis on.
Sapphire once again rubbed the back of her head irritably as she spoke. "Well that's why I'm here. I need you to teach me how to control it." Sapphire replied calmly.
"Bah! I can't teach you how to control it." The Elder mare replied bitterly as she turned around and walked away from the filly.
"If you can't teach me, then who can?" Sapphire asked as she followed the unicorn a crossed the room.
"If you want to learn how to control your Alicorn magic, you need to first master your earth pony, Pegasus, and unicorn magic first!" The elder unicorn remarked though she didn't look back at her since her attention seemed to be drawn towards the grandfather clock.
"Okay then. So where do I start? Who do I talk to?" Sapphire asked curiously as the unicorn turned to look back at her finally.
"You can start by speaking to a relative of mine in fillydelphia. He'll teach you how to control your earth pony magic. Goes by Liberty Belle I think. You're on your own for finding somepony to teach you how to control you Pegasus and unicorn magic though." She replied simply.
"I've worked on a farm for most of my life, I'm pretty sure I have the earth pony thing down." Sapphire replied confidently only to get a much harder slap to the back of her head than the previous.
"You think that farming is all there is to being an earth pony? You know nothing about being an earth pony! That's why you got your keister kicked back in that thug's basecamp!" The unicorn snapped with a glare before she turned around and looked at the grandfather clock once more.
"Wait, how did you know-"
"I already answered that question!" The elder mare snapped again as she swatted the Alicorn upside the head again with her flyswatter.
Sapphire was beginning to think that by the time this elder mare was done with her, she was going to have an imprint of the flyswatter on the back of her head as she nursed the sore spot where she had been mercilessly slapped many times before she spoke. "Okay, so this relative of yours, is he some kind of great grandson or something?"
"You could say that, darling." the unicorn replied with a wry smile before she began walking past her towards the door. "Just mention my name and he should be more than willing to teach you all he knows." The elder mare said causally.
"Uh, you never told me your name." Sapphire replied as she followed the mare to the door.
"I didn't? I could of swore I did." She mused aloud with a smirk before she turned to face the Alicorn. "It's Rarity, darling." She said simply at which point the Alicorn's eyes snapped wide as her years of homeschooling came crashing forward to the front of her mind as the mention of one of the names of the legendary elements of harmony.
"Wait,wait, wait! As in The Element of Generosity, Rarity?!" Sapphire exclaimed in pure shock as she managed to finally get a glance at the mare's flank which bore a three diamond cutiemark.
"The one and the same, darling!" Rarity replied with a wide smile.
"But that's impossible! You'd have to be like over five thousand years old!" Sapphire exclaimed aloud without thinking.
"If there's anything I've learned over my years with Twilight and my friends. "She began to say as her appearance soon began to fade and was soon transparent to the Alicorn's eyesight. "Things are rarely what they seem." her voice seemed to echo before the elder unicorn vanished from sight completely.
"W-Wait! I have so many more questions!" Sapphire exclaimed as she ran to the spot where the unicorn had vanished yet she got no answer. Sapphire then looked about herself with a deep sense of unease.
"Okay, so either I've gone completely insane or I was really just talking to the Element Of Generosity…" Sapphire remarked aloud softly before she left the house.
Snowbreeze had tossed the disguise she was wearing earlier in a huff due to being so ticked off at her friend and before she thought to go back for it, it was gone. Deciding she didn't even need it, she shrugged the fact she had lost it off and walked along the streets of town in hopes of finding a cafe where she could get something to drink.
Snowbreeze walked into a local cafe and sat down on one of the stools. "I'll have a blueberry milkshake." She ordered casually only for the earth pony behind the counter to give her an annoyed look. "What?" She asked aloud in confusion.
"This isn't the place to be ordering for your kind." He said simply and pointed a hoof over to a badly battered door which read:
Pegasus and Unicorns eat here.
"Whatever…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud with a scowl as she walked over to the door, opened it, and gawked at the room.
It was less than a fourth of the main cafe's size but that wasn't what made the Pegasus gawk in shock. Everything from the stools to the badly kept merchandise behind the counter looked as if it hadn't been tended to in over fifty years.
"Ya gonna order or what?" The earth pony asked with a glare at Snowbreeze which caused her to walk up to the stool and sit down only for a sudden splintering of wood to nearly cause her to fall backwards.
The Pegasus jumped off the stool carefully and noticed that it had been badly glued back to its foundation many times as she noted the dried glue stains around the stool's wooden pole. "This place is a junk heap! Why can't I order in the other room!" Snowbreeze exclaimed with a glare.
"Be glad we're even serving your kind at all! So are ya gonna order or am I gonna have to escort ya outside?" The earth pony replied hotly.
"Whatever…" Snowbreeze muttered as she looked over the menu, taking note of the fact that most of the prices were five times or more than the prices she saw in the other room. "What the buck is this?! You're charging me three to four times more than what the cost for the same thing is in the other room!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in outrage.
"Either order or get out!" The stallion snapped angrily.
"Fine… Just give me a blueberry milkshake." She replied irritably as she tossed the cost of the drink in bits onto the counter which the stallion quickly scooped up, placed it into the register, walked away and came back with a dirty glass filled with what smelled like rotten milk and sour blueberries to the Pegasus.
"What the buck is this horseapples?!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she gestured to the dirty glass of rotten beverages.
"That's your blueberry milkshake." The stallion replied smugly.
"There's no way I'm drinking that! I want my money back!" Snowbreeze exclaimed looking positively outraged by the terrible service she was receiving.
"No refunds! Now drink your blueberry milkshake or get the buck out of our cafe!" The stallion exclaimed with a threatening glare.
Snowbreeze gave one last loathing stare to the stallion before she swatted the glass of rotten milk and sour blueberries off which spilled over the counter. "I'm never coming back here again, bunch of stupid leadhoofs!" She exclaimed as she began to walk out only to find herself seconds later being carried by by the mane and tossed out the front door.
"I never want to see your featherflank around here again!" The stallion roared before he slammed the cafe door shut.
"Don't worry! I won't!" Snowbreeze roared back before she looked about herself, taking note of the fact that she had attracted some rather bad attention.
"Hey Kid. If you want some decent service, follow me." A voice suddenly said which caused the Pegasus to turn about face and look to see a hooded mare. The most Snowbreeze could make out was a cyan blue snout.
"How do I know you're not just trying to lead me into a dark alley while your buddies jump me?" Snowbreeze asked with a suspicious look at the hooded mare.
"Your loss kid." The mare replied before she turned around and walked away.
Snowbreeze watched the mare trot off and after a short inner debate darted after the hooded mare. "H-Hey, wait!" She exclaimed as she caught up with the mare. "So where is this place you were talking about with better service?" She asked curiously.
"Right in here." The hooded mare said as she pointed a hoof to what looked nothing more than an old house to the Pegasus.
Snowbreeze gave the hooded mare an apprehensive look before she approached the door and opened it. For a fleeting moment she had thought she was being led into some kind of trap only for said thought to be shattered as she looked about the room.
The inside of the house had been fashioned into a makeshift cafe as well over twenty of her fellow Pegasus chattered amongst themselves or were ordering something to drink from the Pegasus behind the counter.
"Oh wow! I thought the only cafes around here were ones ran by leadhoofs!" Snowbreeze remarked aloud in amazement.
"Watch the racist remarks kid." The bartender said as she looked over at Snowbreeze with a disapproving gaze.
"Oh, uh, sorry!" Snowbreeze apologized before she looked to the hooded mare.
"Go ahead and order something, kid. I'll wait here." She said casually.
"But I can't just order for myself, you led me here after all." Snowbreeze replied in an attempt to convince her new friend to join her.
"Don't worry about it, kid. It's cool." She said as she walked over to a table and sat down.
With an icy cold glass of fresh blueberry milkshake, Snowbreeze walked over to the table the hooded Pegasus had sat at which was oddly enough at the least populated part of the cafe near the back. "So, you and your friend make up after your fight earlier?" The hooded mare asked curiously.
"How did you know about that?" Snowbreeze asked curiously before she took a deep sip from her milkshake and let out a content sigh as the smooth yet tasty contents of the beverage sailed down her throat and into her stomach.
"Kid, everypony saw that." The hooded mare replied as a smirk appeared on her cyan blue face.
"I guess we kinda did make a bit of a scene…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud with a guilty expression and sighed. "No, we haven't." She said before she took another sip of her milkshake.
"Why not?" The hooded mare asked curiously.
"For starters, I have no idea where she is and for another thing, she thinks she's some kind of egghead who knows everything about equestrian history!" Snowbreeze replied though her temper seemed to rise slightly at the mere memory of the fight between the two.
"I know that feeling." The hooded mare replied followed by a chuckle.
"You have a know-it-all friend too?" Snowbreeze replied bitterly as she took another sip of her drink.
"Yeah. She loved reading so much that I was surprised she had time to spend time with me and her other friends half the time but she always somehow managed to make time for us." The hooded mare replied.
"Bet she didn't know what she was talking about half the time." Snowbreeze remarked irritably.
"Heh, sometimes she didn't but she always admitted when she was wrong if it turned out she was and that wasn't very often mind you." The hooded mare replied casually.
"Yeah well, Sapphire's no egghead. Heck, she's probably hopelessly lost in this city without me." The Pegasus replied before she sighed and took another sip of her drink.
"Don't you think you should go and find her then?" The hooded mare asked with a frown.
"Nah, she'll be fine on her own. She said it herself, she doesn't need me." Snowbreeze replied bitterly and suddenly realized her drink was gone.
"I don't know about that, kid. Sometimes when friends get into fights with one another, they end up saying things that they don't really mean in the heat of the moment." The hooded mare replied as she stood up from her seat and began to walk towards the door.
Snowbreeze took one last look at her empty glass and followed the hooded mare to the door, opened it for her, and followed her outside back into the city streets. "I guess I should go look for her but that doesn't mean she's right about the Pegasi being attacked when they didn't even want to go to war in the first place!" Snowbreeze exclaimed with a look skyward.
"Sometimes history isn't as clear cut as it seems kid. I mean look at this city. On the surface it looks like everypony is getting along but below the surface, things are just as bad as they are in every other town in the nation." The hooded mare replied calmly as she turned to look at Snowbreeze.
"You got that right…" The Pegasus remarked aloud and sighed. "Are you saying that the Pegasi weren't as innocent as our history books told us?" Sapphire asked apprehensively. She didn't want to believe it but at the same time when she thought about it, Sapphire wouldn't lie to her as far as she knew.
"I don't know but maybe you should ask her yourself." The hooded mare said as she walked down the street to which Snowbreeze followed her.
"I really don't know if I want to." Snowbreeze replied uneasily as she walked next to the hooded mare down the street and to the left into a part of the city that looked much less well kept than the rest.
Snowbreeze looked about the street and gasped. Many ponies dressed in little more than rags walked along these streets, some of which were entire families of unicorns and Pegasi. "The truth isn't always pretty, kid." The hooded mare replied as the two continued along the street.
"But sometimes… even in the darkest of times, a little ray of light can be found." The hooded mare said as she pointed a hoof to a a female Pegasus and a male unicorn, with what could be none other than what Snowbreeze assumed to be their offspring as a young unicorn colt and Pegasus filly played and laughed together.
"What matters is staying loyal to your friends and family no matter how dark things get. If you pull through the dark times together, then you can be sure they'll be a light at the end of the tunnel." The hooded mare replied as she pulled back her hood and coat which revealed a rainbow colored mane and tail, cyan blue wings, and a cutie mark which bore a cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt jolting down the side of her flank.
"H-Holy buck! You're Rainbow Dash! Your my great,great, great, great, great-Mmph!" She began to blurt out only for the cyan blue Pegasus to shove a hoof in her mouth. "Geez kid, no need to pull a Pinkie Pie." She remarked irritably before she removed her hoof from the snow white Pegasus's mouth.
"But how?!" were the next two words that the Pegasus blurted out in pure disbelief of what she was seeing.
"You got me, kid. The only thing I can really tell you is this: You've gotta be some kind of special for me to appear and talk to ya." She said with a warm smile and looked up at the sky. "Huh, looks like my time is up. Nice talking with ya, kid." She said as the cyan blue Pegasus's appearance seemed to be fading before Snowbreeze's eyes.
"H-Hey! Hold up a second! I need to ask you something! My mom always told me stories of how you and Pinkie Pie were closer than the rest of the other elements of harmony, how close were you?" She asked as the Pegasus continued to fade.
"Really, Kid? That's your last question before I disappear?" Rainbow Dash asked the filly as she rolled her eyes. "Lets just say we were a little more than friends." She replied with a cheesy smirk before she faded completely and out of sight.
"Heh, I knew it!" Snowbreeze exclaimed with a big grin only to realize the element of loyalty was no longer anywhere to be seen.
"I'm so hopelessly lost!" Sapphire remarked aloud dismally as she looked around town and sighed dejectedly.
"Ha! I knew you'd be lost without me!" A familiar voice exclaimed to which Sapphire snapped her eyes skyward to see Snowbreeze hovering several feet above her.
"Snowbreeze!" Sapphire exclaimed joyfully as the snow white Pegasus landed in front of her at which point the two looked at each other awkwardly for a time.
"I'm so sorry for the things I said!" The two exclaimed simultaneously only to go silent once again before they spoke again.
"You won't believe it but I spoke to my ancestor!" Snowbreeze exclaimed excitedly.
"You spoke to Rainbow Dash?! Maybe I'm not as crazy as I thought!" Sapphire exclaimed aloud with a thoughtful glance to the ground as she placed a hoof on her chin.
"What are you talking about?" The Pegasus asked curiously as Sapphire looked back up at her.
"Okay, so I totally know this is going to sound crazy but I talked to Rarity!" Sapphire exclaimed with the same level of excitement as Snowbreeze had.
"Really?! Was she as cool as Rainbow Dash?!" Snowbreeze asked eagerly.
"Well, I don't know about cool but she sure as heck liked to smack me upside the head with that magical flyswatter of hers." The Alicorn replied with a mildly annoyed expression. "Anyways, she told me that in order to gain control of my Alicorn magic that I needed to learn to master the earth pony, Pegasus, and unicorn magic within me."
"Really? Who's gonna teach you how to do that?" Snowbreeze asked curiously.
"Well, she told me that she had a relative by the name of Liberty Belle in Fillydelphia who could teach me how to master my earth pony magic so that's a start." Sapphire replied excitedly.
"Well what are we waiting around here for then?! Lets get going!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she made a took off position.
"Wait a second, where's your disguise?" Sapphire asked finally realizing that her friend wasn't wearing the coat and hoodie.
"Uhh…" was all Snowbreeze could say in response to this.
"There she is!" A voice called out which caused the two to look in the direction of the voice to see several unicorn's dressed in black.
"Oh horseapples! It's the order of the dark horn! I told you that if they recognized you that they'd know I was close by!" Sapphire exclaimed as she yanked off her coat and hoodie, made her take off position and erupted off the ground next to Snowbreeze.
"The order of the dark what now?" Snowbreeze asked in a confused tone as the two evaded beams of magic being shot at them.
"I'll explain later! For now, lets ditch these guys!" Sapphire exclaimed as the two gained more altitude as the unicorns continued to chase them...
Snowbreeze dragged the Alicorn into a nearby abandoned house, closed the door, and looked over her friend. The Alicorn's side bared a crater-like wound that was bleeding profusely as she stared on. "I'm so sorry, Sapphire! This is all my fault! If only I hadn't ditched that disguise!" Snowbreeze exclaimed softly as she quickly looked about the abandoned home for something to at the very least slow the bleeding.
"The order of the dark what now?" Snowbreeze asked in a confused tone as the two evaded beams of magic being shot at them.
"I'll explain later! For now, lets ditch these guys!" Sapphire exclaimed as the two gained more altitude as the unicorns continued to chase them.
Sapphire gave one last glance behind her and gasped in horror. "Look out!!!" she shrieked as she shoved her friend as hard as she could out of the way only to be hit directly by a blast of raw magic at which point she let out a shrill cry of pain as she fell out of the sky.
At the exact moment this had occurred, the Pegasus watched in horror as she witnessed her friend get hit, blood splatter out from her side, and the Alicorn begin to plummet towards the ground.
At once Snowbreeze dove for her friend as she flapped her wings as hard as she could to fly faster than the Alicorn was falling. Once she had managed to get under her friend she gave a fleeting glance down, gasped, and flapped as hard as she could.
She barely succeeded in saving both their lives as the two hit the ground hard though Sapphire's impact was cushioned by her friend's body, Snowbreeze wasn't nearly as lucky as a loud snapping sound similar to a tree branch being snapped in two rang out. The Pegasus let out a shrill agonizing cry as she felt her wing bones snap as the two skidded along for a few feet and came to a stop just outside an abandoned home in the middle of the poorest part of the city.
"Don't blame yourself, Snowbreeze." Sapphire said weakly before she gave a soft pained cry as she attempted to move only for Snowbreeze to walk up her with a bunch of old blankets she had found and force the filly to lay back down.
"Don't move, Sapphire! You're hurt really badly." She remarked as she looked over the wound and sighed. "I'm going to do what I can to stop the bleeding but you need a professional doctor if you wanna to survive this." Snowbreeze remarked as she began to tear at the fabric of the blanket with her teeth, took the fragments of fabric and began to place them over the wound which caused Sapphire to cry out.
"Shhh! I know it's hard to do but keep your voice down! We don't know how close those unicorns in black are!" She whispered urgently as she gave a look outside for a brief moment to make sure nopony had heard before she continued to apply first aid to her friend.
"Okay, final part, this is gonna really hurt so I want you to bite down on this." Snowbreeze said softly as she placed a small piece of stone rubble in the size of a brick into her friend's mouth. Once she was sure that Sapphire had the brick safely secure in her muzzle, she quickly took a slightly thinner part of the fabric, wrapped around her, tied it into a knot and tugged hard which caused the makeshift bandage she had made to squeeze tightly onto the wound.
At once Sapphire bit down onto the stone block as she cried out and ended up shattering the brick in half much to the shock of Snowbreeze who gawked at her while the Alicorn spit out fragments of the brick between pained gasps and soft whimpers.
The Pegasus knew this was merely a temporary fix though and as if to further enforce this fact, the fabric was already being stained with the Alicorn's blood. "Okay, I'm gonna have to leave you here for a little while but I'll be back, okay?" She said in a whisper as she looked to her friend who had placed a hoof on her cheek and was looking at her curiously.
"I never noticed before but you're kinda cute when you're all worried about me and stuff." she said softly before she groaned out in pain.
"Oh dear Luna, don't go delirious on me now." Snowbreeze remarked aloud as she dismissed the remark almost immediately as the sideeffects of her losing so much blood while she walked up to the door, looked quickly for anypony watching, and quickly closed the door behind her as she snuck along the streets, keeping an eye out for any unicorn's dressed in black.
The Pegasus looked about the streets for anypony but quickly realized that she had no idea where to look. It was then she spotted it, the disguise that she had tossed aside, it was being used by a homeless mare who seemed to be using it to clean off her obviously broken teapot.
"Uh, hey. Could I borrow that outfit you're using to clean off that, uh, teapot?" She asked in an uneasy tone.
"No, mine!" The mare exclaimed in a mildly crazed voice.
Snowbreeze sighed aloud in annoyance before she spoke again. "Okay, look. That outfit was actually mine but I was ticked off at my friend and tossed it away but I really need it now." Snowbreeze asked in the most kindhearted manner she could muster.
"Mine!" the mare exclaimed once again, clearly refusing to relinquish what she saw as her newest cleaning towel.
Upon hearing this, the Pegasus's patience with this mare was all but gone now as she glared at her. "Okay, I tried being nice and asking for it so now I'm just going to take it by force!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she latched her mouth on one end of the disguise and attempted to yank it away from the mare only for the mare to latch her own mouth on it and begin pulling on it herself.
"Give it up you loony mare!" Snowbreeze exclaimed between gritted teeth.
"Never!" The mare exclaimed back through gritted teeth as well.
The tug of war lasted a brief thirty seconds before a loud ripping sound erupted out and the outfit tore in half at the seams. Snowbreeze spit out the fit and gawked in both shock and outrage as the disguise that Sapphire's mother had worked so hard to make for them was no longer usable.
"You stupid leadhoof! You ruined it!" Snowbreeze exclaimed angrily to the mare who simply huffed at her, tossed the torn outfit to the ground and walked away.
Snowbreeze was just about to go and beat the horsefeathers out of the crazy mare when suddenly from nowhere, a pink face suddenly popped into existence before her eyes. "Surprise!" The pink mare exclaimed suddenly which caused the Pegasus to stumble away in shock and fall to her rump.
"Wh-Who are you and where did you come from?!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she struggled to steady her breathing along with her heart rate which felt like it was pumping at two hundred miles per hour.
"I'm Pinkie Pie and I guess I'm supposed to be your super special spirit guide or something!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed enthusiastically as she bounced over to the Pegasus.
"Wow, talk about straight to the point. Rainbow Dash was a whole lot more mysterious about this spirit guide thing." Snowbreeze remarked aloud as her breathing and heart rate finally seemed to allow her to stand up to all four hooves and look at the hyperactive pink mare.
"I can be mysterious too! Wanna see?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed and seemed to dart to the left and into some random ponies makeshift cardboard box house with a single drape of cloth covering it. "Psst! Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie and I'm supposed to be your super special spirit guide or something!" The pink mare exclaimed in a loud whisper.
Upon witnessing this, Snowbreeze merely rolled her eyes and sighed aloud. "Look, I don't have time for this! My friend is in really big trouble and if I don't find her a doctor soon, she's going to die!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she looked about the street and sighed once more aloud.
At once the pink mare popped from inside the box and rushed over to Snowbreeze. "Wow, that sounds really bad!" She remarked aloud with a frown for about two seconds before the same go-lucky grin appeared back on her face.
"You bet it is. Now are you here to help me find a doctor or are you just going to pull anymore stupid stunts like you were a few minutes ago?" Snowbreeze asked the pink mare calmly despite her tolerance of the mare already at its end.
"You bet I am. I know everypony in this city but I have one question: What city are we in exactly?" She asked curiously to which the Pegasus slammed a hoof against her face, groaned aloud in frustration, and walked away.
"Why couldn't the element of kindness contacted me or something?" She muttered aloud as she trotted away. "Instead I get some stupid leadhoof."
"What's a leadhoof?" Pinkie Pie suddenly asked as she materialized out of no where in front of the Pegasus, once again causing her to stumble backwards in shock and surprise.
Snowbreeze recovered much more quickly this time around as she stood to all four hooves, gave an irritated growl, and walked past the mare. "It's what you are! Now leave me alone, I need to find a doctor." She replied as she continued to walk away from the pink mare only for her catch up and bounce along side of her.
"Huh, I don't think my hooves are made out of lead." She mused aloud. "Then again, I don't really know what they are made of so maybe they are made of lead!" She continued on. "Or maybe they're made out of that stuff that gummy bears are made out of…" The Pink mare's rant went on for roughly another two minutes as she bounced along side of the Pegasus until Snowbreeze could take no more.
"Shut the buck up!" She screamed into the party mare's face before she continued walking, not bothering to care that Pinkie Pie's mane had deflated with a frown as she walked on. "What the buck Rainbow Dash saw in a leadhoof like you, I'll never know…" She added bitterly.
At the mere mention of the cyan blue Pegasus's name, the party mare's mane reinflated with a balloon like sound and quickly bounced to catch up to the Pegasus once more. "Oh don't get me started on me and Dashie!" She exclaimed only for her face to turn into what Snowbreeze thought was some kind of dreamy stare. "Every night with Dashie was a party." She remarked aloud in a dreamy tone.
"You can skip on the details… I really don't wanna know." Snowbreeze replied uneasily as she continued to walk down the street and was about to take a left when she saw several unicorns dreamed in jet black clothing walking towards her. The Pegasus let out a sharp gasp before she dove around the corner, clamped her mouth onto the pink pony's tail and yanked her back as well.
"Why are we hiding? Are we playing hide and go seek with those unicorns dressed in-Mmmph,mmmph!" She began to ramble on until Snowbreeze jammed a hoof in her mouth, silencing the mare.
"Quiet! They'll hear you!" Snowbreeze hissed as the two hid in a cardboard box next to the streetside.
Pinkie Pie yanked the Pegasus's hoof from her mouth and began to snort and laugh. "Silly filly! Only you can see and hear me!" She exclaimed with a smirk.
Once she watched the unicorns walk by she let out an annoyed sigh. "Wonderful." She remarked bitterly with an eyeroll.
"I know right?! I can be as loud as I want and no pony but you will hear me!" Pinkie Pie shouted at the top of her lungs which caused Snowbreeze to glare at her.
"Ugh, I'll even take the element of honesty at this point, just make her go away!" Snowbreeze pleaded to the skies only to seemingly receive no answer.
"Oh! I know this street! Come on, this way!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she darted to the left only for her head to crop back from behind the corner of the building. "You coming or what?" She asked curiously.
"I'd take that kind of public humiliation over dealing with you anyday of the week." Snowbreeze replied irritably and sighed.
"What is that supposed to mean?" The pink mare asked with a confused expression.
"N-Nothing!" The Pegasus replied quickly with a mild blush. "So, what's this way anyways?" she asked as she began to follow the party mare down the street though she often looked about herself for any signs of more dark clothed unicorns.
"The doctor, silly!" Pinkie Pie chirped as she bounced along.
upon hearing these words, the Pegasus's eyes lit up in shock for a moment before she darted next to the pink mare. "Why didn't you say so?! Get a move on!" Snowbreeze exclaimed urgently.
"What's your hurry? The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, lets enjoy the day!" The pink mare replied seemingly forgotten the situation with her friend.
"My friend bleeding out from her side is the hurry!" Snowbreeze snapped angrily.
"Oh, right! Silly me!" Pinkie Pie chirped and began to bounce a lot faster much to Snowbreeze's relief.
The two ponies finally arrived at what Snowbreeze assumed to be the doctor's house but this house looked far from what a professional doctor would work in as the rundown shack consisted of old wood, cracked windows, and the faint smell of something the Pegasus wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was she was smelling.
"So this is it?" Snowbreeze asked curiously.
"I'm super sure!" Pinkie Pie replied enthusiastically only to suddenly look unsure a mere second later. "Or was it the house down the other street?" she mused aloud much to the aggravation of the snow white Pegasus.
"Is this it or not, Pinkie?!" Snowbreeze snapped with a glare.
"Yep! I'm completely sure!" Pinkie Pie replied with a wide smile.
"Whatever…" The Pegasus replied as she knocked on the door. When nopony answered, the Pegasus's glare turned lethal as she glared at Pinkie Pie who smiled nervously at her. "There's nopony living here you stupid leadhoof!" She roared as she began to walk away. "I can't believe I wasted all this time following you! Now Sapphire's going to die and I have no idea where to look!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as her voice cracked while she plopped her rump to the ground, slammed both hooves over her face and began to sob loudly.
"Who's out there? I already told you that I don't know where this 'Alicorn' is so just leave me in peace!" An male yet cranky voice exclaimed from within the house which caused Snowbreeze to snap her head up and look towards the house.
Without another thought she ran up to the door and knocked on it. "Are you a doctor? Please, my friend needs help! She's hurt really bad and she won't make it without your help!" She exclaimed to the door.
"I'm not a doctor anymore so go away and leave me alone!" The cranky voice replied followed by silence.
"Oh, I know! mention the name 'Melinda' and he should know her!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed eagerly.
With no other ideas, the Pegasus decided to do as Pinkie Pie instructed. "Does the name "Melinda mean anything to you?" She called out only to get no response. She once again looked to pinkie pie who grinned sheepishly before her eyes lit up.
"Oh silly me! It was Matilda!" She exclaimed.
Snowbreeze gave an aggravated sigh before she spoke again. "What about Matilda?" She asked aloud.
At first it seemed as if this hadn't worked either until the door slowly opened to a crack and a donkey's head looked through the crack at her. "How do you know that name?" He asked suspiciously.
"Or maybe it was Melisa… or maybe it was-Mmph,mmph!" The Pink mare began to say until Snowbreeze shoved her hoof into the mare's mouth once again, just out of eyesight to the donkey.
"Look, My friend needs help and you're the only one around here I know of who at least has medical knowledge. Please… she's going to die!" The Pegasus pleaded desperately.
