Author's Note

Ah yes, I've been expected y'all readers to find yet another new chapter of M3, the one story out of many of my craft to go above and beyond the oneshots since the inception of my presence read at once; suffice to say, I'd to go back to the past and read over what I'd written back several years ago, the story that started it all with the good and bad that had entailed.

Aside from disclaimers long ago, I want to take the time to say thank you for never pulling out too early since we're now in the new year and a new month with a new hope to have and hold with tender loving care rather than yet a totally lost cause and the strength to continue onward in staying tuned for the future that is the now; in addition, I would also like to apologize for not doing so in time as usual since I'd wanted to finish this earlier: I believe at this rate, everything will still make sense soon enough as we all float onward, like before.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you can find some strength in reading this chapter now more than in the others before them enough and to continue onward in staying tuned though the passing times before it because this serves as a callback to one of the nightmares Applejack had suffered through; as a matter of fact, she, too, will be making an appearance in this story as well.

Decay

At the very point onward, darkness had already settled itself in while surrounding every single thing and being whatsoever dwelling inside the pitch blackness of such the deepest of shades altogether belonging to befit an abyss that no one would ever find the bottom of to say the least. Within it all were but both nothingness and obscurity in their entirety, all remaining static and dynamic interchangeably and respectively as if they were doing a dance that not a keen observer whosoever if at all would be able to even see to start with, even with the most special equipment. Already a shattered dimension which is so out of this world, even the most basic of concepts such as shadow, substance, sight, sound, and mind were all camouflaged so deeply inside the scenery at hand they were as if none of them were perhaps real to the naked eye in any form.

Then, all of the sudden, every inch of it all had disappeared in an instant; in its place were many things which had now taken up residence so quickly: it was as if the very light had come on and shown the way. The cool breeze floating above the ground gave way to a sight that one could have never seen before: the big blue sky was as clear as a crystal lake with only the golden sun itself residing in there all alone. There were also birds flying in the sky, coming in all sorts of functions and fashions whatsoever: colors, shapes, sizes, speech, and species united as well as divided within the same atmosphere altogether now. A clutter of leaves were also dancing in the winds without a care in the whole wide world they were all dwelling in, all of them practically devoid of the brilliant green which were matching the grass of origin. Joining them all were a few insects of some sorts: flocks of butterflies and bumblebees bursting throughout with their own sense of direction as they alongside one another within the vicinity at the very moment. Even so, the rays of sunlight were beaming down upon the lands from all possible angles therein whatsoever, bestowing both heat and light to all of those inhabitants residing below it suffice to say nevertheless.

Of course, the very scenery was turned away by the sight of clothing being worn on its owner’s body, possessing a color cooled down to the rightest shade much closest to the very light in and of itself. A long flowing blue dress had made its way down past the kneecaps and into depths of darkness with lighter polka dots resting within the lower region as they’d been already accented by a hot pink train. Tresses of a darker shade were already found to be adorned with a singular pearl diadem bearing a triumvirate of jaded flowers, all possessing a heliotrope epicenter lodged within each of the five petals. Speaking of which, there had been another flower found on the wearer’s body; unlike the others presently above, it was more organic and elaborate, colored in the quantic dreams of an indigo prophecy. Even with the bared forearms exposed to the crisp cold air, the milk chocolate integuments had provided its owner some liveliness, freed from any sort of imperfections normally hidden by the clothing.

“Oh, Minuette… even in death, you still had that winning smile of yours; it’s a shame it won’t even last forever…” a nearby voice broke apart, prompting the titular listener’s eyelids to fly open, bearing sapphires deep underneath.

The lonely occupant turned about to discover an enclosed space where only the scenery had been provided freely, prompting a confused retort, “huh, what’s going on here; what the fuck: why can’t I even move?!”

