Prologue - Nothing But Dust and Blood
It was a calm day on the streets of Ponyville, a rare sight in the growing little city. Twilight looked up at the sky above, seeing only pale blue, with only the occasional white fluffiness shuffled about by various pegasi. The streets below were populated by ponies wandering to and fro, just going about their daily routine.
"Morning, Twilight," came a voice.
She turned to see a pony wave to her. "Good morning," she responded, passing by and continuing to trot down the road, head held high. She was on her way to visit Carousel Boutique. Her best friend, Rarity, needed some assistance with her latest collection; and like any good friend, she had offered to help.
Her trot picked up into a canter, as she continued down the street. Nothing could go wrong, this day, she thought.
Spike laid down in his bed, relaxing. It was almost midday. He hadn't started on any of his daily chores, but he didn't feel he needed to. It was one of those warm summer days where he didn't want to do anything, didn't feel he needed to, and felt good doing it.
His eyes scanned across the book he held above his head. A fascinating little coming-of-age story about two young foals falling in love. It was one of those things that just made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. He ended another chapter, where Plum Cake finally told Spring Showers how he felt about her, and Spike's hopeful heart was held aloft, so he decided to put a pin in the narrative. Just as the story started to build to an impressive climax, he thought this was the perfect time to take a break.
He pulled the bookmark from its previous position and placed it on the current page, before closing the book, and dropping it to his side. He was hungry.
Rolling out of bed, he quickly ran out his bedroom door. He had a plan. A plan involving sweets. Sugarcube Corner was the place he wanted to be.
"It's not that simple, Apple Bloom," Applejack explained.
"But why not?" her little sister replied.
Apple Bloom's mild tantrum was starting to annoy her sister. All Applejack wanted to do this day was finish up the harvest in the north field, before moving on to the next. And all that was actually happening was a pointless argument that she could not understand the necessity of.
"Because just planting more trees means more crowded leaves," the elder pony explained. "Meaning less sunlight will actually reach them, which means less fruit."
"Or, it'll mean less actual leaves will grow, meaning more fruit will grow in its place."
As she was listening to her sister's rebuttal, Applejack quickly bucked a nearby tree, allowing some of the last loose apples to fall. "Come on Mac," she interjected, gesturing to her elder brother only a few trees away. "Back me up on this."
"You just don't like any of my ideas," Apple Bloom continued. "Just because it's my idea, doesn't mean it's a bad one."
"Well, sugarcube, once you come up with an idea that'll actually work, I'll pay attention."
"You just don't care about me," she pouted, turning around and slouching on the grassy field.
"What was that!?" Applejack asked, slightly incensed.
Apple Bloom crossed her forehooves, with her back to her sister, as she attempted to give Applejack 'the silent treatment.'
The front door of Sugarcube Corner swung open as two young fillies exited the store, carrying their sarsaparillas, as they laughed away the day.
"Of course, that's when I decided, 'screw this, I'm going on my own,'" Scootaloo explained. Her story just about reaching its climax.
"Then what happened?" Sweetie Belle asked, taking a sip of her beverage.
"I fell!"
A small amount of the carbonated drink went up Sweetie Belle's nose.
"I fell off the cloud, onto another one," Scootaloo continued, coming to a stop as her best friend recovered. "Then I fell off that one, onto another one. Thankfully it wasn't the hardest impact I ever had, but still, it was pretty bad. I'm blaming Mercury on that one. I think she made the clouds extra hard to spite me." She proceeded to take another sip.
"Please," the young unicorn explained, bowling over. "Please don't do that again, not when I'm drinking."
"It's your fault," she explained. "You asked."
The two best friends shared another laugh, as they continued down the road.
In the skies above Ponyville, many pegasi were working hard.
"Sunny," came a voice from high above. "We're cutting it close with those rain clouds. They need to be at Sweet Apple Acres within the hour."
Sunny Skies was wrestling with a small cloud. She could tell something was wrong with it. "Sorry Rainbow Dash," she shouted to the skies above. "I think there's something wrong with this one. It doesn't feel very stable."
Her boss swooped down to her level. "It's a rain cloud, Sunny."
"Yeah, but feel it," she said, squeezing the firmament next to her. "They asked for a drizzle right? This feels more like a storm cloud."
Rainbow Dash placed her hooves on the cloud, and began squeezing. Noticing the subtleties in the fibres, she determined they were a bit too fragile. Bringing her hooves together within the structure, she felt a mild electric current running through. "You're right," she explained. "It's not a storm cloud, but the wrong kind of jolt could make it one." She pulled her hooves out. "I don't want us accidentally starting a fire over there. Applejack would kill me."
"So what do we do?" Sunny asked. "Should we just throw it out and grab a new one?"
Rainbow put a hoof to her chin. "We're already running thin enough as it is. I don't want to dispose of any clouds unless we have to. The next cloud shipment's not 'til next week."
Sunny paused for a second. "Can we fix it?" she asked.
"That's what I'm thinking, merge in some more stable cloud fibres." Rainbow's eyes scanned the immediate area. "Clear Skies, Open Skies," she shouted, waving her hoof. "Over here, bring those clouds!"
Everyone makes mistakes. It happens every day... everywhere. They can be tiny mistakes, like spilling a glass of juice, or big mistakes, like breaking an ancient sculpture. It is only natural. A slip of the finger, a careless word, or a misjudgment of one's strength. But no matter the scale, everyone wants to fix their mistakes. Clean up their messes. Fix the damage. But sometimes, a mistake cannot be fixed. A mistake cannot be corrected. Which is something that cannot be helped. But normally, the consequences of these do not spread far. Normally, the consequences of a mistake would not be felt by every living being across existence. The consequences would not cause death and pain on every planet in the universe.
Today was a normal day in Equestria. But that was about to end.
Applejack walked away from her sister. "If you're gonna sulk all morning, go sulk in the farmhouse," she explained. "Your brother and I are trying to work."
Apple Bloom didn't move. She wanted her sister to see just how upset she was.
"Mac," Applejack shouted. "Could you bring the wagon over?" She looked over in her brother's direction. Only to find he wasn't there. "Mac?" she wandered over to where he was, eyes scanning the area, "Macintosh!?"
Apple Bloom suddenly grew concerned. She twisted her upper body around. Applejack was right, her brother was missing.
Applejack proceeded to trot over to her little sister. "Apple Bloom? Where's your brother?"
It was at that moment, Apple Bloom saw something that would haunt her for life. As she watched her sister turn to ash, the fragments being caught in the air, drifting into the sky, and vanishing before her very eyes.
Shock permeated her soul. She instantly got to her hooves. "Applejack?" she cried. Running over to where her sister stood a moment earlier, she quickly started scanning the area. "Applejack!"
Was it a prank? Were they trying to fool her or something? Teach her some life lesson? She didn't much care, she just wanted her siblings. She wanted to see them, and have them tell her everything was alright.
She spun around, searching for some type of clue, something that would tell her what had just happened.
"Macintosh!?" she screamed. Desperate for some response. "Applejack!?"
Tears rolled down her face.
"MACINTOSH!"
Fear and pain possessed her.
"APPLEJACK!!!"
Rainbow shoved the new cloud pieces into the unstable cloud. Sunny, Open, and Clear all worked together, massaging the structure to ensure the cloud merge was complete.
"It's feeling a lot better," Sunny replied.
"Nearly..." Rainbow interjected. "Open Skies," she said, gesturing to the stallion across from her. "Pass me another tuft."
He reached behind him and tore another piece from the much stabler source cloud before tossing it across.
Rainbow Dash deftly caught it, and shoved it in a position very near the middle of the cloud. She immediately got back to carefully massaging the structure, and the others quickly joined her.
"Stop," their leader said. They all complied. Then, she quickly folded the whole thing in half, stomped on it a bit, and started rubbing it down into position. "Alright, go." They began massaging again, as per Rainbow's orders; stretching and kneading to ensure it was all evenly mixed. After around twenty seconds, Rainbow stopped, and so did they. She took out a small tuft, and began examining it. "I think we're done," she explained, before returning the tuft to its home.
The four of them collectively took a break, and began resting their forehooves on their completed work.
"Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash," Sunny Skies said. "I don't know what we'd do without you."
Rainbow began rubbing the back of her neck. "Aww," she replied, slightly embarrassed. "It's nothing, really."
Sunny Skies smiled at her boss, nay, friend. Grateful for her help. As she suddenly dissolved into dust.
The smile slowly faded from Rainbow Dash's face as she realized what she had just witnessed. She turned to the other two weatherponies.
"Where'd she go?" Clear Skies asked. Just before she disintegrated as well.
Open and Rainbow, suddenly panicked, quickly took their hooves off the finished rain cloud, before Rainbow Dash kicked it away.
"What was that!?" he screamed.
"I don't know!" Rainbow replied, panic and desperation in her voice. "I don't even know how it happened! It's a rain cloud! Not a volcano!"
Just then, they noticed they could hear screaming above them. Craning their necks, they looked to the skies, and saw that no pony was working, because many of them were too concerned with the fact that many more were turning to dust before their eyes.