The donkey looked at her for a few more moments before he shook his head. "Sorry kid, I can't help you." He replied before he closed the door completely.
"Wow, I was sure he would help you. Especially after that promise his dad made him make all those years ago. Heck, every generation of this family did when they took of the doctor job." Pinkie Pie remarked aloud in a confused tone.
Though this seemed like just yet another random ramble by the pink mare, it did cause the Pegasus to think of the kind of promise her mother taught her.
"Now remember Snowbreeze! When a pony makes a Pinkie Pie Promise, they have to keep it!" A light green Pegasus with a jeweled rainbow gem cutiemark said to her foal.
"But mom, what if they break it?" Snowbreeze asked curiously.
Snowbreeze's mother then turned to look at her daughter with a sense of seriousness in her eyes. "Sweetie, nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise. That's a fact!"
"You Pinkie Pie Promised!" Snowbreeze shouted suddenly without bothering to think what she was saying fully through. For all she knew, the donkey would have no idea what she was talking about.
At first there was no response but once again, the door creaked open part way and the donkey's head popped out this time. "How in Equestria could you possibly know about that?" He asked in astonishment.
"Doesn't matter! The fact is that you Pinkie Pie Promised to help ponies in need and if you don't help my friend now, you'll be breaking that promise!" Snowbreeze exclaimed firmly to the donkey.
The donkey stared at her for a few moments longer before he closed his eyes, slunk his head into the house and closed the door. At first, Snowbreeze thought her ace in the hole had failed her until the door swung open revealing a dark brown donkey with a doctor's saddlebag strapped along his back. "Okay kid, where's this pony who needs my help?" He asked calmly much to the delight of both Pinkie Pie and Snowbreeze.
Snowbreeze opened the door to the abandoned house and no sooner the donkey laid eyes on Sapphire, his eyes widened in shock. "Wait a second, isn't that the Alicorn thing those unicorns in black are looking for?" He asked as he looked to Snowbreeze as she closed the door behind them.
Upon hearing this, Snowbreeze was at a loss for words for a short time before she finally managed to find the words. "Y-Yes but she needs help and you Pinkie Pie Promised!" Snowbreeze stuttered out only to notice the donkey turning back towards the door.
"No way kid, not even a Pinkie Pie Promise is worth helping a wanted fugitive. I value my life thank you very much." The donkey said as he reached to open the door only for Snowbreeze to jump in front of him.
"Fine! Forget the stupid promise!" Snowbreeze exclaimed much to the outrage of Pinkie Pie who glared at her.
"Hey! Pinkie Pie Promises aren't stupid!" She exclaimed angrily but was ignored as Snowbreeze continued to speak.
"Look, I know this looks bad but she's actually not as bad as those unicorns in black make her out to be, in fact she's helped many ponies in the time we've traveled together!" Snowbreeze pleaded with a desperate look in her eyes as she looked at the Donkey who sighed once more.
"Even if she wasn't, those unicorns in black mean business and if I'm caught helping her, I'm as good as dead." He remarked as he attempted to reach for the door again only for the Pegasus to push him back lightly.
"Look at her! She's dying! I don't care if you never want to see us again but please help her!" Snowbreeze shouted as she pointed to Sapphire who groaned softly.
The Donkey looked towards the injured Alicorn then, back to the door, then once more back to Sapphire, and sighed aloud. "Bucking conscience is going to be the end of me." The donkey remarked aloud bitterly as he turned around, walked over to Sapphire and began to examine her wound. "How long has she been like this?" He asked aloud as he began to check the Alicorn's vitals.
"I don't know, an hour maybe, two tops?" Snowbreeze answered uneasily.
"Hmm…" The donkey muttered as he began to undo the bandage to see the damage. "This is some really well done bandaging you've done here, Kid. Where'd you learn to do it?" He asked as he carefully removed the bandage.
"Uh well, I…" Snowbreeze began to say only to trail off at first until she spoke again. "Back in New Cloudsdale, I was in what you could call a bad crowd and well we got into fights a lot and I seemed to have a knack for patching my buddies up so they put me in charge of that." Snowbreeze replied though she seemed very nervous about revealing such information in the presence of her friend even though she was most likely in no condition to even properly understand her.
"Bad crowd you say? Well at least something good came out of hanging around with a bunch of Ironwings." He remarked much to the snow white Pegasus's shock.
"How did you know about them?" She asked uneasily.
"A few of the members hung around town and before they bucked up my life, I was able to witness their handiwork at patching each other first hoof. Your style of patching your friend up is identical to theirs so I just went out on a limb and guessed right, I suppose." The donkey replied as he finally managed to fully remove the bandage around Sapphire's side and got a clear look at the damage done to her.
"Wait, how did they manage to do that?" She asked curiously.
"Ancient history, kid. You're friend here looks like she got hit directly by a unicorn's ironflare spell. Darn lucky she survived the initial hit much less the damage she took from the blast. I'd have to say your patchwork is what's kept her alive so far. You should be proud, kid." The Donkey replied dismissing her question and commenting on the damage.
"Is she going to make it?" Snowbreeze asked apprehensively though she genuinely appreciated the doctor's complement, she was far more worried for he friend's health at the moment.
The Donkey sighed as he opened his saddlepack, took out a sewing kit, a needle, and a small vial of clear liquid. "I can't say for sure but I'll do what I can." he replied as he dipped the needle into the vial, withdrew some of its contents, and stuck the needle just outside of the affected area.
At once, Sapphire let out a high pitched cry much to the panic of her friend but not to the Doctor. "Don't worry, the anesthetic will kick in momentarily." He said calmly as he ran a hoof along Sapphire's cheek as she looked at him though she looked as if she was barely conscious at this point.
Moments later, the Alicorn's expression became relieved as the agonizing pain she had endured for the last couple hours slowly faded away and while not completely gone, was far more tolerable than before. No sooner the doctor was sure his medicine had fully kicked in, he stuck the needle into the skin just outside the wound and began to stitch it up.
Time seemed to crawl by as Snowbreeze paced back and forth, often looking to her friend's face to make sure she was still breathing. Eventually, the doctor stood up and walked away. "How is she?" Snowbreeze asked nervously.
"Well, I've never operated on any Alicorns before but I'll be danged if she isn't one of the toughest fillies I've worked with. I can't say for sure if she'll make it or not but we'll know in a week at the very least." He said calmly.
"What happens in a week?" Snowbreeze asked though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.
"Well.. she either lives or dies. Simple as that." He remarked morbidly with one last glance to the Alicorn before he walked past Snowbreeze and to the door. "I'll be back to check on her daily." he added.
"Wait, so you're going to keep on helping us?" Snowbreeze asked in disbelief.
"Yes, kid. I'm going to keep on helping you. Celestia knows why though. I'd be better off leaving you two and going straight to those unicorns but I suppose its just not in me to be that cruel." He replied with a soft smile before he walked out and closed the door behind him.
The night crawled by and went and the next morning Snowbreeze awoke and was quick to check on her friend and much to her relief seemed to be sleeping soundly. "Don't you quit on me, Sapphire. I didn't let you drag my flank half way through this nation just for you to give up now." She said softly as she ran a hoof through the Alicorn's mane gently before she looked to the cracked window.
Snowbreeze looked back at her friend with a worried expression. "I'll be back. I need to get you some food to eat for when you wake up." She said softly before she silently walked away and out the door after she made sure no pony was looking.
The Pegasus was sneaking through town square when she noticed that quite the crowd had gathered. At first she decided to ignore it, that is until a certain pink mare spoke up. "Oooh, I wonder what they brought every pony out here for? Is it some kind of party?" The Pink mare remarked aloud excitedly.
Before, she would have just ignored the pink pony's rambles and went about for whatever she was looking for but after yesterday, she began to wonder if there wasn't some kind of secret method to the pink mare's randomness since despite her being an annoying pain the flank, she did end up leading her to somepony who saved Sapphire's life. Suspecting she had appeared here for a reason, she planted her rump down next to the element of laughter. "I doubt it." Snowbreeze remarked bitterly.
"Ponies of Manehatten!" One of the unicorns exclaimed aloud in a deep commanding voice that Sapphire immediately recognized despite the fact she hadn't heard it in over four months. It was a voice she wanted to forget but couldn't. "We come here today not as invaders but as your allies and friends in arms!" The unicorn exclaimed to the crowd. "We are looking for what we call an Alicorn. This filly has features of a Pegasus and a unicorn!" He continued and paused to let the crowd take this in. "She is a threat to you all and must be caught at all costs!"
"Ha! What a load of horseapples!" Snowbreeze exclaimed to the pink mare only for her to look at her and hush her.
"Shh! I think he's getting to the good part!" Pinkie Pie whispered as she turned her attention back to the unicorn in black.
"If we find out that any of you are harboring this fugitive, you will be considered an accomplice to her crimes and punished just as she will be!" The unicorn continued only to stop once more before continuing. "At sundown tonight, three of my best unicorns will be casting a citywide detection spell which will reveal the location of this Alicorn! At which point we will know if any of you are guilty of such an act! Rest assured that you have nothing to fear if you are innocent! However, if we find you guilty like this pony right here…" The unicorn said as an earth pony was dragged on stage.
"Hey! That's the jerk who tried to sell me that lame blueberry milkshake!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in shock as she looked at the stallion.
"Take your horns and shove them up your tail-holes you Spikeheads!" The stallion exclaimed angrily which was met with offended gasps from the crowd along with boos and insults.
"The punishment is death!" The unicorn exclaimed aloud which instantly silenced the crowd as one of the other unicorns in black began to charge a spell only for the lead unicorn to halt them. "However, we are not without mercy! Look to this crowd of unicorns Pegasi and earth ponies, if you recognize the fugitive our intelligence told us you were harboring, no matter how brief it was, we will spare your life!" He exclaimed more to the crowd than to the earth pony.
The crowd soon began to mutter about themselves as they dared not to move for fear of being called out as the mystery pony even though they were innocent. As much as Snowbreeze wanted to run, she couldn't will her body to move out of pure fear of being pointed out by the stallion but at the same time she knew he would be able to spot her out in this crowd easily. She was doomed if she ran and doomed if she stayed.
"Oooh! Now its getting good! I love this show! The actors really are good at their jobs!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly.
"P-Pinkie you stupid leadhoof… this isn't some act! They are really going to kill him unless he points me out in this crowd!" Snowbreeze whispered as quietly as possible to the pink mare who looked at her with a confused look at first until it dawned on her.
"Wait, they can't be serious! That would be downright evil!" The Pink mare exclaimed in shock.
"You guessed it Pinkie… they are evil. The Order Of The Dark Horn is pure evil." Snowbreeze whispered once again as quietly as possible.
"Wait! Those guys are members of the dark horn?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she hopped to all four hooves and gawked at the snow white pegasus. "No way! Twilight, me and our friends stopped those meanie-pants ponies a long time ago!"
The stallion looked to the crowd back and forth each time his gaze stopped on the Pegasus, Snowbreeze took a sharp breath expecting him to point her out but he hadn't yet despite the fact he had stopped to look straight at her in the crowd three times already. "Our patience grows thin, earth pony! Do you see them or not?!" The unicorn exclaimed at which point the stallion's gaze stopped dead on Snowbreeze much to her horror.
"I gotta run, I gotta run now!" Snowbreeze thought to herself frantically yet her body seemed to be frozen in fear since she couldn't will it to move as the stallion continued to stare at her.
"No...She's not here." The stallion finally replied as he hung his head low much to Snowbreeze's shock.
"Did he not see me? No, he was looking dead at me! So why didn't he point me out to save his own hide?!" Snowbreeze thought to herself dramatically.
"Very well, your fate is sealed!" He unicorn exclaimed at which point the other unicorn charged up his spell and literally incinerated the earth pony in front of the crowd much to everypony's horror. Cries of shock, terror and panic rang through the town square now.
"Silence!" The lead unicorn roared which instantly quieted the crowd upon hearing this.
Snowbreeze stared on in horror at the corpse of the dead stallion, a mixture of guilt, rage, and sadness filling her as she seemed to be unable to tear her eyes away from the smoldering corpse. "Why didn't he do it? He saw me, I know he did! So why? Why didn't he point me out to save his own hide?" she thought to herself as tears swelled in her eyes.
"Look upon this stallion well, citizens of Manehatten! This is the fate of all those who harbor the Alicorn and her friend!" He exclaimed as he looked over the crowd before he continued. "As we have said before, we are not without mercy! If you bring us the Alicorn before sundown, we will not only spare your life but also grant the ponies responsible for bringing us the Alicorn and/or her friend a generous reward of two million bits!" He exclaimed to the crowd which was once again muttering aloud. "Even if you have been harboring the Alicorn until now, we will overlook your transgressions and provide this reward!" The lead unicorn added.
"Oh wowie, i really hope that doctor donkey doesn't turn you guys in!" Pinkie Pie remarked which caused the Pegasus to look at the pink pony whose mane was now deflated with a sad look upon her face.
"Thank you captain obvious." Snowbreeze remarked uneasily as the crowd began to disburse, some who had openly announced they would be the first to find the Alicorn and her friend.
Snowbreeze returned to the abandoned home to find Sapphire awake. "Snowbreeze? Where did you go? You had me worried." Sapphire remarked aloud weakly as the Pegasus rushed over to her.
"No time to explain! We have to get you out of town before sundown!" Snowbreeze exclaimed frantically as she attempted to help her friend to all four hooves.
"Why? What's going on?" Sapphire asked in a confused tone.
"Those unicorns in black have the whole city after you, that's what." A voice that could belong to none other than the doctor as he walked through the door and closed the door behind him.
"S-Stay away from her! I won't let you turn her in!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she stood in front of Sapphire to defend her.
"Calm your hooves, kid. I'm not here to turn you or her in." He said calmly much to the surprise of the Pegasus.
"So why are you here then?" Snowbreeze asked suspiciously, not fully trusting the donkey's words.
"I'm here to check on her or did you forget I said I would stop by to check on her." The donkey replied and sighed when Snowbreeze still didn't look as if she trusted him still. "My specie may be defined in the equestrian dictionary as 'ass' but it doesn't mean I am one, kid." The doctor added in an mildly offended tone.
"I'm still not clear on what happened. How does The Order Of The Dark Horn have the entire city out looking for me?" Sapphire asked weakly.
The doctor and Pegasus looked at one another briefly before Snowbreeze began to explain all that happened in town square. "And then… they killed him." Snowbreeze finished much to Sapphire's horror at which point she gasped aloud, placed a hoof over her mouth, and fought the urge to cry though much to her own shock, Snowbreeze had the full waterworks going.
"I still don't get it..." She sobbed softly.
"Don't get what?" Sapphire asked as she placed a hoof on the sobbing Pegasus's shoulder. "He saw me, I know he did! Why didn't the stupid leadhoof turn me in to save his own hide? WHY?!" She began to say softly only to shriek her final word as she abruptly bucked the nearest wall as hard as she could as she continued to sob. "He treated me like dirt when I was in his cafe… served me some sour milk and blueberry milkshake, kicked me out when I asked for my money back… so why? Why would he suddenly go all noble when he hated me so much?" She asked aloud shakily as tears dripped from her cheeks to the cold floor.
"Sometimes kid, things aren't always as clear cut as they look." The doctor began to say calmly as he walked up to the sobbing Pegasus and looked her in the eyes.
Snowbreeze sniffed loudly as she wiped her nose and looked at the donkey. "Rainbow Dash said something similar." She said aloud softly.
"Rainbow who?" The doctor asked curiously, he wasn't sure if he heard her right or not.
"Nevermind. We need to get Sapphire out of town before sundown or they'll know exactly where she is thanks to that massive detection spell their gonna cast." Snowbreeze replied although the donkey was staring out the cracked window at the sky now.
"Uh, kid? What kind of spell did you say they were gonna cast?" The doctor asked her uneasily.
"A massive detection spell." Snowbreeze said still not sure why he was looking out the window until she saw it herself.
"Kid, I'm not unicorn but I was on the frontlines near the end of the three hundred year war and I can tell you that the spell they are casting is no detection spell." The doctor replied uneasily.
"Then what kind of spell is it? And why are they casting it now? It's not even close to sundown!" She asked as a deep sense of dread began to overcome her.
It was at this point that Sapphire herself limped over to the cracked window and gasped. "They're going to incinerate the whole city!" Sapphire exclaimed aloud in horror much to the shock of the other two.
The three rushed out the door to look up. Beams of magic were still being channeled into the giant ball of flaming magic from three points in the city.
"We're all going to be roasted like that stallion!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in sheer terror as she looked to Sapphire only to gasp.
"No more innocent ponies are going to die today…" Sapphire said aloud only her voice seemed to have an eerie echo to it as her normally sapphire colored eyes now bore a blank white glow.
Right before Snowbreeze and the doctor's eyes, Sapphire's horn began to glow as the outline of her body seemed to blur as if multiple versions of her were standing in the same place until two other ponies phased from the center to the left and right. An earth pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn now stood before the Pegasus and Donkey for a short time before the three versions of Sapphire seemed to beam upwards in three Sapphire colored beams of magic towards all three sources of the spells being cast.
"How did she do that?" The doctor asked in a stunned tone as he looked to the Pegasus.
"You're asking me?" Snowbreeze replied looking just as stunned as the doctor was.
The unicorn version of Sapphire was the first to engage one of the unicorns, blasting him with a beam of magic so powerful a sapphire colored stream could be seen from the other two points the unicorns were casting followed by the abrupt canceling of the respective unicorn's spell.
Aware that something was amiss the second unicorn turned around just in time to see the Pegasus version of Sapphire jump to the skies and began to circle him. The unicorn began firing his spells at the filly in rapid succession though none of his spells seemed to have hit her and soon found himself swept away in a massive tornado atop the building.
The third unicorn was already in combat with the earth pony version of Sapphire, firing spells in rapid succession at the earth pony, each blast causing fragments of the rooftop to fly up as Sapphire narrowly evaded each one, moving with such speed that would give some of the fastest Pegasi in Equestria a run for their money.
However, just as it seemed the earth pony had the unicorn, he managed to get a lucky shot on her just before he was bucked fifty feet off the rooftop, hitting the exact spot the doctor had stitched up the day before. All three versions of Sapphire gave a shrill cry of agony in unison as the wound burst open anew in each of their sides and began to bleed profusely.
Despite this, the three versions of Sapphire soon zipped back to where the Alicorn had previously stood. Both the doctor and Snowbreeze immediately noticed the stream of blood trickling down the Alicorn's side but Sapphire wasn't finished.
The Alicorn's horn began to glow so brightly that magical sparks began to spurt and sputter from her horn. It was then that Sapphire's glowing white eyes gazed upon her friend and the donkey.
"Find some cover." was all she said before she turned to look at the skies once more.
At once, Snowbreeze grabbed the donkey by the tail and dragged him inside the abandoned building. "H-Hold on a second! She's bleeding out fatally! If I don't treat that wound as soon as possible, she's going to drop over dead before she even casts that spell she's channeling!" The doctor exclaimed as he attempted to rush back outside only for Snowbreeze to clamp her jaws around the donkey's tail and flapped her wings with all her might to halt him in his tracks.
"T-Trust me doc, you don't wanna be caught in the crossfire when she's like this!" Snowbreeze exclaimed between gritted teeth.
Sapphire's spell was now nearing its peak in power only for the Alicorn's strength to falter for a moment before she quickly regained it and prevented herself from falling forward. It was then that her horn seemingly exploded with magical energy in a wave of pure sapphire colored magic.
Meanwhile in town square, the lead unicorn looked on in shock as he witnessed the spell his unicorns were casting suddenly disappear and a few minutes later saw a tidal wave roughly fifty feet tall of pure magical sapphire colored energy rushing towards him "Blast that Alicorn!" He exclaimed fiercely as he witnessed several of his fellow unicorns consumed in the sapphire colored wave and seemingly evaporate.
The lead unicorn channeled magic into his horn and disappeared in a flash of magic mere seconds before the wave of magic consumed the exact position he was standing in.
Sapphire's eyes returned to normal and at once she fell to straightforward. The Alicorn's eyesight quickly began to dim as she glanced to her side which was coated in blood as more pooled next to her, then to a pair of snow white and dark brown hooves before her vision faded completely.
Sapphire's eyes fluttered open weakly as she looked about herself, she was in a hospital room with a life monitor beep aloud to the beat of her heart. She then looked a little to downward to see Snowbreeze who once again seemed to have fallen asleep and she could only assume that she hadn't left her side since she was brought here, yet she looked different somehow.
"S-Snowbreeze?" She called out weakly yet no sooner she had barely uttered her name, the Pegasus's eyes snapped open and looked at her.
"She's awake! Doc, she's awake!" Snowbreeze exclaimed at the top of her lungs. It was then that a chorus of hooves could be heard trampling towards her room and soon, a familiar donkey face met her vision along with five faces she didn't recognize.
"I can't believe it…" was all the doctor could say in awe.
"Wh-Where am I?" She asked aloud weakly.
"You're in Manehatten's best hospital, Sapphire." The doctor said warmly as he walked over to her and began to check her vitals.
"H-How long have I been out?" She asked.
"Almost a year." The doctor remarked calmly much to Sapphires shock.
"A year?!" She attempted to exclaim yet it only came out as a hoarse whisper.
"Yeah, you missed my birthday and yours, you sleepyhead!" Snowbreeze joked with a smirk in an attempt to lighten the blow of the shocking news "It's incredible. You've been awake for less than ten minutes and your vitals are reading as if you're a perfectly healthy young mare. We had almost given up hope that you'd ever awaken." The doctor remarked aloud and sighed still in shock.
"In that case, I need to go." Sapphire replied as she attempted to sit up only for the doctor forcefully lay her back down.
"Don't even think about it. You have just woken up after nearly a year of being more or less dead to the world. We need to keep you under observation for at least a month." The doctor said firmly to which the Alicorn sighed aloud in annoyance. "Doctor's orders" He added with a smirk.
Once the ponies were finally satisfied with checking out Sapphire for the fifth time today, they finally gave the two fillies some time alone. For a time, neither said anything, the soft ticking of the clock against the wall and beeping of Sapphire's heart monitor the only sounds to break the silence between the two until one finally spoke.
"You grew out your mane and tail." Sapphire remarked suddenly which caused the snow white pegasus to suddenly twiddle with the left strand of hair hanging down over her shoulder with a mildly embarrassed blush. "It looks good on you." She added a few moments later.
"Really? Huh, I was actually thinking about getting my mane and tail trimmed down. All this hair can really get in your face when you're flying." She remarked aloud with a smirk. "But I guess I could keep it like this. Guess it's not too bad…" She remarked aloud though more to herself than Sapphire.
This remark earned a soft giggle from the young mare only to take note of one startling fact, she was taller. "Just now noticed huh? You sprouted up like a weed in your sleep. Grew a whole foot over the past year according to the doc." Snowbreeze remarked with a smirk.
"Past year… that would make us both seventeen then?" Sapphire remarked aloud in mildly shock that she was actually older now than she was before she passed out.
"Eh-heh, actually, I'm a few months ahead of ya. I'm already eighteen." Snowbreeze replied casually much to Sapphire shock.
"Wait, hows that possible?" Sapphire asked looking thoroughly confused as she looked over herself under the blankets.
"Well, I guess you missed two birthdays then. We landed in Manehatten a month before we were supposed to hit seventeen, remember?" The Pegasus remarked aloud as she hopped off the chair and walked over to her.
"Oh yeah…" Sapphire said as she finally recalled this fact as well as she continued to look over herself in awe.
"Oh yeah, those grew as well." Snowbreeze remarked with a smirk at which point Sapphire slammed the blanket down and blushed crimson at her friend.
"R-Really Snowbreeze?! Did you have to comment on those!" Sapphire flustered out her blush seemingly becoming redder by the second much to the amusement of her friend who couldn't help but fall to the ground laughing.
"Haha, you should see the look on your face! Priceless! haha!" Snowbreeze exclaimed between bouts of laughter.
"Haha, so funny, Snowbreeze." Sapphire remarked sarcastically her blush still prominent.
The snow white pegasus managed to finally stop laughing and stand up. "No but seriously, I kinda couldn't help but see them since they had to take your blankets off nearly every other week to examine you." Snowbreeze remarked in the most serious face she could muster only for said serious face to contort into a smirk followed shortly by another bout if laughter at the Alicorn's expense.
"C-Can we stop talking about my teat size already?!" Sapphire exclaimed as her face burned bright red once again. "And what kinds of examines?" she added curiously.
"Oh you know, the usual, anal examines, pelvic examines, the works." The Pegasus remarked casually and did her best to hold in her laughter as the Alicorn immediately began to examine herself under the blankets only to suddenly hear Snowbreeze's laughter ring out once again at which point she yanked the blanket off her head and glared down at the laughing Pegasus.
"There were no pelvic or anal exams...were there?" Sapphire asked with a glare at her friend.
"You're just too easy!" Snowbreeze exclaimed between laughs before she managed to stop laughing, stood back up, and cleared her throat. "No, but seriously, they had to do a pelvic examination on you once. Something about checking to make sure everything was working alright down there." Snowbreeze remarked aloud in a serious tone though Sapphire was sure she was going to crack up laughing any minute though when she didn't, the Alicorn gave an overly long winded sigh.
"Were you in here when they did the.." Sapphire began to ask only to trail off as if she couldn't bring herself to ask the question.
"When they did the pelvic exam?" She asked and when Sapphire nodded, it was Snowbreeze's turn to blush crimson. "Oh, no,no,no,no! You're my best friend Sapphire but I'm not into you like that! Besides, I have some common decency ya know!" She exclaimed in a mildly panicked tone.
"I wasn't asking if you stayed and stared at it, you gutterbrain!" Sapphire snapped with a blush of her own.
"Oh, uh, well nah, I didn't stay in here while they did it. They said I could but you know me." Snowbreeze replied with a nervous laugh.
Another awkward silence ensued between the two for a short time until the question that had be plaguing the back of Sapphire's mind rushed its way to the front at which point she asked. "How did we end up here and why is the doctor donkey like the head honcho of this place or something?"
"Oh, wow. That's a really loaded question, Sapphire." Snowbreeze remarked with a light chuckle.
"Well, we got a full month since I'm stuck here." The Alicorn replied with an eye roll and a sigh.
"Well I guess I should start at what happened shortly after you passed out on the ground and all." She began…
"Sapphire?! Sapphire, say something!" Snowbreeze exclaimed frantically as she shook her unconscious friend only for the donkey to shove her to the side.
"Sorry to be forceful with you kid but I need to take care of this now!"" He exclaimed as he reached into his doctor's bag, pulled out a small bottle, popped the lid open, and poured its contents onto her side, just outside of the wound. As the dark blue liquid seeped over the wound, it seemed to suddenly became hard as stone as the bleeding suddenly came to a halt with what looked like a solid flat and blue plate over the wound.
"Wh-What did you do to her?" Snowbreeze asked curiously.
"It's something I had from when I worked on the frontlines. They called it fix-a-cut. When this magical chemical comes into contact with blood, it solidifies, often completely sealing the wound and allowing the soldier to return to the fight less than five minutes after they were injured.
"It healed her?" Snowbreeze asked hopefully.
"Hardly." The doctor replied bitterly. "Problem is that this stuff only works for an hour at most before it turns to mush. At which point and time the wound bleeds out as if nothing was ever done to it." He remarked before he turned to look at the Pegasus. "Point is, this is only a temporary fix, she needs a full team of a professional doctors if she is to survive at this point and I'll be frank, even with a full team, her chances of survival are less than one percent. She's simply lost too much blood at this point for me to think she has a better chance than that."
"Never tell me the odds!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she attempted to snap her wings open only to let out a shrill cry of agony no sooner she had. "B-Buck! I forgot these things were broken!" She winced aloud.
The donkey walked over to examine the Pegasus's wings. "How in Equestria could you forget about this?! The only thing holding them together as far as I can tell is your skin!" He exclaimed as he noticed the dark red spots which showed signs of bruising and if the doctor had to guess, the faint white thing poking out barely was her wingbone.
"R-Remember me telling you about that bad crowd I hung out with back in New Cloudsdale?" Snowbreeze stuttered out, the pain causing her to wince between words. "Wings were the first things we would go for in gang wars."
