ML54: Sorry for the short chapter, but I fet I had to end it where it was...

Pinkie: It's okay! A short one is better than no one at all!

ML54: Thanks, anyway, I don't own MLP.

Reunions

"Some say ta keep ya friends close an' yer enemies closer...But in this World, that's how ya git killed..."

Four Weeks After the Fall of Ponyville

Applebloom's POV

Sweet Apple Acres

We trotted back in silence mostly, finally gettin' outta hostile lands. It'd be nice ta be able ta sleep without havin' ta have a pony on watch, but Ah don't think we can afford that luxury anymore.

Ah decided ta git off of mah brother's back to trot alongside Spike an' Pipsqueak fer tha time bein'. Fer tha week that we'd been at the Boutique, these two had gone from acquaintances ta two of mah closest friends.

Ah still feel bad fer Pip though. He still hasn't seen hide nor hair of his fillyfriend, Dinky Doo. Ah just hope she's okay, heck Ah hope all mah classmates are okay, even Diamond Tiara an' Silver Spoon.

"You okay AB?" Tha sudden question threw me off an' Ah shook mah head ta face Spike's worried expression.

"Ah'm fine, why wouldn't Ah be?" He clutched tha axe in his grip anxiously, seemin' ta be choosin' his next words carefully.

"Well...After what happened with Caramel...I just..." Ah sighed an' gave him a light smile.

"Don't worry Spike, Ah'm fine. Caramel's with Sassaflash now an' Ah'm sure he's happy, where ever he is..." Ah guess Ah read one too many philosophy books when we were at tha library, but there was literally nothin' else ta do.

"Hey Squirt?" Ah heard from behind us. We all turned our heads ta see Rainbow standin' there, lookin' antsy. "Can I talk to you real quick?"

She looked serious an' nervous as she asked an' normally, as Ah've been doin' a lot lately, Ah'd have ignored her. She was gettin' on everypony's nerves an' tha solutions ta tha problems we had, she seemed ta think, were ta sit down an' give up.

Ah decided ta give her tha benefit of tha doubt an' slowed mah trot so me an' her were walking side by side, slightly behind everyone else. Best not ta git lost in these woods, that's fer sure. "What did ya need?"

"To apologise..." That got mah attention. Ah looked at her an' saw her looking down, almost ashamed. "I've been saying a lot of stupid and uncool stuff lately that was doing more harm then good. I mean, seriously, I was just going to sit down and do nothing while Caramel risked his life to get food? Some Element of Loyalty I turned out to be..."

Ah rose an eyebrow. Tha apology isn't unwelcome, but... "Why are ya just apologisin' ta me?"

"W-well...I was a jerk to the others, sure. But I was down right rotten to you..." She sighed, shuffling her wings a bit. "And that wasn't fair since you were the one who had been holding the group together. I guess I got a bit jealous..."

Now THAT was a shocker. "Jealous? Of what?"

"Of your confidence, your natural leadership skills, your bravery, need I go on?" Rainbow chuckled. "Seriously, we find out that Caramel went missing and you shot out that door to save him in a heartbeat while the rest of us stayed inside like a bunch of pussies..."

Ah decided ta let tha swear slide, it ain't like Ah've never sworn before. "Thing is...When we were at the library I thought it was all over...That we were all that survived and I just...gave up." Ah saw her glance ahead at Scootaloo with a smile that Ah instantly recognised. It was one Ah saw AJ give me all tha time. One of family love.

"But then we got to the Boutique and found more survivors...and we found Scootaloo..."

"Ah didn't know ya thought so highly of her?" Rainbow seemed slightly hurt by mah comment, but that coulda just been mah imagination.

"I'm not really good at showing that I care that much, but believe me when I say that I love Scootaloo. She's the sister that, deep down, I've always wanted. And when I thought of her being one of those...Things...A part of me just broke..."

Alright, now Ah felt like a jerk...All this time Ah thought Rainbow was just bein' pessimistic. That tha end had come an' we should just accept it.

