The Last Queen of the Blaze

Applebloom stood in the darkness, silent and still. There was no surface beneath her feet, and no sky above her head. It was cold, but there was no trace of any draft to make the air cold. In fact, there was no air at all.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't tell if it was whether because of the sense of dread crushing her lungs, or if it was simply the lack of oxygen around her. With what little air she had left in her lungs, she screamed for Sweetie Belle, then for Rarity, then for anyone at all. No sound came out of her throat.

The feeling of standing changed. She was now sinking, down into the abyss, and she felt her hooves flailing about. The cold was now enveloping her, and she felt the sensation of being dragged down, like a sinking hook in an endless sea.

There was a hoof on her shoulder now. She dared not turn around, fearing what might be there. The hoof shifted, moving around the mare and drifted in front of her to see.

It was Applejack. Plain, simple Applejack, her cheeks rosy and her hair flowing, she floated on past Applebloom, upwards into the void. Applebloom continued to sink, and she looked down for a moment to see if there really was no bottom. There was nothing to be seen, except for the same darkness that was all around her. She turned to look up again and saw that Applejack had disappeared.

Instead, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were in her place, facing towards Applebloom. Their expressions were grim, and Scootaloo's eyes contained a fury that Applebloom had never seen before.

"What's wrong with you?" shouted the pegasus. "We were better off without you! Happier without you!"

Applebloom felt her heart plunge into her stomach, and she burst into tears.

"P-please..." she blubbered. "I'm sorry.... Sweetie, Scoots .... please forgive me... "

Sweetie Belle could only turn away in silence, and Scootaloo scowled, and spat in her direction. The two other mares vanished, and the yellow earth pony sobbed in silence.

With a thump, she felt her body hit something hard. Applebloom unraveled from her curled up position. Looking about, the pitch blackness was now a darkness with a harsh, red light illuminating from beneath her. She tried to sit up, but her head banged against the same material. She stretched out her arms, and found them to be confined as well. At first she thought she was trapped in some sort of box, but with what she could tell from the shape and size, the horror of her situation sank in.

She was in a coffin. One that wasn't glass, but she could see through. The red glow grew bright, and suddenly, the ground began to rumble. Shooting from the ground were a series of long bony hands that gripped the coffin entrapping her, and began pulling her further down. Applebloom banged and kicked against the box, but to no avail. A crack in the ground opened, and the coffin sank further in.

Applejack stood above her, hovering. Applebloom's eyes widened in fear upon seeing her sister. The pounding in her head returned. The face was flaked and bloody, with the flesh eaten away by decay. A coarse, grating noise that only barely resembled the voice of her sister came from the mouth.

"Seee...." it hissed, "We belong dead, sissster..."

Applebloom looked down at her hoof. A pricking pain shot through it, and to her despair, the yellow skin began to flake away rapidly, revealing the rotten bones beneath it.

"Doon't cry.... shuuuugarcuuuube....."

............................................

She awoke to the sound of crying coming from the lower floor. Drowsily, she looked about the room around her, and recalled that she was in the boutique, with Sweetie Belle and Rarity.

Her cold sweat had dampened the sheets, and her headache, though faint, was still present. The crying continued. Muffled under the noise was the sound of another mare, trying to console the source of crying. Almost instinctively, Applebloom slide out of bed, trotted quietly through the hallway, and down the spiraling stairs.

Only a single light was turned on in the lower floor, dimly lighting up the area underneath. Rarity stood in the center, rocking and hushing the crying infant. Upon sensing Applebloom's arrival, she turned to look at her and sighed.

"Trouble sleeping, darling?" she asked. "I hope it's not because of all this crying."

"No, actually...." responded Applebloom. "I just couldn't fall asleep for some reason."

A nagging sensation in her soul dared her not to say anything about the dream, or Applejack, or Sweetie Belle. Too many thoughts were flying around in her head. Rarity looked at Applebloom with a knowing eye.

"Could that reason possibly explain you screaming Sweetie Belle's name while you were sleeping?" she asked. The soft tone of her voice held no sense of resentment to Applebloom, who rubbed her eyes.

"You heard that, huh?" she mumbled, trotting over to the crying infant. Applebloom trotted over to the child, and took it into her own arms.

"There, there, sugar. I've got you..." Applebloom whispered softly, as Rarity watched her soothe the infant. The infant opened its eyes, and upon seeing Applebloom, ceased crying. It cuddled up close to her body, and squealed happily. It then yawned, almost making a squeaking noise, and closed its eyes before drifting off into a deep sleep.

"How precious," remarked Rarity, as she pressed her hoof to her chest. "Perhaps the child would be better off in your care."

