It's never a good sign if you wake up to the taste of blood. Its metallic tang filled Applejack's mouth as she rose to consciousness.
Her eyes shuddered briefly, only to discover she could see through one. She tried lifting her left hoof to feel her face, but the convulsing pain was too much for her foreleg. She began to wonder if any part of her was working; she was somehow able to stand. Odd, she could smell smoke. That was when she panned her gaze at the farm. Well, what was left of it.
The mare took it in - she took it all in. Her face swelled with denial. From left to right, the whole apple orchard was nothing but a field of ash, and the trees that did remain shriveled into driftwood from the fire. AJ struggled to remember what happened just moments before or who could've done this, then her attention shifted to the barn.
"Granny! Apple Bloom!" she thought aloud. AJ trotted across the dirt path as best she could, just managing to stumble into the doors. Things in here were looking no better than the outside. It was ransacked. Furniture was flipped over, curtains were torn. The floors were littered with broken glass, made obvious by the dim light emitted from its shattered window. What a mess. The others. AJ thought. The orange pony limped hurriedly up the stairs, but the sound of sobbing in the next room made her pace her approach. A misplaced step from her hind leg creaked the floors. The sobbing ceased.
"Who's there?" the voice was frantic, but familiar. "We ain't got nothin' else! You took ev'rythin' already!" AppleJack took a few more audible steps, and turned the corner. "I said w-" Granny Smith had her cane in the air. The moment she saw her beloved granddaughter, she let it drop to the ground with a light thud, and proceeded to sob,"Oh AJ."
"It's alright, Granny," Applejack reassured. " Its me." The older mare moved closer for an embrace.
"Child, what've they done to ya?" Granny held AJ's face tenderly, eyeing her injuries. "Stay put, dear. I'll git somethin' to patch ya up." The elder pony shuffled to the dresser in the back of the room while AppleJack took some time in the mirror. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Sweet Celestia," she had a good look at her left eye. Some blood ran from the swelling eyelids; she wasn't sure if she had an eye anymore. More so, her left arm was maimed and bruised, as well as a few ribs broken. She couldn't let Apple Bloom see her like this. Apple Bloom. "Granny, who did all this? W-where are the others?"
"I - I'm not sure. I heard a lotta rustling 'n' tumblin' downstairs. And then there - there was gunshots. They busted the doors upstairs and - and kep' askin' fer somethin'." Granny Smith began trembling violently.
"Asked for what? Who?" AJ asked, and was followed by a long pause.
"I don't know," another pause. "I don't think I wanna know." Granny pulled a roll of gauze from one of the drawers. She attended to AJ, but her shaking made it feeble. The freckled pony steadied her caregiver's hooves.
"I got it," said AppleJack. The blood quickly stained the bandages as she wrapped her eye. "It'll have to do."
"AJ," she yearned. "Please, check downstairs. My old heart can't handle it if - if one of 'em -"
"Don't worry," AJ interrupted. "I'll have a look-see."
"Big Mac? Apple Bloom!" AppleJack's calls clung stiffly to the wooden interior of the ground floor, leaving no room for an echo. She searched anxiously, but carefully. Spoke blaringly, but quietly. The farm pony didn't know what was worse; not finding her siblings, or finding their corpses. No. They couldn't be. She shook that thought away. The best lead she had to them was the trail of debris of what may have been fighting. It lead to the kitchen.
"Oh no." Blood covered the rest of the floor. "No, please no."
Twilight Sparkle impatiently tapped her hoof on the crystal chair as she slouched upon it. Her face was uneasy as she eyed between the clock and other chairs' cutie marks.
"Where could they be?" she asked to no one in particular. Her assistant pondered a bit, wanting to give a reasonable response.
"Didn't Rarity say she heading to Canterlot to visit Sassy Saddles?"
"But she wasn't leaving till noon. It's still morning!" Twilight exclaimed. "She should be here by now, or at least be on her way!" Spike gently patted her forearm,
"And I'm sure they are."
"I know I am!" a soprano voice suddenly rang out from behind, startling the two.
"Ah!" Twilight fell back in her chair, and in response Pinkie hopped a step back.
"Wow! That's the second time today I was almost crushed by a chair!" the pink pony's voice yelped cheerfully. Her friend on the other hand, seemed relatively annoyed, still lying on the floor.
