The Last Queen of the Blaze

The child continued to giggle as it wriggled around, pressed next to Applebloom’s neck and lying down on her arm. It’s soft hair that almost was like fur bristled against her skin, and the pronged horn gently poked her chin. She moved her head to avoid this, and looked across the river.

“Well, I can’t just leave you here…” she said, partly to herself. The infant titled its head, inquisitive and seemingly confused. Applebloom grabbed the basket, and after a bit of struggle, pulled it free from the bush. At this point, her only option was to go back home, and try to explain things to her brother. There would be no doubt that he would have his reservations, but she knew he couldn’t say no to keeping this child safe. On the other hand, he might have a few words for her after the events of today.

The moment the child was laid on in the basket, it reached out for Applebloom again. It began fussing, then sniffling, before crying and whimpering, still reaching out for Applebloom. She hushed the child desperately, leaning close to the child, and touching her forehead gently with the infant’s.

“No, no, no, no, don’t cry, please,” she hushed. “I’m here. I won’t leave you alone. Please stop crying…”

As soon as she leaned in, the child began to giggle again, embracing Applebloom with its stubby arms. Carrying the handle of the basket in her mouth, she trotted across the river, and back into the forest. She looked around the dark woods, hoping to find a way out. The area was only dimly lit by the moon, which was now at its peak in the sky.

“Let’s see, which way is out?” she wondered to herself, looking left and right. The forest looked all the same to her, and she had lost any sense of direction. Applebloom went straight ahead, hoping to herself that she could stumble across a clear path.

A few minutes passed, but to her, it felt like an hour. The infant babbled quietly the entire time, staring up at the yellow mare from the comfort of the basket. Applebloom’s eyes caught a warm, orange glow, dancing in the air a good distance away from her. Her ears perked up as a voice in the same direction called out to her.

“Appleblooooooom?” the voice faintly called out to her. Applebloom froze for a moment. For a moment her mind tried to piece together whose voice that was, until it hit her.

“Sweetie Belle…” she gasped. The infant tilted its head in confusion. The yellow mare hastened her pace, cautiously trying not to let the foal fall out of the basket in her mouth. The glow grew in size, and the voice became clearer.

“Appleblooom?” the voice called again. This time Applebloom responded with a muffled yell, as she exited the forest and stepped onto the dirt path that appeared in front of her. A bit to her left, Sweetie Belle, now dressed only in a silk red scarf and holding a lantern in her hoof, turned to her friend. The white unicorn’s eyes widened, and rushed towards her.

Applebloom set the basket to her side, and began her apology that she had been reciting in her head for some time now.

“Look, I-” her words were cut short when Sweetie Belle wrapped both her arms tightly about Applebloom. The earth pony was stunned as Sweetie continued to embrace her friend tightly. The infant giggled happily at the sight.

“I’m glad you’re alright…” she whispered, with her eyes shut tight. Applebloom was unsure of how to respond, but before she knew it, her own arms moved to embrace Sweetie, and her own eyes began to water.

Sweetie Belle remained silent as Applebloom’s quiet allowed the tears to flow silently. All the words she had planned to say disappeared from her mind. The silence in the air said enough for the two of them. The infant finally broke the silence with a quick babble and giggle, gaining the attention of the two mares.

“Oh my goodness!”squealed Sweetie Belle, approaching the foal and picking it up out of the basket. The infant continued laughing, and waved its arms around as Sweetie Belle tickled its belly.

“Who is this?” Sweetie Belle turned to Applebloom, overwhelmed with excitement. Applebloom scratched the back of her head, and awkwardly looked to the side.

“I dunno…” she said, “I sort of just….stumbled across it…”

“Stumbled acro- what!” Sweetie Bell asked incredulously. “Why would anypony leave such a sweet, innocent child out in the cold? You poor thing…” she cooed at the infant, tickling its nose.

The child’s laughter stopped suddenly, as its eye twitched. It wrinkled its nose and began to take in a few gasps of air, indicating an oncoming sneeze. Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened and proactively turned the child to face away from her, holding her with outstretched arm as if she was a bomb.

Instead of a light noise and perhaps a tiny bit of snot, the sneeze resulted in a loud, thunderous boom that rattled the eardrums of the two mares there. From the infant's snout, a streak of fire bolted through air, singeing the ends of Applebloom’s mane. The earth pony was quick to pat out the flames with her hooves, while the unicorn was too stunned to speak or even move. The fireball trailed off far into the dark sky, before exploding mid-air and lighting up like a firework, splitting the clouds. The flash temporarily illuminated the shocked faces of the mares. Sweetie’s jaw hit the ground, and Applebloom’s eyes were as wide as plates.

