It's Just A Shot Away

17:37 - 26/11/1004 - Ponyville, Equestria

“And that’s how I beat Queen Chrysalis and saved Equestria!”

Before Rainbow Dash had even finished telling her story, Scootaloo was hopping up and down with her wings fluttering faster than a hummingbird’s. “That was the coolest story I’ve ever heard!” she beamed.

Her reaction was polar opposite to Sweetie Belle’s, her forelegs folded across her barrel as she leaned back into her beanbag chair. “Come on, Scoots. You don’t actually-”

“What?” Rainbow immediately picked up on Sweetie’s skepticism, throwing her proud grin away as she whipped her head to face Sweetie. “What do you mean you don't believe me? It's true! It's true guys! Everything I say is true!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Sure it is.”

From the end of the school night to then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been under Rainbow Dash’s watch in the showroom of the Carousel Boutique. At that point, Rainbow collected the fillies from school on most nights, given that the crusaders’ families were busy with work at those hours and Rainbow was typically free.

It was rare for the three crusaders to go straight home. After school, they went out and tried to get their cutie marks with Rainbow always thrilled to supervise and encourage. But on many nights, when the three were particularly tired but still wanted to hang out, they’d spend it either at Scootaloo’s house or in Rarity’s boutique until their guardians got home. In any case, Rainbow consistently kept an active current running through the trio that they didn’t petter out until much later. It did make it a pain when clothes they planned to wear the next day ended up covered in tree sap, a surprisingly common occurrence.

“Well I believe you, Rainbow Dash!” assured Scootaloo. “You believe her, right?” she said, giving Apple Bloom a nudge.

“Hm?” uttered Apple Bloom upon being nudged. Truth be told, Apple Bloom hadn’t been paying much attention to Rainbow’s story. Just enough to catch the broad strokes, something about being there when Queen Chrysalis tried to take over Equestria, about two years ago. Rainbow only really caught her interest at the parts when she zipped up and down the boutique’s showroom, to act out some dramatic chase across Cloudsdale she claimed to have been involved in.

“You heard what she said, right? You believe it, don’t you?” Scootaloo repeated, nodding her head.

Apple Bloom shrugged, facing Rainbow. “I ain’t got no reason to think you’re tellin’ a tall tale.”

“Exactly!” Rainbow threw her front hooves forward, wings flared. “It all happened, exactly as I said it-”

“Just one small thing been naggin’ at me,” Apple Bloom continued, standing up, stretching. “If you really were there, why not, I dunno, let ‘em fight?”

That made Rainbow pause. “What are you talking about?”

“Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon, they’re both worse than a worm in an apple,” Apple Bloom claimed, waving a hoof in the air. “Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if they just, like, offed each other?”

Rainbow scoffed (and Scootaloo parroted her). “Uh, no!” Rainbow made no effort to hide the ire in her voice. “You know how bad Chrysalis was, right? If she took over Equestria, it'd be a million times worse! She’d be sucking all the love out of us, or she’d be turning us all into changelings, or, or she'd be laying eggs in us! And you don’t want to know how those eggs hatch!”

“Ew.” Sweetie shuffled back.

“Yeah! ‘Ew’ is right!” affirmed Rainbow. “You don’t want Chrysalis to win! You got that?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “I guess so,” she said. She couldn’t look Rainbow in the eye as she said it.

“It’s not ‘I guess’, kid. Like, I know you got your reasons to think Nightmare Moon’s uncool. Most ponies have a reason. But stopping an evil greedy psycho like Chrysalis is good!” Rainbow hovered close to Apple Bloom, uncomfortably close. ‘Could feel sweat running down her forehead close’, and not her own sweat either. “Come on! You gotta admit that!”

In a moment, a hundred ways that Apple Bloom could’ve countered Rainbow’s point bounced around in her head. Such as how the Lunar Empire’s war against the Changelings was purely imperialistic and self interested. Or how the foreign threat was used to silence internal dissent. Or how the scale of the threat was exaggerated in ways Rainbow repeated frequently. She knew specific explanations of oft repeated lies. She knew specific crimes done in the name of ‘strangling the Changeling threat’. She knew all of this, she had the courage to speak up, and all she needed was for that courage to build.

But before she got that chance, the bell on the boutique’s front door rang, indicating it had swung open.

Rainbow spun around to face the door, creating distance between her and Apple Bloom whilst glancing at a clock on the wall. “Huh. Twenty-to-six already?”

Announcing her presence with an exaggerated yawn, Rarity sauntered through the front door. She’d already undone the shirt of her uniform, yet she hadn’t brought her mane out of its bun. “Hello everypony, I have returned!” she part-sighed part-sang.

“Rarity!” Sweetie beamed, getting up and trotting up to her sister.

A quick greeting of “Hi Rarity,” and “Hey Rares,” followed from the others in the boutique.

