Catastrophic Charm

"We interrupt this early morning program to bring you special news."

"An apartment was set on fire in Ponyville last night and firefighters were unable to quell most of the flames. Witnesses claim that a figure seen lurking near the building was responsible for the crime. Updated status reports show that at most two people went missing in the chaos with a confirmed total of sixteen men, twelve women and ten children barely rescued. The fate of the two missing people are yet to be discovered by the authorities; more of the story will unfold today at twelve."

"Also from Ponyville, local apple farmer 'Big' Macintosh Apple has gone missing in Everfree Forest, after his delivery truck was found wrecked beyond repair in the area, presumably due to an accident. Police investigators believe that he braked to avoid hitting something on the road, but unfortunately lost control of his vehicle in the process. A volunteer search team has already been organized and has begun searching for him, but so far there has been no luck in tracking his current whereabouts."

"In other areas of Equestria-"

[>!<]

It was during the early hours of the morning that the police department found itself tensed after they saw and heard the news.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, Applejack threw the remote control so hard to the screen that it actually shattered into several pieces of electronics and plastic. The alert police officers and arrested criminals alike in the vicinity jumped up in surprise, before they nervously returned to doing whatever they were doing as if nothing out of the blue ever happened.

Everything returned to deathly silence again.

Ever since she arrived at the precinct with Johnny Law, things were jumpy to say the least.

The aforementioned police officer approached her calmly from behind, causing her to spin around, giving him a spiteful 'What?' look despite her teary-eyed appearance and shaking fists. She shook her fists, because she desperately wanted to punch her older brother for acting so damn careless in the first place, and she was teary-eyed because she knew there was a chance that she won't see him ever again.

Unfazed, Johnny continued. "Ms. Apple?"

"Yes, Officer Law?" She asked with a forced voice.

His cool blue eyes scanned her. "You have visitors coming to see you. Your friends."

"Tell them to mind their own businesses! And tell them to go away! I don't need their sympathy!" She snapped.

The black-haired man sighed at her mixed feelings. "I'm afraid it's too late for that, Ms. Apple."

He neatly sidestepped out-of-the-way just in time for the blond to see them coming towards her.

There was Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle as well as Spike, all looking... well, as sympathetic as they could be to her. They looked as if they had just woken up, still sleepy, but the librarian was not included in this view.

She seemed to have no need of rest and probably spent some time reading more dusty old tomes of magic or watching late night TV. She was the first to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Everyone else either hugged her or gave comforting words. Spike and Johnny hung back and watched them.

She looked around. Seeing their faces and hearing their voices turned out to boost her emotional state opposite to what she actually thought. She felt at least happy that her friends, despite her earlier outburst, hadn't abandoned her at the very moment she needed help - normally it would be her brother that would've done a similar thing for her - and now she found herself calming down rapidly due to their presence.

"You didn't have to go and see me, everyone." Applejack muttered dejectedly. "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine."

"No, you aren't." Twilight whispered to her. "Look at yourself - you're a mess!"

Closing her eyes and mouthing an incantation, Twilight caused an aura of purple magic to surround her.

She was confused as she felt reinvigorated. Her tears disappeared as the aura dissipated. The stress she endured withered away, the feeling of helpless anguish slowly washing away. Now she was feeling good, but then she felt sheepish at the fact that she had destroyed a remote control and TV via throwing it away in her moments of grief.

Which both happened to belong to the police.

Who were also helping in the search effort to find Big Macintosh.

"Thanks. I guess."

"Anytime."

They turned to the rest of their friends. But it felt like they were missing someone.

"We came here as fast as we could when we heard the news." Fluttershy began.

"I know it's horrible for you, darling, but we will find him and bring him back to you." Rarity promised.

"Even if it'll take a lot of time, we'll still do it. What are friends for if we aren't willing to help?" Rainbow Dash added.

Applejack smiled in appreciation. "I... I don't know what to say. Thanks everyone."

Twilight returned the smile. "You're welcome. Again, what are friends for, Applejack?"

The moment was interrupted when Johnny's cellphone began to buzz.

"Pardon me." He apologized, before leaving the room and taking it out to answer it somewhere else.

[>!<]

Spike watched him go; heart-to-heart women talk between his older friends, especially something that involved serious adult matters, wasn't really his thing. He'd rather be somewhere else, and, knowing that though he could say something to alleviate the Apple's sorrow, he could not find the right words to say.

So he left discreetly while the others were focused on comforting her, temporarily willing to be forgotten by them.

Walking through the corridor of passing policemen, some of whom looked tired from recently apprehending criminals, Spike admired the trophies and medals displayed on the walls and glass cabinets - the golden sheen of the cups, the shine of the medals, and especially the unbelievable cleanliness of them all - and wanted to snatch one out for himself, but refrained from doing so as a camera was watching him not too far away.

