Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 14: Heroic Strangers
The day after she and her friends returned to Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle found herself standing alone inside the library. She had taken looked around to see if the village's library had been taken care of in her absence. At first, it appeared that everything was neat and in order. It seemed that somepony had taken over the library's maintenance after she had gone and had done a good enough job.
Closer inspection, however, left Twilight nearly wide-eyed in horror. The library may be neat, but the shelving was in complete chaos: Classics mixing with History, Fiction with Non-Fiction…it was a disaster hiding under a veneer of order. She grabbed hold of every book in sight with her telekinesis and dropped them on the floor impulsively. "Spike!" she called out. "Get down here and help-!" She stopped herself. There was no baby dragon sleeping upstairs who would wake up and assist her. Spike was somewhere in the Western Barrier Lands training under some kirin called Seethe Scale. Though Twilight had agreed because Spike had felt so strongly about it, she still wasn't fine with the decision. Spike had tried something like that before and he gained nothing from being around dragons. Why would being around a half-dragon be any different?
Remembering Spike's absence only served to make the library seem even emptier. Twilight considered setting aside re-shelving by herself and going over to see her friends. However, Applejack and Rarity were likely spending time with their families. She would only feel like an intruder if she cut in on that time. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were also spending time with what were basically their adopted families.
That left Rainbow Dash. The sky blue pegasus looked uncomfortable all throughout yesterday. Perhaps she could use some company. Twilight replaced the books without any attention to their order and then prepared to head out. She paused for a moment when she opened the door and considered traveling to Canterlot to go to her family rather than insisting on staying in Ponyville. It would likely ease the loneliness she felt. Besides, today was Princess Celestia's and Prince Terrato's address. She could go there and help out.
Which might be exactly what Black Rose wanted.
Twilight peered outside her door, suddenly aware of an enemy she had nearly pushed to the sidelines because of Nightmare Moon and Pyre Valor. Black Rose was out there. It was a sun that she raised that now covered the village with its early morning rays. She could already have agents running around the Heartland this very moment. She might even be in the village in disguise. It would be so easy for her to abduct somepony and then replace him or her. Twilight now felt unprepared. She didn't even bring her mage-coat and none of her friends had come in barding. They were unprepared and surrounded by loved ones should an attack suddenly come.
Twilight shook her head and then headed on out. If she started thinking that, she would soon be suspecting everypony of being either Black Rose or a pawn of Black Rose. And all of this because the black "alicorn" had actually succeeded in making sunlight ominous.
Morning always started with a hearty breakfast in Sweet Apple Acres and, with the harvest done and the first snow already beginning to fall, breakfast was heartier and livelier than ever. That was also due in no small part to the return of the Apple Family's lost daughter. Applejack sat at the center of a veritable feast of a breakfast. After the big dinner last night, she reminded herself to show a little restraint lest she find her barding a little hard to fit into by the time she returned to her duties.
"…and then I tried again and a bunch of them actually fell!" Applebloom said excitedly. "Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
"Eeyup," the red stallion replied.
"I can't believe I wasn't around to see my little sister buck her first apple tree," Applejack said. "I'm mighty proud of you, Applebloom!" Applejack grinned and ruffled her sister's mane. She grabbed a slice of apple cobbler and finished it with a few swift bites, washing down the sweetness with a couple of gulps of cider. All the while, she was careful not to spill anything on the chain she still had wrapped around her neck. After weeks of D Grade Winter Moss and water, having so many apples in one sitting was utter paradise.
"Woah there, AJ, you're done?" Big Macintosh asked.
Applejack looked down her plate and realized that it was clean. Had she taken too little? No, she recalled filling it with food before settling down. "I, uh…" She considered filling the plate up again so she could keep pace with her family, but she was already feeling full. "I guess I am."
The others were barely halfway through their dishes. It was then that Applejack realized that she had been eating as she did back with the Legion; with a strict time limit and the platoon captain watching if they were delaying. She was chowing down her plate quickly and efficiently all throughout Applebloom's story and was done by the time her sister reached the end. She suddenly felt the need to start up a conversation as an excuse to remain at the table. "By the way, Granny, I was planning on looking through some of our family records for today," she said.
Granny Smith looked vacantly ahead of her for a while and then perked up. "Huh?" she asked. "Oh, records? You know where the family albums are."
"I was hoping we had ones that go back longer than those."
Granny Smith tapped her chin with a hoof for a while. "Longer than those huh? Just how long are you goin' back?"