Then, Rainbow realized. "I don't think it's because of the rain cloud."
Twilight stood by Rarity's work table. Her friend had already gone to the back room to retrieve the supplies they were going to work with. She wasn't sure exactly why Rarity needed the assistance, but when a friend asks for help, you gotta help a friend.
"Now," Rarity said, exiting the back room of the dress shoppe. "Twilight, I need you to understand something very important." She gestured to the roll of pure white fabric balanced on her back. "This fabric is very sensitive to magic, it does not react well."
"Okay," Twilight responded.
"This means no magical spells, no magical grips, no touching it with something that's in a magical grip, and no magic near it whatsoever."
Her friend's caution worried her somewhat. "Okay, why? What happens?"
Rarity grabbed the roll with her teeth, and slid it onto the work table. She let out a sigh, recovering from the gruelling labour she was not used to. "Do not concern yourself with that, darling," she said, before wandering over to her desk. "Just avoid the situation in the first place."
Twilight felt slightly uncomfortable. "Honestly, Rarity if it's so sensitive to magic, it's probably not a good idea to make a dress out of it. I mean, are you going to rely on everyone your customers encounter knowing the 'don't let magic touch my dress' rule?"
The pen holder shuffled around in Rarity's magic as she pulled out a small pen knife. "Oh darling, don't assume I'm naïve. Once the dress is complete, there's a special treatment that'll protect it from magic, and make it impervious."
Then Twilight realized. "Oh, it's dragonweave," she responded, as she started to rub the fabric, appreciating its soft texture.
"Yes, it's a very special order, that I honestly have to keep hush-hush about."
Rarity continued to examine all her tools, just to make sure she had all she needed. Measuring tape, pen knife, pen, and cut-out diagram. She examined the diagram quickly, so she could come up with a plan of attack. Finally satisfied she was ready, she gathered all her tools with her magic, and began trotting back to her work table.
As she heard her friend approach, her attention still fixed on the dragonweave, she wondered. "So, where exactly did you get this stuff? It's not exactly easy-"
A soft clatter rang out.
Twilight looked up. Rarity wasn't there.
"Rarity?" she asked. Her head turned every which way it was capable of, as she quickly scanned the room for her friend. "Rarity?"
Turning her attention to the space in front of the desk, she noticed what caused the clatter. The tools Rarity was carrying earlier were now scattered on the floor.
"Rarity?"
Twilight then noticed something else; something quite suspect. For above the small scattering of equipment, she could see a loose cloud of particles, like flakes of ash, floating in the air.
"Rarity!?"
She ran over to the cloud, and saw it fading away.
A thought sneaked through her head. Was she just being paranoid? That cloud... that couldn't have been... How?
"Rarity!?"
She ran into the back room.
"RARITY!?"
No sign.
She spotted the spiral stairs leading to the second floor.
She ran to them.
"RARITY!?" she cried to the upper level.
No response.
Panic was starting to properly set in, now.
In one of Ponyville's many public squares, ponies from all over town were milling about. Some were wandering through, on their way to other parts of town. Others were visiting some of the many storefronts, shopping for supplies, looking for entertainment, or browsing for fun. And even more were just chatting to friends they'd unexpectedly encountered on the way. And observing all this, sitting on a bench on the edge of the square, were two young fillies, still nursing their sarsaparillas.
"You know," Scootaloo said. "I think someone should tell ponies that if you're going to dress up... probably pretend you're actually going somewhere."
Sweetie Belle followed her friend's gaze, and saw a stallion in a very nice jacket-shirt-and-tie combo, wandering about... looking around. He walked from one end of the square to the other, looking at the store signs, then walked back. He shuffled around a bit, looking at every sign he could, before returning to the other side of the square. He was clearly lost.
The two fillies had a private giggle.
Sweetie Belle's eyes landed on the nearby café, off to her left. There were a few ponies there, dining on pastries and coffee, in the outside dining area. But two unicorn ponies caught her eye.
"See those two?" she asked.
Scootaloo turned to look, a straw sitting in her mouth as she took a sip of her beverage.
"What do you think?"
"Hmmmm..." she moaned pensively, releasing the straw. "First date?"
"Unlikely," Sweetie Belle explained. "Look at him, happy, enjoying himself, loves to just be around her."
Scootaloo watched, and her friend was right. The smile on the stallion's face was plastered there. Even when he was eating his danish, or drinking his coffee, the upturned corners of his mouth indicated that it wasn't just an act he was dropping when his face was covered. He was his most happy at this moment.
"But the mare," she continued. "She's laughing, she's smiling; but notice, she looks down."
Scootaloo observed, and her friend was right... again.
"Smile drops, she takes a sip of her coffee, and only when she looks up does she start smiling again."
"Ooooo..." Scootaloo replied. "What does that mean?"
"Best guess? He's really into her. She has to let him down gently," Sweetie Belle explained. "What you're looking at there is a 'breakup lunch'."
Scootaloo grimaced. "Kinda feel sorry for him," she said, before quickly slurping down the last of the sarsaparilla. She examined the now-empty bottle, and quickly tossed it into the trashcan beside her.
Suddenly, a bit of commotion occurred to their right. The two girls turned their heads, assuming whatever it was would be more interesting in the immediate than just watching two ponies who might break up later have a sedate lunch now. And what they saw may have been more interesting. But they would've described it as confusing and horrifying.
Two stallions were standing at the edge of the square. Obviously, they were friends, intending to just talk about their day. But at this moment, rather than talk, one of them was too busy staring at his hoof as it started to disintegrate before his eyes.
His companion backed away in fear, before tripping over and falling on his rump, as he watched some type of corruption creep down his friend's foreleg, and across the rest of his body, turning the stallion into dust.
"What the--!?" Scootaloo exclaimed.
Over at the café, more commotion. They turned to see the sorta-happy couple, as their lunch came to an end. Not because of the breakup, but because the young mare's body was being transformed into ash before her frightened coltfriend's eyes.
The business-suited stallion stood in the road, still looking for his destination. But it was all rendered unnecessary when he dissolved into a scattering of dust.
Panic began to set in across the square. A unicorn ran across, carrying her shopping bags in magical grips above her head. But suddenly... her bags fell to the ground, their contents scattering across the street, as her ashy remains blew through the air.
Sweetie Belle got to her hooves. Standing on the bench, her drink levitating next to her, she was suddenly in a panic. She didn't understand what was going on or why, or even what to do about it. She knew she had to do something. But she was paralyzed with fear, and overcome with shock. She wasn't prepared for this.
"Sweetie Belle... What's happening?"
She continued to watch as more ponies across the square started turning to dust. Unsure of anything, and unsure of herself, she just stood there in a frozen daze.
"Um... Sweetie Belle..."
She turned to look at her best friend, Scootaloo. The friend she knew would always be there for her. With the two of them, plus Apple Bloom, Cutie Mark Crusaders forever, nothing would ever come between them. Nothing would ever separate them.
She watched her friend... as she lifted her hooves... staring as they crumbled before her.
"Oh no..." Scootaloo lamented.
"Scootaloo!?" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, shocked and scared at the scene before her.
"It doesn't hurt..." she said, with a melancholic smile.
"Scootaloo!" the unicorn tried to grab her best friend by the forelegs, but all they did was crumble to dust the moment she touched them.
Scootaloo looked at her companion. "Sweetie Belle, it's okay, it's fine. You're my best friend, I love you..."
Her body continued to crumble, like a wave creeping across her flesh...
"... be happy..."
... flowing across her chest, up her neck...
"... please don't cry..."
The last of Scootaloo's body vanished, her remains caught by a slight breeze in the air.
Sweetie Belle's still half-full bottle dropped next to the young unicorn, bounced off the edge of the wooden bench, and shattered on the street below.
A few seconds ago, she thought she was panicking. A few seconds ago, she thought she was afraid. No. What she felt earlier was merely white noise. Now she knew panic. Now she knew fear.
"Scootaloo!?" Sweetie Belle cried. "SCOOTALOO!?"
She waved her hooves through the space her best friend had previously sat.
In a panic, she scanned the area.
"This isn't funny!"
Tears flooded her eyes.
"SCOOTALOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
Spike sat in Sugarcube Corner, eating another Rainbow Cupcake. They were Pinkie Pie's specialty, and his favourite sweet from the bakery.
"Heya, Spike!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, as she entered the shoppe front with a tray of doughnuts bouncing on her head. "Enjoying your cupcake!?"
"Really good," Spike stated with a mouthful of pastry.
"I assumed so, it's your sixth one of the day."
His eyes widened. "Is it?" he asked, slightly embarrassed.
Her head popped up from behind the counter. "Uh huuuuh!" she said, before slipping the tray of treats off her head, allowing them to slide into the counter display case.
He swallowed. "Guess I should pace myself," he said.
"Oh come on, Spike," Pinkie said, racing over to give the growing dragon a big hug. "You don't need to worry about that."
"I don't?" Spike asked, from somewhere beneath Pinkie's chest.
"No," she cried, putting him at foreleg's length. "You're brilliant, just the way you are."