...Ah never once considered that Rainbow was feelin' lonely.

Sure she had Twilight in there, but tha thought of losin' ya family weighs more heavy than even ya best friend would be able ta lift. Ah should know, Ah was feelin' exactly tha same. Then when Ah saw Big Mac, that weight had lifted an' Ah realised that we shouldn't abandon hope just yet.

Ah smiled at Rainbow. After everythin' we've been through though it feels slightly forced. It just feels like, with all the death around me, Ah shouldn't be smilin'. Like it'd be down right rotten fer me to be happy while in the midst of all of this.

Rainbow must have noticed because she started talkin' again. "Hey I'm sure everything'll turn out okay. That guard said this thing hasn't gotten into the Crystal Empire, so if we find a way there, we'll all be safe."

Those words did get a genuine smile on mah face. It sounded like a plan, but getting' there would be tha problem...an' we can't be sure we're tha only survivors. What if we left somepony behind?

She motioned her head forward. "C'mon. Let's catch up to the..." Her cry of pain ended her sentence an' Ah turned in panic...

...One of them had bitten into her wing.

"RAINBOW!" Twilight screamed as the carcass of a pony Ah recognised latched their teeth around Rainbow's appendage. It was Aloe, one o' tha ponies from tha spa...Or Lotus Ah guess.

Flash quickly drew his weapon an' shot tha pony dead, releasin' Rainbow from it grip, leavin' a bleedin' bite mark behind.

Rainbow glanced at it whimperin', before lookin' at Scootaloo who Ah think was startin' ta cry. "I-I...Well guess I screwed up..." Typical Rainbow, tryin' ta make light outta tha situation.

Scootaloo shot forward an' hugged her, nuzzlin' herself into her chest. "NO! Please! You can't die! You're Rainbow Dash!"

Ah glanced at tha group ta see tha mixed reactions. Flash, Lyra and Blitzkrieg looked sorry fer tha two. Spike, Twilight, Thunderlane an' Rarity looked ta be on tha verge of tears. Sweetie Belle, Rumble, Featherweight and Pip were also cryin'. Soarin was scoutin' ahead so didn't see tha situation an' Mac...

...He looked like he had an idea!

"It's tha bite that turns ponies...Spike let me borrow tha axe!" Spike looked confused, but relinquished his weapon ta mah brother, who trotted up ta Rainbow an' Scoots.

"Rainbow..." He said, causin' her ta look up. "Look, it's a lon' shot, but Ah think Ah can save ya..." She nodded for him to continue. "Well if it's tha bite that turns ponies..." What he said next caused us all to take a gasp at both tha brilliance an' insanity of tha plan.

"...Maybe cuttin' tha bite off will stop it!"

She looked like she was goin' ta start yelling, maybe somethin' about her wings bein' her pride an' joy an' that she wouldn't give 'em up fer anythin'. But then she looked at Scootaloo an' Ah think her love fer her wings have taken a back seat while mah friend was takin' tha front.

She sighed an' outstretched tha appendage, clenching her eyes shut. "Just do it quickly!" We all gasped, but none of us tried ta stop him. Mainly because Rainbow was dead anyway, what's she got ta lose if this plan didn't work? It was tha best chance she had.

But Ah swear, as lon' as Ah live, Ah'll never git those screams outta mah head!

In one swift motion, Mac had chopped right through tha centre of tha bone, a sickenin' crack an' thunk resonatin' through tha area. Instinctively, Rainbow drew her wing back...or tha remainin' half back, tha other half lied on tha ground, red blood spurtin' out from both openin's.

Mac flinched but didn't do much else 'cept pick Rainbow up an' barrel straight ta tha farm. Tha rest of us followin' him close behind.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Ah heard him yell as we made it ta tha farm. In response, tha yellow Pegasus herself rushed out an' gasped at tha condition Rainbow was in. Luckily Rainbow had passed out earlier...or maybe that was unlucky? I don't know.