"When was the first time?"
"Oh! Well when I was on my way to -"
"It was rhetorical."
"Oh." Pinkie's smile beamed a little less. The alicorn rolled back on her belly and got back on her hooves.
"Have you seen the others? They're on their way, right?" Twilight wanted some reassurance that the others were close by.
"Well I dunno. But I'm pretty sure I saw Fluttershy making her way here." The door on the other side of the council room creaked open as she spoke. "Look! There she is now!" A small yellow muzzle peeked out from behind the door. The eyes and head followed suit.
"I hope I'm not late." Fluttershy's tone was hushed.
"Actually, you're a little early," Twilight glimpsed at the clock. "Well, since half of us are here, I might as well fill you in."
"Alright Twilight, why's our flanks glowing today?" Pinkie said with enthusiasm. She raised her hind in the air.
"I'll be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at." Twilight glared at the map. "This is the first time the map has done something like this."
"Like what, Twilight?" The Pegasus' face contorted.
"You see this?" The Princess pointed to Ponyville.
"It - wants us to solve a problem right here?" said Fluttershy.
"Well yeah, there's that. But then look over here."
Pinkie squished her face against Twilight's. "Wait, two places at once?" Their cutie marks hovered over Dodge City.
"Not two, three." Twilight glanced over Las Pegasus.
"A triple doozy, huh?" Ms. Pie scratched her head. "I don't see AppleJack's cutie mark anywhere on here."
"That's what concerns me. And I have a hunch she part of today's friendship problem, or whatever problem for that matter."
"For what matter?" Pinkie tilted her head.
"Maybe it's not a friendship problem."
"Are you saying that she uh - might be the problem?" Fluttershy added. Twilight shuddered at her words.
"No no! That's not what I meant."
"Maybe Flim and Flam have something to do with it!" Pinkie yelled excitably. For a moment, the other two mares looked at her in confusion. "What? They might. I did see them making their way out of town just earlier. They were quite in a hurry, too. They also had a couple o-"
"Twilight!" A spectral blaze burst through the door, and landed in the middle of the cutie map. Rainbow Dash was panting quite heavily from exhaustion. Her wings remained fully splayed from the adrenaline rush. "What are - " she took a moment to catch her breath. "Why are you guys still here?! The orchard is ON FIRE!" Everyone eyes in the room widened to the brim of their heads. "Come on! Half the town is already on their way there! We need to move!" The three mares still stood there, too shocked to move or respond.
Princess Twilight finally mustered some sense, "W-what?" She looked to Dash for an answer.
"There's no time to explain. Applejack needs us!" Rainbow tried to press the gravity of the situation, but the Princess took a moment to get it through her head. She turned to the map. Two and two snapped together.
"Right," Twilight spoke firmly. "Let's move, girls!" And with that, they were off.
They regretted not coming sooner. How in Equestria could they have missed this? How could they not have seen this disaster? Especially for a friend? More than half of the trees were being eaten by flames, making those remaining all the more precious. Several other ponies were there before them, Rarity included, fighting off the smolders bucket by bucket, almost to no avail. But with no time to grief, Twilight took action.
"Pinkie, check the farmhouse for AppleJack and the others! Fluttershy, take the animals to someplace safe!" They both nodded, and galloped in separate directions. The rest, Twilight and Dash, flew above the conflagration. "Rainbow, I need you to - "
"Wait! I know what your gonna say, but it's not gonna work. Even if I took out the flames, it'll destroy the trees! That's why you're here." She was right. A storm would only make things worse. Besides, there wasn't a cloud in site. Twi took a second to think this through. There had to be a quick solution. She turned to address her pegasus friend.
"Then tell the others down there to stand back."
"What're gonna do?'
Twilight glanced at her horn.
"Oh, right!" she zoomed off, ready to hustle the crowd away.
When the orchard was clear, the alicorn ascended even further, and worked her magic. A great display of white light and aura emerged from her horn and her eyes, releasing a wide burst of it to oppose the fires. The scene was godly.
As the beam of light faded, there was now a field of trees covered in heavy frost. The spell was very draining, leaving the princess barely enough energy to stay aloft, but was eased to the ground with the help of Rainbow.