Applebloom thought for a moment. She looked at the sleeping child, and gently brushed it's hair to the side.

"Maybe you're right," she said, after a long pause. "I did find it, after all, so it should be my responsibility."

"While I don't necessarily agree with that logic," Rarity cleared her throat. "I can tell your mind is set. At the very least, we should give it a name."

"Hm," was the reply. The two thought for a moment, as they sat down on the couch set off to the side. The child shivered for a moment. A glimmering orange light began to show beneath the scales on the bridge of its nose. With a sudden burst of energy, small embers shot out from scales, which had changed from mostly pale green to a dull purple, before shifting back into its original color.

Applebloom had leaned back slightly to avoid the heat, and Rarity let out a small yelp of surprise. Applebloom could feel that the child's skin was warmer now.

"What in the world was that?" Rarity half-whispered, half-screamed.

"Oops.... I should've brought that up, huh?" Applebloom chuckled.

"Well, I am all for protecting it, but I can't have a child setting my house ablaze all willy-nilly like that now, can I?"

Applebloom laughed, then paused for a moment. "....Blaze."

"What?"

"Autumn Blaze," said Applebloom, rocking the child. "That'll be her name for now."

Rarity looked at the child, then back at Applebloom, and nodded. "A fine name indeed. I think it suits her very well."

The two mares stared silently at the sleeping child for about a minute longer, before Rarity stood up from her seat. "Well then, with that out of the way, I think I'll be going to bed. I need to take you to see someone early in the morning."

Applebloom looked up in surprise. "What? See who?"

Rarity sighed. "Applebloom, you and your family were like a part of my family too. So, I feel that I need to look out for you if you won't look after yourself."

"But-" "Ah-ah-ah!" Rarity tutted, cutting Applebloom off. "Sweetie Belle and I are worried about your health. Both of the mind and body. So please, just come with me tomorrow so that ponies can help you."

Rarity's tone was calm and soothing, but defiant. Applebloom knew better than to try and object Rarity when her mind was set on something. Still, a feeling of unease rose within her. Would she have to tell others about her dreams? What about Big Macintosh? How would he feel about it? And what if she found out she couldn't be helped?

These thoughts swirled around in her head, but ultimately, she pulled herself together, and sighed.

"Alright. You've made your point. I'll go with you."

Rarity smilled, and hugged Applebloom once more before going up the stairs. "You're being very brave, Applebloom. We'll get through this together, alright?"

Applebloom nodded, and Rarity disappeared into the upper floor. She looked back down at the child still sound asleep.

"Well, I don't want to just leave you here," she thought out loud. Looking about the room, her eyes landed on a multi-colored quilt hanging on a string, tied from one table to the other. She approached it, checking to see any sign of damage or loose threads. After being satisfied with finding nothing of the sort, she carefully pulled it off the string, and brought it back to the couch. She laid the child in the basket, and placed it next to her as she laid down on the couch. She pulled the soft quilt over both of them, and grabbed one of the throw pillows, placing it under her head.

Sleep came easily this time, and there were no dreams to be had.

............................................

This time, it was the bright morning sun that awoke her. The light peered through the boutique window, shining over her eyelids. Applebloom's eyes fluttered open. She pushed herself up and sat upright, stretching out towards the ceiling as she yawned. A small squeaking noise caught her attention. Turning around, she saw the small filly mimicking her motions, right down to the yawn that came out as a squeak. Applebloom giggled and nuzzled the child, much to its delight.

"Good morning, Autumn," she smiled, as the child tried to hug the earth pony. It only able to wrap its stubby limbs around her nose.

"You gave it a name?" said a voice from behind her. She turned to see Sweetie Belle, with her hair disheveled and a tail messed up, all the while cooking with a frying pan over the wood-burning stove set in the middle under the stairs. From the smells and sounds, Appleboom recognized that Sweetie Bell had been cooking oatmeal and French toast.

Applebloom nodded. "I hope you slept well last night," she said, carrying the child over to the table set up. Sure enough, piping hot oatmeal was set in wooden bowls, laden with honey and raisins. A plate with around 5 or 6 pieces of French toast had been set next to it, and Sweetie Belle added two more from the pan.

"That should be enough," the unicorn said to herself. Autumn reached out for one of the pieces of French toast, and began gnawing on it. It was then that Applebloom noticed the incredibly sharp teeth Autumn had and was using to munch on the food. Sweetie Belle watched as the infant finished the meal, and babbled as it reached out towards her.

"Awwww, how cute!" Sweetie Belle remarked as she handed the infant another slice.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" came a shrill reply. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle turned around quick, as Autumn paid no mind to the commotion. Rarity was leaning over the steps, looking at the three of them. She was dressed in her bathrobe, and her face was covered in a green mud mask.