A slight rosiness appeared on his cheeks. "Thanks Pinkie."
"I mean, you are getting a little chubby, but that's nothing a bit of exercise can't fix." She turned around and hopped into the back of the store, singing a merry tune, leaving Spike alone with the awkwardness that followed.
Spike picked up the remaining half of his cupcake. His mind was conflicted. Was his waistline bad enough that he had to worry about it? Or should he just relax and finish his treat? He spent several seconds staring at the pastry, his mind wavering back and forth. Unsure of what to do.
But as he was lost in thought, his concentration was broken. Broken by a noise on the street outside. Broken by a scream.
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
He looked up, and shifted his gaze to the window outside. At first he was surprised to see nothing unusual out there. No nasty virus-bugs, no giant monsters, no mad ponies trying to take over the town, and no evil spirits conniving to shroud the land in darkness. But after a few seconds, he saw exactly what all the fuss was about, and in Spike's view, it was more frightening than all those things put together. What he saw were ponies, in the street, instantly turning to dust.
A young colt, still of school age, ran down the road, only to collapse in a pile of ash.
In the skies above, he saw weather ponies, flying around in a panic, as many of their numbers crumbled before his eyes.
Across the road, two ponies sat, observing the carnage around them, in shock and horror, until they too collapsed into dust.
"PINKIE!?" Spike screamed. "Something's happening!"
"Spike?" Pinkie's voice had shifted. It was not the usual cheery tone that it was a mere minute ago. It was much more sombre... much more nervous... much more scared.
He turned around to see Pinkie Pie stumble into the room, a look of sadness and concern on her face.
"Spike," the baker said, as she stumbled in front of the counter. "I don't feel so good."
She collapsed in the centre of the shoppe.
Spike acted quickly, jumping off his chair, he went straight to his friend, and helped her lean her back against the shoppe counter.
Putting a claw on her chest, he found her heartbeat. It was racing. She was panicked. She was scared.
But most jarringly, now that she was up close, Spike could clearly see pink flakes come off her body. He realized, whatever was happening outside, was happening to her.
"Spike..." Pinkie said, her voice shaking. "I'm scared..."
"It's okay, Pinkie," he replied, in the most reassuring tone he could manage. "You'll be fine, you're gonna be okay, you'll be fine."
"Spike," she replied, bringing a hoof to the side of his face. "Friends don't lie."
The tears he was holding back were suddenly let loose. "I think you're dying!" he sobbed, anguished and afraid.
Pinkie nodded, turning her gaze forward, preparing to accept her fate.
Then Spike realized: she wasn't gone yet. His tears began to ebb. "Pinkie, you're fighting this. Keep fighting it! Don't give up!"
She shook her head. "I'm not gonna win this one."
"No... no no no..."
She then turned to her best friend. "Spike," she said, preparing for her final request.
He looked up.
"Pinkie Promise me..."
"Anything... ANYTHING!!!"
"Find who did this... make them pa---"
Pinkie's body dissolved into ash. Spike fell through, as his hand hit the floor where she just was.
The tears continued to flow.
"No..."
He cried.
"Pinkie... please... no..."
Twilight trotted out Carousel Boutique's front door. The screams of terror outside suddenly made her realize something else was going on. Then she saw it; ponies falling into dust all around her.
A young mother, with a tiny stroller, became lost in the wind, leaving her infant child alone.
An elderly couple sat, as they realized what was happening, holding each other in their forelegs. When suddenly the elderly mare vanished into dust.
Off in the distance, she could see two young foals, one colt, one filly, running around, chasing each other, playing and having fun, oblivious to the pain around them. Until one of them dissolved into a cloud of ash. Leaving her friend, alone, confused, afraid, and saddened.
Twilight didn't understand. What was happening? Why was it happening!? And what could she do to stop it?
"Twilight!" a voice came. A soft voice... a sweet voice... a beautiful voice... an innocent voice... a pure voice. The voice of her best friend...
"Fluttershy," Twilight said with a smile, finally finding happiness in the world.
She turned and saw the mare gallop toward her, clearly in distress.
No matter what, Twilight knew she would protect her.
As she approached, Twilight opened her forelegs, ready to give her friend a big hug... a comforting hug.
"Twilight," Fluttershy asked. "What's going o---"
Suddenly, Twilight saw up close exactly what was happening, as the remnants blew through her. She observed the particles get caught on the breeze, and break apart again... further... even further... and further... until she could no longer see them anymore. The individual elements were now microscopic. And Twilight had no reason to doubt that they weren't dividing further... even further... and further... until they were nothing more than individual atoms floating in the air.
Twilight would've found the whole thing extremely fascinating, and worthy of much research. Save for the fact that she just watched her best friend die.
A tremor went through her body.
"No..."
She collapsed into a heap.
"NO..."
Pain, anguish and despair, were all she had left...
"NO!"
She screamed...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Spike stumbled out of Sugarcube Corner. His head torn apart. His heart in tatters. He had nothing. No energy. If whatever took Pinkie was about to take him, he was okay, he was ready. There was nothing left.
"SPIKE!!!"
Hope.
He turned.
A young, cream, adorable unicorn filly galloped toward him. Her haste justified.
He caught Sweetie Belle in his claws. Her face brushed against his chest. He could feel the moisture from her tears on his scales.
"SPIKE!" she screamed. She turned her gaze upward to look the young dragon in the eye. "Scootaloo!" she cried between sobs. "I just saw her--- She disappeared--- we were just sitting there--- she was gone---"
Spike looked her in the eye, refusing to hide the anguish in his eyes, as tears continued to stream down. "I---" He gestured to the store. "Pinkie--- she--- I held her--- She made me promise---"
"It's happening everywhere!" She cried. Fear and pain in her voice.
"I know..." he replied. Sadness and despair in his.
"Are you next?" She whispered, afraid and sorrowful.
He answered honestly, "I don't know..."
She looked at him with sorrow and pain. "Am I?"
The tears grew in his eyes. "Please no..."
He held her close.
"Don't go."
They collapsed on the street, holding each other close, each begging the other to not leave... to never leave...
Rainbow Dash was incensed. What was happening!? How could this happen!? She flew above Ponyville, watching the streets below... witnessing the ashes flow.
She didn't know who was dusted, and she didn't much care. She just wanted it to stop, before everypony in town joined them. She could mourn the dead later. She had to save the living.
She flew as fast as her wings could carry her. Downtown. Through the city streets. At the speeds she was going, the height she was travelling, Rainbow Dash knew that it could kill her. She had absolutely no time to react to any changes in the environment.
But she didn't care.
If she died, it didn't matter. Because she was probably going to die anyway.
What she had to do was too important to worry about dying.
She scanned the streets, looking for her target. Only one pony could help. If she hadn't yet turned to ash.
Turning a corner she examined a square. The fountain in the middle; A small earth pony climbed on it, trying to get some height to scan the area. But it didn't much matter. For as she looked around, her body dissolved.
A young filly, running with her mother, panic in their faces. But no matter the speed they travelled, no one could be saved, as the child collapsed into dust.
Off in a corner, near Carousel Boutique, a purple lump had collapsed in a heap. Hair draped across. Hair of a darker shade of purple, with lighter streaks within.
She found her target.
"TWILIGHT!" Rainbow screamed. She accelerated, straight toward her friend.
Twilight raised her head, looked up to see her best friend charging right for her.
She recoiled slightly as the brash weathermare approached. But before Rainbow Dash made contact, she spread her wings wide, as her hind hooves hit the ground.
Skidding for several meters, she raised her hooves. And just as she was about to make contact with the young princess, Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the shoulders, and braced against her to complete her ferocious braking manoeuvre.
"TWILIGHT!" she screamed. "What's going on!?"
"I--- I..." Twilight stammered.
Rainbow could see it in her friend's eyes. Red. Bloodshot. Her face, soaked with tears.
"Twilight!" she explained, going slightly calmer. "I need you to get it together. What's going on?"
"I... it..." she looked at the ground below. "Fluttershy..."
Rainbow looked. She could see a slight discoloration on the ground. She understood. Fluttershy was dead. But that didn't matter now.
"Yes, I get it, Twilight." Rainbow explained, in a vain attempt to reassure her friend. "I'm sure you did everything you could. But I need you to focus."
She looked up at her friend.
"Twilight, what's going on?"
She stammered silently.
"Twilight, what's happening? Why is this happening?"
"I... I... I..."
"Twilight! What do we do!?"
"I don't know."
Rainbow stood with shock. Fear in her eyes. Twilight was her only hope. That hope was gone.
"There's nothing we can do..." she continued. "There's nothing we can do..."
Rainbow immediately punched her best friend in the face.
"SNAP OUT OF IT!!!" she screamed. "Look! I get it! Fluttershy's gone. And she's not coming back. You just watched her die. I understand that's awful for you, but I just watched a large chunk of my team dissolve into clouds of ash. Dozens of ponies, all gone. Dead. And I would love to be able to mourn my best friend, and all the others who I just saw die, but we don't have that luxury. Now I don't know how many are gone. But all I know is that the rest of us still need help. We need to stop this happening to us. So don't tell me 'there's nothing we can do.' We're still alive, Twilight."