Who would be stupid enough to steal from the police in front of one, anyways?

Now, he had wondered what it'd be like if he was one of them, having a badge and uniform of his own and catching and putting behind bars anyone who had committed a crime. Sure, he may be a kid, but there was no telling what he'll turn out to be once he was all grown up. Being an officer of the law seemed awesome; the payroll was good, he could own a gun, and most importantly, he could be famous.

Fame was something the purple clothed kid wanted to have. He would be happy to know that there were people out there admiring him for his efforts, respecting his judgement, and appreciating the work he'd do to keep their entire community safe as a police officer. They would also love him, hail him as a hero, eventually worship him, and then, at the height of his career, would he be able to finally get the woman of his dreams: Rarity.

But alas, he was still a boy, and what he thought was nothing more than wishful thinking.

And speaking of Rarity, he had a burning desire to make her his.

Of course, it was heart breaking for him, with Rarity seeing him as just a kid with a crush on her every time he stopped by and helped - oblivious to the fact that, yes, he did really love her - added with the problem that she was seeing someone else; whose identity he had yet to find out. From what he guessed, it was obvious she was with a man who neglected her almost always...

And who was certainly good-looking and undoubtedly, tall and muscular.

There were only a few men in Ponyville that met all the above criteria, and by 'few' they were 'rare' in a way. But good looks, height, and muscles weren't everything a woman could want from a man. There was also the account of his wealth, his personality, and finally, his status within society itself.

Filthy Rich was the only person around in miles to ace all the criteria that Spike knew Rarity liked in a man.

But then again, the kid deemed that the man himself was innocent of any association with her. He knew he had no good reason to cheat on his beautiful and loving wife. He had no good reason to ruin his reputation with the people of Equestria.

And he had no good reason to create a massive scandal that would see him lose all what he held dear by being found 'visiting' Rarity while he wasn't there in her Boutique on 'business' terms.

Everytime Spike thought he finally found out who it was, he would only end up back at square one due to one tiny error or misplaced detail about the said someone. Love could only get him so far, but he was determined to find out once and for all, and, if he could muster up his courage, make him leave by saying that Rarity only liked him for his money and good looks, not for his personality or his love...

So that Spike could continue to be with her.

But if that wasn't enough to make him leave the seamstress, well...

"I wonder where the police keep their guns."

[>!<]

Apple Bloom was in her room studying, with Granny Smith having falling asleep in her chair outside after waiting for Applejack to return. It was like a normal day at the farm: no arguments, no crying, no tension, but with no older siblings in sight.

After she was delivered home by Lyra's friend Bon-Bon in her car last night, you would expect her to rush to her older sister and ask if she knew about what was going on in town.

Imagine her surprise when she found a note saying she was asked by the police to help their task force and agreed to because they desperately needed her help. And of course, imagine her concern when Applejack also mentioned in the note that her brother ran into some 'technical difficulties' with the truck and may not return home until night or possibly tomorrow morning as well.

Which was strange. The truck never broke down before.

So the night passed by quickly for her after showering and going to bed because it was past her bedtime.

The morning after, she was worried because her older brother still hadn't returned from his trip to wherever he was going yesterday. Two older siblings not in the house or not out working on the trees was something she could never get used to.

It was just weird in itself.

Only the homework given to her by her teacher a while ago (which she usually finished at the last second) was the only thing that could keep her company and pre-occupied.

Right beside her papers on her study table was her trusty walkie-talkie, recharged and ready to be used.

Tempted to use it, but remembering that her grades were slowly falling and that she kept it hidden from her busy family, she returned to answering her math paper, struggling to resume with question number six as it had asked her to use Pythagoras' Theorem to calculate the length of a triangle's hypotenuse.

By now it was too much for her mind to handle.

She groaned in frustration and slumped on the table, her pen falling to the floor from her lax hand.

"If only big brother was here." She murmured.

Her walkie-talkie then blurted out a voice.

"Good morning, Apple Bloom. Are you there?"

It was Scootaloo.

Glad for something that would grant her reprieve from her mathematical problem, she eagerly reached for it.

"I'm here, Scootaloo. Good morning. What's shaking?"

There was a sort of hesitant pause from the other end of the line.

"Are you feeling okay? Have... Have you seen the news lately?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. And about the news, I haven't. Why'd cha ask?"

A near-muffled gasp followed, followed by a somewhat coincidental cough.

"Oh, nevermind that. Just curious. Anyways, do you need help with your math homework? I finished mine already."