"RAINBOW!" She cried, lookin' at what was left of her right wing. "What happened?!"

"She got bit an' Ah cut tha bite off!" Mac answered, ta which she looked slightly upset.

"Why would you do that?!"

"WHAT OTHER CHOICE DID AH HAVE?! TA LET HER DIE?!" Mac yelled back, before softenin' when Fluttershy recoiled an' whimpered. "Look Ah just need ya ta fix her..."

"...o-okay..." She answered, lookin' anywhere but at mah brother. "...b-but I'm not sure Ah can do much...I mean her wing is gone!" She continued, motionin' for him ta follow her.

When he did Ah heard Spike give a sigh. "Wow...I've never seen Mac yell like that...And to Fluttershy of all ponies..." Ah nodded, it was very outta character.

"Mackie's just tired and stressed..." We all turned to find Pinkie standin' between us all, smilin' a small smile. "He hasn't slept for three days. I'm sure he'll be okay once he rests...Eep!" She let out once we all hugged her as a group, well minus Flash and Blitzkrieg.

We all knew Pinkie an' were glad she was okay. "I've missed your randomness Pinkie!" Twilight said, happily.

"Very much so!" Rarity added before we let the poor pony breathe. Pinkie just grinned like it was Heart's Warming and bounced on the spot a little.

"Aww I missed you guys too!" She then spotted mah gun and grinned. "Oh yeah! For zombie emergencies! I can go find tha ones I hid in the orchard!" She babbled before takin' off for tha trees.

Soarin panicked an' followed her, Ah guess fer protective purposes.

"Applebloom!" Ah heard a very familiar voice yell as Ah was tackled into hug by green and orange blurs, with a dog jumping onto us as well.

Applejack, Granny Smith an' Winona! They're here! They're okay!

Ah returned tha hug, tears slippin' out mah remainin' eye, tha tear ducts in mah missin' one havin' been broken. Ah heard somepony shout Lyra's name happily an' looked that way ta see Bon-Bon catch Lyra's lips with her own.

Granny and Winona pulled away but AJ still held stron', refusin' ta let me go, which Ah definitely wasn't opposed to.

Ah felt two more pairs of hooves an' assumed 'em ta be Twilight an' Rarity, since AJ was their friend an' all and AJ weren't gonna let me go anytime soon. "Howdy girls...Good...G-good ta see ya too..." She sniffed an' finally let me go, allowin' me ta stand back a bit so she can have some time wit' her friends.

Spike moved next ta me and sat down, grinnin'. "Don't have to worry about food shortage here, huh?" Ah smiled back at his attempt at humour.

"Nnope."

Pinkie soon returned from the orchard with Soarin. Both gruntin' while pullin' a rather large bag behind 'em. AJ rose an eyebrow an' trotted towards 'em with me, Spike an' Pipsqueak in tow. "What's in tha bag, Pinkie?" Mah sis asked, raisin' a bemused eyebrow.

"Guns..." She responded, droppin' a load onto tha ground. Hoofguns, shotguns, assault rifles, combat knives an' a whole lotta ammo dropped before us. We all looked up, surprised at this.

"...All o' this was in tha orchard?" Ah asked. Pinkie nodded.

"Yup-a-rooney!" AJ then gave Pinkie a deadpan stare.

"An' ya only just remembered now?" Pinkie was about ta reply before she realised what AJ said an' grinned, sheepishly.

"Aha...Whoopsie?" Soarin groaned an' fell onto his back, clearly exhausted.

"You okay there, Partner?" AJ asked, nudgin' him in tha shoulder.

"Yeah sure...So long as I don't move...Or breathe..." He replied, inhalin' an' gruntin'. "Yup breathing hurts!"

ML54: Well, here's the end of this...OW!

Scootaloo: Serves you right! *Kicks another rock towards ML54*

ML54: Quit it! Review but no flames...OW!