"But how are you able to ignore the pain so well?" He asked aloud in astonishment.
"A-After the tenth time, you get used to the pain and learn to ignore it in the heat of the moment." The Pegasus answered. "That and I was so worried about Sapphire that even if my wings were bugging me, I didn't care."
It was then that two homeless unicorns were walking about. Without bothering to think things fully though, the donkey rushed to the two unicorns. "Excuse me but I am in need of your assistance!" He said in a firm tone as the unicorn's exchanged worried looks.
"D-Doodle?! What is this?!" A nurse pony exclaimed in shock as two unicorns rushed by her, Sapphire being held in a field of magic being channeled between the two and closely followed by Snowbreeze and the donkey.
"The filly needs treatment stat! I want some of the best doctors and staff in the operating room!" The Doctor exclaimed before he rushed after Snowbreeze and stopped her before she walked into the O-R. "I'm Sorry, kid but professional's only." he said calmly.
"H-Hey! I'm her best friend!" Snowbreeze exclaimed, clearly offended by being forced to wait outside.
"Even if you were her sister, you can't come inside. I'm sorry." The Donkey replied before he ran into the O-R as the two unicorn's walked out a short time later.
Dr.Doodle quickly looked over Sapphire taking note of the fact that the chemical he had used earlier was already beginning to turn to mush. "We haven't much time." He remarked aloud in a worried tone before he looked about himself and growled. "Where is that team?!" He exclaimed angrily.
It was then another doctor pony walked in and looked at him then to Sapphire and gasped. "Th-That's the Alicorn they unicorns in black were after!" He exclaimed in a panicked voice.
"Yes, Yes she is. Now are you going to help me?" He asked aloud in a calm tone as he began washing his hooves in preparation for the operation he was about to perform.
"But…" The stallion began to say only to trail off.
"Are you going to help me or not?!" Dr. Doodle snapped at the stallion.
"N-No way! That thing's dangerous! You should let it die!" The stallion exclaimed only to receive a hoof to the snout suddenly and without warning which caused him to stumble out of the O-R with a bloody snout much to Snowbreeze's shock.
"And you call yourself a doctor?! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Dr.Doodle's voice roared from within the O-R.
"Dr. Pinpoint, what happened to your nose?!" A nurse pony asked as she watched the stallion walk up to her.
"Dr. Doodle's gone completely insane! He's trying to save that Alicorn thing's life when she's the reason those Spikeheads invaded our town!" Dr. Pinpoint exclaimed in a semi-frantic tone which caught the attention of nearly every staff member in the room.
At once, the staff immediately rushed to the O-R much to the shock of the stallion. "Wh-What the buck are you all doing?! That thing's-" The stallion began to exclaim only for a nurse pony to look at him, rear her hoof back and slam it into his snout which sent him rolling back into the check-in desk outcold.
"Racist Mule." The nurse pony remarked aloud bitterly before she joined the other ponies.
Dr. Doodle looked to the sudden team of mares and stallions with a shocked expression. "I expected maybe one or two but… all of you?" He asked in astonishment.
It was then that the same nurse pony who had decked Dr. Pinpoint into the snout walked up to the donkey and smiled. "Mr. Doodle, we are doctors and nurses, it is our job to help ponies in need, no matter what they've done." The nurse remarked aloud proudly to which the rest of the crowd nodded in agreement.
"I-I don't know what to say." He replied softly as he fought the urge to fight back tears of joy.
"Well, you can start by telling us what needs done!" Another doctor pony said aloud with a big grin.
"R-Right!" Dr. Doodle replied as he turned to face the Alicorn and began to instruct the other doctors and nurses.
"Wait, how did you know what they were saying?" Sapphire asked curiously as the two played checkers on her bed.
"I was kind of eavesdropping." Snowbreeze admitted sheepishly much to Sapphire's amusement at which point the snow white Pegasus blushed hotly. "Oh come on! What did you expect me to do? My best friend's life was in their hooves! How could I possibly not?!"
"So what happened next?" She asked curiously as she moved a checker piece on the board and smirked. "Oh, and king me." She added with a victorious grin.
"I really don't know, they were all really quiet after that. It wasn't until like six hours later that the doc came out from the operating room." Snowbreeze replied as she continued her story.
Dr. Doodle sighed heavily which made Snowbreeze think the worst had happened. "It was a rough ride. We lost her twice during the operation but managed to revive her both times. I've said it once and I'll say it again, these Alicorn's are the toughest things I've ever worked with. I honestly didn't think she'd come back to us after the second time she flatlined. Even if she makes it through the night, we're not even sure she will ever wake." Dr. Doodle remarked aloud and sighed once more.
"What do you mean? She's alive right?" Snowbreeze asked uneasily, still not getting the clear picture.
Dr. Doodle sighed heavily as he recalled what had happened.
The Alicorn lay on the operating table, the steady beep of the heart monitor saying she had no pulse. "Doctor…" One of the doctors said softly only to trail off for a moment. "She's been dead for eleven minutes… we should call it." The doctor said softly.
"Not yet! She's not like other ponies!" Dr. Doodle exclaimed as he once again began to perform CPR on the filly.
The other doctors and nurses looked to each other uneasily before the same nurse who had spoken up before looked at him and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Dr. Doodle… even if you revive her this time. She's likely to be a vegetable for the rest of her life. I know its not my place to say but I feel that would be a crueler fate for her than simply allowing her to rest in peace." The nurse remarked aloud softly at which point Dr. Doodle stopped performing CPR on the filly and let out a heavy sigh. "Time of death…" He began to say until he looked to the door, taking note of the fact that a wire had been sparking and sputtering along the floor.
"Lightning…" He said aloud softly much to the confusion of the mare next to him. "Can any unicorn cast a lightning based spell?!" He asked suddenly much to the shock of everypony in the room.
"I-I can Dr. Doodle but I fail to see what you are getting at." The a unicorn doctor said aloud in a confused tone.
"Back in the war, we had a unicorn who had turned traitor to The Canterlot nation, They used some kind of lightning spell to revive ponies who we otherwise thought to be dead." He remarked aloud.
The unicorn doctor looked at the donkey uneasily. "D-Doctor… I don't see how electrocuting a pony could revive them." The unicorn doctor replied with a confused expression.
"What was the voltage he said he used…?" Dr. Doodle muttered aloud, seemingly ignoring the doctor for the moment before he slammed a hoof on the operating table. "Blast it! I can't remember!" He exclaimed in frustration.
"Dr. Doodle... " The nurse began. "It's been nearly twenty minutes now. She's gone." The nurse pony remarked aloud in a saddened tone.
"Twenty?" He asked in a slow tone as if something was coming to mind until his eyes lit up. "Of course!" He suddenly exclaimed much to the shock of the rest of his team. "Doctor, I want you to send a lightning spell of exactly 20 volts directly at this filly's heart!" Dr. Doodle ordered firmly.
"Dr. Pinpoint was right… you really have gone insane." The unicorn doctor remarked aloud until the donkey grabbed a scalpel and put it to his neck much to the shock of the crew.
"Do it!" He roared.
"O-Okay!" The unicorn exclaimed in fear, channelled a lightning spell into his horn and shocked the filly squarely in the heart yet nothing changed.
"Again!" he ordered.
Once more, the unicorn channeled a lightning spell into his horn and did it once more yet still nothing seemed to have changed. However, Dr. Doodle stared closely at the heart monitor and could have swore the steady beep had faltered for a brief second.
"Dr. Doodle, please stop! She's gone!" The nurse exclaimed in a frantic tone though she dared not to attempt to remove the weapon from the donkey's hoof.
"Once more!" He ordered.
The unicorn doctor gulped loudly, channeled a lightning spell into his horn and shocked the filly's heart. Startled gasps erupted throughout the room as the heart monitor's steady beep suddenly began to beep to the rhythm of the Alicorn's revived heart.
"I knew she wouldn't give up that easily…" He said with a proud smile before he finally realized what he was doing and allowed the scalpel to drop to the floor with a clatter. "I-I'm sorry…" He said softly.
"I don't know what's crazier. You or the fact that shocking this filly revived her." The unicorn doctor remarked uneasily as he stepped away and to the back of the room.
Dr. Doodle looked to his now shaking hooves, the fact of what he had just done fully sinking in now. "I-I can't believe I did that. I don't know what came over me." He said softly.
"Sapphire's being prepped and will be transferred to the intensive care wing." He said softly before he walked past the Pegasus and stopped "I remember now why I stopped being a doctor…" He remarked softly and sighed once more. "I cared too much." He said simply before he continued to walk away.
"W-Wait! How can caring too much be a bad thing?" Snowbreeze asked aloud as she ran up to him, still unclearly on why he was behaving like he was now.
The donkey sighed aloud once more before he turned to look at the Pegasus. "Its a bad thing when you go to excessive lengths to save a pony at the cost of somepony else." He answered simply before he turned around and walked out the front doors to the hospital.
Snowbreeze rushed to stop him only for a startling sight to meet her eyes. The Doctor had no where to go as a large crowd of angry ponies yelled at him and insulted him.
"How could you try to save that thing! She's the reason we were held hostage!" One stallion roared over the crowd.
"Yeah! It's better off dead!" A mare added.
"What the buck is wrong with all of you?! She saved your hides at nearly the cost of her life and this is how you treat her?!" Snowbreeze shouted back at the crowd of angry ponies.
"It's alive?!" One of the ponies shouted.
"Quick! Lets charge in there and slay the beast!" Another pony shouted which was met with shouts of agreement.
"Enough!" A booming voice erupted over the crowd of ponies which silenced them almost entirely. Snowbreeze and the doctor looked over to the source of the booming voice to see a Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony in well dressed clothing approach the crowd, walk through and up to Snowbreeze and Dr. Doodle.
"What in the name of Luna's moon is going on out here?" The Pegasus mare asked in a stern voice to the donkey who seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Who are you guys?" Snowbreeze asked only to get a swift hoof to the back of the head.
"Show some respect, kid! These ponies are the offspring of the ponies who saved this city during the three hundred year war!" Dr. Doodle hissed.
"Oh…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud only to still not understandingly completely but she at least knew they were a well respected group due to the fact that they had managed to halt a raging mob in its tracks with merely a single command.
"We're waiting for an answer." The earth pony asked with a stern glare at the two.
So Snowbreeze told them everything and by the time she was finished, she wasn't sure if they believed her, hated her and Sapphire still, or didn't believe her and hated them just the same.
"Where is this… Alicorn?" The female Pegasus asked sternly.
"Wait, who were those ponies?" Sapphire asked curiously only to smirk. "Oh, and I win again!" She exclaimed with a giddy smirk.
"Best five out of six?" She asked with a sheepish smirk. "And they were like I told you, the offspring to the ponies who saved the city. Some kind of group who were treated like princesses and princes from what I could tell." She answered simply. "I was sure they were going to kick us out of town after what happened and all but they didn't!" Snowbreeze continued…
"Wait, you're serious?" Dr. Doodle asked in pure shock after hearing what the unicorn had said.
"Yes, Dr. Doodle. I have looked into this young Pegasus's eyes and I know her words to be true. She and her are this town's saviors and is to be treated with the respect that we are." The unicorn replied calmly.
"Even if it was their fault they came here to begin with." The earth pony added bitterly.
"With all due respect, I'd bet my wings that they were already here and only surfaced when me and Sapphire showed up." Snowbreeze replied as she chose her words carefully. "Though Sapphire didn't get to tell me much before she was hurt, she did tell me that these guys are part of an organization called 'The Order Of The Dark Horn'."
Upon mentioning this name, the Pegasus immediately knew she had said something important because all three ponies gasped in shock. "That's… Not… Possible…" The unicorn said aloud in a slow yet stunned tone.
"That organization was disbanded over five thousand years ago after the Elements Of Harmony defeated them." The Pegasus remarked aloud.
"That's what I said!" Pinkie Pie's voice suddenly erupted which caused Snowbreeze to yank her attention to the right to see the hyperactive pink mare.
Snowbreeze stared at the pink pony for a few moments longer before she looked back at the three ponies. "Is something amiss?" The Earth Pony asked curiously.
"N-No. Please continue. I'd like to hear more about this organization. " Snowbreeze replied uneasily. "I think I've finally figured your randomness out Pinkie. You only appear when something important is going to be said or happen." Snowbreeze thought to herself seriously.
"The Order Of The Dark horn was an anti-Alicorn organization with one goal: To eliminate all Alicorn's from the face of Equestria." The Unicorn began.
"From what the old manuscripts tell us, they had succeeded in killing three of the Alicorn princesses and had their sights set on the final princess. The Element of Magic." The unicorn continued. "It was only after a long a gruesome battle that the Element of Magic sacrificed herself by casting a spell that not even our best unicorns could hope to cast to this day. We know not even of the spell's name." The unicorn said simply but paused to allow the Pegasus to take this information in.
"How'd she do it?" Snowbreeze asked, the tension in the room would have had her on the edge of her seat if she were sitting down at the moment.
"She cast a spell not much unlike the one that surged through our city a few hours ago according to how our scriptures described it. It eliminated every member of the organization in a mere thirty seconds but left everypony else unharmed." The unicorn remarked aloud much to Snowbreeze and even Dr. Doodle's shock.
"Of course these are merely myths and legends. None of which have any basis or fact on the events that transpired today." The Pegasus added calmly.
"My freaking foal-hole they don't have anything to do with what happened today!" Snowbreeze blurted out much to Dr. Doodle's shock as he attempted to hush the Pegasus only for her to shove his hoof away.
"You accuse us of lying?!" The earth pony asked aloud, his eyes flashing with anger as he spoke.
Snowbreeze looked at the three uneasily at the three, her confidence wavering for a moment before she regained it. "Yeah, I do!" She exclaimed as she pointed at the three.
"You're stepping over the line, kid!" Dr. Doodle exclaimed as he walked up to the Pegasus, bit onto her tail and began to drag her away only for Snowbreeze to forcefully yank her tail out of the doctor's mouth, and walk back up to the three.
"How dare-"
"Save it! I know you three are hiding something and I'd bet my tail that it has something to do with these dark horn guys! Why else would you all suddenly look all scared-like when I mentioned them!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she looked at the three with a glare.
For a time the three remained stoic as they glared back at Snowbreeze until the Pegasus stepped forward. "Very well, We-"
"Don't you even say a word, Fairweather!" The unicorn suddenly exclaimed cutting off the Pegasus which caused her to look back at the two.
"How can you two be so naive?! This Pegasus and her Alicorn friend just saved us from their control which they have held over us for the last thirty years!" The Pegasus snapped.
"And they will be back!" The unicorn exclaimed just as fiercely as the Pegasus had.
Upon hearing these words, the Pegasus's eyes flashed wide in both rage and realization. "You guys planned to hand Sapphire over to them no sooner they came back, didn't you?!" Snowbreeze roared as she lunged at them only for the donkey to snap him mouth on her tail and hold her back. "That's why you were being so nice to us! You back-stabbing, Leadhoof, featherflank, and Spikehead!" Snowbreeze roared angrily. If she had her wings at the present time, Dr. Doodle's attempts to hold her back would have already failed.
The three ponies looked at the snow white Pegasus as if they were glaring daggers back at her, though unlike her associates, the Pegasus had a saddened yet guilty expression upon her face.
"Wow, tough crowd." Pinkie Pie remarked aloud with a worried look at the group then back to Snowbreeze. "I'd cool my jets if I were you! These ponies don't look like the kind who like to be insulted!" She added in a whisper despite knowing only Snowbreeze could hear her.
"Our fair city has thrived for as long as it has thanks to the generous support of that order. We would be fools to protect the one creature in this city that they wish to see dead." The unicorn remarked aloud much to even the shock of Dr. Doodle who spat out Snowbreeze's tail upon hearing this and stared at the three with a jaw-dropping expression.
Fortunately for Snowbreeze or rather more likely the group, the Pegasus had taken Pinkie Pie's advice and calmed herself down. "So, you mean to tell me that those guys who murdered that stallion in front of everypony, attempted to roast everypony, including you guys, are worth more than the life of the pony who saved all of you?" Snowbreeze asked in a low yet loathing tone.
"As long as the order exists, we have no choice but to obey them. You see, without their financial support, this town would have long since collapsed in on itself, look to its citizens. They are constantly fighting amongst one another. Do you truly believe that such chaos would allow a city to survive as long as it had without help?!" The unicorn continued.
"They wouldn't be if you'd just make laws that ban segregation along with encouraging them to work together! You three are a shining example of the teamwork that can bring this city together!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she continued to glare at the three.
"Idealism like that is why the Element of Kindness was the first to die!" The unicorn retorted much to Snowbreeze's shock and horror. "Yes, Fluttershy attempted to ask the order to instead of fight them, to help them unite the ponies of Equestria since all but one Alicorn princess remained." He continued as a dark smile washed over his face. "She was the most naive of the elements of harmony. Far too kind, not suited for the kind of work the order had thrived so hard to achieve."
"You're awfully forthcoming with such sensitive information… Why do I get the feeling we won't be leaving this room alive?" Dr. Doodle remarked aloud finally recovering from the shock as he narrowed his eyes at the group.
"Very observant of you, Dr. Doodle." The unicorn remarked aloud darkly as his horn began to glow with a scarlet glow.
However much to even Snowbreeze and Dr. Doodle's shock they realized the earth pony and Pegasus were just as shocked by this information as they were.
"Horus… what are you doing?!" The earth pony asked in fear as he backed away from the unicorn as did Fairweather.
"You… You're a member of the dark horn, aren't you?" Snowbreeze asked as she rushed over to Sapphire's bed in hopes of acting as a shield to the unconscious Alicorn.
"Such naive fools. Did you really think that the order would not have somepony on the inside? Somepony who could keep an eye on this pathetic little city in case the Alicorn was born here?
"We are everywhere!" Horus remarked aloud as his voice suddenly dropped to the deep commanding voice Snowbreeze recognized instantly.
"It all makes sense now! Your father was also a member, wasn't he?! That's how this city suddenly began to thrive so well despite the fact that me and Bluesteel's parents worked so hard but achieved nothing until you and him showed up! My parents and I knew something odd was going on when the city suddenly had bits flowing in from seemingly nowhere! I always knew something was amiss about you but I never knew what exactly until now!" Fairweather exclaimed as he struck a combat stance.
"Very astute of you, Fairweather. My father was right about you and her. You and that featherflanked mother of yours are far too smart for your own good!" He exclaimed as he fired a beam of magic at the Pegasus only for her to dodge it barely which resulted in the wall being blasted wide open.
"Your father... he killed my parents, didn't he?!" Fairweather exclaimed as she dodged yet another beam of magic.
"No Fairweather… my father didn't kill them." He replied as a malicious yet seemingly psychotic grin appeared on his face. "I did!" He exclaimed which was met with shocked gasps by everypony in the hospital room while Fairweather dodged yet another blast of magic though this one had managed to scratch the Pegasus's right hind leg and while not a direct hit, still caused the Pegasus to cry out and fall to her underside for a moment before she opened her wings and began to hover in place...
"Wait, you mean that the unicorn was actually a member of the dark horn?!" Sapphire exclaimed in such shock that she made the mistake of making one fatal move in their twentieth game of checkers.
"I said that like five minutes ago!" Snowbreeze retorted with a mildly annoyed look until a wicked smirk appeared on her face, moved her checker piece and gave a loud cheer. "Yeah! I win! In your face, Sapphire!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she hovered over the bed now and put her hooves to together and began to gesture as if she was being hailed by a large crowd of ponies.
"Oh sure, like after the twentieth game and only because I was so shocked by what you said that I messed up." Sapphire countered with a mildly annoyed smirk.
"Hey, no need to get all sore after you lost. I'm just that awesome." She boasted egotistically as she landed back onto the bed with a light plop.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire raised her left eyebrow with a mock curiosity expression. "Oh really? Wanna prove that you're 'that awesome' again?" She asked with a smirk.
It was then that Snowbreeze looked to the clock and suddenly gave a loud yawn. "Nah, I'm beat. Lets call it a night." she replied as she hopped off the bed and over to the chair.
"You got that right, nineteen times." Sapphire remarked with a cheesy grin.
"Oh sure, rub it in why don't you?" Snowbreeze retorted with an annoyed expression as she rolled her eyes.
"Hey, what about the rest of what happened while I was out? You aren't done where you? it was just getting good." The Alicorn remarked aloud curiously.
"Nah but I'm really sleepy. Time flew by almost as fast as me." Snowbreeze remarked aloud followed by another loud yawn.
"You really are Rainbow Dash's ancestor." Sapphire remarked aloud with a smirk, scooted herself back, and laid her head down onto the pillow.
A few short minutes past and though Sapphire had suddenly realized just how tired she was, she kept looking over at her friend who was uncomfortably trying to find a position to fall a sleep in on her chair. "Ya know, this bed is big enough for two." Sapphire remarked aloud which caused Snowbreeze to snap one eye open, then two and look at her.
"Uh, I'll pass." Snowbreeze remarked uneasily as she once again attempted to find a comfortable spot to fall asleep in.
"Come on, Snowbreeze. You obviously can't fall asleep easily in that wooden chair. Besides, this bed is really comfortable." She attempted to insist.
Once again, the Pegasus's eyes popped open as she looked at Sapphire while she scooted over. There was obviously enough room for the two of them. "No thanks, I'd rather not let ponies get the wrong idea about us." She replied in the same uneasy tone as she closed her eyes once more and faked snoring.
"Oh, for the love of Luna, Snowbreeze." Sapphire remarked aloud with an annoyed eyeroll at her friend's obvious display of homophobic paranoia. "Fine. Sleep in that thing. I'm sure you're the most comfortable Pegasus in the world." She added and sighed. "If you change your mind, I'll stay on this side of the bed." She finished as she closed her own eyes and quickly fell fast asleep.
------------------------------------------------
"Um, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" A voice said aloud which caused Sapphire to flutter her eyes open drowsily and realized she was facing Snowbreeze in her bed.
The Alicorn sat straight up in such an abrupt fashion that she had stirred the Pegasus who was sleeping soundly up until this point. "N-No! It's not like that at all! She was just having a hard time sleeping and I offered to let her sleep next to me, that's all!" Sapphire exclaimed to Dr. Doodle in a fast paced tone as her face burned scarlet.
It was then the comical occurred as Snowbreeze became aware of the precarious situation she was in. As if the Pegasus had been struck in the rump by lightning, she seemed to eject off the bed only to land on her head as she hit the floor. "Yee-ouch!" She exclaimed as the lower half of her body slumped to the side and hit the floor with a soft plop and moments after and clumsily stood to all fours. The Pegasus's face was just as red as Sapphire's if not more so.
"Alright, Alright. No need to get paranoid around me." He replied with a light chuckle. The donkey never honestly thought anything was going on between the two but couldn't resist the urge to play this innocent joke on the them and much to his delight, they reacted almost exactly as he had hoped.
"Anyways, your labs came back and we noticed a small fluctuation in them but its nothing to be worried about I'm sure." He said as he resumed his professional attitude towards the Alicorn.
"How small are we talking?" Sapphire asked worriedly.
"It's nothing to worry about. It was so small that the lab team missed it on the first pass of the test but it came up on the second." Dr. Doodle replied casually.
"Okay…" Sapphire replied uneasily. She wasn't sure if he was trying to sugarcoat something much more serious or not but she trusted his judgement.
"Well, I have other patents to attend to so I'll leave you two alone." He said after a brief silence and as if to get another inner laugh, winked at the two before he left.
"Oh, great! Now the doc thinks we're lovers or something!" Snowbreeze exclaimed aloud angrily.
"Oh come on, Snowbreeze. He was obviously just joking around." Sapphire replied as she rolled her eyes at the Pegasus.
"And if he wasn't?" Snowbreeze asked, still not convinced.
"We'll calmly explain it again to him, that's all." Sapphire replied casually though she was getting rather peeved at her friend's homophobic behavior.
"Oh yeah, like that's going to work!" Snowbreeze retorted bitterly.
"Would you cut it the buck out?! He was joking! Dear Luna, Snowbreeze. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had something against ponies who were attracted to their own gender." The Alicorn remarked irritably at her friend.
"N-Nah! I don't have any problem with them at all!" She exclaimed defensively. "I just don't want anypony to think that I've jumped to that side of the fence is all." She added though her voice was little more than a mutter as she said this. Sapphire however, understood every word.
"Whatever." She said aloud before she blew her mane to the side. "Gotta think about getting this thing trimmed." She remarked aloud in an attempt to change the subject.
"If you want." Snowbreeze remarked before she let out a sigh.
"What? Do you like it like this or something?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Sorta, yeah." She said until her eyes widened in a mild paranoid fashion. "N-Not that I mean anything by that!" She exclaimed defensively.
"Ugh, just cut it out, will you? Seriously, you're so homophobic that I'd swear your face would be right next to the definition in the Equestrian dictionary!" Sapphire said before she blew her mane to the side once more.
The two young mares now at in the hospital cafeteria as Snowbreeze scarfed down plate after plate. "Just because they are giving us this food free of charge doesn't mean you can empty their food supply." Sapphire remarked with an annoyed stare at her friend who stopped stuffing her face upon hearing this, swallowed down what she had currently in her mouth, and laughed nervously at the Alicorn.
"So, care to continue telling me what happened while I was out?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Oh, right! Now where was I? Oh yeah!" She said as she began to continue where she left off.
"No Fairweather… my father didn't kill them." He replied as a malicious yet seemingly psychotic grin appeared on his face. "I did!" He exclaimed which was met with shocked gasps by everypony in the hospital room while Fairweather dodged yet another blast of magic though this one had managed to scratch the Pegasus's right hind leg and while not a direct hit, still caused the Pegasus to cry out and fall to her underside for a moment before she opened her wings and began to hover in place.
In the next moment, Fairweather launched herself into Horus, knocking the two through the window and into the city streets. "How could you serve such low-life creeps! Everypony in this city respected you! They viewed you as the son to the savior of this city! How could you betray them?!" She roared at the unicorn as his horn began to glow once more.
"Like these low-life simpletons mean anything to me. The order serves a higher cause, Fairweather! These ponies are insignificant to the new world we have planned for them! " Horus exclaimed before he shot a beam of magic at the Pegasus who dodged it only for the spell to suddenly pull a u-turn and hit her squarely in the back.
Fairweather hit the ground as she cried out in agony while Horus approached her. "Let me let you in on a little secret." He said as he walked up to her and whispered the following into her ear: Once we have all the elements of harmony in our possession, no pony will be able resist us, not even your legendary Alicorn!" He exclaimed with a devious grin as he channeled magic into his horn as he held her up, preparing to strike the final blow.
Suddenly the unicorn was suddenly knocked away from Fairweather by a blast of magic which allowed the Pegasus to hit the ground limply with a thud. "Who dares?!" Horus roared aloud only to suddenly notice a very large crowd of Pegasi, unicorns, and earth pony's glaring daggers at him. It was in fact the same crowd that hadn't left the front of the hospital since he himself had silenced them.
Horus looked about himself in shock until it dawned on him what Fairweather had done. "Y-You tricked me?!" He roared as the weakened Pegasus stood up, grinning ear to ear at him.
"What's wrong, Horus? Get caught in the heat of the moment?" She jeered knowingly before she turned to the crowd. "You see this unicorn? He's the one responsible for the terror you all had to endure today!" She shouted out to the crowd which was met with gasps and angered cries.
"It was the Alicorn who saved you all! She lays in there at this very moment, fighting for her life that she nearly sacrificed for all of you!" Fairweather continued as she pointed a hoof to the hospital room. "Are you going to allow this unicorn to harm her?!" She called out to the crowd.
It was then that several more beams of magic short forth at the unicorn who was quick to dodge the shots. Quickly realizing he was outnumbered fifty to one, he glared at the Pegasus. "You will rue this day, Fairweather! I swear it!" He roared as he channeled magic into his horn and disappeared in a flash of magic.
"Wow, what a meanie-pants." Pinkie Pie remarked aloud as she stared through the shattered window once the unicorn had disappeared.
"You said, Pinkie." Snowbreeze replied in a whisper so no pony heard her.