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today in great sadness to give a fallen fellow a final farewell…” another voice was also heard within the distance, this one in a deeper tone compared to Minuette so to speak, “Minuette was known to this community as a hard worker who had showed determination when it’d came to brighten up the faces of the people living amongst her. As a dentist, her abilities had helped provided her and the city she’d lived in the comfort of living our daily lives through the importance of basic oral hygiene as well as the solace in confiding with her band of friends. Even without the comfort of family living, the fellowship proved to be strong enough to endure any and all challenges which had came our way at many separate occasions whatsoever; of course, even that wasn’t meant to last. Despite the will to live past the horror in which had befallen upon the capital she’d called home with Equestria as well as its inhabitants, yet another life had been tragically cut short not by explosions or gunfire but rather the sickness unto death. The fact that Minuette has fallen from grace as a result of the war is a tragedy in and of itself, her clean bill of health exchanged for a relatively short lifetime of carnal knowledge and substance abuse: even worse, her only offspring serves as a reminder of the pain many mothers had suffered through. Nevertheless, she’ll live on in the hearts and minds of others touched by her presence, be if for good or ill: friends, progeny, neighbors, and even acquaintances alike shall not let this tragedy hinder us the same way as it’d struck her before, let alone drive us to go down a similar path she’d taken after the ill–fated war; as such, we’ll now pause for a moment of silence to reflect.”

“You can’t be serious: I’m not dead; I’m just sick, that’s all…!” the lonely occupant muttered as she’d attempted to rise from her station, only to find nothing but stillness.

Accompanying the numbness which she’d felt so instantaneously were the rising choir of melancholy emanating from beyond her current location already apparent of the very situation. Amongst the many, it’d sounded like to Minuette that they were a bit easy to recognize at once, albeit faintly and for some strange reason or another so far away from where she’d remained.

Out of the few which the very occupant hadn’t bothered to attempt recognizing, one voice broke out in a mirthless laugh, “you know, I feel so funny about this whole situation; we’d happened to be so alike in more ways than one: we were talented women cut to pieces by the world’s blight and forced to bear children we couldn’t abort despite the men causing us all needless pain…!”

“What talent; what on Equestria is this gal talking about: what does this have anything to do with me?!” Minuette whispered as she struggled to fight off whatever kinds of forces keeping her inside, “I need to end this madness now…!”

“And yet, I feel sad, knowing that no matter how many times I made him come inside of me, I’d lived, bearing a bastard son whereas his wife gave birth to four daughters; at least Minuette can die with her reputation redeemed in spite of such indiscretions…” the snigger subsided into a sound sniffling soon enough, something the occupant grew to harken.

It wasn’t long until Minuette caught a glimpse of one of the people she’d heard so recently upon making contact, a visage started to scratch away the surface of her determined resolved overall. The voice which had now made its approach then revealed its true identity to the occupant at once: a bright skinned female with flat silver hair and face wet with sadness running throughout. Dressed up in the height of fashion, Minuette had found the attendant all covered up in darkness: a conical hat, long cloak, blouse, and gloves were given as a signal of such very feelings overall. The only exception which wasn’t even stained by the pitch blackness of such an attire in question was but a tender rose red as the madder sky that wasn’t hanging directly above them currently. Even so, the occupant can see a deluge of tears falling out from the bright skinned female’s contorted face as the former witnessed the effort the latter put in holding them back to no avail. Staring into such a melancholic amethyst gaze had found there was even makeup running about and amok as the smooth natural skin soon became stained alongside such a strong emotion alone.

Minuette stopped stone cold dead in her blazing hot pursuit to regain control of herself as she’d choked out, “Trixie?!”