Once in hoof’s reach of one another, Rarity snatched up Sweetie Belle into a hug, eliciting a squeak of protest from the filly. “Oh Sweetie, aren’t you just the pony I wanted to see after a hard night’s work,” she said, smiling. “I trust Rainbow’s been taking good care of you?”

Sweetie Belle pulled out of the hug at her first chance. “Rainbow's been telling us stories about how she became a Night Guard.” She leaned in a step closer to Rarity and lowered her voice. “But I think they’re a load of minotaur shit.”

“Sweetie!” Rarity gasped. “You don’t use such vulgarity! Who taught you that word?”

“You did.”

Rarity brought up a hoof ready to retort, but her breath seemed to catch in her throat. “Oh.”

“Alright, Scoots!” Rainbow flexed her wings and stretched her legs. “I told your aunts I’d have you home before ten-to, so we oughta get going.”

Scootaloo clambered onto Rainbow’s back. “Bet you can’t make it back before quarter-to!” She gave a quick wink to Sweetie and Apple Bloom, unseen by Rainbow.

Rainbow laughed, lowering her body and spreading her wings out. “Think I can’t make it from one side of Ponyville to the other in five minutes? Oh, you’re on!”

“Later, girls!” Scootaloo waved.

And before anyone else could get a ‘goodbye’ or ‘adieu’ in, Rainbow blasted out the door. The thrust threw up enough air to rattle the hanging dresses and unsecured ponnequins across the showroom, loose papers on the checkout stand lost in the whirlwind.

Rarity scrambled to secure what she could with her hooves and her magic, ensuring nothing fell to the floor. After barely more than a moment, all settled calmly and she breathed a sigh of relief. “I would suppose that’s your cue, Apple Bloom,” she said. “Time for you to be off as well.”

Past a gasp, Apple Bloom’s jaw clenched. “Uhh, hey!” She forced a grin. “What if I stayed the night?”

Sweetie bounced up. “Yeah, that sounds like fun!”

“Again? For the third night in a row?” Rarity was folding up her uniform in her magic, but kept her attention on Apple Bloom as her brows knitted together. “Apple Bloom, I’m sure your grandmother is waiting for you to return home. You know she must be missing you.”

“S-sure, I know that,” said Apple Bloom. “But just, give her a ring, let her know. She’ll be fine.”

“Don’t you want to see her as well?” Rarity gave a tilt of her head.

“O-of course!” Apple Bloom stammered. “Just- Me and, Sweetie, were havin’ so much fun, here!”

Rarity sighed. “I really don’t mean to sound like I’m pushing you out, Apple Bloom dear, but I simply must concentrate on my work and I’d hate to be keeping you apart from your family.” Her voice was tight, words coming out soft and slow. “That, and you haven’t changed into a fresh pair of clothes all week,” added Rarity, wafting air away from her nose.

At that last comment, Apple Bloom gave her shirt a sniff. Ough. In all fairness, Rarity had a point.

Then, Sweetie trotted up to Apple Bloom before she could go anywhere. “I could walk home with you, Apple Bloom.”

“Sweetie, you have homework to do,” Rarity interjected. “I don’t want you missing another night of it.”

Sweetie deflated. “Dangit.”

“Oh, um, okay then,” Apple Bloom murmured. She turned to face the door and took a step towards it. She stopped, turning her head around. “Guess I’ll see y’all tomorrow,” she added, before laboriously shuffling her way to the exit.

Yet before Apple Bloom stepped out the door, Sweetie caught up with her and gave her a quick hug. “Seeya, Apple Bloom.”

Apple Bloom returned the gesture. “Seeya.”

Trying not to look back, Apple Bloom stepped outside and kicked the door closed behind her. Right away she sat on the doorstep, taking a few deep breaths before pushing herself to her hooves again.

Of course, Apple Bloom wasn’t insistent on staying at the boutique because it was so much fun. Compared to the house, there were just less reminders of what had been done to her family. Perhaps it took a while before Apple Bloom herself had noticed what she was doing, but by then Rarity had fully clocked onto it.

With the boutique behind her, Apple Bloom set off to her house. Each footstep was laboured, like she was taking her time with each individual step. Despite recent developments Ponyville was still a small town; there wasn't much distance to walk from the boutique and Sweet Apple Acres. Yet she took her time with every step, slow enough that she may have been individually placing each hoofstep. It must have felt longer than it really took, as well.

Walking home alone didn’t present any danger, even for a filly as young as her. Crime virtually never happened in Ponyville, both before and after the last sunset. Monsters emerging from the Everfree to wreak havoc on the town were a thing of the past, too. And the bulk of the old town remained safe and walkable, the old dirt paths yet to be replaced with paved roads and conquered by motor vehicles. Many other ponies milled about on the streets, fillies like her, adults going about their business, Night Guards on patrol. Smiles were few but nobody was frowning. Except Apple Bloom.

