Blooming Talent 2: The Apple Falls Far

At first, all Apple Bloom saw was blackness; no sound reached her ear drums, just as no feeling filled her body. Little by little however, her numbness began to pass and was replaced by the familiar pain of her strange infection. Muffled noises soon became audible; she was unable to make them out at first, but as her hearing cleated up, she recognized the noise of shifting rock and rolling wheels. These sounds were most prevailant, but not the only ones her twitching ears perceived. There were voices; gruff and growly voices. They talked of many things such as 'quota' and 'equipment'.

The voices themselves sounded like they were straining to speak without growling or something. It was only when she heard a few barks here and there that she figured she knew what the voices were emminating from.

She finally dared to open her eyes, and take in her foreign surroundings. Sunlight peered in through the leather hide that made up the large tent walls showing a cluttered mess of what looked to be as mixture of mining instruments and basic household items such as chairs and beds; one of which she rested on. It was all crudely constructed of dry wood and clay. The sheets were made of cow hide the same as the tent walls. Judging by the direction of the small beams of the sun's rays pouring through small tears in the leather, it was around mid-day.

Her ears flicked as she heard steps outside in the sand drawing nearer. She closed her eyes again, and made like she was still unconscious. As she heard the entering party come in, she realized Goten wasn't in here with her, and ki sensing ability had been impaired by her infection, so she didn't even know if he was in the area. She silenced her thoughts as the present party of what she assumed to be two by the footsteps sounds, began to converse.

"She's looking a little better already." Growled one of the voices; a male.

"Of course, but...why is she infected with it..? She isn't one of them.." Said a female sounding gruff voice.

"No she definitely isn't." The male said; his movement noises indicating he was coming to her bedside. "She's some kind of pony hybrid; cross-bred with something else perhaps? There's no way she naturally could have contracted it...unless.."

"You think its become contagious?!"

"That's impossible, young one. The Legacy Killer isn't transmutable unless its hereditary; you know that."

"But...we don't know that for sure; he rarely ever interacts with commoners unless he needs to...perhaps he had contact with her?"

There was a pause in the dialogue, and Apple Bloom felt the sharp claws of the male brush against her fur as his fingers checked her pulse. After a few seconds, he broke contact, and his paws made a grinding sound as if turning around.

"Let's question the male once more; he may know something of it." He said.

Hearing that made Apple Bloom's eyes shoot open as she turned and grabbed the male by the scruff of his neck, yanking him back and throwing him into a pile of mining implements harshly. He gave a surprised yelp as his form went spiraling into them, making them fall around him with loud clatter.

He was a dog alright, just as she had suspected; but Applejack's story of Diamond Dogs was different then what she was seeing here. This canine was covered in a coat of tan fur, closely resembling deep desert sands, and his back was covered in some darker spots which were not quite black and more of a gray.

She tossed her bedside table at the female, who whimpered loudly and cowered in the corner further from the anthro.

She launched herself to her hooves, and began charging energy in her hands, but as soon as it appeared there, it vanished and she collapsed to her hands and knees. She was overcome with extreme fatigue suddenly and started breathing heavily; tryingnto stand back up.

"Child, please be calm!" Urged the male dog, coming cautiously closer to Apple Bloom. "We mean you no harm..."

"Yeah right!" She sputtered in a breath. "You were just off to question Goten! I won't let you interrogate my husband!"

The male dog seemed confused, but then understanding came over his features. "My wording sounded worse than the situation is, child. Your husband is safe and not being interrogated."

"Then where is he?!"

"AB, I'm right here." The soothing sound of Goten's voice came through the air.

She turned her head to see him standing near her and coming closer to support her. As he placed her good arm around his neck and shoulders, he placed his other arm aeoundnher waist to help her stand. Once she was upright, he placed her back onto the bed promptly but gently.

"I'm OK, Apple Bloom. These guys are OK." He said, stroking her mane gently.

"Goten..." Was all the southern mare managed before she slipped back into unconsciousness.

***

"You...you wanna what?!" Scootaloo nearly shouted from her hospital bed.

She was immediately shushed by the group the was now around her bed all at once; Trunks, Lyra, and Rainbow Dash making it quite clear they didn't want to be overheard. As soon as the short panic died, Trunks spoke to explain.

"I want to take Luna off the throne." He said.

"But why in Equestria would you want to do that?" The orange pegasus questioned.

"Because of her hypocrisy and inability to make choices for the good of ALL her subjects." The half-saiyan said. "She claims to want the best for every one of her citizens, but readily hands over their children and kicks them out to keep a shaky and unreliable sense of peace."

"You mean Princess Luna really did agree with what that horse dude did with Carrot?!"

"She not only agreed with it, squirt," Dash said. "she was the one who ruled it to be so."

Scootaloo rubbed her temples and shut her eyes tight; this is just what she wanted to wake up and hear. She was totally ready for her friends to propose a government overthrowing when she sat up this morning. She made sure that she herself knew it was sarcasm...

"Jeez, guys, I am pretty steamed about that...but does one mistake really mean she's a tyrant and needs to go?" She asked, trying to negotiate.

"This isn't an isolated incident, Scootaloo." Trunks explained further. "She and Piccolo have made some rash and hasty decisions as of the last year or so. Destroying the Dragon Balls? Giving away Carrot? Banishing Apple Bloom and Goten?! Its almost like they care more about trying to stop imaginary wars before they start, and less about actually running a country!"

"What exactly do you know about leadership positions, Trunks?" Scootaloo asked.

"I may not have been a king, but I was CEO of Capsule Corporation back in my home dimension." He replied. "That's pretty close, and I had a lot of people under my 'rule.' Now I admit, I was a bit of a slacker, but when serious business came up regarding my employees, I made it a point to make sure everything was sorted out before making a decision. The way Luna and Piccolo are carrying on, its like they don't think of the consequences until after the fact, and then try to mask it as a necessity."

The captain of the Wonderbolts rested her head back on the soft white pillow behind her; he had a bit of a point. The Princess had been making some quick made decisions without really considering other options. She also had been very hypocritical in saying she looked out for all of her citizens, and yet yielded Carrot away so readily...and by extension, the princess was the reason Scootaloo was where she was now; in a hospital bed with a busted wing and shoulder...

She briefly found herself wondering if Luna would have ordered the Wonderbolts to personally deliver Carrot to Saddle Arabia; what would she have done then?

She scanned the three faces in front of her before sighing and speaking again.

"Look...I agree she's done some rotten things...like...REALLY rotten...but maybe these things happen for a reason.."

"What possiblevreason could that be?" Dash argued. "This is wrong, and shows that without Celestia, Luna isn't fit to run a country."

"Then who is?" The mare on the bed questioned.

Silence.

"You all talk of Luna making quick decisions without considering other options, and yet, you all want to start a government take over without even having your end game planned out." She continued. "If I kick the bucket, I have soldiers and officers to take my command. But if you guys kick Luna off the top, who is gonna fill that space?"

Still no response. The three conspirators looked rather thoughtful now instead of angry. They were no strategy experts like Scootaloo now was, and it was never more evident then right now.

After a minute, Lyra spoke. "We can cross that bridge when we get there."

"Not if the bridge gets burned first." Scootaloo instantly said back.

"Are you saying you're siding with her?" Dash burst at her 'sister.'

"No, I'm not. And I'm not going to sell you out either. I'm just saying...you need to have all your bases covered before you go in half cocked." Scootaloo elaborated somberly. "Think about your actions; consider all the possibilities lest the status quo remains unchanged..."