Applejack thought carefully for a moment. Apple Slice was "The Last Great Apple" who stayed behind while the rest of the Apples moved into the Heartland. That would be around a thousand years or so. "About a thousand years back," she said. She felt her heart sink when she actually said the words. There was no way that they'd have records going back that far.
"Silly filly, we don't have albums that go back that far! They didn't have photos back then!"
Applejack lowered her gaze in disappointment.
"I think we have a bunch of scrolls that might have something. You know us Apples stay close to our roots and best way to do that's to make sure everypony's accounted for!"
Applejack brightened at that. "Great!" she said. "I really want to find out about somepony," she said.
"Well, I'll have you know that I know a lot about the Apples of old. Which one are you looking for?"
"A pony called Apple Slice."
Granny Smith nearly choked on a bit of apple when she heard the name. "Apple Slice, you say?" she asked when she had recovered.
"Do you know him, Granny?" Applejack asked eagerly.
"Who's this Apple Slice and why'd you want to find out so much about him, AJ?" Applebloom asked. Though Big Macintosh said nothing, he did look on curiously.
"Not personally of course," Granny Smith replied. "My great grandpa told me the story of Apple Slice and his great grandpa was the one who told him. It's an old, old story that one." With the siblings finished, Granny Smith led all of them to their living room where the old family albums were kept. She wandered around the room for a while and looked around aimlessly. "Now, where was that again…ponyfeathers, I keep forgetting…oh!" She began to fiddle with the wooden walls until one section slid to its side to reveal a small shelf-like space. She took out a few scrolls and laid them out on the floor. "Now, Apple Slice…Apple Slice…here we go!"
Applejack followed her grandmother's hoof as the old mare traced a path from one Apple to another. The scrolls were impressive. There had to be hundreds of Apples listed in there, each one connected to the rest like a branch from a massive apple tree. Eventually, she spotted Apple Slice. At once, she noticed two things: the first was that the name was quite close to the very beginning of this family tree, the second was that the name wasn't attached to anything.
"Here he is! 'The One Bad Apple' Apple Slice," Granny Smith said.
"Why is he just floating there?" Applebloom asked. "Ain't he related to anypony? How can he be an Apple and not be related to anypony?"
"And what do you mean by 'The One Bad Apple'?" Applejack added.
"I was just getting to that until you young'uns interrupted me! Now, like I was sayin' 'The One Bad Apple' Apple Slice lived a long, long time ago when the Apple Family was barely starting out. Even when he was colt, Apple Slice already stood out in all the wrong ways: he couldn't grow weeds even if he tried his best, animals hated him and he was just as bad at trying to trade or sell their harvest. His one good talent was that he was really good at lassoing things, but that didn't help much on account of the rest of the family not wanting him anywhere near animals he could lasso. Worst of all, Apple Slice was afflicted with one of the worst conditions that could fall on our family."
All three siblings leaned closer and held their breath. Granny Smith gave them a foreboding look in return and paused for dramatic effect.
"He was allergic to apples!"
Applebloom gasped and Big Macintosh shuddered. Even Applejack felt a twinge of horror at the thought of being unable to be anywhere near apples.
"It's true!" Granny Smith continued. "The poor stallion couldn't even touch a single peel without breaking out in hives. Now, being left out does strange things to a pony and Apple Slice was no exemption. He started to blame and hate the Apple Family for the things he couldn't do until, one day, he just went plumb crazy. According to his brother, Apple Peel, Apple Slice lassoed every apple tree he could find and ripped them from the ground, ruining that year's harvest. He then lassoed his family's house and tore it in half."
"He must be awful strong to do all that!" Applebloom remarked. Big Macintosh nodded in agreement.
"Or have a magic lasso…" Applejack mumbled.
"Did you say something, Applejack?" Granny Smith asked.
"No…nothing. What happened then?"
"Oh, he didn't stop there. Apple Slice turned on the family in a rampage. He even attacked his own pa, Apple Core." Granny Smith shook her head sadly. "Apple turning on Apple, ain't nuthin more tragic than that. After that, he disappeared, never to be seen again. For what he did, the family cast him out. His name appears on this scroll so everypony can remember that he existed, but he ain't connected to the tree 'cause of what he did."
Applejack tugged on the chain around her neck in disbelief. "But…but that doesn't make any sense!" Her expression brightened briefly. "Maybe there's more than one pony called Apple Slice. I mean, there can't be only one Apple Slice this long list of ponies right?"
"I don't know deary," Granny Smith replied. "After this Apple Slice, nopony in the family dared to name their foals with that name. It's a bad omen naming your foal after 'The One Bad Apple'."