Twilight rubbed the side of her face, still in shock from Rainbow Dash's actions. But the words she heard stuck. Her eyes crossed the ground, where a portion of Fluttershy's remains lay.
"Twilight," Rainbow continued. Grabbing her friend's chin, she turned Twilight's head to look in her direction. "We can mourn the dead later. Right now, the rest of us need help. So I'll ask you one last time: What do we do?"
Twilight stared into her friend's eyes. Still nursing her bruised cheek. She couldn't speak. She could barely think. How to stop it... how to save them... she had no idea. But then she realized, that's not what Rainbow was asking. 'We're still alive.' She was asking what they do now.
"I think..." Twilight began, lowering her gaze. "We could, we should probably find out who's still alive."
Rainbow smiled her nervous smile. The only kind of smile she could muster at that moment. "Right... see..." she responded. "That's a start."
Her eyes scanned the area, Carousel Boutique was right behind Twilight.
"Rarity," Rainbow began. "Maybe--"
"She's gone," Twilight interrupted.
"Oh... okay," she stammered nervously. Not because she didn't expect it, but because she didn't want to believe it. But it didn't matter, she knew she had to move on. "Well, we have other friends, Twilight. I'm sure they're okay."
The young princess looked up.
"Sugarcube Corner's not far from here," Rainbow continued. "I say we go there next."
Twilight merely nodded.
"Are you coming with me?"
She nodded again.
"Okay," she released her best friend, and started to turn around. But Rainbow was immediately interrupted by a massive hug from Twilight Sparkle, who held her best friend close to her.
She whispered in her ear, "Please, don't ever leave me alone."
Rainbow responded in kind, hugging Twilight as tight as she could, before whispering, "Never ever."
Apple Bloom wandered through the orchard. It didn't take long for her to accept it. Applejack and Macintosh were gone. Gone forever. And they were not coming back. She didn't know how this was possible. How two ponies could, out of nowhere, just vanish into clouds of ash. But it didn't really matter, because that was exactly what happened. There was no denying what she saw. And there was no denying what she knew.
Applejack and Big Macintosh were dead.
"Honk honk honk!"
She looked to the sky.
"Honk honk honk!"
Apple Bloom peaked between the trees, to see the source of the noise. What was it?
"Honk honk honk!"
Moving around, to try to get a good view, she eventually spotted her prize: A flock of Crystal Empire Geese, flying above, in a V-formation. She learned about them in school; how the geese would actually fly their annual migratory patterns all on their own, without the help of any pegasi. But the V-formation was the most fascinating. By flying in a 'V', they actually save energy. The bird at the front does most of the work, but the ones directly behind actually have an easier time, because of a slipstream behind the first bird that pulls them through. It was remarkably clever of the birds, and without the assistance of any pegasi.
But what she saw next made the whole exercise worth it. Suddenly, as they were flying through the sky, it happened. Scattered throughout the flock, several of the geese just began to disintegrate. There was no pattern. There was no design. It was just a random selection of geese that simply vanished, like her sister and brother before them.
The remaining birds immediately saw this, and went into a panic.
"Honk honk honk honk honk honk honk!" They cried.
"Honk-honk-honk-honk honk-honk-honk!" They screamed.
They flew around in circles, trying to find those they lost.
But eventually, it was only a matter of time before they needed to move on. It took less than a minute. They rebuilt their formation, with a new leader, like nothing had ever happened. They had a journey to make. And despite everything, it still had to be made.
But as Apple Bloom observed all this, and understood the lesson they presented to her, there was one crucial piece of information they imparted to her. It was very important. The one piece of information no other pony yet had.
"Half..." she said. "Exactly half..."
Apple Bloom immediately turned around, and ran straight back in the direction she came from, toward the farmhouse. But she was not going to the farmhouse, she was heading for the road into Ponyville. She had to tell somepony... anypony. But that was assuming the right ponies were still alive.
As fast as her hooves could take her, she ran.
Author's Note
The author would like to personally thank Dashie for all his help in preparing this chapter for publication.
Chapter One – You Gotta Move On
The morning sun peeked over the mountains east of Ponyville, shining on a new summer day. The light spread over the tiny town, and in one particular little dwelling, the sun's warmth fell over a small pony, still lying in bed, asleep. But the warmth was enough. She began to roll in bed. Her eyes fluttered open as they adjusted to the morning brightness.
As Rainbow Dash woke, she turned to her side. Her bedside alarm clock clearly stating the time. She knew she still had a few hours before she needed to start her day. But she also didn't want to remain where she was.
Rolling over, she fell off, and deftly landed on her hooves. Still slightly drowsy, she reached over her back, pulling the sheets off and attempted to throw them back onto the mattress, and instead realised they just got tangled around her hoof. A bit of frustrated shaking fixed that problem without issue.
She crossed her bedroom, walking across the hardwood floor, to the bathroom, where she quickly turned the faucet taps.
As water flowed out, she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked ragged. Her eyes were tired. She collected a bit of water in her hooves, and quickly rubbed it in her eyes. She looked at herself again, smiled, then turned, attempting to give her signature cocky look. She turned again, pointing at the mirror, as if to say, 'hey, good looking.' She felt she had moderate success, but it wasn't enough. Her smile fell, and she quickly turned off the faucet taps.
Staring at her face, in the mirror, she could think about nothing. She examined her eyes... her nose... her mane... her ears... looking for something she felt she could feel proud about at that moment.
Her face fell. Crossing the bathroom, she immediately turned the shower faucet on, and leaned against the wall. Her thoughts turning to the day ahead.
Far past the edge of town, the sun had already started shining on Sweet Apple Acres. The large orchard had undergone quite a few changes in the past year; the largest was a change in management, and management style. And at that moment, the new owner was in the kitchen of the main farmhouse, having only just woken up. Her head was resting on the kitchen counter, staring as her new favourite beverage slowly dripped into the heated carafe.
Apple Bloom was exhausted. She only barely got enough sleep the night before. Her new responsibilities had been causing her new worries, which had been keeping her up later than she'd like.
Figuring enough hot beverage had been made, she quickly pulled the carafe out of the coffee maker and poured it into her favourite mug, emblazoned with her cutie mark, and already filled with sugar and cream. She then quickly returned the carafe before too much coffee was able to leak onto the hot plate. Apple Bloom then grabbed a teaspoon she had already set aside, gave the coffee a quick stir before placing the spoon back down on the counter. She then watched the drink, as it spun around, the momentum of her stirring continuing without her input.
Eventually, the coffee came to a standstill, and she was forced to resign herself to her fate. She lifted the cup to her lips, took a few quick blows in an attempt to cool the hot liquid just enough, and then took a delicate sip. Slowly registering the flavour and brilliance of the beverage, a small smile came to her face. It was one of the few pleasures left that she could still afford to permit herself.
It was shortly after The Vanishing when Apple Bloom stepped up to take over management of Sweet Apple Acres. Her Granny Smith was slightly apprehensive, worried that it was too much responsibility to place on a young filly. But what happened in Ponyville had also happened everywhere; every city in Equestria lost half their population. As such, the Apple Family also lost half their members. This meant that while normally one of her cousins could've taken over in her elder siblings' absence; those that were remaining still had their own farmland to take care of, and those that didn't had to take over somepony else's. Apple Bloom had to take over Sweet Apple Acres... there simply was no pony left.
She sat at the kitchen table, cup in hoof, as she readied her mind for the coming day.
Another sip.
"... First date I had in nearly a year, really," Silver Heart explained, nervously shuffling his forehooves. "We met at the restaurant, just... didn't really say much at first, just... awkward silence..." His gaze was locked on the floor, as all the other group participants, sitting in the circle, watched him, intently listening. "I mean, what do you say?" He looked up, to try to read something from his fellows. "How many ponies did you lose? Do you like the lasagna?"
A series of small chuckles came from around the circle. Silver Heart's nervous jokes were always somewhat funny, if a little unsettling. But they were all there to be supportive. That was the point.
"So what did you talk about?" asked a mare opposite him.
"Just... whatever I could think of..." he continued. "Her job, my job. Friends, family... the ones that are left, anyway. Then she mentioned how she was with her friends that day---there were four of them... and she saw them all... she was the only one left. Then I mentioned how I saw Lily die and... She started crying just as the salads arrived."
"And how did you do?" asked the multicoloured-maned mare beside him.
"I lasted until dessert actually."
Everyone around the circle nodded in understanding.
"It was a really good lava cake though..." he continued. "I think the tears enhanced the flavour. But I'm seeing her again next week so... hooves crossed."
Rainbow Dash put a hoof on his shoulder. "You did good," she said. "You made the first real step. It wasn't easy." She looked around the group, taking in their faces. Some have been coming for weeks, others had only just arrived. But all of them were there for the same reason: They needed to talk to somepony, anypony who would understand... understand that dealing with the loss, dealing with The Vanishing, was not easy.