“You know, it’s kind of ironic seeing a friend of someone I’d once considered to be my sworn enemy lying in a casket, bruised and whatnot…” the eponymous mourner commented about, looking at the occupant with a solemn visage upon the former, “once upon a time, I’d wanted nothing more than Twilight’s stupid grin wiped off; now, it has seemed I’d gotten my wish. Growing up, I was nothing more than a little old dirty bastard child and the surviving half of a parasitic twin no less: my mother, bless her soul, raised me on her own since I’d crawled out of her womb as if I were nothing more than an only child; from what she’d told me in my youth, my father was one of the great magicians in the world, let alone in Equestria. It’s even sadder knowing that this may as well not be the first time I’d gone to Canterlot: the both of us ended up traveling all the way there just so that I could be enrolled in Princess Celestia’s school; mother said this could’ve helped get closer to my dad and look how that turned out for me. I was nonetheless a talented prodigy at least in her eyes but I’d shared no interest in staying here for long; after all, I’d settled on a quest to go and find my father but even I knew that wouldn’t be such an easy task: even though I was at top of the class, I still felt as if it wasn’t enough. After leaving that very school, I had vowed to build up my credentials before I’d dared to face him in Las Pegasus: this meant becoming one of the best traveling magicians within all of Equestria, wowing the crowd to and fro with my marvelous stunts; considering my youth, it would’ve been a straightforward plan so to speak. At least that’s how the plan worked until one fateful day in Ponyville; it all began when I’d traveled here to perform for the populace, a simple occasion that I’d no problem succeeding in doing, or would’ve if it weren’t for one thing: a band of friends led by Twilight Sparkle had taken umbrage with my talents and stood up to challenge me. At first, I’d beaten all of her friends but not her yet so to speak, not that it’d mattered since I’d not gotten the chance: I’d remembered the day an Ursa Major came to town and started wreaking havoc, no thanks to my so–called fanboys; after she’d showed me up, I became a laughingstock everywhere I’d went and on foot no less since my trailer was gone. Broke, starving, homeless, and humiliated, I’d found myself into dire straits, forced to take up a job at a rock farm owned by a small family consisting lonely man living with a wife and a couple daughters: of them, half had already moved out of here in search of their destinies, whom I’d reason to believed included someone I’d already met; anyways, it was hard to make a living. If anything, I’d swore to myself as soon as I’d gotten back on my feet, I’d be able to get my vengeance on Twilight Sparkle or so I’d thought; one day, a band of men came to that place and turned it into something I’d haven’t wished on the likes of anyone, let alone her of all people: the things they did to them as well as myself had left me screaming and crying to this very day.”

“This is starting to upset me…” Minuette cried.

The attendant pulled out a paper cloth from underneath her hat and placed them over her eyes, wiping away her tears as she’d wept, “for all the prices I would’ve been willing to pay, this was far too much for anyone, much less myself, could even do, especially without the bits I’d been earning; as a matter of fact, the money we’d lived on wasn’t all that they’ve taken from us. Since their arrival, this rock farm became nothing short of a brothel for women such as myself: though a few of us still excavated and the like, it was usually either in skimpy clothes or nothing at all; I was unfortunate enough to be stripped away from my clothes, left out in the nude in front of the leery men and gasping peers. Even my employer whom had owned the home was also at their mercy; forced to watch his wife and offspring cater to their whims while he was held down with both arms broken beyond all recovery but they were just the tipping point before I’d ended doing the unthinkable: I’d ended up sleeping with him, usually against his will because the thought of him dying was too much. Now that I’d gave my virginity away to him, not only did I fear for their lives, I’d also feared for the life of the child I’d conceived alongside him; even since my first time together, I couldn’t resist feeling guilty having let my desperation and hunger for vengeance get this far, especially since I’d ironically gave it up in exchange for their survival. To ensure that this baby would be left further uncorrupted by another man’s seed, I was forced to engage in other barbaric forms of activity, including copulating with one of the women; thankfully, it wasn’t one of his daughters but the threatening possibility of having to do so was weighing heavily on my mind, day in and day out, so much so I’d nearly choke on my vomit. It wasn’t even long until our prayers were answered so to speak: the war was coming to an end and so were our tormentors’ lives and/or careers; of course, the road to recuperation hadn’t been easy for the whole family, especially considering the diseases they’d contracted in the process. Speaking of which, I’d hoped that both of my parents would still be alive by then; however, that would also mean having to tell either of them the pain and suffering I’d been through within the war: the men whom had their way with me, the son I’d gave birth to, and the nightmares I’d suffered through amongst other troubles long before my time in Ponyville. Nevertheless, the only thing this ordeal had succeeded in doing its worst to me was make me empathize with the others and let go of the petty hatred I’d let get ahold of me when it’d came to Twilight Sparkle; after all, the fact she’d lost a friend because of the war had made me realize how foolish I’d been in seeking revenge. The only regret I had was the fact I’d gave up my pride in the process; my hosts whom had taken me in before the war understood far too long ago that it would be a matter of time until that day came yet to think it would arrive at the cost of our purity: to this day, I still wonder what could have happened if I’d been infected rather than two of their daughters whom had stayed.”