“That might be why…” said Applebloom shakily. Sweetie Belle wasted no time in gently placing the child back into the basket.

“W-well, regardless,” continued Sweetie Belle, still shaken from her near-death experience, “we need to find a place where it can stay safe and under somepony’s care. Do you know anyone willing to do so?”

Applebloom was silent. She rocked her head from side to side slowly, trying to find the words that wouldn’t make her friend overreact. Sweetie Belle gave a confused glance as Applebloom fumbled with her words

“Well….” she began, but Applebloom found no courage to finish her sentence. Sweetie Belle finally connected the dots, and her eyes widened for what seemed like the fifth time that day. She couldn’t be serious, right?

“...Are you crazy?!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. She had leaned in a tad too close, blaring the words into her friend’s eardrums. The giant feathered hat on Sweetie Belle’s head tipped to the side at the sudden energy. Applebloom’s head rattled from the sound, blinking twice as she recovered from the ringing in her ears.

The infant began whimpering in fear. Applebloom briskly trotted over to the basket, and nuzzled the filly with her snout. It once again began laughing upon seeing her and reached out as Applebloom leaned down and picked the basket up with her mouth.

“Like you said, we can’t leave it all alone,” she said, half-muffled by the basket. “I’ll take care of it until her parents show up.”

Sweetie Belle watched as Applebloom began walking down the road towards the sleeping town in the distance and out into the open air, before stopping at the edge of the woods. Applebloom suddenly felt hesitant about taking another step forward. The courage she had gathered to tell her brother about the events of this afternoon had, for some reason, vanished completely. The murmurings of the crowd echoed over in her head, and she felt her spine freeze.

Sweetie Belle slowly trotted up to her friend, tapping her on the shoulder. “Your home is the other way, you know…”

Applebloom blinked out her trance, and turned to look at the unicorn. She sighed as she turned and trotted in the opposite direction, without so much as a backwards glance. She needed to get home as soon as possible, to lay the child to rest, to tell her brother everything, to be alone for a bit.

Alone. The word in her mind reverberated in her heart, as she began to quicken her pace. She could hear Sweetie Belle following close behind her, telling her to slow down. Without thinking, Applebloom spun to glare at Sweetie, the pounding in her head returning and her voice changing again.

“GO AWAY!” she blurted out. Her tone flickered from her typical yellow to a greyer tone for a moment. Sweetie Belle stepped back a bit, taken aback by the outburst. The familiar expression of fear on her Sweetie’s face reminded Applebloom of the afternoon again, and the headache returned with full force. Her knees grew weak, and she collapsed onto the ground, lying on her side with her dusty red hair over her face. The basket fell out of her mouth with a thud, and the infant, entangled in the blanket, rolled out. It squealed happily, almost as if it enjoyed the experience, and turned to look at the two ponies. Sweetie Belle ever so gently walked over to her friend, and pushed the red hair aside with her hoof. Applebloom’s eyes were streaming tears, and her lip quivered.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle…” she choked, her voice was barely strong enough to form the words. “I’m so sorry…”

Sweetie silently moved to her friend’s side. got on her own knees, and with a combination of her magic and Applebloom’s remaining strength, got Applebloom back on her feet, albeit leaning against Sweetie’s own body. She wrapped her arm around Applebloom’s neck, embraced her tightly, gently wiped away the tears from her eyes, and smiled warmly. A new wave of guilt washed over Applebloom, and through teary eyes, she had to ask:

“You should hate me…why are you being so nice to me?”

Sweetie Belle began walking down the road towards Sweet Apple Acres, leading Applebloom with her arm still around her body.

“I could never hate you,” she responded simply.

A few hours ago…

“You want to whaaat?” Scootaloo raised her eyebrows in surprise. Sweetie Belle, having cleaned the running mascara off her face, was currently lying down on a soft, cloudy sofa inside Scootaloo’s residence.

“Look, I can either stay here, lying down and crying until I’m sore, or I can actually do something about it and actually ask her what’s wrong,” Sweetie stared up at the clear, fluffy ceiling of clouds above her, with a new determined resolve in her eyes. “And I know for a fact that the former never accomplishes anything.”

“I mean, your sister got away with it pretty often…” Scootaloo muttered under her breath, warranting a glare from Sweetie Belle.

“And besides,” Scootaloo continued, taking a sip from her coffee, “what makes you think she’ll open up to you anyway? She made it pretty clear that she didn’t want our help.” There was a definite twinge of venom in her voice that didn’t go unnoticed by Sweetie Belle.