"Why are you getting so upset, AJ?" Applebloom asked.
"It's because Apple Slice is supposed to be a hero! The Queen said that he died valiantly and that Crow Quill feller said that Apple Slice did something really nice for his ancestor so generations of his family made sure that Apple Slice's magic lasso returned to the Apple Family! In the Barrier Lands, they call him 'The Last Great Apple' because of all the heroic things he did! Wait, since the princess didn't want stories about Barrier Lands spreading through the Heartland, the Apples must have done some changing to it and-!"
Applejack paused when she felt that her siblings were watching her. She looked up and cringed when her family's eyes all widened.
"Apple Slice a hero?" Granny Smith asked.
"He had a magic lasso?" Applebloom added. She noticed the chain hanging by Applejack's neck. "Is that it? Is that the magic lasso that Crow Quill feller returned? Can I try it out?"
Before Applejack could reply, Big Macintosh broke in. "Hold on now, I don't know who this "Queen" is, but I think we Apples know our kin best. Even the bad ones." He looked at Applejack in disbelief. "Are you honestly going to believe some strangers from a far away land over your kin?"
"Well, I-!"
"And if that's his lasso around you like what Applebloom was asking about, I don't think you should be carrying it around," Big Macintosh added. "I reckon it might be cursed!"
Applejack put her hooves on the chain impulsively. "It ain't cursed!" she protested. "Why, it's mighty useful for what I'm doing in the Legion. Besides-"
"I still don't like it," Big Macintosh insisted. "Maybe you should keep it outside the house."
"I'm keeping it right where it is," Applejack said firmly. "Unless I should stay out of the house too?"
"Hey, now…" Granny Smith tried to say. "No need to get your manes ruffled up."
"Now I'm really starting to worry about you, AJ," Big Macintosh continued. "I don't like the thought of them Legion types looking up to somepony who abandoned his family as a hero. Maybe it ain't right for you to be around them."
"Now just wait a pony-picking minute here," Applejack said indignantly. "That ain't fair to the Legion, Big Macintosh!"
"What ain't fair is them thinking that 'The One Bad Apple' is 'The Last Great Apple' and making you fight for them for the rest of your life!"
"Nopony made me fight for them for the rest of my life," Applejack said between grit teeth. "I didn't get drafted, I joined up. The Legion does good work, Big Macintosh, just because it ain't about apples doesn't mean that it's bad. If a lot of ponies in the Legion think Apple Slice is a hero there has to be a good reason!"
"There ain't a reason good enough to-!"
"Stop!"
Both Applejack and Big Macintosh fell silent at the loud cry from their youngest sibling. Applebloom was in tears by the time they noticed her. "Stop fighting please!" she said between sniffles. "Applejack only has two weeks to be with us and I don't want to spend that time with the two of you being angry at each other!"
"Your sister's right, you two!" Granny Smith said sternly. "There ain't gonna be more Apples fighting each other in this house, you hear? Applejack, what are you crouching like that for?"
It was then that Applejack realized that she had instinctively fallen into a low stance. She had all her hooves on the floor, ready for a low charge to sweep the bigger enemy off his legs just like she was taught during training. She righted herself quickly and guiltily. "Hey…hey, there's no need to cry, Applebloom," she said soothingly. "Big Mac and I weren't really fighting. We were just…expressing our ideas really loudly. Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
"Eeyup," Big Macintosh replied. He moved closer to comfort the filly, giving the chain around Applejack's neck one more suspicious glance as he did so.
"I'm gonna take a walk," Applejack said quietly. "I need to cool off."
The bolt flew from Rainbow Dash's crossbow and struck the makeshift bullseye just a couple of inches from the center. She clucked her tongue at the result, loaded another one and adjusted her aim.
During this time of the morning, Rainbow Dash would normally still be fast asleep on a cloud around Ponyville. Normal times, however, had long since gone. Now, she was by herself in a clearing at the very edge of the Everfree Forest where she had set up a target and decided to just spend the morning practicing. She had been up almost at dawn, a habit she had to learn in Flight Dreadwing, and had proceeded to just wander around aimlessly through the skies of Ponyville. The back of her mind would not stop nagging her about how she should be glad to be back and that every minute of the two weeks she was given should be one heartwarming moment after another. The rest of her, however, seemed to be stuck on just waiting for the break to be over so she could get back to doing her part towards protecting Equestria. She had flown over to Sugar Cube Corner, Fluttershy's Cottage and even Carousel Boutique but, upon seeing her friends enjoying the time they had with their families, she couldn't bring herself to disturb them.