"I stand before you, not as the daughter to the savior of this city, not as a Pegasus, but as a fellow mare who loves this city as much as you do!" Fairweather exclaimed as she began her speech but stopped for a moment before continuing. "Some of you may have heard that we have an filly in Manehatten hospital who has the features of a Pegasus and Unicorn…" She continued but stopped once more briefly before she continued. "I am here to tell you that those rumors are true!" She exclaimed which caused the ponies in the crowd to begin muttering aloud amongst themselves.
"This filly, this Alicorn, is the true savior of this town! Not my parents nor Bluesteel's!" She began once again which caused the crowd to mutter much more loudly this time. "It is time we told you all the dark secret behind our city's survival! We will not harbor any ill feelings towards you if you wish to slur us, insult us, or even wish us harm! Our only request is that you hear us out completely before you begin!" She exclaimed but paused again to allow the crowd to take this statement in before she continued. "Since the end of the three hundred year war, you all know how our city rose from the ashes of nearly nothing and struggled to hold itself up in the beginning only to suddenly flourish a short time later. This is because our parents allowed themselves selves to give into our weakness and let a dark organization take hold of our city! That organization is known as The Order Of The Dark Horn!" She exclaimed aloud and paused again which was met with loud horrified gasps by some and confused mutterings amongst most of the crowd.
"I am ashamed of my parents…" Fairweather continued as she hung her head low before the crowd for a long pause before she flung her head up and looked to the crowd again with a sense of pride. "The Dark Horn thinks they can just trot back into our city and regain control over it just as they did to my mother and father, using clever words and threats to sway them into submission!"
"But I am here today to tell you that I am not my mother or father! I will not bow down to terrorists! I will not bow down to thugs! And I sure as buck will not bow down to the order of the dark horn!" Fairweather exclaimed before she pointed a hoof towards the direction the hospital is in.. "They come, even now, to take the life of the true savior of our city! The Alicorn named Sapphire!" She continued only to pause yet again. "A filly who is barely old enough to be on her own and yet she has done what we could not, have not done for the past thirty years! She drove them out, freed us from their dark grip!" she continued only to stop and allowed the crowd to take this in before she continued. "I will not ask you to protect her, I will not ask you to fight for her, but I will ask you to fight for this city, for our freedom!" She finished which was met with a chorus of cheers much to her delight.
Once the cheers died down, she began to speak again. "The Order Of The Dark Horn thinks that our city can not thrive without them. They think that we fight amongst each other so much." She said and paused for a brief moment before she continued to speak once more. "I look to each one of us and I am ashamed to admit that they are right!" She exclaimed which was once again met with mutterings amongst the crowd. "However! We can change our city's fate! Do you wish to know how?!" She asked the crowd as she pointed her hoof around to each mare, stallion, and foal. "It starts, with each one of you! That's right!Only you can change our city's fate but you must make the choice, not me! I can not force you to look to your fellow earth pony, unicorn, or Pegasus and treat them with the same dignity and respect you treat your own race! Just know this: If we continue down the dark road our city had been traveling upon for the last thirty years, we will prove the dark horn right! Now tell me, do you want to prove them right? Or do you want to prove them wrong?!" She exclaimed once more which was met with cheers again.
Fairweather stepped down from the stage as the cheers continued to ring out with a proud smile on her face. "Wow, nice speach!" Snowbreeze remarked with a big smile at the mare.
"Thanks but its not over yet." She said as she walked behind Snowbreeze and began to shove her on stage.
"H-Hey! What are you doing?!" The Pegasus exclaimed in a panic only to suddenly realize the entire city's eyes were now on her.
Snowbreeze's entire body frozen as the poor Pegasus suddenly found herself frozen in stage fright. "Psst! Say something!" A familiar voice exclaimed in a hushed whisper which caused the snow white mare to look to her left to see Pinkie Pie on stage with her.
"Uh… Hello?" Was all the pegasus could utter out to which Pinkie Pie slammed her hoof against her face and groaned aloud.
"Follow my lead!" She whispered then turned to look at everypony. "Hi, everypony! How are you all doing?!" She exclaimed to the crowd despite none of them could see or hear her.
"Pinkie you Lead-erm, you idiot! They can't see or hear you!" Snowbreeze hissed only to gawk at the crowd who began to give her strange looks. For a moment, the Pegasus realized she had just stopped herself from flinging her most common racial slur to the pink pony but she had bigger problems at the present time than to figure out why she had stopped herself, she was on stage in the view of possibly hundreds of ponies.
"Wait, you actually stopped herself from flinging a racist remark at her, even though she was getting on your last nerve? I don't believe it." Sapphire joked aloud with a grin upon her face though Snowbreeze seemed to take offense to the joke.
"Hey! I'm not the same mare I was a year ago, okay? I've changed for the better." she retorted bitterly.
"Right, you went from racist to homophobic." Sapphire joked once again.
"You know, you can be a real jerk at times." Snowbreeze remarked aloud with a glare at her friend, stood up, and walked away from the table.
Sapphire blinked twice in mild shock from what had just occurred. "She knew I was joking, right?" Sapphire remarked to herself as she stood up and followed her friend towards the cafeteria doors. "Hey, Hey, Hey! You know I was only kidding around right?" Sapphire asked, her ears folded back in with a guilty expression on her face.
Snowbreeze went to reach for the cafeteria doors, stopped, and sighed before she looked back at her. "You know, Sapphire. I've grown up a lot while you've been out. I'm not the same filly you knew a year ago." She said before she pushed the doors open and walked through them.
Sapphire was quick to catch up to her friend as she trotted along side her, taking note of a fact she hadn't really noticed until now, she was walking. "Say, I noticed you're walking. I thought you hated walking?" She remarked curiously.
"I'm not as strong a flier as I used to be, that's another thing that changed." She exclaimed with a mild sadness in her voice as she spoke.
"Wait, I feel like I'm missing something here. What happened?" Sapphire asked curiously as she quickly trotted in front of the Pegasus and stopped her. "You can still fly, can't you?" She asked worriedly.
Snowbreeze looked to her friend, a sense of shame overcoming her. "Yeah but not nearly as well as before. Turns out that fall we took did a lot more damage than I thought." She answered depressingly before she walked past her only to stop. "I can only fly for like twelve hours straight now at days before my wings start to hurt like somepony took a iron mallet to them."
"But you can still fly though! That's at least something right?" Sapphire said encouragingly to the Pegasus as she walked next to her.
"That's not the point, Sapphire!" Snowbreeze snapped only to fold her ears back guilty before she sighed aloud. "Look, we Pegasi take pride in our ability to fly faster than anypony could hope to run in Equestria. It was a pride I was raised with. I can't even go faster than an earth pony athlete these days without my wings starting to hurt like nothing funny." She added and sighed aloud once more. "I mean, yeah. It helped humble me down a lot and sorta helped me curb my racist attitude towards other ponies but my pride has been dealt a blow, Sapphire. A blow that it will never recover from." She added as the two made their way back into Sapphire's hospital room.
"I understand. I guess I can relate in a way since I was raised as an earth pony by my parents. When Rarity said I didn't know anything about being an earth pony, it really ticked me off but she had a point." Sapphire remarked aloud as she sat on her bed with Snowbreeze on the other end.
"And what's your point?" The Pegasus asked bitterly.
"My point?' Sapphire asked in confusion at first until she realized that her friend expected her to follow up with something inspirational. "My point is…" She trailed off until the words finally came to her. "It doesn't matter how we are raised. Sure we all are raised with a pride that each race of pony has but what matters is who we become, not who we are raised as." She said as she placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder who smiled back at her.
"I guess you're right." Snowbreeze replied though she still seemed to be in a depressed funk which the Alicorn took note of.
"Hey, I got an idea, how about you keep on telling me what happened while I was out?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Alright." Snowbreeze replied as she began to resume her story.
Follow my lead!" She whispered then turned to look at everypony. "Hi, everypony! How are you all doing?!" She exclaimed to the crowd despite none of them could see or hear her.
"Pinkie you Lead-erm, you idiot! They can't see or hear you!" Snowbreeze hissed only to gawk at the crowd who began to give her strange looks. For a moment, the Pegasus realized she had just stopped herself from flinging her most common racial slur to the pink pony but she had bigger problems at the present time than to figure out why she had stopped herself, she was on stage in the view of possibly hundreds of ponies.
"Psst! Try telling them about Sapphire!" Pinkie exclaimed once again in a hushed whisper.
"So, uh… you all know about my friend Sapphire thanks to Fairweather but there are many things about her that you all don't know." She began only for her to trail off as a few soft coughs echoed throughout the crowd.
"Go on!" Pinkie Pie encouraged.
Snowbreeze took a soft gulp before she continued. "So uh, yeah. Did you know that when I met her she was working on a farm with some earth ponies? Crazy world we live in huh?" She began only to pause as if seeing what the crowd would think. When they seemed to actually be interested in what she was saying, this gave the Pegasus a minor confidence boost as she continued. "So yeah, those earth ponies were actually her parents! Can you believe it? I mean, I could barely believe it myself! This mythical Alicorn born from earth ponies, that's like beyond crazy! I mean, couldn't of the guys upstairs have had a couple Pegasi be her parents or something? That would make so much more…" She began to say only to quickly realize she was starting to get dirty looks from the crowd and trail off.
"So, um… anyways! Yeah, she was raised as a farm pony and when I first met her, I didn't even know what she was! See, she was born in an earth pony town on the outskirts of the earth pony nation and let me tell you… they really didn't like Pegasi or unicorns! Heck, that's how we met! See, I was trying to order from this cafe and this Lea,lea…erm… Earth pony was being really rude to me, refusing to serve me and all and just when I was about to tackle the guy, she stops and manages to save his hide!" She exclaimed to the crowd only to receive looks of minor disbelief from the crowd.
It was then that the Pegasus sighed aloud. "Okay, Okay, so she saved my flank from getting stomped into the dirt but anyways, that's not the point! The point is that ever since me and Sapphire started traveling together, she has put her wants and needs before herself! She even got herself beaten half to death and nearly raped just to save my hide!" Snowbreeze exclaimed and paused to allow the crowd to take this in which resulted in loud mutterings amongst the crowd.
"She's helped so many ponies and has never asked for anything in return! But you know what?" Snowbreeze said to the crowd, her self-confidence now nearing its peak. "Its our turn to help her! I know Fairweather said that she didn't want to ask you to fight for my friend but I am! She has given the ponies of this nation so much and has gotten so little in return! In almost every town we have been to, she has done something generous for the ponies there and never once asked for anything in return! You all owe her your lives and if any of you have a lick of decency to you, you'll do everything in your power to help not only this town but her as well!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she pointed her hoof towards the crowd. She had hoped this would inspire them to help her but when it seemed that her words had no effect, she sighed aloud.
"Fine! Don't help her! But I won't sleep, eat, or do anything else until I know she's safe and you all should be doing the same!" She exclaimed angrily as she jumped off the stage and began to walk away.
"That speech was… interesting?" Fairweather remarked aloud nervously as the Pegasus walked past her.
"Save it. We all know they won't do anything for her. They only care about themselves. The dark horn's right, this town's going to go to the manure pile in less than a year." Snowbreeze remarked bitterly as she walked away from the others and back towards the hospital.
-----------------------------------------------
"Wow, that's a grim ending." Sapphire remarked aloud depressingly.
"Hey, I'm not even close to done yet!" Snowbreeze replied with a smirk.
"Really? I don't know how things could have turned a one-eighty from that. I mean, you said it yourself. They didn't even seem to care about me." Sapphire remarked curiously.
"Heh, that's what I thought too. Until the next morning that is." She replied as she continued to tell her tail.
The Snow white Pegasus was rudely awakened the next morning by the loud trotting of hooves and voices outside due to the fact they had only patched the window up and had not replaced it as of yet which allowed all sounds from outside to be heard quite clearly. "Oh great, it's another mob demanding Sapphire's head." The Pegasus remarked aloud bitterly as she stretched her legs and walked to the front desk only to gawk in shock at the sight that beheld her.
"Please! One at a time!" The desk nurse pony exclaimed in a semi-panicked tone as earth pony, Pegasus, and unicorn alike continuously placed what could be none other than gifts on the front desk.
"Make sure the Alicorn gets this!" One ponty shouted followed by another shouting the same thing.
"Uh, what's going on here?" Snowbreeze asked uneasily to the front desk pony who was having a hard time sorting through the rather large pile of gifts.
"You got me. They all just started piling in no sooner visiting hours started and said these were all for the Alicorn." The nurse remarked as yet another pony placed a gift on the front desk.
"What?!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in disbelief as she gawked at the pile of gifts that was quickly growing larger by the second with each stallion and mare who walked in.
It was then that a familiar face managed to shove his way through the crowd and walked up to her. "Quite a crowd, isn't it?" Dr. Doodle remarked with a smirk.
"I'll say! You sure those aren't all just cleverly wrapped timebombs or something?" Snowbreeze asked skeptically as she looked over at the ever growing pile of gifts.
This remark earned a hearty laugh from the donkey. "Haha, I doubt it. You and Fairweather's little speeches had more of an effect than you think. "We've had ponies walking in all day aside from the ones bombarding the poor desk nurse with gifts who swore they would protect Sapphire with their lives. Heck, one even handed me this." The doctor remarked as he gave Snowbreeze a small scroll.
The Pegasus opened it and went slack jawed as the paper rolled for several feet before coming to a stop at the front desk even though it wasn't even close to unrolling.
She then curiously began to read it.
We the stallions and mares of manehatten hereby announce the founding of the A.P.B. "Alicorn Protection bureau).
All who join will swear their unwavering loyalty to our cause and do everything in their power to protect the Alicorn known as Sapphire.
Those wishing to join need merely to sign their names below:
Snowbreeze's eyes scanned the list of seemingly endless names below, unable to tear her eyes away no matter how much she couldn't believe what she was reading. "I've gotta be dreaming..." Snowbreeze finally managed to blurt out.
"Nope, you're wide awake young filly but if you like, I can ask one of the nurses to poke your rump with a needle to see if you wake up." Dr. Doodle joked with a smirk.
"Haha, no thanks. It's just this is a lot to take in and I mean a lot! Yesterday they were all acting like I was being some kind of featherflank since I was asking them to help me protect Sapphire and now we got this?" Snowbreeze remarked as she gestured to the list and gifts.
"I know. It's almost unbelievable." Dr. Doodle remarked as Snowbreeze began to reroll the scroll back up.
It was then that the two heard a soft ticking, looked at one another with worried glances which became panicked when an alarm rang out. "Get down!" Dr. Doodle exclaimed as he tackled snowbreeze away from the front desk as the nurse behind it suddenly fled in terror.
It was then that an explosion erupted from within the pile, destroying most of the gifts and half the check-in desk as well. "Yeah… Its unbelieveable alright." Snowbreeze remarked aloud bitterly once the two were sure the coast was clear and stood up to their hooves.
"Do you think it was the dark horn?" Snowbreeze asked curiously as Fairweather paced back and forth while Bluesteel placed a hoof on his chin looking deep in thought.
"No, its too subtle and besides, the dark horn likes to handle its assassinations personally to make sure there are no mistakes." Fairweather remarked aloud and sighed.
"You call that, subtle?! If I were still standing where I was, that thing would have blown my right front and hind legs off!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in disbelief as she pointed a hoof at the smoldering check-in desk as ponies continued to put out the fires.
"Trust me, kid. We're looking into every possible lead right now on who the possible assassin could be." Fairweather replied calmly.
"Do you think it could be a dark horn sympathizer or maybe somepony who openly supports what the dark horn is doing?" Dr. Doodle asked curiously.
"Naturally that's we thought as well. The very best of the M.P.D. is looking into that as we speak. If there are any supporters out there, they will be brought in for questioning." Fairweather replied calmly once more.
"If you ask me, you should just save yourself the trouble and lock them all up." Snowbreeze added bitterly.
"We can't just go about throwing ponies in jail for supporting the dark horn's ideals, Snowbreeze." The mare replied simply. "If we did that then we would be no different than them."
The Pegasus refused to accept this answer though. "Whatever. While you guys are sitting here doing nothing, I'm going to go out and do a little detective work of my own." She said aloud as she walked towards the door only for Dr. Doodle to rush in front of her to halt the filly.
"Kid, that's not the best of ideas." The donkey said in a worried tone.
"Why not?" Snowbreeze retorted angrily.
"Naturally, everypony knows that your best friends with Sapphire. You're the second target they will most likely be after to get to her once they realize their first attempt to kill her failed." Fairweather reasoned.
"Big whoop! I took care of myself for three years before I met Sapphire, I can do it again for a few hours." Snowbreeze countered.
"Yes but you didn't have the dark horn or its supporters after you then either." Fairweather remarked much to Snowbreeze's annoyance.
Snowbreeze then turned to look at the elder Pegasus. "Tell me then, what were you doing just after your parents got killed by the dark horn?" She asked with a mild glare.
Upon hearing this, the Pegasus bit her lower lip with a nervous look at Snowbreeze for a brief time before she sighed in defeat. "I was all over town trying to find clues as to who killed them." She said softly.
"You're a real hypocrite, you know that?" Snowbreeze remarked with a glare before she darted past Dr. Doodle and out the door.
"You're not going to stop her?" Dr. Doodle asked curiously as he watched the filly through the hospital window, trot a few feet away from the hospital, spread her wings, and take off for the skies.
"Huh, what do you know? She pinned the tail right on the donkey." Fairweather remarked aloud with a wry smile only to hear an annoyed "nee-haw!" sound emitting from the doctor who gave her an annoyed look.
Sapphire landed in the city streets as the sun began to set, sat on her rump, and rubbed her sore wings. "Stupid wings…" She remarked aloud taking note of what Dr. Doodle had told her roughly two days ago.
"Look, kid, there's something you need to know about your wings." The doctor said as Snowbreeze began to take off the bandages.
"Yeah, I know I banged them up pretty bad but I'll be flying in no time. In fact, I was thinking about stretching them out after I left the room." She replied dismissively though the doctor's face was much more grave than she cared to realize.
"Yeah, about them. Look, you're going to notice that they aren't as durable as they used to be." He remarked as he tried to choose his words carefully.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The Pegasus asked with a confused look.
"I almost couldn't save them, kid. It was only thanks to the advice of a 'wings specialist' in the hospital that you're even able to open them now." He said calmly though his expression still remained grave.
"I don't get it." Snowbreeze replied, still looking confused. "You fixed them right?"
"Yes but here's the facts, kid." The donkey said and sighed. "You break those wings one more time and there'll be no saving them. Me and the wing specialist had to use some pretty sketchy techniques to make them even usable." He said as he sat down to his rump and sighed once more.
"Uh, how sketchy?" Snowbreeze asked uneasily.
"Without going into the grim details, we used something they called 'Artificial' wing marrow, a few spells from a unicorn doctor to meld the stuff into your wing bones and joints, and prayed to Luna it worked once we were finished." He said calmly.
Snowbreeze gave one last look at her wings before she sighed aloud depressingly once more. She was grateful for them saving her wings but she was quick to realize what he meant exactly by "not as durable as they used to be". She could no longer break fifty miles per hour in a straightaway flight without her wings feeling as if somepony had took sledgehammers to them nor could she fly for more than twelve hours straight without them giving off a similar feeling.
She tried.
"Breezie?" A familiar voice said though she couldn't place a face with it until she looked to her left and gasped.
"Beaky?!" She exclaimed in disbelief as the jet black Pegasus with a red mane and flaming star cutiemark.
The two Pegasi at once let out joyful cries as she rushed up to one another hugged and locked lips with one another. Much to the mild surprise of Snowbreeze who looked at him with a mild blush once the kiss had ended. "Heh, wow. I didn't expect that." Snowbreeze remarked aloud in mild shock.
"Oh come on, how could you not?! Its not like we haven't done more than that!" He replied with a knowing smirk which made Snowbreeze blush even more so. "So, wanna come to my place? I bet we can find something to pass the time." He added with a wider smirk if possible.
"Really, Beaky? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were wanting some." Snowbreeze replied with a smirk as she playfully slugged the colt on the shoulder.
"What can I say? I've been with plenty of mares but none of them compare to you." He flirted with a smirk.
Upon hearing this, Snowbreeze rolled her eyes in annoyance at the less than pleasant memories. "You're just trying to butter me up so you can rut me." She remarked aloud irritably before she turned away from the colt and began to walk away.
"Aw come on Breezie! You know none of those mares meant anything to me!" He exclaimed defensively as he rushed in front of her and stopped her as he placed a hoof on her cheek.
"Yeah well, you could have mentioned one of the qualifications to becoming an Ironwing for the fillies was you rutting them all night Ironbeak." Snowbreeze remarked bitterly as the unpleasant memories she had kept suppressed for years were rushing to the front of her mind no matter how much she tried to ignore them.
"I thought you knew!" Ironbeak replied with an innocent yet guilty expression.
"You bucking knew I didn't know, Beaky! Why else did you always make sure I was away when the new female recruits came to your house for their 'interview'!" Snowbreeze snapped angrily at the colt as she turned and slugged him hard on the shoulder much harder this time.
"Alright, I bucked up, okay? I admit it! But Breezie, I wasn't lying when I said I loved you." He said as he placed a hoof on her cheek and rubbed it affectionately.
Snowbreeze's eyes slowly trailed along her old flame's foreleg and to their hoof as she slowly placed her own hoof on it and began to rub it affectionately. An unsure feeling overcoming the Pegasus as she looked at him directly in the eyes now.
"Come on, Breezie. Give me another chance. I'm a changed colt now. Why do you think I'm here in a town full of Leadhoofs and Spikeheads? Me and a few of your old buddies wanted to make a fresh start here. Make an honest living, you know?" Ironbeak said with a serious expression as he looked at her.
"Alright but lets take it slow this okay? I don't wanna end up with your dick inside me for at least a few months, got it?" The Pegasus said, still not sure about this but her love for her old flame was most likely overriding her better judgement and though she knew this, she walked with him back to his place.
------------------------------------------------
"You two did it no sooner you got back to his place, did you?" Sapphire asked with a cheesy grin which caused Snowbreeze's face to go red as a cherry. "Ha! I knew it!" She exclaimed enthusiastically as she pointed a hoof at her friend.
Snowbreeze gently shoved the Alicorn's hoof to the side as she gave her an annoyed glare. "Cut me some slack, okay?! I hadn't had any in three years and then the colt who I had been dating for like two years and was deeply in love with waltzes back into my life and practically begs me to give him another chance. What would you do?" She replied defensively.
"I don't know. I'm still a virgin remember? I have no idea how it feels to be rutted so I'm kind of in the dark on what would drive you to bang him less than an hour after you run into him again." Sapphire replied with a light blush of her own.
"It wasn't less than an hour later!" Snowbreeze snapped angrily until her face resumed its previous expression with the same cherry red blush. "It was two…" She muttered.
Upon hearing this, the Alicorn burst out laughing at her friend's expense for a time before she finally managed to quell her laughter. "You can skip over the details on that though okay?" She said between soft giggles though she had a mild sense of uneasy in her voice which Snowbreeze picked up on.
"Aw, don't you wanna know how he made me scream his name as he slammed my-mmph,mmph!" Snowbreeze began to say only for Sapphire to jam her hoof into the Pegasus's mouth. "Three letters, Snowbreeze. T-M-I!" She exclaimed sternly, her blush just as red as Snowbreeze's was a few moments ago, much to the amusement of her friend who yanked her hoof out and had her own bout of laughter at the Alicorn's expense.
"Okay, I'll skip over the details to spare your innocent virgin ears." Snowbreeze said aloud mockingly with a grin much to Sapphire's annoyance. "Besides, he kind of pulled a jerk move anyways." She explained with a sour face at the memory.
"What kind?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"He uh… well…" Snowbreeze began to say only to mutter the following through Sapphire understood every word.
"No way!" Sapphire exclaimed as she slammed a hoof over her mouth in shock.
"Way." Snowbreeze replied as she continued to tell her story.
Snowbreeze's eyes fluttered open wearily, the wonderful events of last night soon coming back to the front of her mind. It was then that she realized she was alone in Ironbeak's bed. All too soon, another fact soon became apparent as she attempted to sit up. "Hold up a second, that doesn't feel right." Snowbreeze remarked aloud worriedly as she threw the blankets off to get a clearer look at the "unclean feeling". Upon further inspection, the Pegasus's eyes widened in panic as she snapped her gaze to the end table next to Ironbeak's bed taking note of a small unopened square package.
SON OF A-(Buy some apples!)
These words seemingly rang out across the city followed by the sound a very pissed off Pegasus rushing to the nearest pharmacy.
"You bucking jerk! You faked putting on the condom!" Snowbreeze roared at the top of her lungs once she found Ironbeak talking with his friends.
"Hey, I didn't hear you complaining. In fact, I remember you saying: Give me all of it Beaky!" He replied as he attempted to make a fake version of her voice during his impression of her much to the amusement of his friends who laughed at this.
"You know that wasn't what I meant!" Snowbreeze snapped as she slugged him hard in the shoulder. "By the way, you owe fifty bits for the morning after pill!" She added with a glare at him.
"Aw, come on Breezie! We had fun didn't we?" He said as she attempted to place a hoof on her cheek only for the filly to swat it away and turn away from him.
"You haven't changed at all, Beaky. I have to be a special kind of stupid to even think you had." Snowbreeze remarked aloud bitterly as she walked away.
"Ooh! She's walking away!" one of the stallions jeered.
"Shut the buck up, featherflank!" Ironbeak snapped at his friend before he rushed over to Snowbreeze to cut her off.
"Okay, Okay! I bucked up again, alright?! I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd mind!" He exclaimed defensively.
Snowbreeze's eyes flashed with anger upon hearing these words. "Didn't think I'd mind? What the buck would make you think that I'd want to end up pregnant?!" She exclaimed at him.
"Don't you remember, Breezie? We talked about it all the time back in New Cloudsdale." He said softly as he ran a hoof along her cheek once more only she didn't swat it away this time.
"That was three years ago, Beaky." Snowbreeze remarked aloud and sighed, her anger subsiding now as she looked at him.
"Okay, Okay! I'll make sure to ask you next time, alright?" He said as Snowbreeze narrowed her eyes at him.
"What makes you think there will be a next time?" She asked as she gently lowered his hoof from her cheek and walked past him.
"Breezie! Come on babe! Don't make me beg you to stay because you know I'll do it for only you!" He exclaimed desperately which caused the Pegasus to halt in her tracks and look back to see him on his hind knees with his forehooves clamped together in a begging gesture.
Snowbreeze looked at the colt for a few moments longer before she sighed aloud in defeat. "Fine. one more chance, Beaky. You buck this up and I'm walking away for good." She said aloud sternly as she walked up to him as he stood to all four hooves, leaned in and locked lips with her.
"You won't regret it Breezie, I promise!" Ironbeak exclaimed after they broke the kiss.
Snowbreeze had half a mind to make him Pinkie Pie Promise but she knew that the gesture meant nothing to him so it was pointless to ask. "Alright, so what were you featherbrained nitwits talking about before I blew up at Beaky?" Snowbreeze asked as the two walked back over to the others.
"Oh! Glad you asked, Breezie! You're gonna love this! See, we found out who ratted out that stallion about serving you the lame drink!" Ironbeak exclaimed excitedly.
At once the memory of witnessing the earth pony being burned alive came to the front of her mind and played out before her eyes like a live action movie. "Wh-What about it?" Snowbreeze stuttered slightly as she fought the urge to break down in tears over the memory here and now.
"Okay, so get this. Me and the boys were thinking of getting a little… payback." Ironbeak replied much to the shock of the filly who looked at him apprehensively.
"Payback for what? They didn't do anything to you." Snowbreeze reasoned.
"No but they did to that stallion and by extension to you as well. See, that leadhoof, Luna bless the poor sap, could of turned ya in but he didn't! Yeah, we were there too and we saw everything. Course we didn't know they were talking about you until you stepped up on that stage during that Fairweather mare's speech." He explained much to the surprise of the filly.
"You aren't going to hurt them, are you?" Snowbreeze asked apprehensively.
"Just their wallets." Ironbeak replied smugly as he and his friends gave light laughs. "So, we were wondering if you wanted a piece of the action?" He asked curiously which caused Snowbreeze to back away slightly.
"What happened to that 'new life' you said you and your buddies were making for yourselves when you came here?" Snowbreeze asked as she narrowed her eyes at the colt.
"Oh yeah, we are trying to make an honest living, Breezie. Really, we are!" He said as he gestured to his friends who agreed with him. "Its just that its not cutting it as much as we'd like, you know?" He added.