“Now I see the rumors were true: we’d all laughed at Trixie and now look at her; I guess this is payback for what had happened seven years ago…” the occupant cerebrated, shedding a few tears in the process as a single rose had fell onto her chest gently at once, “I bet this nightmare’s a fancy way of saying, ‘serves you right for getting messed up, you little whore’…”

“Farewell, Minuette: I wish I’d gotten to know you sooner, preferably without the warfare…” Trixie sighed, departing slowly.

Minuette then felt her eyelids become moistened as she’d heard another voice from beyond her line of sight and station, it was feminine like the attendant but more collectively stable overall, “let me start off by saying that as a fellow self–employed woman in Equestria, I’d barely known much about her family, let alone her parents. The only thing that I can remember about Minuette were the times she’d came to my bar looking for a way to help her take the stress off of her mind, much like I’d done. I lament the fact that she’d died without a family to remember all the good times that they had with; I lament the fact that her friends will remember her as one of the citizens directly affected by the invasion earlier. Even the loss of my daughter Coronet has made me realize the poor choices I had made before the war and not just as an alewife no less: the fact I had the reputation as the town drunk getting high off of my own supply would’ve been grounds to have my children taken away. To this day, I’m still haunted by her passing yet hopeful that her spirit will find peace as our homeland recovers from the tragedies that had torn itself and us apart and asunder with the help of its people. All that we should do now is not let their deaths be in vain nor should they be forgotten by those whom were close to them and are alive; instead, they should be remembered for the lives that they’d inspired and their legacy as well, even those whom had sold their bodies for coins and drugs.”

“I didn’t know that Berryshine had a family, let alone a daughter; I feel really bad for her: I know that I’ve been drinking here and there after work before the war but even I didn’t go that far…” the occupant choked out, a stream of tears forming underneath while squirming about within, “still, am I’m really that terrible of a person…?”

“Is there anyone else whom would like to say anything about the dearly departed before the end?” the same masculine voice from before asked solemnly while Minuette sobbed quietly about.

For a moment, it’d seemed that the melancholy expressed by the likes of both attendants almost subsided soon enough; however, this wasn’t the case as another rose up to the task at once: “yeah, Ah have something…!”

“Hmm…?” the occupant uttered as she’d prepared her eyes for the new sight approaching the space at once, “Applejack?!”

Another dark skinned female took it to herself to view Minuette, bearing golden locks free from whatever accessories adorning either coldly headed counterpart. Unlike Trixie, Applejack was dressed in a simple white gown with her name on it; additionally, the latter had worn a jet black armband around her left forearm. Even though the tanned blonde kept herself composed, her face had showed signs of a tempest brewing about, jaded orbs out amongst a freckled visage alone.

“Come t’ think of it, Ah had always wondered what kind of person would do such things t’ herself, having sex, doing drugs, all the while neglecting her only child; but, now that the war is over, it’d seem that Ah finally understand: you make mah dear Winona look chaste by comparison…” Applejack spat out reluctantly.