A sudden change in subject always meant that the talker was hiding something. The red-head knew this very well as she was both instigator of the ploy - when she wanted to lay her older siblings off her back when they were close to finding out what she had been up to lately - and victim of it when she caught them doing something they normally didn't do, like the time she found Applejack eating oranges from a crate in the barn.

"Woah woah woah, wait, hold on a moment. Really, why'd cha ask me if I've seen the news?"

"Uh... its nothing, Bloom, really! Like I said, I was just curious!"

"Sure you are. I can tell you're lying to me, Scoot. You're such a bad liar, you know. Can you just tell me what is it?"

Dead silence followed. A minute passed, then another.

Three minutes later, there was still no response.

"... Hello? Are you still there, Scootaloo?"

Then the sound of the line being closed abruptly interrupted the silence. Apple Bloom winced from the noise.

"Darn it!" She half-mouthed as she covered her right ear.

Once the ringing in her ear was gone, she returned her device to its stand, grumbling about giving the purplette a stern talking to later after she had done her homework, but also in the meanwhile wishing she hadn't ignored her offer of help with her math paper.

The five remaining unanswered questions on it didn't look so appealing or easy the last time she dared to see for herself.

"The news, huh?" She said to herself, cupping her chin in deep thought, put off by them.

She pondered about why her friend refused to answer her question or confirmed her thoughts. It wasn't like Scootaloo, but since she had been through hay and back with her on many occasions along with Sweetie Belle, she must have done so for good reasons. Really, really good reasons.

As willingly as she could, the red-head tried to return to her homework, trying to avoid getting too thoughtful about it. However, the more she tried to quell her curiosity, the more she became reluctant to continue with her increasingly difficult math questions.

Then it got the best of her. Her concentration completely snapped.

Her paper can wait. She had a twelve o'clock news channel to watch.

"Okay Scootaloo, I'm going to see what it's about. This better not be a waste of time."

Sneaking down the stairs to make sure her grandmother would stay asleep, she turned on the TV.

She was completely unprepared for what she was about to see and hear.

[>!<]

Octavia, her violin and bow in hand, walked up to the stage with her fellows to the cheer of today's audience.

It was the start of one of her many tours across the land with her companions. Their musical talents near-legendary, and often employed by the rich to perform at concerts or at events such as social gatherings, it was no wonder that they were having the time of their lives, being paid by others to do what they did best; make wondrous classical music.

In the Canterlot Royal Theatre, the lavish seats were all occupied. But the air was stuffy, and it was rather warm.

For the people watching them live on TV, they were much, much comfortable.

Fluttershy couldn't say otherwise, having finished visiting Applejack, apologizing for being unable to stay for long.

As the sounds from the audience subsided and the musicians sat down, the conductor raised his baton to signal the beginning.

In perfect unison, the violins let loose their sweet, enchanting music. Octavia held a small smile as her hands guided her bow instinctively. It was unnoticeable from far back, but very much noticeable up front; the conductor shared her smile as his trained hands continued to lead them onwards with amazing accuracy and skill.

Then he gave a signal after several minutes worth of violins playing - it was Octavia's time to shine.

The pinkette at this point let herself ease away her troubles, her ears losing track of the gentle music being played. Sighing in relaxation after two hours' worth of taking care of her animals, she stretched her arms and wrapped them around the muscular, but unmoving form of the missing Big Macintosh Apple...

Who was actually catatonic, with his emerald eyes staring lifelessly at the flat screen.

Forgetting the TV, the pinkette pulled herself closer to him and kissed him on the cheek affectionately.

"How are you feeling, Mac?"

There was no response; his despondence only provided silence.

She took it as she usually did - her mind provided her the answer she wanted to hear from him.

"I'm good, Fluttershy. Just enjoying the music, but not as much as I'm enjoying you being with me."

Flattery from him, imagined or not, was something she had to get used to. "Aww... How sweet of you, honey."

"Not as sweet as you are. I love you so much, dear."

They looked at each other, Fluttershy blushing as Big Macintosh smiled at her.

When in reality, he wasn't.

Actually, Big Macintosh had no semblance of will left in him anymore. Who wouldn't, after being chained in a basement for Celestia only knows how long and being given the burnt shirt of your dead would-have-been-wife earlier? The pinkette only knew how much Cheerilee had suffered. He was not given any details of her death or her suffering; not knowing proved to be twice as horrible to knowing.

But he had to know. Her blood was on his hands, and Celestia damn him if he didn't remind himself that every waking moment from now on.

Did she make good on her threat? Did she set fire to her? Did she stab her to death? Or did she do all three?

The pain he felt right now, both physical and emotional, was worse than planned cruel and cold-blooded torture.

And Fluttershy was just getting started, because she had all the time in the world now that he was hers again.