"And what makes you think that I'm not going to turn around and turn you into the authorities?" Snowbreeze asked threateningly to the group.
"Breezie, Breezie, Breezie. I know you won't turn in a fellow Ironwing. Remember our credo?" He asked as he ran a hoof along her neck.
"Once an Ironwing, always an Ironwing. Through even the darkest of nights, the stormiest of days, the Ironwings will be there for one another… Always." Snowbreeze remembered aloud and sighed. "Alright fine, I'm in. We're only going to rob them blind, right?" She asked uneasily.
"Of course, Breezie!" Ironbeak replied before he locked lips with her. "You don't even have to go inside. Me and boys will handle everything! That way you can warn us ahead of time if the cops show up and get out first if things get dicey." He added once he broke the kiss with her.
"Aw come on, Ironbeak! Why doesn't she ever have to get her hooves dirty? It's always been like this, we do a gig and she gets to sit outside with the best chance to run off when we're stuck trying to get away with our wings intact!" One of the other colts complained.
"My babe never gets her hooves dirty! You got that reggie?!" Ironbeak exclaimed as he walked up to the Pegasus and jabbed him hard in the upper chest.
"Alright, Alright! No need to get all physical with me about it!" The Pegasus replied uneasily.
"Alright everypony, we hit the place at midnight so be ready!" Ironbeak exclaimed as he looked to the group and began to go over the plan.
"Oh wow, did you actually go through with it?" Sapphire asked as she looked over the cards she was not holding. "Got any threes?" She asked.
"Go fish." Snowbreeze remarked with a smirk which caused Sapphire to reluctantly draw a card. "And I'm getting to that. Course, if it wasn't for Pinkie Pie, things might have turned out a little differently." She said as she continued telling her story.
The moon hung high in the sky as the soft flapping of wings could be barely heard along the streets of Manehatten and even though Snowbreeze had agreed to this, she couldn't help but feel uneasy about the whole thing. Three years ago, she wouldn't have given it a second thought. Just another gig as she and her fellow Ironwings would be doing almost every week but now, after all the time she had spent with Sapphire, helping so many ponies who had been living in poverty or worse who were victim to the very thing she was about to do on a daily basis, made this feel very wrong to her.
"Hey, Beaky? You sure we gotta do this? Why don't we just report them to the police and let them handle it?" Snowbreeze asked aloud nervously as the group stood outside the house while Reggie began to carefully pick at the door's keyhole.
"You aren't getting cold hooves now, are you Breezie?" Ironbeak whispered as he looked back at her.
"No! Well, maybe a little but this just feels wrong, you know?" Snowbreeze replied uneasily.
Ironbeak put a hoof to the Pegasus's cheek, leaned in, and kissed her deeply before he looked at her with a dead serious expression. "I know this isn't the life you're used to anymore, Breezie. I mean, if i traveled around with that Alicorn and did half the good stuff you've done for those ponies, I would probably be feeling like you are right now." He said softly as he rubbed her cheek gently.
A soft click rang out as the sound of the door to the house creaking open caused the two to look over at Reggie. "It's open, Ironbeak." He whispered.
"Alright, get in there and start looting the place, I'll be with you guys in a moment." He instructed to his group who nodded and silently hovered inside the house.
He then turned to face Snowbreeze once more. "This isn't about right or wrong, Breezie. It's about Karma. These leadhoofs may not have burned that stallion alive but they may as well have by ratting him out to those unicorns in black. And you know what they say about bad Karma right?" He asked with a smirk.
"It always comes back to bite you in the haunches." Snowbreeze replied allowing a smile to wash over her face now as the two bumped hooves.
"Glad to know you're on board now, Breezie. And don't worry, this is the only gig I'm taking you with on since it involves you personally. I know you're trying to make an new start with that friend of yours and you've done a lot of good. The last thing I want is the Alicorn's best friend behind bars." He remarked warmly before he turned around and walked back into the house to join his fellow Ironwings.
The Pegasus was now alone, the faint sounds of clattering the only thing she could hear coming from within the house as she looked about nervously for any signs of the cops.
"Freeze!" A voice exclaimed which caused the Pegasus to launch ten feet into the air only to hear a snorting laughter coming from the same voice at which point she looked behind herself and glared at the prank by the pink mare.
"What the buck is your problem, Pinkie?!" Snowbreeze hissed angrily at the party mare who looked genuinely confused as to why she was ticked off at her.
"Geez, you're awfully jumpy for a pony who's going to a slumber party." Pinkie Pie remarked curiously.
Upon hearing this, Snowbreeze's hoof collided with her forehead and let out a groan. "This must be some kind of act. There's no way in Tartarus that you can be this dumb and be the element of laughter." Snowbreeze remarked aloud dismally before she placed her hoof back on the ground and stared at the pink mare.
"Hey! That's rude to say you know!" Pinkie Pie retorted with a look of mild annoyance now.
"Well it's true! Why else would you think that a group of ponies breaking into a house to rob them in the dead of night is some kind of slumber party!" Snowbreeze retorted with a glare at the pink pony.
It took a few moments for what she had said to sink in but once it had, the Pegasus was in for a mild shock as the pink mare leapt literally five feet off the ground with an overly exaggerated gasp. "Robbing innocent ponies in wrong! You need to go get the police ponies and bring these meanie-pants to justice!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed firmly her humorous go-lucky attitude all but vanishing as she looked at Snowbreeze.
Snowbreeze scoffed at the "innocent ponies" remark as she pointed a hoof at the house. "The ponies that live in that house are far from innocent, Pinkie! They're responsible for ratting out that stallion who served me that bad drink at the cafe!" Snowbreeze retorted angrily. " If it weren't for them, he would still be alive! They deserve this!"
"Wait a second!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she seemed to be peering straight into the Pegasus's eyes until her mane suddenly deflated. "Y-You're working with them? How could you hurt innocent ponies like this? This doesn't make ponies smile." She asked softly, tears forming in her eyes as she spoke.
Upon hearing this, Snowbreeze sighed aloud. "Look, I know two wrongs don't make a right, Okay?! But those ponies are getting what they deserve and besides, we're only robbing them blind, not hurting them." Snowbreeze replied in an attempt to beat back the little voice in her head that told her this was wrong no matter how much she told herself it wasn't.
"Really? Then why did one of those ponies bring a sling-shot with pointy things?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously.
The second Snowbreeze heard this, she charged into the house just in time to see Ironbeak pointing a slingshot armed with a very sharp piece of metal at the two sleeping ponies. "What the buck are you doing, Beaky?! You only said you were going to rob them, not hurt them!" Snowbreeze exclaimed aloud which woke up the mare and stallion much to the dismay of the group.
"Blast it all! Tie them up, Reggie!" Ironbeak ordered as he lowered the slingshot while Reggie and the others quickly overwhelmed the two ponies, tied them up, and placed them against the wall while Ironbeak forcefully dragged Snowbreeze into the other room.
"Let go of me!" Snowbreeze exclaimed only to be slammed against the wall hard by the colt.
"Breezie! Listen to me! These ponies don't deserve to live!" Ironbeak shouted fiercely into the filly's face as he pointed a hoof at the quivering couple.
Snowbreeze looked to the couple and then back to Ironbeak. "Two wrongs don't make a right, Beaky. Besides, you only said you were going to rob them, not kill them!" Snowbreeze shouted back into Ironbeak's face.
"Because I knew you'd react like this if I told you straight out what the plan was! You never understand! That's why I didn't tell you about the female recruits!" Ironbeak roared back as he slammed a hoof into the wall, a little too close to Snowbreeze's head for her own comfort which filled her with a sense of fear that Ironbeak took note of in the filly's eyes as he looked at her.
Upon seeing this, colt closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and finally let out a sigh. "Look, Breezie. I'm sorry I was a bit rough with you." He said softly as he backed away from the filly and sighed once more as he sat down in front of her. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get your hooves dirty. But this isn't just about Karama, Breezie. Those ponies ratted you out, they ratted out my babe for bits. I couldn't just sit back and let them go unpunished." He said softly as he looked at her.
"Killing them won't make things right, Beaky." Snowbreeze remarked softly as she kneeled down and placed a hoof on his cheek.
"You're right." He said as he stood up and looked his lover in the eyes. "Me killing them won't make things right but you killing them will." He said softly as he placed the sling-shot into the filly's hoof.
"Wh-What?" Snowbreeze asked aloud as she stared at the slingshot for a time then back to Ironbeak.
"This is something only you can do. I thought I could do it for you but now that I think about it, me killing them wouldn't bring you closer." He said as he gently ushered her into the room to the couple who looked at her in fear. "Do it, Breezie. Make them pay for taking that stallion's life." He said calmly while the other Pegasi looked at her.
Snowbreeze looked at the couple who looked back at her, terror and fear in their faces. It was then that the memory of the stallion came back to her mind as she looked at them.
The stallion looked to the crowd back and forth each time his gaze stopped on the Pegasus, Snowbreeze took a sharp breath expecting him to point her out but he hadn't yet despite the fact he had stopped to look straight at her in the crowd three times already. "Our patience grows thin, earth pony! Do you see them or not?!" The unicorn exclaimed at which point the stallion's gaze stopped dead on Snowbreeze much to her horror.
"No...She's not here." The stallion finally replied as he hung his head low much to Snowbreeze's shock.
"Very well, your fate is sealed!" He unicorn exclaimed at which point the other unicorn charged up his spell and literally incinerated the earth pony in front of the crowd much to everypony's horror. Cries of shock, terror and panic rang through the town square now.
Snowbreeze sat her rump on the group as her forelegs shakily lifted up, pointing the sling shot armed with the sharp piece of metal at the stallion, tears flowing freely from her eyes as she stared at them. "Y-You killed him…" She said shakily as she began to pull the string back, her facial expression and being slowly being filled with a sense of justice and rage as she pulled the string back to it's full strength yet she hadn't let go yet. Something was holding her back.
"You aren't really going to do it… are you?" Pinkie Pie's soft yet saddened voice asked which caused the Pegasus to gasp and yank her gaze to the pink mare whose mane was deflated as she looked at Snowbreeze with a very saddened expression.
"I… They…" Snowbreeze tried to reply as tears continued flowing from her eyes while the memory of the stallion being burned alive continued to play through her mind as her forehooves shook even more so now.
"What are you waiting for, Breezie?! Make them pay!" Ironbeak exclaimed as he looked to the filly.
"Are you really going to become like… them?" Pinkie Pie asked softly as a single tear streamed down her pink cheek.
"But they… they killed him." Snowbreeze remarked softly as she looked back at the terrified couple.
"Uh, Ironbeak, I think she's losing it. She's talking looking over there and talking to nothing." Reggie whispered to Ironbeak who was also noticing this.
"Don't worry, she'll do it, Reggie. I know my babe and I know this is what she wants. Just give her some more time." Ironbeak replied though he didn't quite believe his own words as he looked at his lover.
The pink mare then placed a hoof on Snowbreeze's shoulder, making her take a sharp breath as she turned to look at the pink mare. "Snowbreeze… this isn't you. This won't bring you closure and it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Trust me, I know." She said softly.
"H-How could you possibly know what I'm going through?" Snowbreeze asked softly as her face turned into a glare towards the pink mare.
Pinkie Pie sighed aloud upon hearing this. "I Pinkie Pie swore I'd never talk about this again but for you, I will." She said softly and moments later the world around Snowbreeze soon began to fade away, the room slowly being replaced with a city in flames.
"I've got it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she flew, darting back and forth, dodging beams of magic as she flew.
"Not so fast, Rainbow Dash! We can't keep up!" Twilight exclaimed as she watched her friend get further and further ahead of the rest of the group.
Pinkie Pie was running nearly as fast as Rainbow Dash was flying but she was forced to not only deal with the ground which was filled with potholes from the previous battle that waged here but also the dark horn soldiers that continuous attempted to end her life.
"Is she nuts?! We can't protect her if she's flyin' in thar like a mare on a suicide mission!" Applejack exclaimed in a panic as the four continued to rush forward.
"I don't think she's thinking clearly!" Twilight remarked aloud as the other three dove behind cover.
"I understand her pain but runnin' to yer death is no way to avenge Fluttershy!" Applejack remarked aloud as the two flinched due to the top half of their cover being blown clear off above their heads.
"Wh-Where am I?!" Snowbreeze asked in a panic as she looked around herself in shock only to let out a shriek as a beam sailed at her and through her. "I-I'm not dead?" Snowbreeze asked herself aloud in shock as she quickly looked over herself only to notice Pinkie Pie rushing past her.
"P-Pinkie, wait! Where are we?!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she took off from the ground and flew after the party mare only for Pinkie Pie to seemingly not to hear her.
"Dashie, wait! I can't keep up!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she barely dodged a spell only to trip over a pothole and sprain her hind left leg which caused her to let out a cry of pain.
This caught the cyan blue Pegasus's attention as she looked back to her friend, then to the unicorns, then back to Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash knew they would take out the weakened earth pony if the opportunity presented itself and it had. Without thinking, the cyan blue Pegasus dove for her friend. "Come on, Pinkie! We've got to get you to some cover!" She said as she helped the pink mare back to her hooves.
"Thanks, Dashie." Pinkie Pie said with a smile to which Rainbow Dash smiled back as she placed a hoof on the pink mare's cheek.
Their moment however came to a horrific and abrupt end as Rainbow Dash's smile soon snapped into a shocked expression before she let out a light cough as blood leaked from her mouth.
Pinkie Pie's mane suddenly deflated as she witnessed this, staring on in disbelief, as if in slow motion before her lover's eyes, Rainbow Dash fell to the side and collapsed onto the ground. The world seemed to mute around Pinkie Pie as she shook her lover's body, screaming her name along with screaming for her to get up. No matter how much she did so, the expression of pure shock remained on the cyan blue Pegasus's face.
The world seemingly unmuted itself as she looked forward to the unicorns who were preparing to fire on her. Her smile forever gone, the pink mare looked upon her lover's killers as unspeakable rage filled her very being.
The last thing Snowbreeze saw before the world around her seemed to fade once more and return to the house she was in was the image of Pinkie Pie giving a rage filled cry as she charged forward. Snowbreeze suddenly realized that the pink mare was sobbing now. "I changed on that day, Snowbreeze. I became what they were… killers. From the moment I looked into the lifeless eyes of the unicorn who killed Dashie, I knew I couldn't go back to my old self." She said between sobs.
Snowbreeze looked to the terrified couple now. It was as if barely a second had passed yet what she had just witnessed seemed to have taken hours to unfold. Snowbreeze slowly retracted the string to the slingshot, stood up, and walked past Ironbeak and his buddies.
"Breezie? Where are you going?!" Ironbeak asked as she rushed after her as she walked outside.
"I'm not a killer, Beaky!" Snowbreeze exclaimed before she spread her wings and took off from the ground.
"Bah!" Ironbeak exclaimed as he waved a hoof at the fleeing Pegasus and returned inside.
"Looks like your babe couldn't handle getting her hooves, dirty." One of the colts remarked aloud only to get socked squarely in the nose.
"Shut the buck up! I'll handle this!" He snapped as he looked about for the slingshot until it dawned on him.
"Uh, Ironbeak, we need to deal with this soon." Reggie remarked aloud uneasily.
"I know but Breezie has my slingshot!" Ironbeak exclaimed and sighed.
"This is the M.P.D! Come out with your hooves up!" A voice suddenly exclaimed much to the group's horror.
Snowbreeze walked into the jail cell part of the police department and stopped just in front of Ironbeak. "Breezie! Thank Luna the cops didn't get you!" He said in a relieved tone as he walked up to the cell bars.
"Of course they didn't, Beaky. I'm the one to called them." Snowbreeze replied blantly much to Ironbeak's shock.
"What?! How could you, Breezie?!" Ironbeak exclaimed in shock.
"Because what you were doing was wrong, that's why!" Snowbreeze exclaimed fiercely before she let out a sigh. "Look, this is the last time we'll see each other and I just wanted to say goodbye and tell you something important." She said softly as she attempted to reach through the bars to place a hoof on Ironbeak's cheek only for him to swat it away.
"Don't bother! You betrayed not only me but your fellow Ironwings! You're dead to me now, featherflank." He remarked bitterly as she walked away only to see her still standing there. "What are you waiting for? Get out of here!" He exclaimed.
Snowbreeze let out a soft gasp as tears formed in her eyes but she fought them back as she glared at him, reached into her saddle pack,pulled out a small square box, opened it, took out a pill from it, and downed it before the colt's eyes. "What the buck was that?" Ironbeak asked curiously.
"The morning after pill." She said simply which caused Ironbeak eyes to widen in shock and realization of what she had just done. "That's right, Beaky. I never took it. I've been trying to decide if I should or not and until now, I was seriously considering not taking it but after seeing your true colors, I realized that bearing your foal would be an insult to my family's heritage." She said as she turned around and began walking away from the colt's cell. "See you around, Beaky. Actually, no I won't." She added bitterly as she opened the door to the jail cell part of the police station and closed it behind her. Leaving Ironbeak with a purely stunned expression on his face.
"You honestly considered having his foal? Even after how he tried to get you to kill that couple?" Sapphire asked in pure shock. Her mind still reeling from what her friend had told her.
"What can I say? Love makes you do some crazy horseapples." Snowbreeze replied and sighed. "But you know? I often wondered what it'd be like to have one." She added thoughtfully.
"Heh, every filly wonders what it'd be like at some point in their life. You're not alone, Snowbreeze." Sapphire remarked with a soft smile as she placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder.
"I know…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud as she looked to her left towards the window.
"Is he still there?" The Alicorn asked curiously.
"Teh, no. He and his buddies broke out while half the city was looking for me." Snowbreeze replied bitterly.
"Wait, why would half the city be looking for you?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Because of what happened a few months later." Snowbreeze replied and began to tell her what happened…
"This makes the sixth attempt this month." Fairweather remarked aloud as the police ponies dragged the unconscious unicorn dressed in black away. "If it wasn't for those A.P.B ponies leaking us information and helping us protect Sapphire, I highly doubt she'd still be alive."
"If you call being dead to the world alive." Snowbreeze remarked bitterly as she looked to her sleeping friend only to give a guilty look at Dr. Doodle who happened to be walking into the room as she said these words. "I-I didn't mean, What I'm trying to say is-"
"Save it, Kid. I don't blame you. I'm beginning to wonder if saving her life was such a good idea myself. What good is saving the life of a pony when they'll just be sleeping the rest of it away." He replied cutting off the Pegasus and sighed aloud. "Maybe we should just pull the plug…" He added softly.
"I'm not giving up on her!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she walked over to the Alicorn's bed and gently stroked her mane.
Dr. Doodle and Fairweather looked at one another and then back to the Pegasus. "Kid, I know you don't wanna give up on her but she's been like this for three months now. We've done all we can and its really starting to look like she may never wake up." He reasoned only for Snowbreeze to shoot him a loathing glare.
"If you so much as even think about pulling the plug on her, I'll kill you!" Snowbreeze nearly shrieked at the donkey.
"Dr. Doodle, can I speak with you in the hall please?" Fairweather asked calmly as she walked towards the door to which the donkey followed a short time after.
Curiously, Snowbreeze trotted over to the door and placed her ear against it in an attempt to hear what the two were talking about.
"Mr. Doodle, I'm going to be frank. I'm beginning to worry that Snowbreeze may not be using her usual rational form of thinking." Fairweather remarked aloud in a whisper.
"What do you mean by that? She just doesn't want to give up on Sapphire. I can relate to that since I was the same way with my wife." Dr. Doodle replied and sighed once more at the unpleasant memory.
"Exactly." Fairweather remarked much to the donkey's confusion.
"Wait, what are you getting at Fairweather?" Dr. Doodle asked curiously.
The Pegasus bit her lower lip nervously for a time before she continued to speak. "I believe that… Snowbreeze may feel more for Sapphire than she lets on." Fairweather replied only to raise a hood to cut the doctor off. "I know this seems sudden of me to suggest such a thing but I believe that her feelings for Sapphire may be affecting her rational thinking." The Pegasus finished.
"With all due respect miss. Fairweather. I believe you may be looking into things a little more than you need to. She's merely worried for her best friend." Dr. Doodle replied casually.
"I guess you're right. I'm just so used to seeing such emotion used between lovers that I forgot that it can exist between two very close friends as well." The Pegasus remarked aloud as she rubbed the back of her head and sighed. "Forget I said anything. Its as you said, I'm just looking into things too much."
"Oh! That's why you got all defensive and homophobic yesterday and today." Sapphire replied in understanding.
"Yeah, that's how it all started. I care for you as a friend, Sapphire. But I'm not into mares." Snowbreeze remarked aloud with a mildly nervous smile.
"Oh don't worry. I'm not into mare's either." Sapphire replied casually with a smirk. "I mean, can you picture us, a couple?" She added which was met with bouts of laughter by both mares.
"No way! Eww!" Snowbreeze exclaimed between laughs only to look at her friend with a guilty expression. "N-Not to say that you're not attractive or anything but, uh, ugh! You know what I mean!" Snowbreeze flustered much to the amusement of her friend.
"Don't worry, No offense taken." Sapphire replied with a smirk as she looked at Snowbreeze for a little while longer before she looked away and sighed.
"Uh, Sapphire? You don't have like… I don't know… feelings like that for me, do you?" Snowbreeze asked uneasily.
Upon hearing this, the Alicorn's face went scarlet as she waved her hooves in front of her in a comical fashion. "Oh, no,no,no.no! No way! Heh, I mean, come on! Like you said, eww!" She said almost in one breath. "So anyways! Go ahead and keep on telling me what happened." She added moments later.
"Right… well uh, lets see." Snowbreeze replied as she attempted to pick up where she left off in her story. Something about Sapphire's behavior just now seemed off to the Pegasus but she decided not to ask and continuing telling her story.
If the Pegasus's face could go any redder, her head may as well be an apple. "Oh, no,no,no! This can't be happening! How could anypony assume that?!" Snowbreeze remarked aloud in a mildly panicked tone as she looked to her friend. "I'm into colts! I like stallion dick!" She exclaimed aloud in a whisper as she paced back and forth.
"I mean just because I want to be there for her and protect her doesn't mean that…" She began to say only trail off at the obvious conclusion that Fairweather had come to. "Oh buck! No wonder she thinks I'm head over hooves for her!" The Pegasus exclaimed aloud in a whisper as she paced back and forth.
"Don't panic, Snowbreeze! You can think of a way to change her mind! You just gotta make out with Dr. Doodle in front of her-! Eww! No way! He's too bucking old!" She said to herself as she continued to pace back and forth.
"Maybe I could find a random colt in the hospital and make out with him so she could see? No, that's too slutty!" She reasoned aloud and sighed. "I gotta get some fresh air." She added dismally, opened the window to Sapphire's hospital room, gave one last glance at Sapphire, sighed aloud, and took off after she closed the window behind her.
It was then that Dr. Doodle and Fairweather walked back into the hospital room, taking note of the fact that Snowbreeze was no present. "You don't think she overheard us, do you?" Fairweather asked aloud tensely.
The Pegasus soared the skies for over an hour before she finally landed. "Can't believe she thought that me and Sapphire were an item!" Snowbreeze muttered aloud to herself and sighed.
It was then that the Pegasus saw two ponies who faces she could never forget. It was the same stallion and mare who Ironbeak tried to get her to kill. The Pegasus quickly hid herself behind a nearby water fountain as she watched the two chat amongst each other for a time before she rested her head on the back of the fountain and sighed in relief.
"Hi there!" A voice suddenly exclaimed which caused Snowbreeze to literally erupt from her hiding place in surprise only to realize it was Pinkie Pie.
"P-Pinkie?! What the buck is wrong with you?! I haven't seen you for three months and you suddenly pop out of nowhere!" Snowbreeze exclaimed irritably. "Didn't you like go back to wherever it is you came from?" She asked curiously.
"Huh, I thought I did but here I am!" She exclaimed enthusiastically.
It was then that the events of three months ago rushed back to the Pegasus's mind which caused her to look at the pink mare sympathetically. "Look uh, Pinkie. I never got to properly thank you for saving my hide from doing the unthinkable. So thanks." She said as she walked up to the pink mare who smiled back at her. "And… I'm sorry for what happened to you. It must have really hurt to be forced to relive that memory just for my sake." She added as she sat down and placed a hoof on the pink mare's shoulder.
"What memory was that again?" She asked innocently much to the Pegasus's annoyance.
"The one where-" She began to snap only to halt herself. "She's probably forgotten she showed it to me. Heck, I'd be quick to bury a painful memory like that faster than the speed of light." Snowbreeze thought to herself and sighed aloud as she looked at her. "Nothing, Pinkie." She said finally with a soft smile.
"Oh, who are those ponies?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously as she pointed a hoof behind the Pegasus which caused Snowbreeze to turn around and see the two ponies she was trying to hide from in the first place.
"Um, who were you talking to?" The stallion asked curiously.
"Uh,um. myself! Yeah, I like to give myself a pep talk now and then!" She exclaimed quickly as she looked nervously to the two.
"Say, she does look familiar." The mare remarked aloud curiously until her face lit up in realization.
"Okay, look! Before you two start screaming for the police ponies, let me just say that I'm really sorry for what happened and I'd never want to hurt you two!" She exclaimed in a panicked fashion expecting the two to begin shouting for the authorities any second.
The couple exchanged glances before they gave a light laugh. "Now why would we do that?" He asked.
"Uh, you two don't recognize me?" Snowbreeze asked uneasily. She had just realized that she may have just dug her own grave by blabbing off what she just had.
The stallion and mare once again exchanged glances before they looked at her with a serious expression. "Of course we do." The stallion said with a frown.
"And in case you're wondering why we aren't calling for the police is because we don't blame you for what happened three months ago. In fact, you had every right to do it." The mare chimed in and sighed as she leaned into her husband's neck.
"Its for that very reason that we didn't turn you into the authorities as well. We both feel guilty for what happened. To think that those unicorns would go as far as to kill an innocent pony…" The stallion remarked aloud and sighed.
"You see, we had no idea what was going to happen when they approached us. They told us that your Alicorn friend was a threat to the city and showed us a picture of you asking if we had seen your face. We told them what we knew thinking we were doing some good for the city." The mare said softly and sighed. "If it wasn't for that stallion's noble sacrifice, why I'd hate to imagine what they'd done to you." "Probably the same thing they did to him." Snowbreeze remarked aloud and shuddered violently at the mere thought of being burned alive.
The couple looked at one another then back to the Pegasus. "Say, how would you like us to treat you to a batch of my homemade cookies? As a sort of apology for all that's happened." The mare offered with a warm smile.
"Why should you be apologizing to me? I'm the one who pointed a slingshot armed with a sharp piece of metal at you. If anything, I should be the one making you guys cookies or something." Snowbreeze replied in a mildly confused tone much to the amusement of the couple to laughed lightly at this.
"Tell you what, why don't we both make a batch of cookies for each other back at our place?" The mare offered.
"Uh, okay, sure but I don't really know how to cook. Sapphire usually was the one who made all the food when we were out." Snowbreeze remarked aloud as she began to follow the couple.
"Well, I'm sure I could teach you. It'll be a learning an experience for you." The mare said as the two took a left turn towards their house.
Though the interior of the house looked very different, Snowbreeze couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as she looked at the exact spot the couple had been sitting in terror in as she pointed the slingshot at them.
"Sit down and I'll get those cookies ready." The mare said casually as she walked towards the kitchen.
"Uh, what about me making you guys some cookies as well?" Snowbreeze asked curiously.
"Oh don't worry about that dear, we can bake those after you've tried my special rainbow delights." The mare replied with a smirk just before she disappeared into the kitchen.
The stallion and filly looked at each other for a short time before the earth pony gave an uncomfortable cough. "So… how's manehatten been?" he asked casually in an attempt to strike up a conversation.
"Oh, well uh, besides the dark horn trying to kill my best friend at least once a week, pretty good." Snowbreeze remarked aloud without thinking. "Eh-heh! Sorry, didn't mean to say that." She added nervously. "Really?" The stallion remarked as he raised his eyebrow curiously. "Well, maybe you can tell us more about your Alicorn friend? I'm sure it'll help us get away from those unpleasant memories. Has she awakened yet?" he asked curiously.