“Look, I know things have been rough between the three of us - “

“Actually, I just have a problem with her, not you…”

“But you have to remember, things have been hard for her, too,” retorted Sweetie Belle, as she trotted towards the door, reaching for her coat. An orange hoof beat her to it, but instead of lifting it off the hook, it was pinning it to the wall.

“You’re kidding, right?” Scootaloo said, angrily. “She’s been acting like that for , what, 10 years now? I’ve tried to talk to her for half that long, and every time she acts like I don’t even exist! And the first time you talk to her in a DECADE, she straight up explodes at you, in front of hundreds of ponies, and blitzes off! What part of any of that makes you think she’s worth helping?”

By now, Sweetie had managed to pry her coat off the rack, and had one sleeve over her arm when she froze at Scootaloo’s words. “Scoots…. You don’t really think that, do you?”

Upon seeing her friend’s face, Scootaloo’s anger faded away from her face. She rubbed her arm, trying to think carefully about her next words. After a long pause and a hesitant breath, she grumbled.

“I gave up on her a long time ago. You should do the same.”

A dreadful silence filled the air at that very moment. Sweetie Belle stared at Scootaloo, with her mouth agape in shock, as if she had been suddenly stabbed in the chest by her friend. She shook her head, half in disbelief, finished putting on her coat, and brushed past Scootaloo as she walked out the door.

“Tch…..fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if she hurts you again,” Scootaloo growled. Sweetie Belle ignored her once more, and stepped out into the fluffy landscape of clouds. She heard the door close behind her, and wept bitterly with each step.

…….

Applebloom made no sound as Sweetie Belle recounted her meeting with Scootaloo. As stunned as she was about the things she heard, there was a small sense of relief within Applebloom’s heart, as if a knot tied around her chest had loosened. She proceeded to internally scold herself for feeling such a sick sense of satisfaction from knowing that the pegasus that was once her friend now rightfully hated her. But the weight was lifted, and Applebloom felt both lighter and heavier at the same time.

By now, the child was sound asleep, snoring quietly as the basket rocked gently from side to side in Applebloom’s mouth. Sweetie Belle’s eyes were fixed ahead, as the trio moved silently through Ponyville. Sweetie Belle’s home was one of the few homes that stood out among the rest, with it being a boutique and all, but also because it was one of the few houses that still had the lights turned on inside, casting a yellow glow in its radius.

“That’s odd, Rarity should be asleep by now,” thought Sweetie Belle aloud. She raised her hoof, reaching for the doorknob, when suddenly, it swung open, and with one swift motion, a white hoof reached out and pulled Sweetie Belle inside. Applebloom blinked twice in confusion, and a familiar voice from inside emerged in a half-whispering, half-screaming sort of tone.

“Sweetie Belle, where have you BEEN?” it hissed. “I have been worried SICK about you! I swear on my life, the reason I die will be because of YOU giving me a HEART ATTACK!”

Sweetie Belle was being violently shaken throughout the whole scolding, and once the voice had finished, she regained her senses and cleared her throat.

“Ummm, sis, we have company,” she said, pointing towards the door.

Rarity glanced up, allowing Applebloom to get a better look. She was dressed in a pale violet bathrobe that hung down to her hooves, and her hair was wrapped tightly in a towel, giving it the appearance of a purple beehive that had strings of hair pointing out of it instead of honey. Her expression had faded from anger to surprise upon seeing the earth pony.

“....oh,” said Rarity. She took a moment to collect herself, straightening her posture, and took a deep breath. “Welcome, Applebloom. Please come in…”

Applebloom nervously bowed her head, basket still in mouth. She slowly walked into the shop, feeling the warmth of the building soak through her skin. The store had looked the same as it had for the past ten years. The mannequins set around the stands were wrapped in silk of various colors, almost reflecting the light from the hanging lamps and chandeliers. Rolls of silk and string were strewn about the tables, with a sewing machine set next to the piles. The smell in the air reminded Applebloom of roses, and looking about, she could see a number of red candles burning about the edge of the building, floating in elegant china pots filled with water. A red sofa was set facing away from the eastern window, laden with pillows of the same color and mixture.

Rarity took off the towel wrapped around her head, letting the wet hair fall to her shoulders. A purple aura enveloped her horn, and a white comb on one of the tables became surrounded with the same energy. It floated from its position and began straightening her hair, while Rarity reached for a tea kettle that had been whistling on the stovetop set under the spiral staircase that led to the upper levels.

“You must be exhausted dear. Tea?” offered Rarity. The comb had finished its job in straightening out her hair, leaving it long and curvy as it usually was.