It's was only two months after The Vanishing when she decided to form this support group. She knew there were many ponies who needed help, and losing so many friends meant it was hard to make new ones... new relationships. And while some ponies handled it quite well, others... simply were not prepared to handle such loss. But while she knew she was no expert in this, she knew somepony needed to step up.
"It's important we learn: we can't focus on the past," Rainbow explained, in her most sensitive tone. "We all lost a lot. But that doesn't mean what we lost should dictate our lives. I lost a lot, I lost my best friends... I lost my parents... I also lost a friend I never really knew I had... and I blamed myself..." Rainbow paused for a second. Her thoughts of young Scootaloo tugged at her heart. "I never got the chance to let her know how much she meant to me. But I still had Twilight, I still had Spike. I even made some new friends, ones I probably wouldn't have even considered before."
She looked at the group around her, pausing for thought. Her next words were considered carefully. "We can't focus on what we lost, we can only focus on what we kept, and what we gained. If we only focus on what we lost, then we can never move forward. We can never grow." She bowed her head. "We have to grow, that is our goal now. We have to grow."
She scanned the room, watching the faces of her fellows. But at the back of the room, well outside the circle, she could clearly see a stallion waiting in the door frame, watching. Her eyes went to the clock on the wall.
"Well, looks like that's time," she said, getting ready to stand. "Unless somepony else has something."
One pony slightly raised her hoof.
"Blossomforth?" Rainbow responded.
"Um... you know, it's nothing. It can wait 'til next time."
"You sure?"
She nodded.
"Alright," Rainbow Dash replied before standing and crossing the circle. "Next time, you're first," she said, placing a hoof on Blossomforth's shoulder. "Thanks for coming, everypony." She walked across the room. Her saddlebag sat on a table at the edge, right next to the door. As she approached it, her friend approached her.
"Well, that was an interesting speech," Open Skies responded.
Rainbow perked up, "What do you mean?" she asked. "Were you eavesdropping?" She became slightly incensed.
"Don't think it counts as eavesdropping if I'm standing in the open."
A couple ponies passed out the door behind him, waving, "Bye, Rainbow Dash," one of them said.
"Yeah," she replied. "Thanks again." She redirected her attention to her companion. "So what did you mean?"
"The part about blaming yourself."
Rainbow just paused briefly, before continuing to pack a few more folders into her bag.
"Sooooo..." he said, breaking the tension. "You wanna grab breakfast?"
As she slid on her saddlebag, she had to disappoint him. "Nah, I gotta go to Sweet Apple Acres, pick up their weather request."
"Oh, somepony else can do that," he explained. "Let one of the newbies take care of it."
"No, I... I'm gonna do it, it's fine."
"You gotta eat, Rainbow."
"And how do you know I didn't?"
"Because I know you, and right now you're slightly irritable."
She resigned the point. "Alright, just grab me something quick, I'll eat it in the office." Rainbow gave her friend a quick hug. "Thanks for looking out for me," she said.
"Somepony has to."
With a chuckle, she walked out of the room.
The paperwork on Apple Bloom's desk felt a bit overwhelming. Bills, payroll records, shipment and sales records, loan statements, daily inventory records for the ongoing harvest... almost too much to keep track of. But it all came down to one thing: bank statements. The bank statements were where it all simplified down: How much money did Sweet Apple Acres actually have? And that was what troubled her.
"Hey, Bloomy," came a voice.
Apple Bloom blinked a few times, before slowly turning to her left. Rainbow Dash stood there, leaning against the door frame, staring at the young filly, with a caring smile on her face.
"Don't you ever knock?" Apple Bloom asked, slightly irritated.
"I did," Rainbow responded, trotting into the office. "I guess you didn't hear me. Granny Smith let me in. Which is a good thing, because otherwise I would've broken in through the upper windows," she explained, half-joking.
Apple Bloom turned her attention back to her paperwork, starting to lazily shuffle them around in a vain attempt to process her thoughts.
"You doin' alright, kid?"
She shrugged.
Rainbow thought for a second before asking her next question. "How's business?"
This got the young filly's attention. She raised her head, and turned toward her friend. Peeking around, she noticed the door was still open.
Cluing in, Rainbow quickly closed the door behind her. Apple Bloom clearly wanted this to be a private conversation. "So?" she asked, as a simplified reinquiry of her earlier question.
"It's not great, Rainbow," the businesspony explained. "I don't think we're gonna make a profit this month."
Her rump dropped to the floor. "Again?"
With a slight nod, Apple Bloom communicated all she needed to.
Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. "Geez," she exclaimed. "But you can still stay afloat right?"
"I don't know..." Apple Bloom sighed in resignation. "Even if we manage to avoid bankruptcy, there's still no tellin' what's gonna happen next. I doubt the bank will just give us another loan. Even with Twilight's help, her acting as co-signer can only go so far."
It'd been a problem for months. Very quickly after The Vanishing, every remaining business owner in Ponyville realised something crucial: half their clientele had just disappeared. In some cases, half their competition had also disappeared, which, in a morbid way, they were thankful for as it earned them business from the clients of their former competitors. It was the only reason Sugarcube Corner was able to stay afloat. But Sweet Apple Acres was already the only game in town. There were no other apple farms. So when half the population vanished, so did half their customers, and no one came in to replace them.
"I keep thinking Applejack would've solved this," Apple Bloom explained. "She would've found something that would fix everything. Instead, I had to be the one left behind to screw everything up."
"Hey, hey," Rainbow replied, putting a hoof around her shoulders. "You're doing a brilliant job, given the circumstances."
"... for a filly..."
"... for an Apple."
Apple Bloom turned back to her friend.
"You keep seeing Applejack in rose-tinted light," Rainbow explained. "She was a pony just like anyone else. She wasn't perfect, and she was certainly capable of making mistakes and even failing."
"I guess..."
"And her ridiculous pride wouldn't have let her do any of the things you did," she continued. "Like downsizing the farm, or attempting to sell the unused land, or selling some of the old apple trees for timber." Rainbow gave her friend a good squeeze for encouragement. "She certainly wouldn't have asked Twilight to basically become part-owner, or branched out into peach and tomato farming. That was all you Apple Bloom. You're the one who was brave enough to do what needed to be done."
"But I did it all to try to save the farm, and the farm is..." she hung her head in resignation. "I think we may need to sell it."
"Okay, now, that's a bit extreme."
"Even the subsidies from Canterlot aren't enough to keep us profitable anymore."
Rainbow sighed. She didn't want to have to think about the politics of the situation. But the fact was, as she knew from both conversations with Twilight and what she occasionally glimpsed in the Ponyville Star, since less ponies meant less tax bits, the entire national public budget had to be slashed. As a result, farm subsidies also took a hit. And the end result was right before her: the possibility of Sweet Apple Acres shutting down.
"Well, I'm sure you'll think of something," Rainbow responded. "In fact, I think the solution may be simpler than you think. I mean, have you thought of raising the price of apples?"
"We did, Rainbow, you know that," Apple Bloom replied. "And our sales dropped by 30 per cent. The profit was minimal, and it got us a lot of bad will. We try that again, we may not be so lucky."
Rainbow paused. "Honestly, I didn't realize the drop was that much."
Apple Bloom just stared at the paperwork. "Why're you here Rainbow Dash?"
"Officially?" she replied. "To grab your weather request. Actually? To see a friend who clearly needs one."
Her comment brought a smile to the young mare's face. "Thanks, Rainbow, we're good. We don't need anything today."
"Clear skies, clear skies," Rainbow sang. "Gotcha."
She looked down on her friend and asked, "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," Apple Bloom replied. "Thanks Rainbow, I just need some time to think."
"Alright." Rainbow opened the door and started to leave. But suddenly, a thought came to her. She turned around and asked, "Have you thought about outside investment?"
She scoffed. "Rainbow, Twilight's done enough, I don't think I can ask her to just give us money."
"I wasn't thinking of Twilight," she replied.
"Then who?"
"I was thinking of a local businesspony who might be looking to expand, and would be quite disappointed if his favourite supplier of quality apples just went away."
Apple Bloom straightened her back. "You don't mean!?"
Rainbow nodded. "The Cakes."
Carrot Cake was stocking the display shelves in the storefront of Sugarcube Corner. Sliding entire trays of baked goods into their designated sections.
It was a bright and sunny day outside, which meant a lot of ponies were likely to come in while passing by, and grab a sweet treat. Then again, that tended to be any day. The only difference the weather tended to influence was whether or not ponies decided to eat inside the bakery to take shelter from the rain, or take it to go so they could enjoy the beautiful sunshine.
He preferred the latter. After all, there weren't many chairs in the relatively small bakery.
But something tugged at him. He realised the store had already been open for a few hours, and they only had about eight customers. There was a good chance this was going to be a slow day. He looked at the trolley beside him, with baked goods waiting to be shelved. Totalling those on the trolley and on the shelf, there was a good chance they over produced this morning.
"Mr. Cake!" A voice came from the back room.
He quickly ceased his thoughts on supply, turning them to his newest employee. "Coming," he shouted.
He gave one last cursory glance at the stock, and then quickly proceeded to the back kitchen.