"Well, you see, I'm not really supposed to talk about her. Fairweather says it might be a bad idea to leak sensitive information because you never know who might be working for the dark horn." Snowbreeze replied nervously.
"I see. You'll have to forgive me. I'm just so curious about this Alicorn that seems to be the buzz of the town." He replied as he smiled warmly before he looked towards the kitchen. "How are the cookies coming along, honey?" he asked curiously.
As if to answer his question, the mare walked into the room with a tray of cookies and set them down on the table. "Wow, that was fast. I know I've never baked before but I thought it would take, I don't know… longer?" Snowbreeze remarked aloud curiously.
"Oh, well it just so happened that I had made a batch yesterday that I completely forgot about until I reached into the fridge for the milk." The mare replied with a soft smile. "Go ahead and eat one, dear." She added.
"Are you going to eat some too?" She asked curiously.
The couple looked at each other upon hearing this then looked back at her. "Of course but it would be rude of us to eat before our guest does." The stallion answered this time.
"Oh, Okay then!" Snowbreeze remarked aloud and quickly stuffed about three or four cookies in her mouth before swallowing. "Oh wow! These are delicious! Whats in them?" She asked curiously as she went to reach for more.
"A very special recipe, dear." The mare replied casually.
It was then that the Pegasus noticed something was very wrong with her body as she felt her eyes suddenly become heavy and before she could fully register what was happening, she fell off the chair to the floor with a loud thud.
------------------------------------------------
Would you knock it off?! You might wake her! Oh, would you give it a rest?! I'm almost done anyways.
These words were all the Pegasus could hear though they were muffled at best as she slipped in and out of consciousness. It wasn't until sometime later that she had managed to open her eyes and fully register what had happened to her. She was bound and gagged in ironically, the same location the couple had once sat. However something new presented itself to the filly as she looked across the room towards a mirror.
Staring straight back at Snowbreeze was a completely bald filly. Save for her snow white wings, not a spec of hair remained on the filly, not even her most intimate of areas were spared the humiliation. "Wh-What have you done to me?!" She shrieked out in horror once her vocal cords found their voice.
"Aw, look. She's awake." The stallion remarked smugly as he walked into the room.
Snowbreeze looked to the stallion then back to the mirror then back to the stallion as rage filled her. "I should of killed you leadhoofs when I had the chance!" She roared at the two as the mare walked in beside her husband.
"Yes, you should've, dear. Too late now I'm afraid." She added with a malicious grin.
"Look at her dear, my best work, wouldn't you say?" The stallion remarked as he gestured to her naked form.
The mare merely rolled her eyes. "You and your fetishes." she remarked dully.
"Mmm, it gets me hard just looking at her." The stallion remarked aloud lustfully as Snowbreeze averted her gaze and felt the urge to vomit.
"Don't even think about it!" The mare exclaimed as she swatted him upside the head and then began to kiss him.
The Pegasus risked a look only to blush and yanked her gaze away from the couple as they continued. "What a bunch of a sick mules…" Snowbreeze muttered out to herself as she was sure to look away from the couple as soft moans come from the two. "I really gotta stop getting myself caught by sex-crazed freaks." She added morbidly, wishing to Luna she had something to plug her ears up with.
"You mean they actually did it with you in the room?" Sapphire asked aloud in shock.
"Uh-huh. Like I said, they were a special kind of crazy. I mean, who gets off to shaving a mare bald and then banging in the same room as them?" Snowbreeze asked to which the two shuddered violently almost at the same time. "So anyways, skip ahead a little. I really don't want to hear the details." Sapphire remarked uneasily.
"Oh don't worry, I was planning on it." Snowbreeze replied as she continued to recall what had happened to her.
"Do you two sick mules think you'll get away with this?! Fairweather most likely has the city out looking for me already!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as the mare walked up to her and placed a hoof on her cheek which caused the Pegasus to once again resist the urge to regurgitate the contents of her stomach onto the floor as she smeared something along her cheek.
"Oh dear Luna, that better not be what I think it is!" She exclaimed as she dared not to look at whatever the mare had smeared onto her cheek as it dribbled down her cheek.
Her only answer was a chuckle from the stallion which confirmed her worst fears. Unable to take it any longer, the Pegasus emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor, nearly hitting the mare as she quickly backed away from the Pegasus.
"Well now you've done it, dear. It'll take weeks to get that pungent smell out of the carpet!" The stallion exclaimed angrily.
"Oh put a hoof in it! How was I supposed to know she'd upchuck?!" The mare snapped back.
Once the deranged couple was sure the filly was done, they carefully moved her to another part of the house. "You won't get away with this." Snowbreeze remarked hoarsely as she looked at the two.
"The dark horn has a very large bounty on your head. Imagine how they'll reward us… Once they've heard that I've silenced the great Alicorn…" The mare said slowly yet in a low tone as she ran a hoof along the filly's cheek once more only there was nothing on it this time which Snowbreeze was thankful for.
"We've already sent out the word, she'll come for you. We've seen how you two looked at each other when you first got here." The stallion added darkly.
"Pssh! Boy have you two wasted your time." Snowbreeze remarked aloud as she rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean?" The mare asked but when Snowbreeze didn't answer, she was slapped hard a crossed the face which knocked her to her side. "Answer me!" She shrieked.
Snowbreeze couldn't help but chuckle despite the fact her cheek now throbbed and stung as she looked at the mare. "She's not coming for me because she still hasn't woken up from the injuries your lame-brain order inflicted her with." She replied much to the shock of the mare as she looked at her husband who shrugged.
"She's lying! She must be! Why else would they have that news article about her being on the way to a full recovery?!" The mare exclaimed as she walked over and kicked the filly in the stomach which caused her to let out a cry of pain followed by coughing since she had the wind knocked out of her.
Suddenly the door to the couple's house was bucked off its hinges and a squad of nearly twenty M.P.D ponies filed in much to the terror of the couple who could do nothing as they were slammed to the ground and held firmly down. It was then that Fairweather walked in, glared at the couple who was being restrained and undid Snowbreeze's restraints.
"My sincerest apologies for not showing up sooner, Snowbreeze." The mare said calmly as she helped the filly to all four hooves.
"How did you find me?" The Pegasus asked curiously as the deranged couple was dragged out of the room.
"Once again, I'm sorry but considering the streak you've had so far of running off, I had a unicorn cast a tracking spell on you last night while you were asleep." She said much to the shock of the Pegasus.
"Ignoring for a moment that you put a stinking spell on me without asking me first, what took you guys so long?!" Snowbreeze asked angrily.
"Hey, Fairweather, you might want to see this!" A M.P.D stallion exclaimed as he put a large crystal onto the floor.
"A spell damper. No wonder the signal was so weak!" Fairweather remarked aloud and sighed as she looked over the Pegasus. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this." She said softly before she grabbed a blanket from another room in the house, and threw it over the Pegasus.
"They took me back to the hospital, checked me out and other than being a little nauseous, said I was perfectly healthy." Snowbreeze said calmly.
"Wow, that must have been so embarrassing. I can't imagine being shaved bald. How long did it take for it all to grow back?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Not quickly enough." Snowbreeze remarked aloud uneasily. "Suffice it to say, I've stayed in the hospital ever since." Snowbreeze remarked aloud and sighed.
"Nothing else happened?" Sapphire asked curiously. "I mean come on, that's only three months account for." Sapphire said expecting there to be more.
Snowbreeze gave a thoughtful glance, blushed mildly for a brief moment, and sighed. "Nope, nothing." she said simply.
"Wait… you blushed! What happened?! Come on, you know I won't make fun of you!" Sapphire said as she gave her friend a playful swat to the shoulder.
"N-Nothing, I swear!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she jumped off the bed and walked towards the door. "I'm gonna go grab something for us to drink. Want anything?" She asked curiously.
"Sure, do they have strawberry milkshakes?" She asked.
"Don't know but I'll ask." Snowbreeze replied as she walked out, down the hall, and stopped near the cafeteria door before she let out a sigh as one final memory played out in her mind.
"KId, it's been nine months. I don't think she's waking up." Dr. Doodle said softly as Snowbreeze gently stroked the Alicorn's mane.
"I'm not giving up on her, doc." She said softly to which the doctor sighed aloud.
Once Dr. Doodle left the room, Snowbreeze leaned in close to the Alicorn. "Sapphire, you've gotta wake up soon. If you don't, they're going to pull the plug on you!" She exclaimed softly as tears welled up in her eyes. "I… I can't imagine my life without you Sapphire." She said softly as she leaned in closer.
"You've never given up on me and I refuse to give up on you because…" She said only to trail off as she leaned in and kissed the sleeping Alicorn on the lips.
I love you...
She whispered softly into the Alicorn's ear as she leaned back, walked over to the her chair, and closed her eyes in an attempt to fall asleep.
"S-Snowbreeze?" The pegasus heard a voice call out weakly yet no sooner she had barely uttered her name, the Pegasus's eyes snapped open and looked at her.
"She's awake! Doc, she's awake!" Snowbreeze exclaimed at the top of her lungs. It was then that a chorus of hooves could be heard trampling towards her room and soon, a familiar donkey face met her vision along with five faces she didn't recognize.
"I can't believe it…" was all the doctor could say in awe.
"I'm such a bucking idiot…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud depressingly as she opened the cafeteria door and went inside to get her and Sapphire something to drink.
Meanwhile back in Sapphire's hospital room...
The Alicorn let out a sigh as she looked out the window. "I must have imagined it." She remarked aloud softly. "Wishful thinking I suppose." She added as the faint yet oh so real memory of lips locking with hers followed by a soft voice saying:
"Master, all our attempts to kill the Alicorn thus far have failed. We beg for your mercy." A unicorn with a deep voice said though it lacked its usual commanding nature.
"Rise, Horus. It is only a matter of time before we are able to get rid of the Alicorn once and for all. According to our sources, the Alicorn still sleeps to this day. It will only be a matter of time before she dies at our hooves." A female unicorn said calmly. This unicorn was dressed in black robes but unlike the others, hers outfit bore a sense of royalty to how it had been crafted., what's more was the fact that unlike any other unicorn within these halls, she bore a black horn on her flank that seemed to portray a radiating magic from it. Around this cutiemark however bore faint scars which no unicorn dared to suggest but all thought she had her original cutiemark removed and this one put in its place.
Another unicorn in black cleared his throat upon hearing this however. "Your majesty… I believe our sources may have been tainted. Though we have been told the Alicorn sleeps still, word has been spreading all across Equestria that she is in fact awake and is planning on seeking out an Earth Pony Master to teach her how to control her earth pony magic." The unicorn remarked aloud much to the female unicorn's surprise.
"Are you sure?" She asked, her voice carrying an air of threat to it which insinuated if the unicorn was wrong that he would be gravely punished.
"Yes, your majesty. What's more, I have heard rumors that a fraction of these so called 'Alicorn Protection bureau' members have broken off from the main faction and have gone underground in fear that our order may be within their ranks." He continued calmly.
"They'd be right about that." Another unicorn remarked which was met with a bout of laughter from the unicorns in the room.
"Silence!" The female unicorn barked aloud which instantly quieted the room. "Do you have any further information on this group who is rumored to have broken off from the A.P.B.?" She asked calmly to the unicorn.
"I'm afraid not, your majesty." He replied with a deep bow.
"Very well, send out members of our order to find this faction that has gone underground. If we can not get anypony within their ranks after the third attempt, annihilate them." She said calmly to which the unicorn bowed deeply once more before his ruler and quickly left the room.
"Your majesty, may I have permission to speak freely?" Horus asked aloud to which the female unicorn eyed him curiously for a time before she nodded.
"I believe that more than our sources may have been tainted. In fact, I believe the traitor may be among us as we speak." He said calmly much to the surprise of the other unicorns in the room.
"Who?" The female unicorn asked her interest peaked at this information.
"You will have to forgive my discretion regarding this manner, your majesty. But I fear if I attempt to reveal whom I suspect, they may target me at this very moment in an attempt to silence me." Horus remarked aloud which was met with suspicious looks from the other unicorns.
The female unicorn gave Horus a curious look for a time before she looked to the others. "Very well, we shall interrogate every single member of the order's inner circle. If there is a traitor among us, they will die. This meeting is adjourned!" She said announced to which the unicorns in the room began to leave. "Oh, and Horus?" She added which caused the unicorn to stop and turn to look at her.
"Your past failures would have already landed you in an early grave if not for my mercy. Do not abuse my kindness or you will not live to regret it." She said darkly which caused Horus to gulp loudly.
"Of course, your majesty." He replied uneasily before he quickly left the room along with the rest of the unicorns.
"Well, Sapphire. It looks like you're the perfect bill of health." Dr. Doodle said casually on the Alicorn's release day as he checked her vitals.
"Sweet! We can go now? I really want to meet this earth pony master in Fillydelphia." Sapphire said excitedly as she jumped off the bed and stretched her wings.
"Don't be in such a rush, Sapphire. We've got a pretty sweet deal here!" Snowbreeze remarked aloud with a smirk before she gave a loud sip of her blueberry milkshake.
Sapphire however shot her friend a dirty look. "We've already been enough of a burden to this city." She remarked dryly.
As much as Snowbreeze wanted to argue this, she knew the Alicorn was right. "Fine but can I at least finish this milkshake?" She asked to which Sapphire smirked and rolled her eyes at the Pegasus.
It was then that Fairweather walked into the hospital room a short ten minutes later to see the Alicorn and Pegasus putting their saddle bags on. "Leaving so soon?" She asked curiously as she looked at the two.
"Yeah, I'm grateful for all you've done but it's vital that I learn to control my earth pony magic as soon as possible." Sapphire replied before she leaned off and secured the strap along her side.
"Very well, I won't stop you but there's something you should know." Fairweather said uneasily as she put a newspaper down on the bed for the two to look at.
THE LEGENDARY ALICORN IS REAL!
Yes, you read that correctly. We have sources that not only confirm the existence of the legendary Alicorn but also have reports of her saving a town from a group of known thugs and an entire city from an evil organization known as the dark horn! While reports of the Alicorn's current condition are unconfirmed, our sources tell us that the Alicorn known as Sapphire Swifthoof, daughter to a meager family of earth pony farmers, is alive and well within the earth pony nation and plans on seeking the aid of an earth pony master! The Alicorn's reasons behind this are unknown and we will keep you updated on the details!
Chief Editor of the Canterlot gazette,
Penstroke
"It seems that your existence has spiked quite the popularity amongst the ponies of Equestria." Fairweather remarked once the two finished reading the headline to the Canterlot news article.
"Uh, this is bad, right?" Snowbreeze remarked uneasily.
"Not necessarily." Dr. Doodle remarked aloud with a thoughtful expression as he scratched his chin. "This sudden rise in popularity could actually be just what you two need. The Dark Horn wouldn't dare attempt to attack you in the open with so many ponies supporting you and not to mention many more who would openly come to your defense should you come under attack." The donkey said aloud thoughtfully.
"But I don't want ponies coming to my defense! In fact, that's the last thing I'd ever want! I don't think I could live with myself if somepony else died because of me…" Sapphire remarked aloud in a saddened tone.
"Yeah, I sorta agree with Sapphire on this one, doc. One pony already was killed thanks to me and that's still eating me up. I don't think I could take it if anymore died trying to protect me." Snowbreeze remarked aloud and sighed depressingly.
Fairweather and Dr. Doodle looked at one another briefly before looking back to the two mares. It was then that the Pegasus walked up to Sapphire and Snowbreeze. "Come with me, there's something that I want you two to see." She said softly and lead the Alicorn outside.
For sometime the three said nothing, only glancing about themselves as the city bustled with the voices of its citizens. After roughly ten minutes, the two stood before a cafe that Snowbreeze remembered all too well. "Hey, this is that one cafe I got sold that lame drink." she remarked curiously before she looked to Fairweather. "I really don't think I should go in here. Last time didn't go over so well." She added guiltily.
"I can assure you both that you will be pleasantly surprised." Fairweather said with a smile as she pushed open the door to see a cafe full of Pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies chatting amongst themselves.
If Snowbreeze's jaw could drop any further, it would have already hit the ground and possibly dug five feet under as she gawked in shock at what she was seeing.
"Fairweather! Good to see you!" The earth pony behind the counter greeted until he noticed Sapphire and Snowbreeze. His smile widened if possible much to the further shock to the Pegasus.
"Good to see you, Snowbreeze! Come on in! Order anything you like, it's on the house!" He exclaimed as he gestured towards his stock.
"Uh, no offense but who are you and what did you do with the stallion who used to run this place?" Snowbreeze asked aloud which caused both Fairweather and the stallion to burst out laughing. Snowbreeze looked to the door she remembered seeing before where she was forced to pay an outrageous price for her badly prepared drink only to take note of the fact it was boarded up.
A short time later, the stallion, Sapphire, Snowbreeze, and Fairweather each had a drink in hoof as they sat around a table in the cafe. For a time, none said a word until the stallion finally spoke up.
"Here." He said simply as he tossed some bits onto the table before Snowbreeze.
"What's this for?" The Pegasus asked looking confused.
"For that stupid drink my brother served you." He replied only to frown at the mere mention of his fallen kin.
Another short silence ensued before Snowbreeze shoved the bits back towards the stallion much to his own confusion. "Keep it. I was a featherflank to him anyways and besides, you probably need it more than I do." She said warmly.
The stallion chuckled softly at this as a smile crept its way back on to his facial features. "I just want you to know that even if me and my brother were rather rude towards anypony other than our own kind, we never would wish death on anypony." He said simply.
The haunting image that the Pegasus had kept buried until now managed its way to the front of her mind and once again played before her eyes which caused her to tear up much to the concern of the others. "I-I'm so sorry! He died because of me! I should have stood up, said something but I hid like a coward!" She exclaimed aloud between sobs.
Sapphire and Fairweather had no idea what to say to this as they looked to the stallion who looked rather upset towards the Pegasus now. "Buck up and stop kicking yourself in the flank you pansy!" He exclaimed at the top of his lungs which startled nearly everypony in the cafe. "Do you really want to insult my own brother?! Because if so, you can leave right now!" He continued on as the Pegasus looked at him in shock.
"Hey! No need to get rude! She was only apologizing!" Sapphire snapped angrily as she came to the defense of her friend.
"She's got nothing to be apologizing for! My brother sacrificed himself to protect another pony, a Pegasus, and this quivering mass of a filly wants to say she's sorry for that?!" He snapped back before he took several deep breaths to calm himself and continued. "Listen to me and listen to me good. My brother gave his life to protect you and I'll be sent to Tartarus before I let you act like this is your fault!" He said sternly.
"Sapphire, its okay. I think I get what he's saying. " Snowbreeze said softly as she managed to cut the waterworks and looked at him. "You're saying that I shouldn't feel guilty for something that wasn't my fault, right?" She asked softly.
"No, I'm saying that you shouldn't be acting like a pansy and treating yourself as somepony important when all my brother did was do what was right. I'm not saying what happened is your fault but you sitting here and acting like he made some noble sacrifice when that's not true is really pissing me off. Just because you're friends with the Alicorn, doesn't put you on a higher pedestal than any other pony in Equestria." He said in a much calmer tone.
"But she's not!" Sapphire exclaimed, once again coming to her friend's defense.
"My flank she's not!" The earth pony retorted irritably to the Alicorn.
"Come on, Snowbreeze. Lets leave this cafe. It's obvious nothing has changed." Sapphire remarked aloud with a glare at the earth pony only for Snowbreeze to stop her before she could stand up and walk away.
"No… he's right. I'm sitting here beating myself over something that was entirely out of my control and still am. I think I get it now, the reason why this has been eating at me so much. Ever since we started traveling together, I've thought myself better than other ponies, even my own race since my ancestor is Rainbow Dash. The feeling of being better than everypony else got even worse and worse since you saved that town and this city. I've been taking advantage of this city's generosity and all because I thought I was 'entitled' to it since I'm the element of loyalty's descendant." Snowbreeze remarked aloud and sighed before she looked at the stallion.
"Can you forgive me?" She asked softly to which the stallion reached out his hoof and shook hers.
"Of course." He said with a warmly as he looked at her.
"Well! That was certainly more than I bargained for when I brought you two here." Fairweather remarked aloud with a smile at the two as they walked through the city streets.
"How are you feeling, Snowbreeze?" Sapphire asked as the Pegasus walked next to them.
"A whole lot better actually. Its like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders." She replied as she walked with renewed vigor and a skip in her step.
"Good to hear." Sapphire replied warmly.
"So, I take it you two will be leaving soon?" Fairweather remarked casually.
"Actually, I think now would be a good time." Snowbreeze remarked aloud much to even Sapphire's mild shock.
"Really? You sure you don't want another blueberry milkshake?" The Alicorn joked.
"Haha, no thanks." She said aloud as she made her take off position as did Sapphire.
"Well, this is very sudden but I bid you both fairwell. This city is indebted to the both of you." Fairweather said with a smile.
"Nah, you don't owe me a thing. In fact, I haven't done much at all since I started traveling with Sapphire other than get foalnapped." Snowbreeze replied modestly.
"Don't sell yourself short, Snowbreeze. Even the most humble of ponies deserve a little ego stroking once in awhile." Fairweather replied with a smirk.
"Oh dear Celestia, don't tell her that! I'm hoping to get to the next city with at least half our rations left!" Sapphire joked which was met with a bout of laughter from all three ponies.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze broke into a run and were off to the skies in a matter of moments as Fairweather watched them fly away. "Don't stop being the strong mare you are, Sapphire. Equestria needs you more than you will ever know…"
now more than ever.
The Pegasus remarked softly as the two slowly left her sight.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze landed inside the city of Fillydelphia only to be bombarded with cameras and ponies attempting to get the Alicorn's autograph and/or word on why she was here.
"Ponies, please! I'm not comfortable with all of this! One at a time!" Sapphire exclaimed after roughly five minutes of the barrage of stallions, mares, and foals.
"This is Swiftink and we'd like to know why the Alicorn is in Fillydelphia! Any comment?" The stallion asked curiously.
"Uh… Well…" Sapphire began to say only to trail off. "I'm just here to learn to control my Earth pony magic and I'm hoping Liberty Belle can teach me." She said only for the crowd of ponies to suddenly pummel her with questions such as:
"Does this mean that the Alicorn is actually an earth pony?!"
"Why would the Alicorn need to seek aid from an earth pony master when she already has displayed so much more power to defend the ponies of Manehatten?!"
"Did you know that Liberty Bell has been retired from the armed forces for over twenty years?!"
And many more than Sapphire couldn't make out as their voices began to overlap one another once more.
Sapphire seemed to have no place to run as everywhere she looked, news ponies surrounded her and Snowbreeze. The Pegasus took note of how overwhelmed her friend was becoming and quickly began to look for a way out of this mess. When she seemingly couldn't find one, she had only one thing to say:
Fly for it!
She exclaimed at the top of her lungs at which point the two bolted from the ground and away from the news ponies. The two mares landed on a cloud a short time later out of sight of the mob and stopped to catch their breath.
"I'd take being attacked by the Dark Horn over dealing with that again…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud dismally as she looked to her friend.
"You said it! Fairweather told us that I had become popular but I didn't know I was this popular!" Sapphire remarked aloud as she felt her breathing began to return to normal along with her heartrate.
"Okay, so I say we wait awhile and then go looking for this Liberty Belle pony." Snowbreeze suggested as the two peered over the cloud and glanced down for any news ponies who had possibly managed to find them only to see none.
Nearly two hours later, the two mares took off from the cloud and landed a short distance away in a less populated area of the city. "So, where is this Liberty Belle pony anyways?" Snowbreeze asked curiously as she looked to her friend only to realize the Alicorn was drawing a blank. "You don't know where she is do you?" She deadpanned and once Sapphire nodded to confirm this, slammed a hoof against her face in frustration.
"Guess we may as well ask around." Sapphire suggested uneasily.
A few questions and a few fan ponies asking for autographs later, the two learned that Liberty Belle lived just outside of town. A fact that made both ponies groan aloud wishing they had known this ahead of time. With this new found knowledge the two flew straight over the pony's house, taking note of the fact that while well kept, the house itself looked fairly old as it stood out amongst the more modern buildings in the city since it looked like it had been built from nothing more than mostly wood and some brick.
With one final look at her friend, Sapphire walked up to the door and knocked. "Who is it?" a male voice asked curiously as he opened the door only gawk at Sapphire. "Oh buck no!" He exclaimed and slammed the door in the mare's face.
"What… just happened?" Snowbreeze asked slowly yet uneasily as her friend looked at her with a similar confused expression.
The Alicorn timidly knocked once more only to get no response this time around. "Excuse me, are you Liberty Belle?" She asked aloud.
"Yes, now go away!" Liberty shouted from within the house.
"Please, I need your help!" Sapphire exclaimed back.
"I know why you're here and no, I won't teach you!" Liberty shouted back which caused both mares to exchange looks of confusion for a moment before Sapphire looked back at the house.
"If you know why I'm here then you must know that your ancestor, Rarity, sent me! Please! I need you to teach me how to use my earth pony magic!" Sapphire shouted to the door only to get no response.
"That's funny, Rarity said he would be more than willing to help me if I mentioned her name." Sapphire remarked aloud curiously.
"At least tell us why you won't teach her!" Snowbreeze shouted this time.
"Because you Alicorns are nothing but trouble!" He shouted back.
"What the buck does he mean by that? You're the only Alicorn in Equestria." Snowbreeze remarked aloud in confusion.
Sapphire thought to herself for a moment before she spoke. "Fine, you don't have to teach me but at least let us in so we can explain to you why we're here." Sapphire said aloud in a calm manner.
At first it seemed as if he was going to leave them out there but then the door opened revealing an earth pony with fur as white as Snowbreeze's with a cutiemark bearing thee small ruby gems on his flank. "Fine but I'm not teaching you, got it?" He said sternly as he ushered the two inside.
The inside of the earth pony's house looked practically brand new to the mares despite the outside looking aged but well kept. Trophies sat on display just above a roaring fireplace, the carpet adored with a flowered pattern and the furniture a mixture of wood and leather.
"Alright, yap your gums off so we can get this over with." He said in a rude tone to the two as they sat down on a couch next to one another while he sat in a chair adjustment from them.
So Sapphire and Snowbreeze explained everything to the stallion and though he may have frowned at certain parts of their story, his annoyed expression remained unchanged for the majority of their story. "Well, I can see why you'd want to seek me out." He said finally as he stood up and walked away from the two.
"But you still won't teach me?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"No." He said simply even though he didn't bother to look back at her.
"Ugh, why not?!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in frustration.
"I already told you both the reason. You Alicorns are nothing but trouble!" He said rudely.
"You keep on saying 'Alicorns' as if there is more than one around. Are there more like me?" Sapphire asked curiously. The hope of not being the only Alicorn on the face of Equestria growing inside her once more.
"How the buck should I know?" He retorted rudely which was met with confusion between the two mares.
"Then how can you say Alicorn's are nothing but trouble when I'm the first one you've met?!" Sapphire exclaimed feeling her temper rise due to the stallion's rudeness.
"You just are! Now would you kindly leave?!" He snapped as he looked back at her with a glare.
"Not until you tell me why you won't teach me!" Sapphire exclaimed hotly as she glared back at him.
"I don't have to answer for myself to the likes of you! Now get out of my house!" He roared as he snapped his hoof to the door.
"Come on Sapphire, lets leave this mule alone." Snowbreeze said to her friend giving the earth pony one last glare before she walked away.
Sapphire however calmed herself as she walked over to the stallion. "Please, Mr. Belle. You're the only earth pony master I know of, if you won't teach me, then who will? If you don't teach me, then I'll never learn how to control my Alicorn magic." She said in the most compassionate tone she could muster.
"Right, Your no more an Alicorn than those fictional trinkets or ponies who called themselves the elements of harmony!" Liberty snapped angrily.
This tore it. Being rude to her was one thing but insulting the legendary elements of harmony, the ponies who sacrificed themselves to protect Equestria was one thing the Alicorn wasn't going to take sitting down. Sapphire walked past one of the wooden chairs, reared her hindhooves back and bucked the chair hard at the stallion much to Snowbreeze's shock.