The second bolt flew straight on and struck much closer to the bullseye. With a grin, Rainbow loaded a third bolt. She was glad now that she decided to bring her crossbow along for the return home and hid it inside one of her saddlebags. Target practice wasn't much, but it helped ease her mind a bit. At least she felt as if she was moving towards something useful. She paused for a moment and looked back towards the direction of Ponyville and, once again, thought about seeing the friends she had left behind when she had been banished. She knew every pegasus in Ponyville and was friends with each one of them. It should be easy to strike up a conversation: talk about good old days, tell them about her adventures in the Northern Barrier Land and all the ponies and creatures she encountered there…
Yet she couldn't. Some kind of paralyzing apathy rooted her to the spot whenever she thought about doing that. Underneath the need to focus on the fights to come, she felt…tainted; unworthy of going back to a life that she had willfully abandoned for a life in the Legion. She remembered what she had told Applejack about candy-hoofed chosen. She also remembered that, during her entire time in the Northern Barrier Land, she had missed nothing. She hadn't even paused for a moment to think about missing her home here in between fighting, training and drinking. How could she now go back here and act like it was the most wonderful thing that had happened to her recently?
"Hey Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow easily recognized the enthusiastic greeting. Sure enough, Scootaloo was running towards her excitedly. How the pegasus filly had managed to find this spot was beyond her. "Hey, pipsqueak," she said.
"I was looking all over town for you! What are you doing all the way out here?"
Rainbow finished loading the bolt and aimed her crossbow at the target. "Just a little target practice," she replied. "Got to keep myself sharp you know." Scootaloo managed to hold still while Rainbow took aim and fired. The bolt struck much farther than the first shot. "Foal of a nag!" she groused.
"What was that?" Scootaloo asked.
Rainbow clapped a hoof over her mouth upon realizing what she had just said. "Nothing!" she said hastily. "Nothing at all! Say, pipsqueak, want to make yourself useful?"
"Sure Rainbow Dash! What do you want me to do?"
"Go pull those bolts out of the target will you?"
The orange pegasus filly galloped over to the target and did as she was asked while Rainbow watched quietly. Scootaloo… wasn't bad. She didn't feel any sort of aversion for the filly's presence. The constant admiration was actually a comfort. Yesterday, she had seen the hesitation on the faces of the other ponies from Ponyville when she and her friends arrived. There was gladness there, but she also saw the apprehension and knew that they were seen, not just as returning friends, but also as messengers of a war the village had been hearing about for some time.
It wasn't so for Scootaloo however. The pegasus filly still only looked at her as the same amazing Rainbow Dash. In fact, she probably saw the older pegasus as having become even more amazing for taking part in a war to protect Equestria.
Before Rainbow could continue to ponder that, however, Scootaloo had come back with the bolts grasped firmly with her teeth. Rainbow reloaded her weapon again and was about to take a shot when she looked at the filly with a smile. "Want to try?" she asked.
"Would I?" Scootaloo sang out.
Rainbow handed the younger pegasus the crossbow. As the weapon was still too big for Scootaloo, she stood behind the filly and held the weapon steady. "Alright," she said. "You just keep your shoulders relaxed, take aim and, when you're ready, pull the firing lever."
Scootaloo did as she was instructed and fired. Before Rainbow could see how the shot went, a sudden, familiar voice calling from behind them nearly made her drop the crossbow.
"What are you two doing?" Twilight asked as she approached the two. She looked disapprovingly at Rainbow Dash, who hastily took the crossbow away from Scootaloo.
"Hey, Twilight, what are you doing all the way out here?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight's expression softened a little as she turned her attention towards the orange pegasus. "Sorry, Scootaloo, I need to talk to Rainbow about something, mind playing somewhere else for a while? Preferably somewhere not so close to the Everfree Forest."
"But I-!" Scootaloo insisted, she looked to Rainbow for some support.
"Sorry, pipsqueak," Rainbow said with a sheepish grin. "I'll catch up with you later!"
Scootaloo kicked up a bit of dirt with a foreleg. "Oh, foal of a nag!" she said before running off.
"What?" Twilight looked at Scootaloo's distant figure first and then turned an indignant glare at her friend. "Rainbow Dash! What are you doing?"
"I didn't teach her that!" Rainbow said defensively. "I…uh…I accidentally said it and she picked it up on her own!"