He quickly scanned the room. No damage, nothing smearing the walls, no explosions, no smell of burnt pastry. All was well... or at least, all the worst-case scenarios were avoided.
He looked forward and saw, in the middle of the room, behind the giant kitchen island, Sweetie Belle, sitting on a stool, wearing a giant chef's hat, with one hoof holding a giant mixing bowl and another wrapped around a wooden mixing spoon.
"How's our little Queen Bee doing?" he responded, as he trotted toward the young filly.
She gave a small smile at the little pet name. It was something she was weirdly proud of. When she first started working at Sugarcube Corner, a month or so after The Vanishing, Mr. Cake was impressed by her diligence, and curiosity, and eagerness to learn. So he made a joke about her being a little worker bee, and the nickname sorta stuck. Then, as time went on, her eagerness resulted in her taking over more and more of the kitchen responsibilities. Eventually this resulted in her upgrading to Queen Worker Bee. Of course his wife mentioned that's not how bees work. So it was simplified to Queen Bee. Sweetie Belle loved it. She even suggested it should've been on her name tag.
"Is anything wrong?" Mr. Cake asked.
"Oh... um..." Sweetie Belle stammered slightly, partially out of embarrassment. "I'm not... really... sure."
She dropped the bowl on the island, and with her magic calmly lifted the wooden spoon. As she did, what was intended to be cupcake batter just flowed right off, leaving barely a thin trace behind.
"Ah," he said, knowingly. "Too thin."
"I know!"
He quickly grabbed the bowl in his hooves and stirred it a bit. He was surprised at just how thin it was. "How much milk did you put in?" he asked.
"Um... four cups," she responded. "I think."
"Isn't it supposed to be two?"
Her eyes went wide... she smacked her forehead in frustration. "RAH!" she screamed, out of anger and self-hatred. Such a rookie mistake, and yet it was a mistake she kept making.
"Hey, it's okay," Carrot replied. "We just have to double the rest of the recipe." He placed the bowl down, and started looking for a larger mixing bowl.
"Really sorry, Mr. Cake."
"Oh, don't worry about it," he said, pulling out an extra-large mixing bowl from the top shelf in one of the cupboards.
Sweetie Belle quickly grabbed it in her magic, and brought it over to the table. Mr. Cake followed. It was one of the most interesting things he learned since hiring Sweetie Belle: how useful it was to have a unicorn in the kitchen. They may not always be the best cooks, but they can certainly speed things up.
Sweetie Belle poured the contents of the first bowl into the second, and began scraping any excess of the edges with the wooden spoon... not that there was much to scrape off.
As she got to work, Carrot decided to leave her to it, so he trotted towards the storefront. But as he approached the swinging double doors separating the two sections, a thought came to him. "Oh," he cried, turning around. "Sweetie Belle, after you're finished with that batch, I might need you to make a delivery."
"Huh? Where too?" she asked as she continued to add the additional ingredients.
"Sugarcube Café," he replied. "Just so the baked goods stock doesn't run out."
Sweetie Belle froze. "Uh... really?" she asked nervously. "I mean, I can watch the store while you go, it's fine."
Mr. Cake was about to object, but then he realised: Sugarcube Café, the newest expansion of Sugarcube Corner, was on the edge of one of the many public squares. But most specifically, it was the square where Sweetie Belle was sitting when The Vanishing occurred. Where she watched her best friend disappear, and likely die.
Of course, some ponies might've found it easy to tell her to get over it and move on or something; or ridicule her for being that concerned over just visiting the location. After all, Spike was in Sugarcube Corner at the same time, where he saw Pinkie Pie vanish, and he didn't avoid the bakery. In fact, Mr. Cake noticed he actually came more frequently, after he had a few months to get over things, he presumed. So he did think it was a bit silly for her to be that bothered.
But Mr. Cake couldn't bring himself to say anything. He just didn't feel he had the right. After all, unlike nearly every other pony in town, he didn't lose anypony he loved. His entire family survived. Yes, he lost Pinkie Pie, who was almost like a member of the family. But the key word was 'almost.' His wife and children were still with him. So unlike every other pony, he just didn't have much to grieve about.
By the time Carrot was finished processing his thoughts, Sweetie Belle had already finished mixing the new batter. Her speed still impressed him.
"Mr. Cake?" she asked, slightly concerned. "I mean... I guess I could go if you really want me to. It's just..."
"Oh, if it makes you uncomfortable, that's fine."
"No no... I can go... I mean... it is a bit silly," Sweetie Belle explained. She started pouring the batter into the first of two cupcake pans which were already filled with specially-made cupcake papers. It was her favourite design. It just used flat parchment paper, and as a result less cupcake actually stuck to the paper, which was something that always annoyed her about traditional cupcake papers. She came up with the idea shortly after she started working there, and it became her baking signature.
"If you're sure," Mr. Cake said. Glad he was able to let the point rest.
Sweetie Belle had already crossed the room, with the first two trays of cupcakes, and was sliding them into the already piping hot oven. "I'm sure Mr. Cake," she said, with forced confidence. "I'll be fine."
Sweetie Belle quickly closed the oven door.
Spike quickly opened the oven door. The smell of freshly baked cupcakes filled the room.
He reached in and pulled them out, quickly running over to the kitchen table, and placing them down.
He was quite eager to test this latest batch, hoping this would finally be it. Hoping it would finally be the answer he was looking for.
He took a tea towel and started fanning the cupcakes, in a vain attempt to help them cool faster.
He had been trying for months. A way to replicate Pinkie Pie's most popular recipe: Rainbow Cupcakes. Despite their best efforts to the contrary, nopony could find a single sign of any of Pinkie's recipe cards. Either she had them on her at the time of her dusting; or, and Spike considered this the more likely possibility, she never kept any.
So his only option during the past year was to experiment. He was lucky though; there was one last batch. The Cakes found some extra batter and icing, and realised it had to be the Rainbow Cupcakes; enough for two full pans. After convincing them to let him have it, he froze what he could, and would occasionally bake one at a time, merely so his attempts to replicate the formula would give him something to compare them to.
He had a one-eighth slice of an original Rainbow Cupcake resting on a plate. He broke it in half, and tossed it in his mouth. He cherished the flavour as a smile came to his face; it was exactly as he remembered. He then pulled one of the new cupcakes out of the pan, peeled off the wrapper, and took a bite. He chewed for a few seconds, considering the flavour. After fully analyzing the cupcake, he swallowed, then looked at the pastry in his claw.
Then with all his strength, fuelled by all his frustration and all his rage, he threw the still-warm treat straight at the nearest wall, where it splattered in a creamy mess.
Spike took a deep breath. He looked at the tray. No, they were not Rainbow Cupcakes. At least, they weren't Pinkie's Rainbow Cupcakes. But they were pretty good... edible. Maybe the girls would still like them. He got a small pot of icing, one of his earlier still-edible failures, and began to spread it across the pastries.
Sweetie Belle's nerves were getting the better of her. She had not been near this part of town in nearly a year; not since she saw her best friend dissolve in front of her. But what was she to do? Avoid an entire section of town for the rest of her life? Whatever fears she had, she knew she had to confront them.
She dragged the cart of treats through the road, avoiding the gazes of the ponies around her. She just needed to focus.
As she turned another corner, her target was in sight. She could see the garden in the middle of the square. Her legs froze.
"Come on, Sweetie Belle," she said, under her breath. "You can do this. Just one step at a time."
She took one step... and another... and another... and froze.
Her heart started racing.
She took a deep breath... and another... and another...
She had to come up with another strategy.
She turned her head down... lower... and lower... until, when moving her eyes toward the top of her brow, she could not see more than a few metres in front of her.
She took a deep breath... and another... and another...
"I can do this..." she said.
She started walking, her walk picked up to a trot... then a canter. But she was careful not to raise her head. She had no idea how close she was, and she preferred that. She could see enough that she had an idea regarding what was in front of her, but not so much that she could see what she was moving towards.
Her canter came to a sudden halt, as she saw two pale blue hooves on the ground in front of her, standing in her way.
"Excuse me," she said, not raising her head. "Could you please move?"
"Sweetie Belle?" came Rainbow Dash's voice. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I have a delivery to make," Sweetie Belle explained. "Could you please move?"
"Okay," she replied, taking one step to the side as Sweetie Belle continued her journey. "Mind if I walk with you?"
"Sure--whatever you want--free kingdom..."
The two ponies walked alongside each other. Sweetie Belle refusing to take her eyes off the ground.
Rainbow was getting more and more concerned. She decided to try to make conversation. "So... delivering cakes?" she asked, slightly desperate.
"Yeah."
Silence descended.
Rainbow was getting nervous.
"So... I'm guessing to Sugarcube Café," Rainbow continued.
"Uh huh."
Sweetie Belle was focused on her task, Rainbow could tell that. But it didn't explain why exactly she was refusing to look up; why she looked so scared. There were slight tremors going through her body.
Rainbow realised she was distracting the young mare, from... whatever she was trying to do. So she decided to keep quiet.