Liberty Belle looked behind himself just in time to see the chair flying and in one fluid motion, evaded the chair and caught it with his hind hooves as he stood on his forelegs much to the surprise to the mares. "Fine! You want to learn to be an earth pony? Watch closely!" He exclaimed as he narrowed his eyes at the Alicorn and chucked the chair at Sapphire with his hind legs to which the Alicorn could not dodge and was hit squarely.
Before Sapphire or Snowbreeze could react, the earth pony was upon the Alicorn with such speed and velocity that neither of the two knew what had happened until Sapphire was sent flying through the house's wooden wall in a splinter of wood and rolled to the side outside the house.
Liberty Belle causally jumped through the hole and stood just outside his home as he watched the Alicorn stand up wearly. "Had enough?" He asked with a smug grin.
"Not a chance, leadhoof!" Sapphire retorted, looked at her surroundings quickly and began to buck a wooden lawn chair, table, and even a plow at the earth pony.
Liberty Belle merely scoffed as the first two objects flew at him, bucking the chair to splinters, dropped to his backside, and stopped the table with all four hooves before he bucked it off only to see the large metal plow flying at him.
As the plow sailed at him, he stared it down, refusing to move until the very last second when he merely sidestepped it as it landed next to him at which point he spit on it before looking back at Sapphire. "You're strong, I'll give you that." He said with a smirk.
"But you still won't teach me?" Sapphire asked as she huffed and puffed where she stood.
"No." He said simply before he charged at the Alicorn once again with such speed that Sapphire once again couldn't hope to possibly track, slid under her, bucked her skyward with all four hooves, lept off the ground, and bucked her to the ground with a loud thud which caused Sapphire to cry out as she hit the ground.
Without missing a beat, the earth pony quickly picked up a few fragments of wood from the chair and table he had stopped earlier, and bucked them so they stabbed into the ground at four different points, two of which pinning the Alicorn's wings to the ground though only hitting feathers, and the other two next to her head which caused Sapphire to give a scared gasp as they impacted with the ground next to her head.
As much as Sapphire tried, she couldn't free her wings from the wooden spikes as her lower half thrashed about in frustration and anger while the earth pony walked up to her, and put a hoof to her cheek. "LIke I said, You Alicorns are nothing but trouble!" He said before he gave her face a hard shove to the side and walked away.
"Didn't your mom teach you that it's not polite to hurt a mare?!" Snowbreeze exclaimed fiercely as she rushed over, yanked the wooden spikes from Sapphire's wings and from beside her head.
"Save your breath. She's much more durable than you think. I merely suffered her up a bit. Now get off my property before I call the authorities." He replied rudely as he approached his house.
"Wow, what a mule. Come, on Sapphire, we'll go back to your parents house back in Rockybottom. Maybe your dad can teach you." Snowbreeze remarked aloud bitterly.
However no sooner she said this, the earth pony stopped and turned around. "Did you say… Rockybottom?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah? What of it?" Snowbreeze retorted as she glared at the stallion.
"Is your father's name by chance, Steel Swifthoof?" He asked his voice full of a sense of curiosity.
"Yeah, why?" Sapphire asked with the same glare.
The earth pony sighed aloud. "I'm such a bucking idiot." He remarked aloud as he slammed a hoof against his face.
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Steel is my great-grandson." The earth pony said simply as he walked up to her.
"Wait a second, that would make you…" Sapphire began to say only to trail off as the sudden realization hit her.
"I had heard rumors that my Great-Grandson bore a foal with both Pegasus wings and a unicorn horn but I didn't believe it myself until now." He said softly and sighed.
"Wait, your last name is Belle right? Aren't you Rarity's ancestor?" Snowbreeze asked curiously.
"You should know better than anypony that its been a tradition as old as time for the stallion to take on the mare's last name, Snowbreeze Dash" He replied with an annoyed look at the Pegasus.
"Wait, How did you know my last name?! I never told you!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in shock.
Upon hearing this, the earth pony merely chuckled. "Even if i despise my heritage, it never stopped our families from keeping in close ties with one another until shortly after the three hundred year war." He said with a smirk.
"But if that's the case, then why are you an earth pony?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Why won't you come inside and I'll explain it to you both." He said simply as he jumped through the hole in his house.
"After the beating you just got done giving Sapphire? No way!" Snowbreeze snapped angrily only for Sapphire to give her an annoyed look. "What?!" She asked defensively.
"Snowbreeze, he didn't even hurt me that much. He was holding back, I can see that now. If he really wanted to hurt me, I bet I wouldn't even be walking right now." Sapphire remarked aloud with a slight limp in her step as she walked towards the house.
"But-But...ugh!" Snowbreeze stuttered in frustration before she let out an aggravated sigh. "Some old geezer claims to be your Great-Grandfather and suddenly you forgive him for kicking your flank ten ways from sunday?!" The Pegasus managed to fluster out which caused Snowbreeze to look back at her.
"I never said I forgave him but if this guy is telling the truth, then he's family and I don't know about you but the only family I've ever known is my parents and my brother. As far as dad told me, my grandfather wanted nothing to do with me so I never met him. If he really is my Great-Grandfather, then he might know more about me and maybe how I came about in the first place." Sapphire reasoned calmly much to her friend's annoyance.
"Fine but I still don't trust him." Snowbreeze said grudgingly as she walked up next to her friend.
"Neither do I until he proves otherwise but I'm not missing this chance to find out about my family heritage." Sapphire remarked aloud just before she jumped through the hole to the house with Snowbreeze closely following behind her.
"Took you two long enough!" Liberty remarked with an annoyed glance at the two. The stallion had a portfolio placed on a coffee table in the room.
Dismissing the stallion's rude attitude towards them coming back full throttle, Sapphire figured she'd ask the obvious. "How did you know my parents lived in Rockybottom?" She asked curiously as the two sat on the couch they had earlier before their confrontation.
"The newspaper, what else?" He replied dryly before he sighed aloud and flipped a page of the portfolio. "Course I didn't believe a word of it since it was printed by a bunch of Spikeheads." He added bitterly.
"Okay, so can you tell me why you're an earth pony when your obviously related to Rarity?" Sapphire asked curiously which earned a bitterly chuckle by the stallion.
"According to our family tree, sometime along the line a mare in our family tree called Crystal Belle married a young earth pony colt much to the outrage of her parents. Funny thing is that not a single earth pony was born in our family until about four hundred years ago. You can imagine what happened when a unicorn couple found out their foal was born an earth pony." He remarked with a wry smile at the Alicorn.
"Given what my mother taught me, relations were often hostile back then between our races back then so I can only assume it didn't go over well." Sapphire remarked aloud casually.
"You're darn tootin they didn't! The family got split down the middle thanks to that. While We don't have all the details, I can tell ya that the earth pony and her dad didn't get along well. In fact the colt ran away from his parents at the age of ten and came to Fillydelphia just just before tensions broke out into all out war." Liberty Belle explained calmly.
"So how did your family keep in contact with the other elements of harmony's families?" Snowbreeze asked aloud curiously.
Upon hearing this question the stallion let out a sigh. "My aunt was a particularly fond of me you see and tracked me down nearly fifty years ago. According to her, the element of honesty and laughter's family's kept a close eye on this side of the family ever since my ancestor ran here." Liberty explained simply. "Wish the spikehead had left me alone." He added bitterly.
"How can you say that about family?" Sapphire asked in shock at the stallion's racist remark towards his aunt.
"Oh shut it! I may have been like that to her at first but you can't blame! Lets see some unicorn walk up to you out of the blue and claim to be your aunt and see what your reaction is?" He remarked defensively only to realize the exact situation he found himself in.
The stallion gave an uncomfortable cough before he continued. "Anyways, I soon warmed up to her once she proved she was really my aunt but you know the thing about grudges is that they never really go away. My aunt insisted that I shouldn't join the armed forces and I wasn't going to have anything of it. I had my earth pony pride and with the war nearing its head between the earth ponies and unicorns, my aunt wasn't necessarily welcome in these parts if you get my meaning." He explained and sighed once more.
"What happened?" The Alicorn asked curiously though her voice had a sense of worry to it.
"We got into a fight over me joining the armed forces, a real bad one and in the process my aunt was exposed to the town as a Unicorn." He said simply as a frown formed on his face.
"She wasn't… killed, was she?" Snowbreeze asked hesitantly before Sapphire could muster up the courage to ask this question herself.
"What the buck do you think?! She was a unicorn in an earth pony city at the peak of an all out war between earth ponies who were trying to seize Canterlot!" He snapped with a glare at the Pegasus.
"Didn't you come to her defense?" Sapphire managed to asked without thinking only to regret asking said question as the stallion glared at her.
"And be made out as a traitor to the earth pony nations during all out war? Are you bucking insane?!" He roared at her before he took several deep breaths in order to calm himself. "No, I even denied being related to her. A part of me died inside that day for doing it but I guess I let my own selfish desires come between me and kin." He finished and sighed once more.
"You're a terrible pony, you know that?" Snowbreeze remarked aloud much to Sapphire's outrage.
"Snowbreeze!" Sapphire exclaimed with a glare at her friend.
"No, she's right. Besides, even if I came to her defense, knowing my aunt, she would have denied even knowing me to protect me." He remarked and sighed.
"Okay, so maybe you can tell us why you said that Sapphire is nothing but trouble?" Snowbreeze asked though she didn't stop glaring at the stallion.
"She just is! After all the rumors flying about with this dark horn coming after her and putting a whole city in jeopardy, she's nothing but trouble!" Liberty snapped at the Pegasus.
"But she saved that city at nearly the cost of her life!" Snowbreeze retorted glaring at the stallion even more so than before.
"The city wouldn't have needed saving if she hadn't been there in the first place!" Liberty snapped back glaring at the Pegasus as much as she was at him.
The mare and stallion glared at one another for a time the tension growing between the two before Sapphire interjected by shouting "Enough!" as she glared at the two. "Last thing we need is you two getting into a fight." She added irritably.
"Says the mare who sparked the first fight by bucking a chair at him." Snowbreeze muttered only to get a hoof to the back of the head by the Alicorn.
"Anyways…" Sapphire continued as she eyed the two for any scenes of one wanting to tackle the other. "Now that we know we're family, I was wondering if you might reconsider training me." Sapphire said casually.
"How about... No." He said bitterly as he stood up and walked away. "You think that just because I suddenly found out that your my Great-Granddaughter that I'm just going to train you on that?" He added as he looked at a photograph on his fireplace mantel.
"Actually… yeah." Sapphire replied sheepishly much to the stallion's annoyance.
"Fat chance in Tartarus when that happens." He replied.
"Well, can you at least tell me why?" Sapphire asked irritably.
Snowbreeze looked at her friend as her ears folded back expecting another fight to break out between the two. "Here we go again." She muttered softly though she wasn't sure if Sapphire had heard her this time since she didn't see the Alicorn look at her.
"For one thing, you're too old! You might have a great deal of leg strength but that don't mean squat in the long run. To truly learn to be an earth pony you would have had to start training from the age of five and you would be barely through a quarter of your training by now." He explained calmly.
"What kind of training?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Every earth pony starts off their training with strengthening their bodies. Something you obviously lack since you couldn't even break free of a few wooden boards." He replied with a knowing look at the Alicorn who folded her ears back in embarrassment at the memory which happened not long ago.
"FIne. I get it. I'm too inexperienced for the training. Got it." She said simply, stood up, and looked to her friend. "Lets go Snowbreeze." She said simply as she walked towards the door.
"Heh. Don't be a stranger now just because I won't train you." He remarked with a smug grin.
"Don't worry. I won't be." Sapphire replied and unknowingly to the stallion or Snowbreeze, the Alicorn was forming a plan in her mind.
"Are you sure this will work? This kind of reminds of your half-baked attempt at flying." Snowbreeze asked uneasily as she looked at the Alicorn put the last of the heaviest objects she could carry into the metal cart.
"Of course it will! Once I show off my impressive strength to him, he'll train me for sure!" Sapphire exclaimed excitedly.
The Pegasus gave one last fleeting look at the small tower of objects which consisted of several boulders, chairs, and even the plow she had bucked yesterday at the stallion. "Ehh, I don't know Sapphire. This really does seem like a really bad idea." The Pegasus remarked uneasily.
"Nonsense! Now go knock on his door!" Sapphire exclaimed excitedly.
Snowbreeze gave one last look at her friend, then to the pile, and then began to walk towards the stallion's front door with a dreading sigh. "This won't end well." she remarked dismally as she reached forward and knocked on the door.
After a short time, the stallion answered, looking rather annoyed. "When I said don't be a stranger, I didn't mean to knock at my door at six the bucking morning!" Liberty began to say calmly only to exclaim his final five words of his sentence in anger at the Pegasus.
Snowbreeze gave a glance at her friend then back to the stallion before she leaned in close. "Okay, sorry for waking but I think you should see this! See, Sapphire's got it in her head that all she needs to do is prove how strong she is and you'll train her." She whispered to which the stallion deadpanned at her.
The stallion continued to stare at the pegasus for roughly thirty more seconds until he gestured with his right front hoof "Seriously?" He remarked with a look of complete and utter annoyance that would give a certain crusader a run for their money with how well he mimicked their gesture and tone.
"Uh, yeah, seriously!" Snowbreeze replied as she gestured to her right with a hoof which caused the stallion to walk out just in time for Sapphire to begin pulling the cart.
"Is that… my plow?" He asked in pure disbelief as he stared at the top of the pile at the farming tool.
Though Sapphire was completely confident she could do this from the start, she now found it increasingly hard to pull the cart as her legs began to strain to pull the heavy cart of objects. "Okay, desperate times call for desperate measures!" Sapphire whispered to herself as she felt her legs reaching their limits. Against her better judgement she began to channel magic into her horn to move the cart while trying to make sure her act was hidden from the view of the stallion.
"Yeah, I'm not impressed." The stallion remarked aloud in an annoyed tone as he clearly witnessed the Alicorn using her magic. "She's obviously using magic to move the cart at this point." He said as he gestured to Sapphire's horn.
"Wait...did you just say she was using magic?" Snowbreeze asked as her eyes widened with a sense of panic as she recalled a certain event from nearly a year and a half ago:
"Get this thing off my wings! Use your magic!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she gnawed at the rope but was making no progress due to the fiber of the rope being made out of a very tough material.
"I can't! Everytime I try to use my magic, I end up blowing something up!" Sapphire replied as she did her best to evade another bolas as it flew past her side.
"I hate it when I'm right…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud dismally as the Alicorn's magic suddenly skyrocketed the cart off the ground which yanked the Alicorn several feet into the air before the straps snapped.
"What the buck is that mare thinking?!" Liberty exclaimed in shock as he witnessed this occur.
"I'd get out of there if I were Sapphire! No telling when that stuff is going to come crashing down!" Snowbreeze exclaimed to her friend who was still recovering from the sudden yank skyward and the fall.
With a quick glance up, the two ponies realized that the cart and all its objects were on the way down much to their horror. "Sapphire, get out of there!" Snowbreeze shouted frantically.
The Alicorn however had just become coherent enough to hear these words and by the time she could react she saw the first of many building falling straight for her.
"She'd going to be crushed!" Liberty exclaimed as he charged forward.
It was then that the Alicorn's eyes went blank white and a magical field being to form around her. Upon witnessing this, Snowbreeze quickly flew forward before the stallion could pick up enough speed to out fly her, bit down on his tail, and held him back. "Wait! She's going to be fine! Her Alicorn magic is kicking in! Its like a self-defense thingy she has!" Snowbreeze exclaimed between gritted teeth.
"You can't be serious?!" He asked glancing forward then back at the Pegasus. By his estimates, he had exactly thirty more seconds to save her before she was going to be crushed by the boulder.
"Yeah! She's going to be-" Snowbreeze began to exclaim with a smile only for Sapphire's magical field to suddenly disappear and the Alicorn land on her feet. "Uh, that's never happened before!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in shock.
At first, Sapphire had no idea what had just happened but the lightheadedness told her what she needed to know only once she looked up, she realized she was still in grave danger.
What happened next however was a complete shock to even Snowbreeze as the Alicorn quickly reared herself up and bucked the first boulder to rubble, then the next, and the next. Nearly five boulders and two chairs later and the only thing left was the plow. As if her body moved on its own accord, the Alicorn dropped to her backside and caught the plow by it's underside giving a grunt of pain as its full weight plus the gravity which propelled itself pushed against her legs.
Without another word, Liberty charged forward and bucked the plow off the Alicorn a short few seconds later. "Are you out of your bucking mind?! You could have been killed!" He exclaimed at her.
"Eh-heh… I guess I didn't think that fully through." Sapphire remarked sheepishly as she stood to all fours only to give a cry of pain as she fell to her underside. "I think I sprained my legs though." She winced softly.
Snowbreeze was next to rush to her friend's side, put herself under the Alicorn and began to carry her back into the house. "Hope you don't mind Mr. Belle but Sapphire needs someplace comfortable to lay." Snowbreeze said aloud as she walked up to the house steps.
It was then that the full impact of what had just happened fully registered with the earth pony as he stared at the shattered boulder's chair and plow. "Holy Luna…" He said aloud in a completely stunned tone at first before he placed a hoof on his chin. "You know, maybe if I- No! blalala! Snap out of it! You're retired!" He began to say aloud thoughtfully only to abruptly slap himself hard a crossed the cheek and say what he had as if he was attempting to convince himself not to train the Alicorn before he walked towards his house to see how Sapphire was doing.
"Sapphire, what happened out there? I saw you go all magical supernova and then it went 'poof!' as if somepony flicked a switch!" Snowbreeze exclaimed worriedly.
"You got me. That's never happened before." Sapphire remarked aloud in a confused tone as she lay on the couch inside Liberty Belle's house.
It was then that Liberty walked past the couch, gave one look at the Alicorn, and sighed before he walked into another room.
"Some Great-Grandfather you got there." Snowbreeze remarked bitterly as she watched the stallion seemingly brush her condition off.
Sapphire rolled her eyes at this remark. "I sprained my legs, Snowbreeze. I didn't break them." She remarked aloud at her friend with a mildly annoyed tone.
"She's lucky nothing worse happened!" Liberty's voice shouted from the other room and moments later he walked back in carrying a small bucket of steaming hot water on his back. The stallion then walked next to Snowbreeze, reached behind himself with his mouth, and placed the bucket on the floor. "Put your hooves in this. Looks like only your lower ankles were sprained by the looks of it." He remarked before he walked over to his usual chair and sat down. "Alicorns…" he added as he shook his head.
"You sound like you know a lot about Alicorns. How?" Snowbreeze asked suspiciously as she looked over at the stallion.
Our family had this ludicrous notion that the next Alicorn to be born would be within our family." Liberty explained calmly.
"If that's true, then why didn't my parents know more about me? About what I am, what my power is for?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Because it stopped with me. I never placed much stock in myths and legends." He said simply as he lifted up a teacup on the end table next to him and took a sip of the beverage. "Alicorns, mystical elements of harmony, all a load of horseapples, I thought. I wasn't about to teach my son to believe in some mythical creature and some trinkets."
"Yeah, well, I'm real." Sapphire replied though her voice carried an air of annoyance to it due to her Great-Grandfather talking about Alicorns in such a fashion.
This earned a soft chuckle from the stallion much to the two mare's confusion. "You sure are." He remarked aloud with a smirk his voice dripping with sarcasm before he sipped his tea once more.
"Oh, so you think these wings and horn are nothing more than fashion accessories?" Sapphire remarked aloud sarcastically as she gestured to her wings and horn.
"You aren't the first pony to claim to be the legendary Alicorn and you certainly won't be the last." He said simply.
"Oh, so what do you call what I did in Manehatten? A fancy parlor trick?!" Sapphire snapped irritably.
"I didn't say that. You're merely a very talented unicorn." He remarked aloud casually.
"But I am an Alicorn! I'm no more than a myth than you are!" Sapphire exclaimed hotly as she withdrew her hooves from the hot water since they no longer hurt. "Wow, I never thought I'd be quoting Rarity." She added aloud thoughtfully.
"Besides, you haven't shown us any proof your Sapphire's Great-Grandfather! You've only told us stories!" Snowbreeze interjected suspiciously.
"Being a little overprotective of her, don't you think?" Liberty remarked aloud with a curious glance at the Pegasus before he stood up, walked over to his mantel, picked up a photograph encased in a wooden and glass frame before he sat it down. "This should be proof enough and if it's not, I've got your grandfather's and Steel's birth certificates in my filing cabinet." He said before he sat back down on the chair which allowed the two mares to look at the photo.
The picture looked like a family photo of an aged stallion, a younger looking stallion, a mare, and a young colt. "My mom has a photograph just like this on the wall." Sapphire remarked aloud before she looked at Snowbreeze. "Here's the proof, you happy now?" Sapphire said with an annoyed look at the Pegasus.
Snowbreeze couldn't argue this any further since just as Sapphire said, she had seen this same photograph on the wall in her friend's home. "Fine." She replied bitterly as she crossed her forelegs in front of her with an annoyed expression. "And I wasn't being overprotective!" She snapped a few moments later with a mild blush.
Liberty smirked at the Pegasus for a few moments longer before a serious expression washed over his face. "Now, onto the other matter. There's no more need to put on the act, Sapphire. I'm not sure how you found out about the little folk tale that has been passed throughout our family but the Alicorn is nothing more than myth. Your father knows this, your grandfather knows this, and I sure as buck know this." He said calmly.
Sapphire then stood off the couch and extended her wings to their full length. "Then what do you call these?!" She exclaimed angrily.
"Your wings are most likely a birth defect. Either that or you had them surgically implanted. It was possible back in my day and I'm sure the art has been perfected by now." The stallion said though his voice bore the same annoyance his expression showed to the two mares.
"A b-b-birth defect?! She can fly and walk on clouds, you leadhoof!" Snowbreeze snapped angrily.
"I never said she couldn't. After all, if she couldn't then I'd be asking for my money back from the surgeon who performed the operation to fix or implant those wings. As for the walking on clouds, it's nothing a 'walk on clouds' spell which can be found in just about any standard unicorn magic book couldn't fix." He replied calmly though it was more than obvious he was growing more annoyed the longer this went on.
Both mares gave cries of frustration upon hearing this.
"SHE IS AN ALICORN!!!"
"I AM AN ALICORN!!!"
Both mare's exclaimed simultaneously into the stallion's face to which his expression became angry.
"This joke has gone on long enough! I've dealt with enough wanna-be Alicorns in my time to give me my fill and I won't tolerate my own kin trying to pull the wool over my eyes just like all those others!" He exclaimed angrily at the two.
"The others?" Sapphire asked with a confused look.
"I'm surprised you managed to tune out my earlier remark or you might have figured that one out already. Yes, there were many others who claimed to be Alicorns. They thought it was a quick ticket to fame and fortune. In my youth, I was foolish enough to believe them only to later find out they were not what they claimed to be. You are no different from them, trying to get me to train you through the same ludicrous claim." He explained with a bitter frown as he spoke.
"So that's why you said that Alicorns are nothing but trouble!" Sapphire exclaimed, the statement finally making sense to her. "But i'm not like those fakers! I'm the real deal! Your Ancestor Rarity sent me here because she she said you could teach me to control my earth pony magic! " She added as she looked at him.
The stallion's expression went from pissed off to suddenly on the verge of laughing much to both mare's confusion. "Hold it!" He exclaimed barely stopping himself from snickering as he gestured with both hooves as if to stop them from speaking. "You're telling me that, Rarity, our ancestor, came to you and told you to come to me in order to train you?" He asked, still barely able to stop himself from laughing.
The two mares looked at each other in confusion before they looked back at the stallion. "Yes, she did. She even told me that I'm not even the first Alicorn." Sapphire replied failing to see how this was so funny to the stallion.
Liberty could hold in his laughter no longer as he fell off his chair laughing so hard one might think he'd die from it. "I've heard some tall tales, hahahaha! But this! Bwahaha! This one takes the cake! bwahahahahaha!!!" He exclaimed before he managed to stop laughing while he stood up, walked over to the bookshelf, and leaned against it as he struggled to prevent himself from laughing even more.
"What's so funny about this?! Its the truth!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she glared at the stallion.
"Wow, kid! I figured you did your homework on our family but to dig up a bedtime story as a last ditch attempt to scare me into training you? You almost make me want to train you just because of how much effort you're putting into this act now." He said as he walked up to the Alicorn and stopped a foot away.
"Scare you? What in equestria are you talking about?" Sapphire asked looking just as annoyed as Snowbreeze was by now.
"Okay, enough's, enough! You want my final answer? It's two words!" He exclaimed as he took a deep breath in order to shout the obvious answer. However, a mere second before he was going to exclaim this, a sudden knock on the door halted him in his tracks. "Ugh, hold on." He said irritably as he walked past the two mares and towards his front door. "I swear, if it's those Luna's witnesses again… Been trying to get me to join them for the last twenty years." He added aloud with a sigh.
"Did you say, the last twenty years?" Sapphire asked curiously as she looked over to Snowbreeze who seemed to be thinking the exact same thing she was. She then ran up to Liberty and stopped him from opening the door. "Did they happen to start showing up shortly after I was born?" Sapphire asked curiously as Snowbreeze walked up next to her.
"How the buck should I know? I only heard you were born thanks to my son sending me a less than happy letter about you being born with a horn and wings." He replied as another knock come from the front door.
"Wait… I thought you said you heard rumors?" Snowbreeze inquired curiously.
"May as well have been a rumor! My son is prone to making up tall tales even as an adult he hasn't stopped trying to tell me of his 'great exploits' that never happened." Liberty remarked bitterly as another knocking rang out. "Hold your reigns, I'm coming!" he exclaimed aloud irritably.
"Liberty, I know this may sound crazy but I don't think these ponies are Luna's witnesses." Sapphire remarked aloud uneasily.
"Oh? You think it's those dark horn fellows do you? Even if they still existed, they'd be a sad shadow of what the nightmares my mother gave me when she told me of the tale about their fight with those supposed elements of harmony." Liberty replied casually.
"For somepony who doesn't believe in the elements of harmony, the dark horn, or Alicorns, you sure as heck seem to know a lot about them." Sapphire remarked curiously.
"When your mother forces you to study and memorize that load of horseapples nightly, it tends to stick with you." The stallion remarked bitterly only to let out an agitated growl as the knocking seemed to become more urgent now. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to usher away some pests." he added as he gently moved Sapphire to the side and opened the door.
"Hello, good sir! We are from Luna's witnesses and wish to speak with-" The unicorn stallion began to say casually until he caught a glimpse of Snowbreeze. "M-May we come in?" He asked as he walked up to the doorway but rather than maintain eye-contact with Liberty, seemed to be trying to get a look about the room though the stallion barred his way.
"No you can not, I've been telling you ponies this for the last twenty years and I'll say it again, I'm not interested!" He exclaimed as he attempted to slam the door in the unicorn's face only for him to halt it with his magic and continue to look about the room for some strange reason.
"Do you have clouds stuffed in those ears?! I said I'm not interested!" He exclaimed as he attempted to push the unicorn back.
The unicorn seemed to be ignoring him now as he edged his head into the room and got a clear view of Sapphire before Liberty managed to shove him out and slammed the door. "Never seen them so determined to recruit me before." He remarked aloud before he sighed.
"Sapphire… I hate to say the obvious but-"
"I know, he didn't let Liberty shove him out until after he saw me." Sapphire said uneasily as she cut off her friend as the two began to walk towards the kitchen.
"Wait, where are you two going?" Liberty asked curiously as he followed the two.
"Do you have a back door?" Sapphire asked urgently as the two quickly picked up their saddlepacks.
"Well yes but… oh come off it! You can't possibly think those buffoons were dark horn scouts could you?" He asked skeptically.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze exchanged worried glances with one another before they looked back at the earth pony. "That's exactly what we think." Snowbreeze said uneasily.
"Its best we get out of here before you're caught in the crossfire." Sapphire added as the two walked towards what could be none other than the back door to the stallion's house.
"You can't be serious! Do you genuinely believe you are the legendary Alicorn and this cult that has been dead for over five thousand years suddenly came back just to hunt you?!" Liberty exclaimed in disbelief of what he was seeing.
"It hasn't been dead at all." Snowbreeze remarked as she turned to look at the stallion. "In fact, if we're to believe what that Horus fellow said almost a year ago, they've been in control of every major city in Equestria for the last five thousand years."