"AppleJack," Twilight said softly as she lay on her side - her face flushed, "Find . . . Applejack." Rainbow felt reluctant to leave her friend, but turned her head as she felt a hoof place itself upon her back.
"Go, I'll look after her," it was Rarity. Feeling assured, the Pegasus nodded and flew off to the barn house.
The house felt uncomfortably eerie as Pinkie Pie entered. Her bright and cheery self was flustered and muted by the gravity of the situation - her mane deflated a bit in turn. "AppleJack? A-are you here?" She made a sharp gasp as she heard the crunching of glass below her hoof, then quickly retracted it to reveal a broken portrait of the Apple Family. Her face contorted in discomfort before she continued her slow approach. What she was approaching was somewhat of a mystery. She was hoping that it was a family of four completely unharmed, if not a little scared. Maybe they'll all show up and say "Surprise! This was all just a prank! Everypony's fine and all the fire outside was just a magical illusion that makes it look like the trees are being burnt to a crisp!" She hoped. But that was asking a bit much - even if it was a prank. Her hypothetical thoughts were interrupted by loud sobbing down the hall. Her creeping suddenly turned into sprinting.
She couldn't say she was shocked when she turned the corner. She stopped herself before she could gasp, and simply stood there with her mouth open as if she was. A familiar orange figure loomed over a large stallion upon a pool of crimson that webbed along the spaces between the floorboards. "AppleJack?" Pinkie spoke. The orange figure continued its sobbing. She took a few paces closer, "AppleJack?" she said again, more sincerely. AJ only curled herself closer to the stallion, and nuzzled her face into his neck, muffling her cries. Pinkie's growing sympathy deflated her mane completely. She sat with her friend silently - closing her eyes as she hung her head. She let her mourn. Letting it flood over the dams of elation and serenity while it drowned memories of bliss. The moment was infinite.
Applejack finally pulled away from her brother's corpse, "They took her." Pinkie opened her eyes.
"Took who?"
Author's Note
Oh, man. Where to start? This chapter took WAY too long to make. Like, two months too long. I honestly don't know why. I had the idea clear in my head, but it's a different story trying to put it in words. Literally. I first got the idea from a song, here. I even have a story board for the whole thing. I think the biggest challenge was learning how to segue each situation to the next without it feeling choppy or corny. But honestly, I'm not sure.
Enough rambling. I'd appreciate a critique or two to see where I stand as a writer, and if there's enough positive feedback, I'll have another chapter in the works. Special thanks to Chicago Ted! I should probably pay the man . . . 
Nah.
Chapter 2: Good, Bad, and Somewhere in Between
The evening was conquered by the sounds of a mild zephyr; ash from the cindered trees blew with each gust into a deceitfully hopeful sunset. If it were any other day, ponies would sit along the open fields to embrace such winds and beautiful horizons. Young fillies would trot about with their kites pulled ever higher into the sky, and laugh and tease one another if one would drop back to the earth. Couples and families might sit under their favorite tree, letting the passing breeze flow through their manes as it would the branches. It would have been the perfect mixture for peace and serenity. But this was not any other day. Today, the wind meant something else.
"How could anypony do such a thing?" said Twilight as she gazed to the edge of the orchard. Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy accompanied her at the front porch of the Apple home. Twilight's question lingered for several moments. They all glanced at one another, each slightly opening their mouths at separate intervals as if they were about to answer, but no words followed. She didn't expect one, anyhow. Conversing was kept to a minimal since noon. Only subtle noises, apart from the wind, were made. Knocks, creaks, and sighs were all they were willing to muster. Any deviation would've felt unfitting, given the situation. Even Pinkie knew.
A familiar pink pony sauntered out the swinging doors of the house - her eyes fixed to the floor. The others turned to face her, expecting some sort of news. Still looking at the ground, she slowly shook her head. They continued to gloom in relative silence. They were not alone, however. Mayor Mare organized a clean-up crew, but only a few volunteered to help preserve what was left. The rest were probably too disheartened by the scene to stay. You couldn't blame them. Four generations of livelihood: gone in just a few moments. The crew swept up rows of ash and scattered wood. Others helped repair some of the fence that were broken down or burnt. The animals were placed in temporary pens while their original quarters were being restored. But the homestead was not to be touched. Not yet.
