Chapter 3
Hello again, friend! So here we are on the third chapter. This part takes place a week later, don't worry nothing happened that you would find interesting since our last checkup. Besides, I'm doing my best to cut out the parts that aren't interesting to shorten the story as best I can. It'd be nice if I could cut out the parts most wouldn't want to hear. But you may want to hear this, if you're into that sort of thing. I'm rambling again, I apologize. Let's move onto the story, shall we?
Applebloom sat in the barn with twenty odd unicorn. The Apple Family had taken in some unicorn when the war started and now they treat the barn as a unicorn refugee camp. Since they had already lost most of the animals on the farm due to the lack of feed, there was a lot of room. For a while Applebloom liked the idea of having multiple ponies staying in their barn, there was more stories, more fillies her age to play with and a lot more company. But now the barn was cramped and full of fear and whispers.
Of course the Apples didn't let the unicorns stay in the barn for free. They made the unicorns do odd jobs or do tasks that would generally be impossible for an Earth Pony. If the unicorns couldn't do the tasks, they would be kicked out. Since the genocide moved to Ponyvill, there was more unicorns than ever in the barn. Applebloom's big, dim eyes glanced around the barn in curiosity, there used to be 28, now there was only 20. She jumped down the hay bales, making hay go in her mane and some in her mouth. She then trotted around looking for her sister until she bumped into a peach colored Earth Pony.
"Bon Bon? What're y'all doin' here?" asked Applebloom once she stepped back. Bon Bon was sitting by Lyra. Lyra had multiple cuts on her face, probably from sleeping on hay, and had bloodshot eyes with bags under them. Though Lyra was in an awful sate, she was sitting on a hay bale like the used to do on the benches in Ponyvill. Bon Bon was standing by Lyra making sure she was okay. Bon Bon looked down at the tiny pony with hay all over her. She smiled a bit and brushed the hay off of Appleblooms head, "Well I'm here with Lyra. I can't leave her just because of some dumb old war now can I?"
Applebloom tilted her head to the side in confusion. She examined Bon Bon, who had barely any physical signs of abuse or really any marks at all, aside from the dark circles around her eyes and the bloodshot look everypony had. Most of all she noticed Bon Bon was just an Earth Pony, no horn or wings. Applebloom sat her flank down on the hay, which itched bit felt comfy either way, "But yer ah Earth Pony. Y'all got no reason to hide," Applebloom said in a thinner accent than usual. Bon Bon looked back at Lyra and brushed some dirt off Lyras hooves and replied, while still looking down at Lyra, "I'm still a pony, just like everypony else." She put her hoof back down, "So is Lyra and all the unicorn and Pegasus, doesn't mean I shouldn't be here with her…" Bon Bon trailed off a bit.
Lyra looked up and mumbled "So boooored" then instantly the doors to the barn opened and Applejacks voice boomed in, "If y'all are bored, why don't y'all clean yerselves up and paint this here barn?! Either that or get out'a here! Ya got it?!" So half the unicorn who weren't too beaten from manually moving the hay bales around, got up and went outside, including Bon Bon. Applebloom followed them out the door until she was by her sister. Applejack watched Bon Bon as she stood by lyra, putting a brush in her mouth and smearing red paint on the side of the barn. The red easily stood out since all the ground and sky was basically gray or brown. Applejack called out to the unicorns, "Come on now Unicorns! Get 'er done!" she turned to Applebloom, "Now why in tarnation is Bon Bon here? She ain't no unicorn" Applejack interrupted herself and yelled out a few orders to the unicorns. The barn had to stand out from the rest of the depressing land so the unicorn refugees can come to the barn and find where it would be easier.
Applejack sighed, Applebloom didn't reply. Instead she stood up and walked off, "Applebloom! You watch yer back, ya hear?! Yer ah Earth Pony so y'all shouldn't get killed, but be careful and be back before it gets dark!" Applejack yelled back at her little sister as she walked off. Applejack turned back and barked orders at the unicorns. Soon enough the barn was out of Appleblooms field of vision, instead she saw the tree house. Inside there was a unicorn, and a Pegasus. Her hooves tapped on the rickety staircase up to the entrance. The tree house was one of the places that wasn't totally destroyed. Like the school, every window was broken and half the door was missing. There was a few burn marks but none too serious. Applebloom walked in, "Don't worry y'all. It's just me" she announced as she walked in.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo sat down in the corner farthest from the entrance. Scootaloo was holding onto Sweetie as tightly as she could, just in case. Applebloom felt sick when she saw her friends hooves. They were rather bloody. She forgot for a moment about the genocide that started. She took a few steps forward, "Are… are y'all alright?" she asked, in her mind she was begging for them not to answer. Sweetie Belle looked up and Applebloom's eyes watered. Sweetie Belle had no horn. Her horn had been chopped off in a rather messy fashion. It looked as if it was beaten off with a blunt object instead of a proper tool like a saw or an axe. "S-Sweetie Belle!? Wh-….What happened to yer horn!?" Applebloom screamed as she ran over to her friends.
Sweetie Belle gave Applebloom a weak smile and said in her soft voice, "H-…h-hey Applebloom…" Scootaloo helped Sweetie stand up and walked her over to Applebloom, who was in shock. Sweetie Belle continued to give her a weak, yet gentle smile. Applebloom finally yelled back, "What happened to your horn!? Sweetie Belle, are you okay!? Are you in pain!? Who did this to you!? Do you and Rarity need to stay at the farm!? Are you two in danger!? What ha-"Scootaloo shoved her hoof over the Earth Ponys mouth. Scootaloo answered all her questions in one sentence "The land ponies invaded the boutique and Rarity had to… she had to cut off Sweeties horn so she'd look like a land pony."
Applebloom felt like she was about to throw up. She looked at Sweetie Belle, who still held a smile, "It's not big deal Applebloom… "Sweetie said as if she was out breath, "at least I'm safe now… they'll think I'm just some Earth Pony" Scootaloo flapped her wings, but didn't hover or really move. She flapped her wings when she got mad or happy. It caught Appleblooms attention that Scootaloo couldn't fly, since her wings weren't big enough. It made Applebloom notice, her two friends were too young to do any of the things they always wanted to. Scootaloo wasn't old enough to fly, and Sweetie Belle was too young to do magic. Without a horn… she would never use magic, something Applebloom and Scootaloo were always kind of jealous of.