The two continued to trot in silence.
As she looked around, Rainbow Dash watched for anything that could threaten her young friend. Not only for anything that could physically harm her, but emotionally harm her. Anypony who looked like they would try to make conversation. Sweetie Belle obviously wanted to avoid that.
They continued trotting for around a minute. Until, without any warning, Sweetie Belle came to a complete stop.
Rainbow looked, and could really only guess why she stopped now. But by her best estimation, it was because the space finally opened up. The building to Sweetie Belle's immediate right was gone, and near her hooves were the edges of the flower beds that surrounded the tiny public square.
Sweetie Belle started taking several deep breaths. Her head slowly rose.
She slowly tried to bring her eyes into focus, so she could actually see the location she arrived at.
Her eyes scanned the public square. Her heartbeat accelerated.
She took another deep breath... and another... and then, her eyes rested.
To her right, on the edge of the square, she saw a simple wooden bench. It hadn't moved. It was the same bench she sat on that day... where Scootaloo died.
But unexpectedly, to her surprise, she didn't feel sadness, or fear. Nothing bad happened. She just felt... peace.
Everything was okay.
She turned her head. To the right of the bench, in the corner of the square, was her destination: Sugarcube Cafe.
She immediately trotted toward it with a smile.
Harvesting season at Sweet Apple Acres was normally a simple affair. With two strong ponies in the family, and an entire season to conduct the harvest, they very rarely needed to hire outside help until the final fortnight.
But since both Applejack and Big Macintosh were taken in The Vanishing, that changed. With only Apple Bloom and Granny Smith left, neither of whom were able to properly buck for apples, if at all, they were forced to look for outside help at the very beginning.
Caramel struck the tree with all the strength he could muster.
Nothing happened.
He struck it again, this time with both of his back hooves.
Still nothing.
Then he tried a different tack. Raising both his back legs, and balancing on his forehooves, he quickly struck the tree with his left hoof, then his right, then his left, in quick succession like a rapid-fire hammer.
Apples began falling into the baskets down below, as he continued the technique.
"AAAHHHHH!!" he exclaimed, as an expression of sheer power.
When he eventually stopped, satisfied that the baskets were full, he noticed two unicorn mares just staring at him.
"Bit overzealous, are we?" Minuette asked.
"It's effective," he replied.
"Kept expecting the tree to go before the apples," Lyra explained.
He trotted over to his left, to check on the other workers. Thunderlane and Cloudchaser were busy loading up a cart with apple baskets, as Roseluck was bucking a nearby tree, filling up the baskets below.
How is she better at this than me? he thought, slightly dejected.
"Hey, kids!" A familiar voice shouted across the orchard.
Caramel turned around, and watched his boss approach the team with a smile.
"Apple Bloom," he responded. He turned to the two unicorns. "Back to work, ladies."
Minuette returned to apple bucking as Lyra loaded Caramel's baskets into a nearby cart.
He turned back to the young businesspony. "What's up?" he asked.
"How's the harvest going?" she asked.
"Really well, we're actually ahead of schedule."
"That's good," she replied. "Walk with me."
As she walked away from the others, Caramel followed. He was slightly concerned that this conversation was going to go in a direction he didn't like.
"I was thinking," Apple Bloom explained. "We might have to cut a few ponies from the payroll."
He was right. "Uh, I don't know about that Apple Bloom," he replied. "When I say 'ahead of schedule' I don't mean by much."
"Doesn't matter," she explained. "We're still failing to make a profit. We have to cut corners where we can." She stopped, turning around to face her employee. "I want reports on everypony's performance. Honest reports."
"Yes, ma'am."
She bowed her head. "For the record: I'm not happy about this either."
Caramel couldn't think of how to respond. He scratched the back of his neck, nerves catching up with him.
"I'm still looking for alternatives. I have an idea which could fix everything, but it might still mean downsizin' the staff. I won't know until it's done."
Caramel sighed. "You'll get the reports tomorrow."
"Thank you," she replied. "And don't worry, I won't do anything too drastic without telling you."
He nodded.
"Now, get back to work."
"Yes ma'am."
Caramel watched as Apple Bloom turned around, and proceeded into town. He knew the little filly had a lot on her shoulders, and knew these were tough decisions. But he also knew she would make the right ones.
He turned around, and went back to work.
Sweetie Belle levitated the last package out of the now-empty cart, and placed it directly on the table.
Mrs. Cake approached her, opening the newest box. "I'm guessing we had a bit of a surplus at the bakery," she observed with a chuckle.
"He didn't say anything to me," the young filly replied.
"Oh, it's fine dearie. I'm sure we'll sell all of these." She pulled out three products, a strawberry danish, a blueberry-mint cupcake, and an apple brownie; and carried them over on a single hoof to the counter, placing them inside the display case.
Sweetie Belle began reattaching the cart to her torso, and started carrying it out the shop.
She suddenly paused. "You know, Mrs. Cake."
The baker popped her head up.
"I think I'm going to take a break before heading back," Sweetie Belle explained. "Could I get a..." She paused, suddenly considering her situation. There were so many beverages she could possibly order. But only one felt appropriate. "... a sarsaparilla?"
"Of course, dearie." She walked over to the nearby display fridge and pulled out a bottle filled with a dark soda.
Sweetie Belle levitated it toward her. "Thank you," she replied.
"Enjoy yourself, Sweetie Belle."
Leaving the café, she noticed Rainbow Dash, still standing there, leaning against a building.
"Have you been waiting for me?"
"Oh... maybe..." she replied, slightly coy. "You doing okay?"
A small smile appeared on Sweetie Belle's face. "I'm doing better," she replied. "Thanks."
"You wanna talk about it?"
Sweetie Belle didn't respond. She just trotted past her friend, straight to a nearby bench. Releasing the delivery cart, she then hopped up onto the bench, magically opened her bottle, and calmly started drinking.
Rainbow sat down beside her. "So..." she mused. "This is where it happened..."
"Really happened everywhere," Sweetie Belle responded.
"Well, yeah, but... Scootaloo."
She bowed her head. "Yeah," she said, with a melancholic tone. She turned to Rainbow Dash. "Actually, she was sitting right there."
Rainbow Dash suddenly got slightly uncomfortable. But she didn't feel like it was right to move at this point. "You've been avoiding this place?" she asked.
"Little bit," Sweetie replied. "Haven't been here... since..."
"And how do you feel now?"
She laughed. "Like it was silly. I'm finally here, and nothing bad happened. No more ponies turned to dust. I didn't break into tears. I don't know why I was so scared."
Rainbow Dash just watched as her young friend took another sip of her beverage.
Several seconds passed with no words.
"Did I tell you what her last words were?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Rainbow tried to think. "Uhh... don't think so," she replied.
"She asked me not to cry," Sweetie Belle explained. "She wanted me to be happy." She lowered the bottle into her hooves, gripping onto it tightly. "But I did... I did cry..."
Rainbow remembered. That day, when they found Sweetie Belle and Spike, on the stoop of Sugarcube Corner, huddled together in each other's arms, each releasing their sorrow into the other's embrace. For the rest of the day they were all together, those two just didn't stop crying. It ebbed and waned, but it never stopped.
"That's alright Sweetie Belle," Rainbow explained, placing a hoof around her shoulders. "I don't think she'd blame you for that. You just lost your best friend, and your sister. It was only natural to cry."
"You didn't," the young filly responded.
"No... I didn't," Rainbow replied, slightly unsure about whether she should continue. "But I wish I did."
Sweetie Belle looked up.
"Instead, I waited 'til I got home and cried for three hours," she explained with a chuckle.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I just lost all my closest friends, I lost... I lost Scootaloo too..." Rainbow explained, choking up slightly. "I never even knew how much she meant to me until that day... I always thought I was the one who was supposed to protect them, all of them; and when they needed me, I was helpless. It was tearing me apart all day, and once I started letting it out, I couldn't stop."
Sweetie Belle considered her words. "You didn't lose all your friends," she explained.
"Well... nearly, all--most--almost all, let's say."
She smiled. "But why didn't you want to cry with us?"
Rainbow told her the truth. "Because I felt I needed to keep up appearances? And also, somepony needed to keep us together, rather than just crying in a heap the whole time." She gave Sweetie Belle an affectionate squeeze. "I took the strain for the rest of you, and I was happy to do it."
She smiled again. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash," she said. "You're a good friend."
Rainbow smiled, and continued to sit with her friend, enjoying the view as many ponies walked by.
In the main throne room of the Castle of Friendship, six thrones sat around a giant table. At one point, they all had symbols at the top. The cutie marks of each of the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony. But that was a year ago.
Unsurprisingly, at least to Spike, once The Vanishing was over, four of the thrones suddenly stood blank. He took this as confirmation; Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie really were gone; really were dead. They didn't 'go away.' They didn't 'disappear.' They were dead; truly dead. Those four were not coming back. And he felt it safe to assume, neither were the tens of millions of other ponies who also turned to dust that fateful day.