A pair of Royal guard and a team of investigators were a few meters away from the porch, waiting for the all-clear to do a proper search of what went down and maybe interview a few witnesses. Among them was Time Turner, surprisingly. Seems the stallion had a wider range of professions than originally believed. "I can't help but feel like we're under prepared," said Turner; he held a hoof against his chin.
"Of course we are," one of the guards responded, "No one has committed something like this in centuries."
"I honestly don't know where to start. Murder? Arson? Destruction of private property? It's practically unheard of . . . around here, at least."
"Just wait until we get inside, then do what you can," the guard stated plainly. Turner lowered his brows in discomfort, and paced around a while - glancing here and there at scorched trees and those picking up after them, then to the girls on the porch. "I could only imagine how they feel." He felt his stomach twist at his words. A caramel colored stallion appeared from the swinging doors. The five on the porch turned their heads including the princess, approaching him with her mouth moving inaudibly. "That's him," said Turner. He started to walk in his direction, but was ceased by an armor-clad hoof.
"He has not given the signal."
"Oh. Right."
The doctor appeared to engage in conversation with the alicorn. She looked at him with worry, like she was hanging on his every word. He stepped aside and let her enter, and only then did he beckon to Turner and the rest. "Let's get to work." The guard led the way.
"Be careful in there. It's quite the mess." said Dr. Horse as the team entered the homestead. They nodded in return.
"Wait. Who are these guys?" Rainbow Dash intervened. She stepped away from the wall she was leaning on.
"They're the investigation team." His demeanor was calm and stout.
"Hold on. They shouldn't be messing with any of AJ's things." She approached him in defense, and rustled her wings impatiently.
"Don't worry, they're just here to observe. They'll only be looking for evidence."
"We should be the ones investigating. We're her friends!" Dash moved in closer to the stallion, and was almost muzzle to muzzle with him.
He held his ground, however. "Well I'm afraid this is a job for professionals. Emotional support can only help so much."
"Look, I'm not letting some random strangers touch anything in there!" She hovered just above Horse; trying to intimidate him, no doubt. The others took notice.
"Rainbow, please." Rarity stepped in.
"No! You're letting us in or -" Horse took a bounding step forward, interrupting the mare's fuss.
"Ms. Dash, given the circumstances your attitude is not going to help your friend in any way. I can understand your concern, but they are simply doing their job. Besides, I have no say in this anyhow. I'm just here to make sure Applejack is in a stable condition." He struggled to keep a professional tone. There was a moment of tension; Rainbow was staring daggers at the stallion, while he kept his eyes relaxed, almost lazily. Smug bastard. She thought, before she walked away.
"Where are you going?" Rarity asked.
"Farm needs cleaning up," she mumbled. Her voice still felt harsh. She scuffled through the dirt path, making her way towards the volunteers. Rarity watched her grow smaller into the distance, and couldn't help but sigh.
"I'm sorry about that." She directed her words to the doctor.
"It's fine," Horse let his chest soften, "Happens more often than you think."
"Oh god!" Time Turner was revolted when the guards lifted the covers. The body began to smell the few hours it's been here. The rest of the team was disgusted as well.
"Do your thing, Turner," one guard stated as calmly as he could. Turner moved his hooves away from his face and took a deep breath to composed himself.
"Yeah. Yeah alright. Uh - write this down," he gestured to one of the investigators, "Individual identified as Big Macintosh. Large adult male. Red coat. Green eyes. Orange hair. The cutie mark is a large green apple cut in half, exposing the inside. There appears to be two - three bullet wounds. One in the right humerus, one in the chest, and another in the neck." He shuffled over to the front of the body. "The entry points suggest the victim was facing the attacker. None appear to be immediately fatal. He must've bled out."
"Bullets wounds, huh?" one guard commented, "Guns are hard to come by."
"Well, criminals are criminals. And considering they were capable and willing to burn down a whole farm, I think they'd have access to that sort of contraband."
"Mmm." the guard mumbled. Time Turner wandered off to the rest of the room, examining broken glass, blood stains, toppled furniture; anything that showed signs of struggle.
"Must have been one hell of a fight," added Turner.
"Do you have any clue to how many there were?" the guard approached him. Turner stroked his chin.