Then, once out of the heart of the old town center and on the way to Sweet Apple Acres itself, her path took her through the new developments. There the soft dirt paths gave way to hard asphalt, where older houses built of wood and straw sat beneath looming concrete apartments. She remembered when the pleasant smells of the countryside air lingered across the path, now crowded out by thick exhaust fumes of oil and tar. The majority of the road was surrendered to trucks and cars that frequently thundered past, restricting Apple Bloom to the pavement. Every time a car shot past, she could imagine the pony driving it. How they could have been walking just like her, maybe even with a smile and a wave as they passed. Now there was no time for either, now they were behind the wheel of a machine quick and heavy enough to flatten her without even noticing.

If her eyes went skyward, she was greeted with the same sight as always. An infinite inky black, stretching out forever. Tiny specks of light twinkled in the dark, yet they too were often obscured as bulky silhouettes circled throughout the sky above. Those were Night Guards, pegasi and thestrals, on patrol. They were there for her safety, she was told. Told at school, told by the odd guard themselves, told even by Scootaloo. Perhaps they weren’t as immediately predaceous as the cars, but they weren't exactly comforting. They still wore the same armour as the ponies who stormed their farm.

The house was in sight, but her field of vision was dominated by the same cursed sight that stood where the farm once was. A chain link fence surrounded the grotesque behemoth, all under the harsh glare of artificial lights. Even with distance, the air was thick with the acrid stench of diesel and chemicals, mingling with the sickly-sweet odor of overripe produce. Massive metal greenhouses, those soulless giants, stretched across the land with their corrugated walls reflecting the cold light. The incessant roar of heavy engines and the grinding of machinery shattered whatever stillness remained in the night, producing an unrelenting cacophony of metal against metal. As she approached closer, the ground underhoof vibrated with the pulse of the machines, while a bitter, metallic miasma lingered in the thick enough to taste it. Yet above all of that, the sickest mockery of all, positioned prominently atop the largest building on site, a colourful brightly lit billboard that declared this place to be ‘Sweet Apple Acres’, property of the Golden Fields Imperial Corporation.

When it all happened, Apple Bloom was too young to understand what was really going on. She was probably still too young to have a complete grasp of what had happened. All she knew is that she’d been forced out of her home and that the only times she got to see her sister since was through iron bars. And there was nothing that anyone could say to make her even consider forgiving the people who did that.

The only mercy they were granted on top of their so-called ‘just compensation’ was that they were allowed to retain a small patch of land on the edge of the property to build a new house. Probably because it was too infertile for anything to grow. On the outside, it sure looked like the old farmhouse. But as far as she felt, that was where the similarities ended.

Through the gate, up the lawn, through the front door, into the living room. Every time she returned to this house, she reflected on everything that distinguished this place from the old farmhouse. She had to remind herself every time, lest she forgot. Such a small, yet pivotal part of her life had been spent in the old farmhouse, before the land was taken and everything was torn down, all of it in view of her bedroom window. What were those differences? It smelled a lot nicer than the old farmhouse. The utilities functioned much better than the old farmhouse. It was warmer than the old farmhouse. It was bigger than the old farmhouse.

But that just made it feel all the emptier.

“There y’are sapling!” Granny Smith called, hobbling out of her rocking chair at the far end of the room and making her way towards Apple Bloom. “I ain’t seen ya since Monday, I haven’t! Big Mac’s been doin’ all the chores by his lonesome, now how’s that fair on the young stallion when he’s gots to run all the cider business by his lonesome too?”

In response, all Apple Bloom could muster was, “Heya, Granny.”

“Oh, I ain’t mad at you or nothin’, just worried worse than a guppy on a line.” Granny pulled Apple Bloom into a hug. “How was school these last few days?”

Apple Bloom held the hug for a moment. Eventually, she slipped out. “School was school.”

“Wassat supposed to mean, saplin’?”

“Y’know. Nothing special.” Apple Bloom shrugged, then made her way to the stairs. “I’m gonna change.”

Yet once Apple Bloom reached the first step, Granny again called, “Yer sister were on the phone yesterday.”

That made Apple Bloom pause. She turned her head back, blinked.

“Round this time a’day, as a matter of fact.” The pep in Granny’s voice was fading. “She were dyin’ to hear from you. Knowin’ she got a family to come home to just about the only thing keepin’ her going. They only let her make so many calls a week, you know!”

Apple Bloom struggled not to sigh. “I’ll remember that, Granny,” she said, turning back and carrying on up.

Top of the stairs. Her effort went into forcing herself to think about something else. Her clothes, she needed to change. Just get to her room and slip into something more comfortable. Or wear nothing at all, now that she was in the comfort of her own house. Those new, bizarre ‘decency’ standards didn’t apply here.

But between the stairs and her bedroom was the open door to another room. On passing, she somewhat knew she shouldn’t look inside. Every time she did, it only reminded her of what was missing. But the door was left open, again, and she felt her eyes drift into the room.

All was presented as it was before. The bed was as it was before. The wallpaper was as it was before. The cupboards and dressers were all as they were before. It had everything Applejack’s room in their old home did.

Everything except Applejack herself.