"I'm the first Alicorn to survive its first night and live as long as I have. Every other Alicorn that has been born before me has been killed as an infant." Sapphire added as she reached for the doorknob only for Liberty Belle to jump in front of her and stop her from opening the door.
"Saying for about two minutes that I believe this load of horseapples, you really think they're going to barge into my house? I'm the most skilled earth pony that Equestria has ever seen in the last three hundred years! They'd be crazy to even try to pull a stunt like that!" He boasted proudly with a smirk.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze looked at each other uneasily once more before they look back at the stallion. "Liberty, they tried to incinerate an entire city just to get rid of me when they knew I was too weak to escape. I think that more than qualifies as 'Crazy enough to try and pull a stunt like this'." Sapphire said in a dead serious tone.
"Wait, an entire city?! That level of unicorn magic has been lost for over-"
"Let me guess, five thousand years?" Snowbreeze remarked with a knowing look as she cut the stallion off.
"Its not possible…" Liberty said aloud in a stunned tone as he looked at Sapphire completely differently now. "She can't be… They can't be…" He continued as he fell to his rump, his stunned expression never leaving his facial features as he seemingly couldn't finish what he was saying.
"Can't be what? Real?" Sapphire remarked with an annoyed expression towards her Great-Grandfather.
Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the front of the stallion's home, causing all three ponies to snap their attention to the sound of hooves rushing inside the house. "Fan out and find the Alicorn!" a voice exclaimed which was followed by hooves rushing about the home.
"This can't be happening! I must be dreaming!" Liberty exclaimed aloud horsley upon hearing these words. A sudden snow white hoof sailing a crossed his face snapped him out of his stupor however.
"Snap out of it, Mr. Earth Pony Master! If they're inside this house, then that means they have the place surrounded. That means we aren't getting out of her alive unless we fight!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in a whisper to the stallion.
"If what you say is true than not even my skill will make much difference due to the sheer numbers they have." He said as he stood uneasily to all four hooves and walked over to the wall.
"What are you doing?! They'll be showing up back here any second!" Sapphire exclaimed softly until the stallion's hoof suddenly pressed into a hidden panel in the wall which caused it to slide open.
"Sometimes, there are better alternatives to fighting." He said wisely as he ushered the two into the secret passage and followed shortly after and closed the wall up behind him.
The faint sounds of hooves frantically searching for Sapphire could be heard above as the three ponies walked along a dark yet dimly lit passage which looked as if it was covered in dark red gemstones.. "What is this?" Snowbreeze asked curiously and though the answer was obvious she still couldn't help but ask.
"Its a secret passage that was built into this house when it was first built. You won't find it on any schematic of the place since it was built by our earth pont ancestors themselves. I wasn't kidding when I said that our family had this crazy notion that the next Alicorn would be born in our family." He explained softly.
"So our ancestors built this as a way to escape in case the dark horn attacked?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Yes, though I never maintained it myself despite my parents forcing me to study every single part of it as a foal in order to keep it clean and safe to pass through." He explained once more.
"So, do you finally believe that I'm an Alicorn?" Sapphire asked in a mildly annoyed tone as the three continued along the path.
"I believe that a group of unicorns attacked my house and claimed to be looking for an Alicorn." He replied, obviously avoiding the question.
Upon hearing this, the two mares let out cries of frustration. "You're either in denial or a whole new kind of stupid." Snowbreeze remarked irritably with a scowl.
"For once, I'm going to agree with you." Sapphire added with an annoyed scowl herself as the three continued along the passage.
Upon hearing this, Liberty suddenly stopped and looked at the two. His expression serious yet annoyed. "Okay, look, I have no idea what's going on right now and until today, I had lived a nice peaceful life of retirement. Am I going to believe that those unicorns who attacked my house are part of some cult that supposedly existed but was wiped out by the supposed elements of harmony? Buck no! Do I believe that they meant business, yes! No doubt some crazy wanna-be cult that took the myths and legends too seriously." He said before he turned around and continued walking.
"You know what, Snowbreeze? I'm going to go with him being a whole new kind of stupid." Sapphire remarked aloud, the scowl once again upon her face as they followed Liberty.
"You said it." Snowbreeze replied before she sighed aloud.
Once again the stallion turned to face them but this time his expression was rather ticked off. "You really think you're the legendary Alicorn?! Then prove it! Do some of that 'Alicorn Magic' you Alicorn's boast that is more powerful than any unicorn's!" he snapped angrily at the mare.
Sapphire folded her ears back as she bit her lower lip, knowing what she was about to say wouldn't help her case at all. "I can't." She said softly to which Liberty scoffed and rolled his eyes at her. "That's why we came to you in the first place! Rarity said that I need to master my earth pony, Pegasus, and unicorn magic if I want to be able to master my Alicorn magic!" She followed up quickly though the stallion looked no more convinced than he had before.
Without another word, Liberty turned around and continued leading the two through the passage for some time until Snowbreeze spoke. "Seriously, everything you've seen today doesn't strike you as the least bit suspicious? Like there's something more going on than meets the eye? I mean, come on! Even if you honestly can't believe everything we've told you, this must still look really suspicious that your house gets invaded the moment after they see Sapphire!" She exclaimed contentiously.
"I will admit that it does look sketchy. I will also admit that for a brief time before you slapped some sense into me that I thought my parent's stories were true. But now that I can think clearly again, I realize that it was nothing more than a collection of coincidences that forced me to believe such a thing for the brief time I had." He said calmly despite the irritation in his voice still apparent.
"Or maybe the lists of fakes that lined up, claiming to be what I am all those years ago caused you to believe that your parents stories were nothing more than fairy tales. I can imagine that after the fiftieth pony claiming to be the legendary Alicorn and turning out to be a fake would cause anypony who once believed so strongly in such a thing to stop believing in it." Sapphire mused aloud curiously.
A long sigh could be heard from the stallion as the two continued on. "More accurately it was after the five hundredth one that I stopped believing in it. My youth, the prime of my life, wasted on a bunch of fakes. You're right, Sapphire. I once did truly believe as my parents had. That the next Alicorn would be born in our family or at the very least that I would be the one to train them. That fool's dream cost me more years than I care to count and it took my wife to make me realize that not a word of it was true. I was going to be a father, my reputation all but destroyed after trying to train so many fakes. I had to stop believing in myths and legends or risk my son growing up in shame of a father who was the laughingstock of the entire armed forces." He said aloud his tone no longer angry but rather saddened as he spoke.
"Maybe you really are the legendary Alicorn, maybe you're not. My point is, I'm not about to risk what few remaining years of my life I have on a fool's dream." He finished solemnly.
Suddenly a chorus of voices could be heard within the halls must to the horror of Sapphire, Snowbreeze, and Liberty. "We're trapped like rats down here! If they find us, we're dead!" Snowbreeze whispered fearfully.
"They wouldn't dare use offensive magic down here, now if their smart anyways! Look at the walls, ceiling, and floor." Liberty remarked with a smirk which caused the two mares to look more closely now at the passage they hadn't been paying too much attention to until now.
Snowbreeze was clueless as to what she was looking at but Sapphire was quick to pick up on what the dark red gems that lined the walls, floor, and ceiling really were. "Mirror Stone… Mirror Stone?!" Sapphire said calmly at first but the second time she spoke the gem's name was in more alarm as she realized what she was looking at.
"What's Mirror Stone?" Snowbreeze asked curiously as the three continued their way through the passage at a much faster pace now.
"Mirror Stone, also known as the 'unicorn's bane' was discovered during the one-hundred and fiftieth year in the three hundred year war and mined so excessively that by the time the war was over, it was believed to cease to exist since it was used for the construction of most earth pony armor during the war." Sapphire explained as the three made a right turn.
"Ya see, Snowbreeze. These little red gems have properties that make them resistant and if refined into their purest form, even reflective of all kinds of unicorn magic. And you can bet your bits that every single gemstone that lines these walls was refined to its purest form." Liberty remarked aloud for the first time since the two had met the old stallion in a proud tone of his parents actions.
A loud chorus of hooves growing louder by the second however caused the stallion's facial expression to become worried. "You sure no schematic exists of this place? They seem to know their way around this place quite well." Sapphire remarked worriedly.
"They couldn't have possibly found a map of this labyrinth because none exist! It's been taught to each foal of our family since before I was born!" Liberty exclaimed as the three began sprinting down the halls now.
As the three took a swift left turn, Snowbreeze chanced a look behind herself to see a large group of unicorn's at the far end of the passage. Upon seeing this, the snow white Pegasus nearly lept off the ground as she sped past the two. "They're right behind us!" Snowbreeze exclaimed in a panicked tone.
"There they are!" A voice suddenly shouted from behind them.
"Impossible!" Liberty exclaimed in disbelief as the three dashed down the passage and took a left only for the stallion to stop which caused Sapphire and Snowbreeze to stop as well.
"What are you doing?! They'll be on top of us any second!" Sapphire exclaimed in a panicked tone.
Without another word, Liberty reared his hind legs back and bucked the passage wall with all his might which caused the entire passage to begin to rumble loudly. "Head straight, take two lefts, and then one right! You'll find the exit at what would look like a dead-end!" Liberty shouted over the loud rumbling as pieces of the ceiling began to fall down in front of him.
"Come on! You can still make it!" Sapphire shouted as more and more ruble began to fall down in front of them.
"Somepony needs to stall them! If you really are the legendary Alicorn then my life is meaningless next to the importance of your survival and training! Head for the earth pony Capital and find Firmhooves! He can teach you what you need to know about controlling your earth pony magic!" Liberty shouted back just before the ceiling completely collapsed in on itself much to Sapphire and Snowbreeze's horror.
Soon after, an unsettling silence ensued as the rumbling subsided. "You think he's okay?" Snowbreeze asked uneasily.
"Of course he is. Come on, we need to get moving!" Sapphire exclaimed urgently at which point the two darted down the path.
Liberty looked at the collapsed passage and placed a hoof on the ruble. "Sapphire… I certainly hope you're telling the truth, lass." Liberty remarked aloud thoughtful just before a chorus of hooves stopped just behind him.
With a cocky smirk, the earth pony turned to face them. "Afraid it's a dead-end, colts." He said as he leaned against the ruble and crossed his front hooves across his chest in a cocky manner.
"You made this mess and you're going to clean it up." one of the unicorn's said threateningly as his horn glowed as if he was charging up a spell.
"Ya sure that's a good idea, sonny? Look around us, nothing but Mirror Stone." He said, hs cocky expression and tone not fading in the least as he spoke.
The unicorns then looked about themselves in a worried manner but the one unicorn didn't seem convinced. "You're bluffing!" He exclaimed as he jabbed a hoof against Liberty's chest.
"If you think I'm bluffing, then by all means, blast this little blockade of mine away yourselves, I won't stop you." Liberty replied in the same cocky manner as he stepped to the side. "But I won't be held responsible if your blow off a leg or two when your spell comes flying back at ya." He added with a light chuckle.
"Fine! I'll call your bluff!" The unicorn exclaimed as he charged magic into his horn.
Liberty gave a panicked look at the stallion before he dove behind a few unicorns hoping they would be a sufficient equine meat shields for what was about to transpire. The unicorn's spell hit the Mirror Stone with a loud thundering boom followed by a dust cloud so thick it rendered most unicorns who were close to the ruble blind and the others unable to see into the large dust cloud.
"Ha! Told ya he was bluffing!" The unicorn exclaimed triumphantly despite the fact he couldn't see still at the present time.
The only response however was a faint chuckling from Liberty as he held firm behind the unicorns. "What are you laughing about?! I called your bluff!" The unicorn exclaimed irritably.
"Clearly you never payed attention in school or you'd know that Mirror Stone when in its purest form, absorbs the magic first and then redirects the exact same spell with two times the power back at its caster!" Liberty shouted back.
Sure enough a loud crackling sound made the unicorn snap his gaze back to the ruble and took note of the fact that as the dust cloud dissipated, a large cluster of mirror stone was glowing bright red as magic seemed to surge over the surface of the gem in small sliverers of magical energy. "Run! Flee for your lives!" The unicorn roared at the top of his lungs as he darted past his fellow troops, shoving most of them out of the way as he ran.
The rest of the unicorns quickly followed suit as the bright red glowing gems seemed to be nearing the peak of their charge. Liberty was quick to run along with them and had barely cleared the corner when an explosion of magical energy surged through the hall, hitting the wall of the other.
"Well done you fool! You've created a chain reaction!" Liberty exclaimed as he ran past them only for the unicorn to grab his leg with his magic which caused Liberty to fall flat and look back at him.
"What are you saying?! We just evaded your little trick and you think you can escape alive?!" He exclaimed with a glare. "And now you have nothing left to stall us with!" He added as he yanked Liberty over to him so that he was face to face with the unicorn.
"Face it, Dark Horn. The Alicorn has slipped through your hooves once again!" Liberty exclaimed as he snapped his hoof in the direction of the wall the blast had just hit which was now glowing just as bright red as the the gems of rumble had.
"That's what you th-th….what the buck?!" The unicorn began to snap back only to gawk in horror as the wall ceiling and floor all around them were glowing bright red. "Wh-What is this place?!" He exclaimed in horror as he let go of the earth pony.
"To put it quite simply: A unicorn deathtrap." He said with a smirk before he darted down the hall at breakneck speed using every ounce of his earth pony leg strength to propel him as fast as his legs could carry him.
By now, Sapphire and Snowbreeze had arrived at the dead-end Liberty had spoke of…
"Is there some kind of secret switch?" Sapphire asked as she ran her hooves against the gem covered wall.
"Are you sure we didn't take a wrong turn and are like lost in this labyrinth forever?" Snowbreeze remarked aloud worriedly.
"Of course not!" Sapphire snapped irritably at the Pegasus before she sighed aloud dismally.
"Well if there's no secret switch then how the buck does he expect us to get out? Its not like we can just buck the wall down and not get buried alive!" Snowbreeze snapped back.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire's eyes lit up. "That's it!" She exclaimed excitedly.
Knowing Sapphire as she does, she knew that her Alicorn friend had just gotten one of her really bad and life threatening ideas. "Oh, no,no,no,no! I'm stopping this before it even begins, Sapphire! You are not going to buck down that wall!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she darted in front of the Alicorn and stood in her way.
However, as Snowbreeze looked at her friend, she began to take note of the fact that the passage was beginning to look very different from what it had when the two had ran through it a few moments ago. "Say uh, Sapphire? What does it mean when Mirror Stone glows bright red?" She asked worriedly.
"Oh, that just means that it's absorbed a magical spell and is most likely preparing to redirect that spell back at its caster." Sapphire remarked nonchalantly. "Why?" She added curiously as she turned to look in the direction Snowbreeze was at which point it dawned on her.
Both mares comically stood in place and watched the wall, ceiling and floor begin to glow bright red with the exception of the dead-end wall. The two then looked at one another's, ears folded back as they seemingly were thinking the same thing now.
"I'm gonna buck the wall down now." Sapphire said in a tone which was roughly two octaves higher than her usual voice.
"Go for it." Snowbreeze replied in a fast-paced tone just before she lept over Sapphire's head and landed behind her as the Alicorn turned about-face, reared her hind-legs up, and bucked the wall with all her might.
Much to both mare's relief, the wall came down with a loud rumbling sound at which point both mares darted out and took in a breath of fresh air as the evening air whipped across their faces and manes and a large grassy plain laid before them.
"Whew! Glad we got out of there!" Snowbreeze remarked in a relieved tone.
"Not out of danger yet!" Sapphire exclaimed in a panicked tone as she tackled the Pegasus which caused the two to go rolling down the hill they were standing on just in time for a large magical blast to erupt above them.
The two mares managed to stop rolling down the hill just in time to witness the beam of charged Mirror Stone magic to near the end of its blast and dissipate in a fashion that looked like a candle being blown out.
For a time both mares looked up in awe of the near-death experience they had barely escaped which almost at once, both realized that they were intimately close to one another with Snowbreeze laying on top of Sapphire, muzzles barely a few inches from one another.
The two looked at one another for a brief time before Sapphire let out an uncomfortable coughing sound. "Ahem, personal space, Snowbreeze." She said awkwardly at which point the Pegasus flapped her wings and lifted herself off the Alicorn.
"Oh, eh-heh… Sorry. Caught up in the whole nearly being killed by a magical stone kinda thing." Snowbreeze remarked aloud sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head with a crimson blush.
"Clearly." Sapphire replied with a curious yet unconvinced look at the Pegasus.
Another short awkward silence ensued between the two before the Pegasus spoke up.
"So, uh… where we heading now? We obviously can't head back there with the Dark Horn most likely flooding the streets in search of us." Snowbreeze said in an attempt to avoid the obvious topic that was on both their minds at the moment
"Liberty said to head for the earth pony capital." Sapphire replied though the mere mention of her great-grandfather was enough to make her give a worried look back up the hill. "I hope he made it out okay." She added softly.
Sensing her friend's concern for her great-grandfather, the Pegasus walked over, extended a wing, and placed it on her shoulder in a comforting manner. "You kidding me? He probably took another exit or something.
"For all his talk of not believing in myths and legends, when the chips were down, he put his life on the line for you and me." Sapphire remarked aloud.
"Ya know, I think deep down, he did believe you were the legendary Alicorn all along." Snowbreeze remarked aloud which caused Sapphire to look at her curiously.
"If he did, then why didn't he train me?" The Alicorn asked curiously.
"He probably knew the Dark Horn would come after you and with him being your great-grandfather, this would be the first place they'd look when you fell off their radar.
"I suppose you're right…" Sapphire remarked aloud, spread her wings, and took off for the skies along side of Snowbreeze.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze were now closing in on the earth pony Capital, Maretropolis. "Can't believe this place used to be called The Badlands." Snowbreeze remarked aloud in mild shock as they looked below. The two were high enough above at the moment to see several hundred ponies walking around, talking, or selling goods.
"Can't believe you actually know that this place used to be called The Badlands." Sapphire quipped at her friend who flashed her an annoyed glare.
"I might not know my history but in flight school, geography is a big deal." Snowbreeze remarked aloud defensively.
"Come to think of it, why didn't you finish flight school anyways?" Sapphire asked curiously as the two lowered their altitude to get closer to the ground.
Instead of answering however, the Pegasus descended further down avoiding the question. The Alicorn was about to ask her why she avoided the question when the two mares suddenly noticed a large sign that was slowly being risen above what could be none-other than the largest building in Maretropolis.
LAND HERE
Was written in large bold letters.
"You think it's a trap?" Snowbreeze asked uneasily as she rose to fly alongside her friend.
"We won't know until we land but I doubt the King himself would let us land on his house and put himself in danger if we were seen as a threat to him." Sapphire replied though she couldn't help but feel just as uneasy as her friend. How did they know that her and Snowbreeze would show up?
The two mares cautiously descended further down now, Sapphire looking about herself for any possible signs of an ambush but the ambush never came as the two neared the rooftop where the sign was being taken down by several well-dressed ponies while a stallion who looked as if he was dressed like royalty walked towards the edge to greet the mares as they landed.
"Welcome to Maretropolis, Alicorn! On behalf of the king, we welcome you!" The stallion said aloud in a regal tone as he gave a slight bow to the two.
"Forgive us but we must know, how did you know we'd be arriving? We told no pony in Fillydelphia or anypony on the way here of our travel plans. Forgive our suspicious nature but because our lives have often been in jeopardy these past few years, I presume that you cannot blame a mare for being cautious." Sapphire replied in a prim and proper tone which caused Snowbreeze to gawk at her in shock.
"Of course not! After all, one can never be too careful! We received a carrier pigeon a week ago from a Mr. Liberty Belle that you would arrive and requested that we accommodate you accordingly." The stallion replied calmly.
"Oh thank Luna, he made it out okay." Sapphire remarked aloud in relief. While she had not said a word to Snowbreeze, the mare's mind often drifted back to her Great-Grandfather, wondering if he was okay.
"Wait, wait, wait. Since when can that old geezer make requests of a king?!" Snowbreeze blurted out without thinking which was met with a glare from Sapphire and an uncomfortable cough from the stallion before he regained his composure.
"General Belle is a very important pony, you see. He was a cornerstone pony in the 300 year war, why if not for his skill and leadership, our eminence would not be here!" The stallion said in an excited manner as if he was having fun bragging these facts at the two.
"Please, come this way. His highness is eagerly looking forward to meeting you both!" The stallion said as he ushered the two towards the stairs which lead to the inside of the castle.
Sapphire and Snowbreeze followed the stallion down a large winding stone staircase both unsure if this warm welcome was a ruse or genuine, both mares keeping their wits about themselves for any possible attack from any direction.
Sensing their unease the stallion looked back at them and chuckled. "There is no need to be so tense. His majesty has been eagerly awaiting your arrival since the moment word of your existence being confirmed arrived." The stallion remarked aloud with a warm smile.
"Is the king the earth pony master who is meant to be teaching me?" Sapphire asked curiously as the three neared what looked to be the bottom of this massive stone staircase.
The earned a subtle chuckle from the stallion as the two entered a large yet lavish room comprising many armored manikins. "As much as his majesty would love to be such a skilled pony, he sadly lacks the skills to do so. However, what his majesty lacks in combat prowess, he makes up for ten fold with his skill and wits in politics as well as ruling our fair kingdom." The stallion replied with a proud grin as the three entered yet another room though this one could be none other than the throne room as the king himself sat upon his throne a crossed the room as they approached. Sapphire and Snowbreeze looked about themselves in wonder at how decorated this room was. It seemed as if no expense has been spared as the walls themselves looked to be painted in a velvet red color, the floor was adorned in a lavish blue while earth pony flags hung from nearly every side.
Finally, the three stood before the king now as the stallion quickly walked up to the king and bowed deeply before speaking. " Your, eminence… The Alicorn." The stallion said aloud, speaking of Sapphire in such a way that it made her feel much more important than she thought she was. He then turned to face Sapphire and Snowbreeze.
"Ah, at last! Finally we meet. Tales of your exploits have reached my royal ears." The stallion said in a regal prim and proper tone though with an air of ego in his voice. "And they are impressive, indeed." He added with a wide grin.
Being showered with so much praise was causing Sapphire to feel rather dumbfounded though once her wits finally caught back up with her, she immediately bowed before the earth pony king only to notice moments later that Snowbreeze wasn't bowing. "Psst! Bow! You're in the presence of royalty!" she hissed at her friend.
Though reluctantly, Snowbreeze followed suit and bowed herself but not nearly as deeply as Sapphire had.
"It is an honor to be in your presence, your majesty. I must admit I was hesitant to land when I first saw the sign but-"
"Oh yes, you must excuse the incompetence of my subjects. When I asked them to signal you down, I was unaware they would use such a crude means. I will see to it that they are severely punished for not providing the legendary Alicorn a more proper welcome." The King replied quickly cutting off Sapphire whom looked up in shock upon hearing this.
"N-No! I didn't mean it like that! I meant that me and my friend have faced certain death many times over the course of our journey with naught but a warm welcome to prelude our near-death experiences! We were cautious to say the least since we had not known your intentions of welcoming us in such a manner." Sapphire replied quickly with a worried glance towards the stallion who guiding them here who was now looking pale.
"I see." The King replied with a curious look at the stallion who was sweating bullets by now.
"We still don't know his intentions." Snowbreeze remarked aloud in a calm tone yet her words had an air of distrust about them as she looked at the king who looked back at her now with the same curious look picking up on the distrust in her voice.
Sapphire had picked up on this as well as she flashed a glare at her friend. "Snowbreeze!" She exclaimed angrily.
The King stared at Snowbreeze a few moments longer before chuckling aloud. "Your friend's contempt for me isn't misplaced. However, I would ask that she mind her manners while in the presence of royalty." The King remarked aloud calmly yet only a fool wouldn't pick up on the subtle threat by this king as even Snowbreeze quickly lowered her gaze from the king due to knowing the situation she found herself in.
An awkward silence ensued for a moment before the king spoke once more. "You two must be exhausted after your long journey. Please rest in the royal guest chambers. We can discuss business tomorrow once you both are well rested." The King remarked aloud as gestured to the guards whom ushered the two away.
"Business?" Sapphire asked only to get no reply as the guard quickly ushered her away.
"Have a nice rest." The guard said before closing the door to the royal chambers.
The two mares looked about the room in amazement at the pearl white walls with golden highlights, the spotted velvet red floor, the pearl white chairs with golden outlines, and the lush golden blankets that lay neatly tucked into a very comfortable looking bed.
"I don't trust him." Snowbreeze remarked aloud suddenly, breaking the air of wonderment the Alicorn was enjoying up till now as she looked at her friend and scowled.
"You don't trust him because he's an earth pony." Sapphire retorted.
"That, and that he didn't even bother to tell us why he's being so nice to us." Snowbreeze replied disregarding her friend's annoyance.
"He said he would tell us tomorrow." Sapphire replied as she sat down in one chair.
"I'm telling your, Sapphire. Something about this stinks and it isn't the cologne that's been sprayed on everything in here. Yesh, my snout is on fire here!" The Pegasus remarked as she rubbed her nose and exhaled violently from her snout.
Upon hearing this, Sapphire rolled her eyes and sighed. "You're just being paranoid and I smell nothing." Sapphire replied calmly.
"No, I'm not!" Snowbreeze snapped with a glare.
"Yes, you are!" Sapphire snapped back with a glare of her own.
The Pegasus was about to pop off another retort when she took a deep breath and let it out. "Look, I know I let my prejudices take the reins alot but this time isn't one of them. Did you see how that king was acting? He was ready to axe off his subjects just for a bad sign to flag us down with!" Snowbreeze reasoned in a much calmer tone now.
"He said severely punished, not beheaded, Snowbreeze." Sapphire deadpanned with a mildly annoyed glare at the Pegasus whom rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Oh, then what about me then? You can't tell me that he wasn't threatening me back there!" Snowbreeze said as she gestured a hoof towards the door.
"Because you insulted him!" Sapphire replied much more aggressively than she had meant to.
"Ugh! You're hopeless." The Pegasus remarked as she flung her hooves into the air and flew to the other side of the bedroom.
Sapphire huffed softly to herself as she gazed upon her lavish surroundings once again with a thoughtful look for a time before Snowbreeze spoke up once again.
"Look, maybe I am being overly paranoid but you can't blame me! Look at how our lives have been the last few years?" Snowbreeze remarked as she hovered over and stopped in front of Sapphire who looked at her with an annoyed look for a few moments longer before letting out a sigh.
"I guess you're right but I have no reason not to trust him, Snowbreeze. He's our king after all." Sapphire replied calmly.
"Your king, not mine. Besides, are you really gonna trust a stallion you've never met just because he has a crown on his head?" The Pegasus remarked with a skeptical expression towards her friend.
"I'd love to hear you say this about the Pegasus king or queen." Sapphire remarked aloud with a smirk expecting some kind of panicked reaction from her friend only her expression to become saddened.
"We… haven't had a king or queen for about five years now. They died shortly before I ran away from home." The Pegasus said in a saddened tone and sighed.
"Oh. Sorry to hear that but I'm sure they had an heir to the throne." Sapphire replied unsure of why this was saddening her friend so much.
Snowbreeze's expression become a mild scowl upon hearing this. "They sure did, but I heard the heir went missing not long after they died." Snowbreeze remarked and kicked the floor as her face became angry. "The featherflanked chicken couldn't take the pressure of being the next in line so they ran like the chicken they are!" She exclaimed feeling herself tense up for a time before she took a deep breath and sighed. "Stupid chicken…" She added softly under her breath before she looked at Sapphire.
Sapphire looked at her friend curiously. "Did you know them? The heir I mean. History books cut off just after the start of the three hundred year war, so I don't know who the current royal family is to the Pegasi empire." Sapphire asked with a curious look.
"Oh yeah, I knew them all right…" Snowbreeze replied her angry expression returning for a moment before she took another deep breath and let it out. "Lost contact with them shortly after I ran away from home though." She added, hovered over to the bed, and laid on it. "Whew, I'm beat. Gonna grab some shuteye, Sapphire." The snow white Pegasus said with a yawn.
"Hold on a sec, you said you knew them. What were they like? What was their name?" Sapphire asked in a hurried tone only to find the Pegasus snoring loudly. "Yesh, she falls asleep fast." The Alicorn added with a scowl and sighed. "I guess I'll ask her later."