"Hard to say. They must have been able to strike fast. Able to set the field on fire while simultaneously raiding the house. So, a large many I'd have to guess."
"How are you so sure?"
"There had to be. Else they would've been too slow, and otherwise caught."
"Not too many though. A mob-sized equivalent of them would've been easily noticeable."
"Right. Just small enough to slip past our noses. Although magic could've been used, but it's unlikely."
"Why not?"
"If any of them were good at it, they wouldn't need a gun to take somepony down."
"Hmm," the guard's face contorted for a moment, "Good observation."
"That's why I'm here," Turner sighed, "But really it's just speculation. Can't confirm anything 'til we get more clues."
The guard nodded. "We have time. The more details the better."
The upstairs was dimly lit; the result of ash gathering on the window sills around dusk. The air was deathly still as everything else: stagnant, gray, and unfeeling. Granny Smith and Applejack held up in her room, the latter laying down on the bed. The bit of light that seeped in shone on her as she lay on her side with only her head and neck exposed, the rest covered by tattered blanket. She wasn't quite asleep. Just resting; eyes slightly open. Granny sat bedside in an old wooden chair, eyes closed, slightly creaking as she rocked.
"Applejack?" Twilight stood in the doorway. Her voice held sincerity. Granny opened her eyes, not bothering to turn her head to her guest. Even more so with AJ; she didn't bother moving at all as she still faced the pane.
"Come'n child." Granny said to Twilight. Twi was still hesitant to walk in, despite the assurance of her host. She took her first step as if she was testing the water. It must've been warm enough, as she continued to make her way bedside. She sat down and faced her friend, holding her breath to see if Applejack would say something. The effort was vain, however. In truth, neither knew what to say. What could one say? Sorry for not coming sooner, because if we did, your farm wouldn't have been on fire. Sorry that your brother is dead. Sorry that they kidnapped your sister. Sorry that your livelihood is now entirely undermined by this horrific incident. Sorry indeed. They instead settled on silence. Seems nothing could be said. Just then, Twilight encompassed a small object with her magic and set it down on the window sill; just in front of AJ. Applejack's eyes widened. Gently reaching out, she placed it in her hooves and sat up on her bed. It was a pink bow.
The rims of her eyes began to swell with tears, but she wasn't weeping. Streams found themselves on her cheeks, but they were not the product of sorrow. It was something else; something Twilight didn't really understand as she watched her friend lament silently at the sight of the bow. Still with nothing to say, Twi headed to the exit.
"Sometimes -" Applejack spoke, still staring at the bow. Twilight stopped and looked back, "Sometimes bad things happen to good ponies for no real reason." A short pause. "Sometimes bad things don't always show themselves as somethin' we can see. And justice doesn't always take the form of law or gavel. Sometimes the right thing to do isn't always seen as right. Sometimes -" she looks at Twilight, "we have to take everything we know and believe -" she faces the window again, "and throw it out the window."
The sky was no longer painted with yellows, oranges, and dusty reds, but now a deep violet. Usually it was speckled with distant celestial bodies and bright burning dots, but strangely enough, they were not in sight. No longer somber, everything felt - okay. Not bad. Not good. Just so-so. The majority of the ash had cleared, and the winds had died down. All but a few souls had retired for the night. "You sure you'll be alright?" asked a certain yellow pegasus. Rainbow Dash patted her friend on the shoulder, "I'll be fine. I'm just watching Applejack. Nothing bad is gonna happen."
"That's . . . kinda the point."
"You know what I mean. Go. Head home with the others." Rainbow gestured towards the troop walking Northward past the gate.
"If anything happens, you let us know right away," she said, now further away.
"I know!" Dash projected, "I know . . ." She watched her friends grow smaller and smaller in the distance until they fell under the horizon.
Rainbow made her way back to the farmhouse porch and peaked over the space of the swinging doors that lead to the living room. It was still quite a mess, with the furniture flipped and other things still strewn about on the floor. They would have cleaned up, but it would be considered "tampering with evidence". What bull. She thought. She stopped peaking and settled on the porch. Her front hooves were crossed, and her eyes were fixed to the sky. Thoughts couldn't help but manifest in her head. A few of them were about what might come of all this, but most were about her friend, Applejack. Dash could only imagine what she's going through right now. She was probably burying her face in her pillow, crying her eyes out from all the pain, both physical and emotional. A slight frown appeared on Rainbow's face. I should've been here sooner. There's no excuse for it. I'm faster than the speed of sound and somehow, we were all too late. I was too late. Her thoughts were interrupted by an audible thud in the distance. It came from the shed.