It took months before anything changed. Before two new symbols appeared on the thrones. Because after supporting and helping Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle through this difficult time in their lives, Rainbow and Twilight eventually considered them friends... close friends... best friends... and that was when two shield-like cutie marks appeared on two of the vacant thrones; one for each of their newest friends. They were part of the team, and would always stay that way.
But they weren't the first new additions. Because it was only a few weeks earlier when a symbol of a swirling green flame appeared on one of the empty thrones. They didn't know what it meant at first, because no pony they knew had a cutie mark like that. But Twilight eventually figured it out. That was the castle's way of telling them there was only one individual meant to sit on that throne: Spike. But because Spike wasn't a pony, and didn't have a cutie mark, it had to improvise.
So that was where Spike sat, reclining across his throne, a book in his claws.
He didn't do much this day. His thoughts were too restless. In fact, he didn't do much most days. Since The Vanishing, dealing with Twilight's bizarre mission, his new friends, and the new projects he started, he didn't really have the energy to clean and maintain the castle like he used to. So instead, he would just relax... read... think...
His mind started wandering. He looked across the table, where Rainbow's empty throne sat. He could see to his right, Twilight's throne, and to his left, the thrones of Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle's right beside his. But there was still one, to his right; still empty... still vacant... still blank. No one used it, and he doubted anyone would ever will... at least not permanently... and officially. But maybe that was why... the unfilled space.
Because in the past year, they found themselves in a curious situation. You see, in the time since The Vanishing, the map stayed silent. Not once did it summon them to a far away part of Equestria on a mission of friendship. Instead, it sat, quiet... empty... It was just a table now. A table currently holding a plate of cupcakes.
Spike kept wondering, 'why?' If there was ever a time in Equestria's history that they needed the magic of friendship, it was now! But nothing. Was it waiting for the final space to be filled? Did it need all six to work?
Or was there another reason? Was it because, despite the fact that their friendship was the strongest in Equestria, the map knew they simply weren't ready to deal with this? That nopony was? After all, half of all Equestrians had died... how do you deal with this? What do you do? How do you grieve... so many lost...?
A light knocking came, breaking him out of his reverie. A door on the far side of the throne room slowly creaked open.
"Hellooooooo!" came a voice, as a bright orange head slowly peeked over the door edge.
Her eyes scanned the room, searching for any sign of life. Then she spotted it: "Spike!" she screamed, jumping through the door.
Spike smiled. "Hey Sunset!" he replied, happy to see his friend.
Sunset Shimmer wandered over to the empty throne. "How's tricks, little guy?" she asked, reaching over to give his head a quick rub.
"Oh, not bad."
She sat down. "Are those cupcakes!?" she asked before quickly magicking them over to her.
Spike's eyes moved to the clock in the corner. It was already mid-afternoon. While Sunset Shimmer was here early, it was only a matter of time before the others arrived. But he didn't want to get up. He didn't want to move. Did they really need tea for their bi-weekly afternoon tea? ... Probably.
Sunset also noticed the time. "Wow," she exclaimed, with a mass of cupcake squashed in the side of her mouth. "I guess I'm here early."
"Isn't it the same time over there?"
"It fluctuates back and forth, I haven't figured out the patterns yet." She swallowed the pastry, and quickly got up, leaving her saddlebag on the chair. "So, need help making the tea?"
"Eh!" he exclaimed, waving a claw.
"You okay, Spike?" Sunset asked with genuine concern.
He sighed. "Just tired," he said, with resignation.
"Well then, let me help." She quickly levitated him, and slowly dropped him to his feet. "There, I did the hardest part for you," Sunset explained before trotting off to the kitchen.
He followed her close behind, but had to stop the moment Sunset entered the kitchen. She had turned to look at the cupcake mess right next to the door.
"Let me guess," Sunset proposed. "Another attempt at those Rainbow Cupcakes and you got pissed."
"Yeah," Spike replied, hanging his head.
"And you couldn't clean it up?" She levitated most of the pastry in a magical aura, clumped it into a ball, and threw it into the trash bin on the other side of the room with a simple "YEET!"
Sunset levitated the kettle that was sitting on the stove, and quickly started filling it up at the sink.
"So how many attempts is this?" she asked the young dragon.
"I don't know," he replied. "I lost count."
"Not a good sign," she responded.
Sunset then took the kettle, placed it back on the stove, and tried to start the burner. Lowering her gaze so she could watch the flame light, she continued the conversation.
"I mean, you're kinda obsessing over these cupcakes," she explained.
He walked over. "You've never had them," he rebutted, before breathing a flame over the burner, setting it alight.
"Thank you," she responded. "I mean my Pinkie did have some Rainbow Cookies that were pretty good."
"Did she keep any recipe cards?"
"Well, we haven't found them yet."
Spike just sulked.
"I just think you're obsessing for nothing. I mean those cupcakes you made out there were pretty good."
"Yeah, but... they're not the same."
"You're right, I'll bet they're better."
Spike just walked away, as Sunset started searching the cupboards for the appropriate equipment.
It was already mid-afternoon. Sweetie Belle had just gotten off work. The day she had was... interesting. But now, she was just happy it was over, and she could spend the rest of the day with her closest friends.
She trotted down the road. Straight to the Castle of Friendship.
Her eyes glanced over the buildings she passed. Some were still in use; stores and houses, still either patroned or populated. But many more weren't. Many more were boarded up, vacated.
Since The Vanishing removed half of all ponies, it meant half of all houses were now unneeded. With no one to live in them, they were just abandoned and boarded up. Mainly because this also created what could only be described as the biggest buyer's market in history, except there was no one to actually buy. Sweetie Belle knew this because of her conversations with Apple Bloom. There was so much unused and vacated land for sale, the desperation of those left behind to actually sell their useless property, and the fact that there were so few ponies actually looking to buy, meant the price was almost nothing. Because of that, Apple Bloom couldn't sell half the farm like she wanted. That is... well... she could've, but for much less than she wanted to, and much less than she found it to be worth.
Sweetie Belle passed by all the vacant buildings, until she reached one of the town's larger public squares. She recognised it instantly. It was one she used to spend a lot of time at. Because on the other side of the square sat the former home of Carousel Boutique... now just an empty building, windows covered in plywood.
But that wasn't the most important thing in Sweetie Belle's mind. For in the centre of this little square, there used to be a beautiful water fountain. But it was torn down not too long ago, and now, several stonesmiths were working on the new centrepiece to this section of town.
She approached the project and began reading.
It wasn't anything too special at that moment; just a large stone cylinder. The ceremonial trough surrounding it, intended to be mainly used during the dedication ceremony, was small and nondescript. But the interesting part was the text on the cylinder. At the very top, in large, elegant and beautiful text, it merely said, "To Those We Lost, and Loved." The phrase repeated three times around the top of the monument. As Sweetie Belle walked around it, she could see many names engraved into the stone.
The engravings were all marked down in a spiral, from a nondescript position at the very top, and all the way around, continually descending. The names were also in alphabetical order.
She looked around the column, trying to see names she recognised. Applejack and Big Macintosh were on there... clearly... right near the top of the list. Cheerilee as well, her old schoolteacher. She saw some of her former classmates: Aurora Shade, Button Mash, Diamond Tiara, Featherweight... Fluttershy's name was also engraved. But then the list stopped. They weren't even halfway finished.
One of the worker ponies, noticing the young unicorn behind him, stopped what he was doing, and turned around. "You okay kid?" he asked, in a gruff voice.
"Oh, I'm fine," Sweetie Belle replied. "Just looking."
"Hmmm..." he glanced at the work behind him. "Lose anypony?" He asked before realised how redundant the question was.
A melancholic smile appeared on her face. "Haven't we all?"
"Heh, yeah..." he replied nervously.
"But their names aren't on there yet," she responded, only mildly disappointed.
"They'll all get on, don't worry."
She smiled, "I know."
Sweetie Belle stood there, watching as the stonesmith got back to engraving.
She focused her eyes a bit better, and noticed just how they were working. The stone monument already had the next few names marked on them with ink. It looked as if they were going to etch out the sections after they marked them out.
As she processed this, a voice came into her ear.
"HELLO!"
The unicorn jumped in surprise, and quickly spun around.
Apple Bloom stood there, a big grin on her face.
Sweetie Belle exhaled a sigh of relief. It was only her best friend. She just snuck up behind to startle her.
"Whatcha doin'?" The young farmer asked.
She sighed again, and straightened her stance. "I was just taking a look at the memorial," Sweetie Belle explained. "You know, your family got on and mine didn't," she said, with a touch of false anger in her voice.
"What!?" Apple Bloom was shocked. "But... how---why!?"
Sweetie Belle laughed. "I'm kidding!" she explained. "I only mean it because it's in alphabetical order. 'Applejack' and 'Big Macintosh' both come before 'Rarity.'"
"Oh... heh... yeah." Apple Bloom looked up from her embarrassed stance. "So I guess Scootaloo's not on either?" she inquired.
"Nope... but I'm sure they'll all get on before the dedication ceremony."
Sweetie Belle began walking away from the scene, toward the Castle of Friendship.
Apple Bloom quickly ran after her.
