Little Redd: the Lost Concept of Peace

Chapter Seven

The Crosshairs Make Sense

"Ohh, green world, don't desert, me now.  Made of you, and you of me, but, where are we?"

Redd had felt better immediately after leaving Discord's dimension, so she did something she loved: quietly singing songs to herself.  Reappearing right back on the hill she was on before, Ponyville was peaceful again, and everything once more joined hands and made sense.  She never realized how much she loved it, the peace.  The simple green hills, and simple cloud-driven rain.  Her thoughts once more went back to the idea of getting a pair of headphones, and she irritably realized that Ponyville didn't have any electronics stores.  Maybe Canterlot, but never Ponyville.  After a few moments, she shook the ideas from her head and tucked them away in her overflowing "think about later" folder.  Instead, she began singing a personal favorite.

"I told my friends, I would, dance with the wind.  I told tomorrow, thank you much.  I told my world, you're here for me.  I told tomorrow--"

"What're ya singin'?"

Redd jumped at the small voice; she hadn't realized that Apple Bloom was trotting along beside her.  Thinking about the frequent use of 'special' words engrained in the verses, she thought better of telling the filly.

"Nothing.  How's Applejack?"

"Applejack?  She never does nothin' but work and save Equestria."

Redd laughed.

"So, she's in the hills bucking trees?"

Apple Bloom smiled.

"Is Equestria in mortal peril?"

Redd's expression faltered the slightest, a dark feeling slowly filling her chest.

Not yet.

"I don't think so."

"Exactly.  Which prob'ly means my sister's workin' her flank off."

She sighed, a sad look overtaking her face.

"...Again."

Redd frowned.

"What's wrong, Apple Bloom?"

"Nothin', just..."

She looked out at Ponyville, happy citizens randomly dotting the streets, some pegasi seeking the refuge of rooftops.  When that didn't work, they darted into the clouds and gossiped there.

"...Scootaloo an' Sweetie Belle are busy, and Applejack's never there ta play.  She's always gotta do somethin', and can't really peel herself away from all the chores ta do nothin' with me.  It's almost like... like she avoids meeeeeee woah!"

Apple Bloom didn't really expect to be comforted, much less picked up and playfully tossed on Redd's back.

"C'mon.  Let me show you something."

Apple Bloom giggled, her spirits immediately lifted.

"Ooookay, where we goin'?"

Looking back at her, Redd smiled at the happy, giggling filly before her, so like her own childhood.

"Home."

She took off, leaving the town square in her dust.

Apple Bloom couldn't really see straight while she was on Little Redd's back.  Despite her name, Redd was actually taller than most other ponies by two or three inches.  Her long, slender legs softened the ride like suspension, but at those speeds, it was still bumpy.  She could hear Redd laugh into the wind, and that in turn brought her own smile back to her lips.

The gates' archway flashed above her head, and Redd ran past the house into the North Orchard.  Stopping at the top of a hill, she let Apple Bloom off excitedly, if not a bit dizzy.

"I haven't run like that for a long, long time."

"What-- what're we doin' back here?"

Grinning, Redd shook the flower out of her mane, where it had begun to get tangled from the wind.

"Do you think your sister wouldn't mind a few apples getting wasted?"

The ripe trees around her turned the autumn air around her into a fruit basket, overriding her rose shampoo.  Apple Bloom's eyes narrowed a bit.

"No, Ah don't think so, but what're ya plannin', Little Redd?"

Doing as she was told, Apple Bloom tossed an apple into the air.

"Throw them higher."

The apple hit the ground and disintegrated, becoming lunch for a colony of lucky ants.

Apple Bloom threw the next apple twice as high, but it too smashed into the grass.

"Higher."

Finally, she heaved, and threw the third as high as she could.  In mid-flight, it exploded.

"...Woah.  What did you do?"

"Throw another.  Pay attention," Redd said, grinning again.

Bloom threw the fourth apple into the air, but this time kept her eye on Redd, although looking at her still didn't really help all that much.  Once the apple stopped rising, Redd lowered her horn, released a bolt of magic with the speed of lightning, and was back in a casual stance before the target could begin to fall.  The apple was unfortunate enough to be that target, and was currently over there.  And there.  Not to mention the gutter of the farmhouse.

Apple Bloom was staring at where the apple was before exploding.

"...So that's what your crosshairs mean."

Apple chunks rained down on the two of them, Apple Bloom throwing six or seven apples in the air at a time.  Every time, Redd hit every one.  She never missed.  Ever.  She had reflexes, too.  At one point Apple Bloom had thrown an apple directly at her while she wasn't even expecting it, and it was still blown apart by her precision.  Eventually they were lying on the grass, talking and staring up at the stars that had taken over the sky.  Applejack came from the farmhouse, and had somewhat of a hard time finding them.  But it wasn't the sight of them, or even the conversation that gave them away.  It was the laughter.

She walked in the direction of the giggling, and noticed something somewhat alarming.  A few of the apple trees around here were bare, and there were small chunks lying across the ground.  Everywhere.  Every few feet, an occasional scrap of apple could be found, littering her farm like a monstrous salad.  She stepped out from behind a tree into a small clearing, where the mangled apples were more common, and she saw her sister lying on the grass next to a larger, darker shape.  Curious as to what it was, she kept coming closer until she saw the bright white mane tinted blue against the moonlight.

Little Redd was in the midst of telling a story.

"And you know what she said?"

Giggling a bit, Apple Bloom wasted no time in responding.

"No, what?"

"'Why are crumpets attacking my house!?'"

Apple Bloom laughed again, and Applejack stepped a bit closer.

"She never found out it was me.  Mum was livid."

"Uh, Apple Bloom?"

The two girls lying in the grass jumped, and Apple Bloom smiled.

"Applejack!  What're you doin' here?"

Glancing at the apple carnage before her, Applejack hesitated.

"What-- in tarnation happened ta all these apples?"

"Target practice," the filly said.

Again, it took Applejack a moment.

"Pardon?"

This time Redd stood.

"Apple Bloom was lonely, so I thought I'd give her a playmate.  Is that a problem?"

Redd didn't sound as much concerned as she was irritated.  Sensing the aggression, AJ narrowed her eyes at the dark gray mare before her.

"When that playmate destroys ten percent o' my labor, yeah, Ah think Ah do."

Apple Bloom stood next to Redd.

"Oh, come on Applejack!  She was shootin' them apples outta the air with, like, badass precision."

Applejack gasped, but Redd just cocked her brow and laughed.

"Apple Bloom!  Go to yer room!"

"Awww..."

Recovering from her laughter, Redd looked at Applejack, who was glaring at her.

"What, you think she got that from me?"

"Git yer ass off my farm," AJ growled low enough so Apple Bloom wouldn't hear.