“No…” Applebloom shook her head, quietly setting the basket on the sofa and taking her place next to it. The child rolled in its sleep to its side, causing the blanket to fall off. Applebloom took no notice; her gaze was transfixed on the foal. Sweetie Belle approached her friend, glancing back and forth between the child and the mare. She opened her mouth to ask if she was alright, but one glance at Applebloom’s blank stare was all she needed to see.

She was crying again. Applebloom’s lip and eyes were as still as stone, but a small tear rolled down from her eye. There was a heavy weight on her heart once more, but it was different from the one from before. She only raised her head when Rarity walked over with a floating cup of piping hot tea.

Rarity glanced at the foal and gasped. “Oh my goodness…” she squealed in delight. The high pitch in her voice caused Applebloom to wince, Sweetie Belle to cover her ears, and the child to slowly open its eyes. Surprisingly, it made no crying sound, only yawning and stretching as Rarity picked her up with her hooves.

“Oh, you are simply just precious! What’s her name?” Rarity eyes were sparkling with joy as she said this. Sweetie Belle just rolled her eyes as Applebloom wiped hers.

“You see some random pony’s baby and the first thing you ask is the name?” Sweetie Belle raised her eyebrow. Rarity chuckled nervously as Applebloom spoke up.

“I found her in the forest. Looks like someone just up and abandoned her,” she said, her face still turned away from Rarity. She still avoided the unicorn's gaze, even when Rarity set the child back into the basket as it babbled a bit, and used her magic to turn her head to face her.

The action caught Applebloom off guard, and almost braced herself for impact. Rarity simply gazed at the face, noticing the cold, wet cheeks and red eyes. A few seconds passed, and Applebloom prepared for the worst, when she felt two soft hooves embrace her.

Rarity was hugging her, much to Applebloom’s confusion. The baby continued to fuss, gaining the attention of a somewhat stunned Sweetie Belle. The younger of the white unicorns began patting the head of the baby in an awkward attempt at consolation, while the older continued to hold Applebloom close.

“What's wrong, darling?” asked Rarity.

Applebloom began to choke up, and through her efforts to hold back the last of her tears, she choked out her response.

“Why….why are you being so nice to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I hurt her,” whispered Applebloom, looking over at Sweetie Belle, who was playing with the infant, teasing it with her hoofs and laughing with it when the foal caught it. “I hurt you, too. You should hate me…..”

“Oh, nonsense,” said Rarity, rather sternly. “Sweetie and I could never hate you. In fact, I regret not making an attempt to see you more often.” She began to break off from the hug.

“If your sister could see you now,” she continued, “she would be so proud of you”

The voice in Applebloom’s ears was suddenly distorted. She looked up, expecting to see Rarity’s face. Instead, for a split second, the visage was split down the middle. The left half was Rarity’s kind, loving expression. The other was the nightmare from earlier: Applejack’s face, caved in and rotten. Applebloom shrieked, and in a wild frenzy, fell onto the floor. She panted heavily, as the headache returned, bashing the insides of her skull. She turned to look back up at the two mares and the infant. Rarity’s and Sweetie Belle’s shocked expression was pretty much plastered on their faces, and the infant, who had crawled out of the basket and onto the couch, gave a confused look.

“Good lord, Applebloom, are you alright?” Rarity asked after a brief pause.

Applebloom shook her head, slapping herself to wake up. “I need a moment,” she stammered, and as she rose to her knees, she felt her legs give way, and she collapsed onto the floor once more. Sweetie caught her this time, and helped her back up.

“Oh dear… you must be exhausted,” said Rarity. “Sweetie, could you bring Applebloom upstairs to the guest bedroom? I’ll call Big Mac and tell him about our situation.”

Applebloom was too tired to object. The infant babbed in confusion, as Rarity snatched up the child and put her back into the basket. “I’ll deal with you later, little missy…” Rarity cooed, as she trotted over to the phone.

Sweetie Belle slowly led the exhausted earth pony to the upper floor, and into one of the dark, purple bedrooms, that was much more neatly organized than the store itself. She laid Applebloom on the giant, soft mattress that sank with the weight of Applebloom, who was already half-asleep and still. Sweetie Belle turned around, and with her own magic, turned off the lamp.

“I’m sorry…”

Sweetie Belle turned around at the sound of the hushed whisper. Applebloom was sound asleep, but her lips moved and her voice cracked with every exhalation.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie….. Don’t leave me here alone….”
Sweetie Belle felt her own heart sink upon hearing those words. She slowly closed the door, and it creaked ever so quietly. It was silent enough for any pony standing in the hall to hear Sweetie’s words: “I’ll always be here for you, Applebloom. Just let me be your friend again…….”