Twilight shook her head in disappointment. "We're going to have a hard time getting her to unlearn that, if we can even do so. And if she spreads that to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle…"
The mere thought of Applejack and Rarity finding out made Rainbow cringe inwardly. She quickly changed the subject and made a mental note to talk to Scootaloo later. "Anyway," she said. "What about you, Twilight? Don't tell me that you were just taking a walk and found yourself all the way out here!"
"I was looking for you," Twilight replied flatly.
"And you found me. Now what?"
Twilight frowned slightly at Rainbow's flippant attitude before she went on. "You just looked really uncomfortable yesterday. Are you alright? How are you adjusting back here?"
"I'm not," Rainbow replied.
Twilight looked on with concern. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Aren't you glad to be back here?"
Rainbow shook her head. "The princess meant well when she asked the prince to send us here, Twilight, but I just don't think this is what we should be doing right now."
"This is our home, Rainbow!"
"I know that!" Rainbow snapped. "It's not like I haven't tried feeling great about coming back! It's just that…this place just doesn't feel like home anymore." She paced about trying to get her thoughts into the right words. "I mean, all our friends are still here, so are all the sights. I just don't understand what's missing. We spent about a month out in the Northern Barrier Land, how does a month change so much?"
"It may have been only a month," Twilight replied, "but we had to take in a lot during our time there. What's the matter, Rainbow? Didn't we join the legion to protect our home?"
"Did we?" Rainbow asked. "Tell me, if you had known that Princess Celestia would put down the barrier in a month and we wouldn't be banished anymore, would you have still joined the Legion?"
The question caught Twilight off-guard. "Well, I…"
"I was so sure that the Northern Barrier Land was going to be our new home," Rainbow went on. "I was even making fun of Applejack for not thinking that way! I don't know why but it was so easy to make that change…"
"Do you regret it now?" Twilight asked.
"Regret what?"
"Joining me in getting banished. You were the first to burst through those doors and tell the princess that you're going to be banished alongside me, remember? Was that a mistake now?"
Rainbow's eyes narrowed at the insinuation. "Not for a single minute," she replied, her voice steely. She sighed and relaxed before going on. "But the others…Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and even Fluttershy just looked so happy when they met up with their loved ones. I…I don't have that."
"I didn't have anypony specific waiting for me here either," Twilight replied.
"Then you'd understand how it feels, right? Or are you just waiting to get back to Canterlot before you get your heartwarming homecoming?"
It was Twilight's turn to sigh. "Yes and no," she said. "Of course I want to see my family again, but I think I also understand what you feel a bit." She paused for a bit to gather her thoughts while Rainbow looked at her curiously. "If you think about it, we haven't come back anywhere. In a few days, the Legion will be here and start drafting ponies. Now that we've found out about the Barrier Lands and the barrier is gone, that Ponyville we were hoping to go back to is long gone." Twilight's gaze turned towards the ground. "And I caused it," she added.
"So do you regret getting banished?" Rainbow asked.
"What for? It's done and I still think it was the right thing to do."
Rainbow noticed the lack of conviction. She knew from that tone that, while Twilight may believe that it was the right thing to do, there was still room there for regret. "So what do we do about it?" she asked.
The two of them became silent as the minutes rolled by. A cold breeze picked up and rustled through the nearby forest, making them shiver slightly.
"How about we pledge to protect this 'new' Ponyville?" Twilight suggested.
"Huh?"
"It's not so bad. So a lot of ponies will be leaving and a lot of changes will be arriving. It's still worth fighting for."
"That's all we have to do?"
"I don't think the princess just sent us back here to relax for a while," Twilight said wistfully. "We needed to be reminded of what we were protecting even if that something has changed. Maybe it's a way to get the Elements back and working properly."
"Maybe," Rainbow replied tentatively. She looked towards the direction of Ponyville. Perhaps there was something true in what Twilight was saying. She could reconcile her urgent need to get back to the fighting with a desire to make sure this place was safe. "I'll take that pledge," she said with a grin.
"What's this about a pledge?" somepony called out. The two of them looked to where it had come from and found Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all walking towards them.
"What are you two going about here?" Applejack asked.
"I could ask the same of you, Applejack." Twilight replied.
"I got to walking for a while and decided to see how the others were doing," Applejack replied. "Then we saw Scootaloo and she told us about this place."
"The truth be told, I was also worried about how you were doing, Rainbow," Rarity said. Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded behind her. "You did look a bit upset."
"I'm feeling a little better now," Rainbow said. "Much better actually!" She laughed heartily as she continued. "I can't believe I had to drag all of you out here for that!"
The others followed suit and then came together. All around them, the wind continued to blow and fresh snow began to fall.