Rarity hurried down the steps, snatching the half-eaten toast from Autumn, much to it's confusion, and grabbed a chair.

"You can't feed a foal solid food like that! It'll choke" she exclaimed. She grabbed a spoon from the table, scooped up some of the oatmeal, blew on I to cool it down, and raised it to the child. "Here, try this," she said in a much calmer and collected tone.

The infant leaned towards the food, then sniffed it twice. It stuck out its tongue in disgust and shook its head. Rarity move the spoon towards its mouth, but it kept turning its head to avoid it. This went on for about two minutes as Rarity struggled to feed the mush to Autumn, Autum squirmed around to dodge the food like it was poison, and Applebloom and Sweetie Belle watched in amusement.

"Well!" huffed Rarity, who was now out of breath. "This is the second most stubborn infant I've ever had to care for!"

Sweetie Belle gave a look, but was ignored by Rarity. "I need to feed you something appropriate..."

A lightbulb went off in Applebloom's head. "I got it!" she declared. "Sweetie, do you still have those apples you bought from me?"

Sweetie stammered, then went over to the cabinet. "Yeah, but I don't think getting my receipt will do anything..."

"No, no, not that," Applebloom laughed. "I'm making my family applesauce. I ate it all the time when I was a filly!"

As she grabbed the apples and pots, she paused for a moment, then turned back to Sweetie Belle.

"Hey, ummm," she said, almost dropping to a whisper. "Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie looked up in anticipation. Applebloom heaved a sigh and continued. "I hope you can forgive me.... for everything."

Sweetie Belle looked surprised at this, as Applebloom rambled on: "I wanted to say this ever since, but so much has happened, and I wanted to say that I'm sorry for all things I said, and for hurting you and Scoots, and -"

She was cut off when Sweetie Belle placed her hoof on her friend's lips. Applebloom immediately stopped talking, as she watched her best friend smile and laugh. "Of course I'm forgiving you, you dolt," she laughed cheerfully. "I understand. You weren't yourself, and I was prying too much. I'm sorry I brought up some bad feelings, dear."
Sweetie Belle pulled the mare in a tight embrace. Applebloom felt a warm sense of relief washing over her, and the tightness in her chest vanish.

"Now, then" said Sweetie, breaking off the hug. "I'm gonna help you make this applesauce. We'll do it together, just like old times, alright?"

Applebloom could want nothing more. The two got to work, mashing the apples and chatting away. They put the mixture of mashed apples, sugar and water into the pot, and let the fire do the rest of the work. Meanwhile Rarity was insistent on getting the oatmeal into the mouth of the child, before finally putting the spoon down in exasperation.

"FINE! I give up!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to wash off my mask before I heat this thing up any more than I already have!"

She stormed up the steps as Applebloom removed the lid. By now, the applesauce was bubbling softly, and a light, fruity aroma wafted through the air. Autumn was beginning to fuss, and Sweetie Belle picked her up. Applebloom tasted the applesauce and decided that it was ready. She grabbed a bowl from the cabinet, and began serving the Applesauce.

"Where's Auntie Sweetie Belle?" Sweetie Belle was covering her face with her hooves, as Autumn watched in earnest. She removed her hooves from her face, revealing it, and calling out, "Peek-a-boo!"

Autumn was clearly delighted, clapping and laughing the way infants do, as Sweetie Belle prepared to repeat the process. Applebloom had brought the applesauce and was blowing on it to cool it down. Rarity had now washed the mask off, and with her hair tied nicely up in a bun, and her formal attire adorned, she trotted down the stairs, just in time to watch Applebloom bring the spoon to Autumn's mouth.

The infant smelt the mixture and seemed to contemplate on whether or not to eat it.

"Say Ahhhhhh..." sang Applebloom. The infant responded by, almost hesitantly, allowing the mush to enter its mouth. There was a brief pause as the girls waited in anticipation. Autumn seemed to swallow it, but Applebloom wasn't sure if she enjoyed it. That worry was cast aside when the child clapped its hands and babbled in delight.

"It worked!" declared Applebloom as she high-fived Sweetie Belle. Rarity came closer and watched as Applebloom fed the happy foal another spoonful of the wonderfully-scented sauce.

"....You're becoming more and more like your sister with each passing day," said Rarity, smiling.

For a second Applebloom stopped. Immediately, both Rarity and Sweetie Belle feared for the worst: that they have said something that triggered her, and braced themselves for the worst. Instead, they were pleasantly surprised when Applebloom smiled in response, with as much spring in her step as she had all those years ago.

"....Thank you."