The occupant, though confused, kept crying, “AJ…”

Feeling nothing but stiffness in the process, the tanned blonde had continued on, “with that said, Ah can’t resist pitying ya nonetheless; like ya, Ah had so much in common with ya, just like what Trixie had said: talented yet torn down by men we’d thought would never come t’ hurt us. Ah had never been willing t’ wish such a fate on anyone, especially a child if they so happen t’ remind me of mah sister Apple Bloom; it is sad knowing Ah had gotten mahself in this mess over her, only t’ nearly strangle the poor girl with mah bare hands. They say the ties that bind leave softer bruises but they’re never strong enough to withstand treachery, wrath, or lust when it comes to soldiers who should’ve been out there defending our homes and gardens; the fact mah grandmother is dead happens t’ be truly haunting fer the both of us and the fact mah brother had been entangled has hurt me even more. Fer all which Ah had thought Ah known, these bastards could have just ended mah life and be done with me since people die in war but no, gals like me had t’ be left alone only t’ suffer; in mah case, they’d left me with a nasty gift: some lues and a son whom can never see the world fer what it truly it, a festering stink hole filled t’ the brim with cruel people and their cruel deeds. At least the only good thing coming out of it is knowing that he’ll be safe from the likes of me, too broken t’ raise a child or look after mah kin without wondering if today’s gonna be the day Ah put either of them out of mah misery; of course, Ah worry about what will be said should he ever learn the truth of it all: the fact he was brought int’ the world by three hateful men?! T’ tell ya the truth, Ah had never thought much about romance, let alone settling down t’ continue the family name and trade; as a matter of fact, if it weren’t fer this war, then Ah might as well would’ve continue to be the hero Equestria needed and deserved. Of course, we can’t always get what we want in this day and age, a lesson that many like mahself have learn far too well, even if Twilight hadn’t come t’ town; after all, nothing lasts forever anyways, especially when one’s health has been compromised, be if by drugs or disease: the men who’ve wrecked mah family had done a damn fine job making sure of that. Speaking of time, Ah know that mains’ short: considering the fact that I’m probably going t’ die real soon, the least that can be done is making the best of our remaining lives by making amends; even my Granny Smith, may she rest in peace, knew this t’ be true and the fact Apple Bloom and Ah watched hers be taken will be one of the things haunting us for the rest of our lives. Perhaps, many of us have a lot t’ think about our lives and how we’re living them, if at all: the idea that Ah am still standing up has made me realize how far Ah have fallen, not just as a Bearer but also as a member of the Apple family overall; t’ think of the promises broken ‘cause of me, it wouldn’t have been surprise if mah parents had disowned me fer mah deeds.”

“Oh, Applejack, you poor little thing…” Minuette wailed, staring backing at Applejack and the teardrops the latter had also shed in the process, “I feel so horrible about it all…!”

“This will now conclude the service at once: from the land where many have been born and to the land where many have now return; may her soul be able to find mercy and rest in peace…” the same masculine voice from before had spoken up once again this time with feeling to say the least.

By then, the occupant watched all so suddenly the big blue sky obscured by the pitch blackness; before then, she’d heard the tanned blonde said, “it’s sad seeing ya in a coffin like this, what with having t’ be the last person in the family t’ be having yer life taken away because of the war and yet ya still could’ve continued t’ do good with that career of yers. Of course, considering what Ah had done, it’s no better than the pot calling the kettle black; anyways, guess this is goodbye: supposing that Twilight told me about you sooner, the least Ah could’ve done is get t’ know you better in the flesh, especially alive…”

“BUT I AM ALIVE; I CAN PROVE IT TO YOU RIGHT NOW: JUST PLEASE OPEN THE COFFIN ALREADY AND YOU WILL SEE IT AT ONCE…!” Minuette then wailed loudly, freed from the numbness plaguing her body so she can bang the hard surface frantically but to no avail, “I CAN BE A BETTER PERSON: I CAN PROVIDE A BETTER FUTURE…!”

“Goodbye…” was all that the trembling occupant listened to as she’d kept shuffling about in the enclosing final space overall.

Minuette ignored it all, screaming out at once, “NO PLEASE, DON’T DO THIS; NO… NO… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!!!”