The door to the shed was open. Not wide open, but just enough to let someone in. This can't be good. Dash thought. Her heart began to pick up the pace. Best case scenario would be just the wind's doing, or an animal going bump in the night. Worst case scenario would be . . . well, let's just say it's bad. Rainbow controlled her breath, and crept ever closer towards the door. With her hoof on the handle, she gently pushed it open. The door creaked, however. Just then, a pony covered in all manner of battlements was inside the shed. They were shuffling through an old crate, but stopped and lifted their head as they heard the door open.
"Wait, AJ?" Rainbow was surprised.
"Yeah it's me," Applejack's voice was stern. She donned several bandoleers across her body, decorated in all sorts of bullets, shells, and munitions. Two holsters were secured on both of her hind legs, each one holding a sidearm and accompanied by a complimentary pouch. A bulky saddlebag rested on her right side which bridged the gap between the rest of her things. However, one piece of apparel stuck out from all the tactical gear; a pink ribbon, rapped around her bruised hoof. AJ continued to search the crates.
"What are you -" Dash was interrupted by Apple's glare. She didn't say a word, but the look she gave was something along the lines of are you sure you wanna know the answer? Dash gulped her fear down. "W-why do you have so many guns?"
"Well one," AJ blurted, still arming herself, "I'm a country pony, of course I have guns. Two, the explanation as ta how I've obtained all these weapons is somethin' I'm not exactly willin' ta disclose, but it's along the lines of being prepared." She pulled out an antique of a rifle from the crate, and slung it across her back. "Now if ya have anymore questions, best ask'em now. I'm just about ready ta leave." She threw on a maroon poncho, concealing the majority of her armaments.
"Leave?" Rainbow asked, "To where?" She stood a good distance away from her friend. She's never seen this side of AJ, and frankly she was afraid of what she might do.
"Ta where ever those bastards are hidin' out, that's where!" AJ trudged passed the blue mare.
"W-who?" asked Rainbow Dash. Applejack gritted her teeth at those words.
"Flim and Flam, Rainbow!" AJ scolded, muzzle to muzzle with her friend, " Flim. And. Flam." She continued walking. Rainbow was dumbfounded. Her vision became misty as tears formed around her eyes. She couldn't believe what had become of here friend. Was the Element of Honesty truly going to commit the most unlawful of deeds? She wasn't about to let her go.
"But you're still hurt!" Rainbow followed, "You need to rest!"
"I'm fine."
"But you're limping!"
"I said, I'm fine!"
"AJ, you don't have to do this!"
"Yes I do."
"No you don't. There's another way! We can help! We'll do like we usually do, and solve this together!"
"That's a nice thought Rainbow, but it ain't gonna work."
"And why not?"
"Because these are criminals we're dealing with. It isn't the same."
"What makes you so sure about that?"
"Look, I don't have time ta explain ta you why I'm better off doing this alone. They messed with my farm, so it's MY problem. Simple as that. Go right on ahead an' tell the others! It won't change my mind." With that, Rainbow stopped trailing her, and flew back to the farmhouse. Applejack kept her pace, passing all the ruins of her once flourishing home. Stumps and burnt trees still stood, littering the fields. She came across a sign that once hung proudly upon the gate of Sweet Apple Acres, now blackened and scorched. It was a horrible reminder of what she failed to protect. She let these images fill her. A rage built up inside of her, and a different feeling as well, something she hasn't felt in a long time. Something - dark. Just then, she heard flapping behind her. Turning around, it was Rainbow Dash yet again. In her hooves was a familiar brown fedora. AJ stopped this time; the scrunched expression on her face loosened just a bit. She reached out and placed the hat on her head.
"Get her back, AJ." Rainbow's voice was a little shaky. Applejack nodded, walking further into the starless night. She remembered what that feeling was in the back of her head; the one she felt before.
It was vengeance.
