Fate After Failure

by Antisocialtwilight

Rating: everyone
Tags: Diamond Dogs, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Spike, Trixie, Gilda, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Main 6
Length: 9104

AU: Aftermath of Mane 6 not getting cutie marks like before because Rainbow Dash fails her Rainboom.

After Rainbow Dash fails to perform the sonic rainboom that gets the mane 6 their cutie marks, their lives are drastically altered. Delve into their new fates as they unwind, from Rainbow Dash's failure, to when they unite to take down Nightmare Moon. Watch these young fillies grow as they go on a collision course with destiny that will shape not only their lives, but each other's.

Published 2012-02-10 06:54:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-04 04:38:25 UTC

Twilight

Fate After Failure

Chapter 2: Twilight

Okay, Twilight, you’ve got nothing to worry about. The purple unicorn filly re-assured herself, waiting in the front of the classroom for her entrance exam to arrive.

It had only been a week since she had witnessed the regal Princess Celestia raise the sun at the Summer Sun Celebration, and ever since she saw that, she had been inspired to learn magic. She had studied day and night, on multiple subjects, and she felt confident about taking her exam, and the reward was one of her dreams: entering the esteemed Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns!

But her own reassurance went away when the pony entered with her exam: hatching a baby dragon egg.

“Well, Ms. Sparkle?” one of the four judges said. Twilight chuckled nervously in the silence of the classroom. That silence was broken when all four of the judges began to scribble on their clipboards with malice on their faces.

Okay, Twilight thought. Time to get to work; I need to concentrate.

She focused her magic into her horn, grunting as she did so. She felt sparks spurt from her horn, but they quickly faded.
Did it work? She thought, opening her eyes to glance at the egg.
She tried again, sticking her neck out towards the egg, but still nothing happened. The judges looked at her, as if they were annoyed by her not being able to do it quickly.

“We don’t have all day.” The judge on the far left said condescendingly.

This can’t be happening! Twilight began to panic. You’re blowing it, Twilight!!

She focused, and tried again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and once more, but nothing more than a few sparks came from her horn, despite her desperate situation. In her last attempt, she had actually fallen on her stomach from concentrating too hard.

As she started to get up, she felt no other option than to admit defeat. “Sorry I wasted you’re time…” she said, on the verge of tears. The four judges didn’t seem to care, as they began to write on their clipboards, undoubtedly writing her off.

Suddenly, something happened to Twilight; she felt something she hadn’t felt in a while, it was so unfamiliar, and it surprised even her.

For the first time in a long time, Twilight felt anger.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but her pride forced them to stay put as she prepared herself to speak.

“I think this one is done. Nothing special, just like I thought” One of the judges whispered to the other, but loud enough that Twilight heard.

“Shut up! I don’t need your stupid school, you…you…meanies!” Twilight yelled

“How dare you talk to us like that, you little reject! This is one of the most prestigious schools in all of Equestria!” one of the four judges spat at the filly.

“Well your school is lame! I can learn magic from books; I don’t need your school!” Twilight said with venom and truth in her words.

I’ll show them… she thought, her head reeling with anger.

“I already learned something from books that I didn’t need your stupid school to teach me…” She said.

“And what might that be?” one of the judges said

“The teleportation spell!” Twilight said, snatching the baby dragon egg, and disappearing in a flash.

“Guards! After her! She’s stolen a dragon egg!” One of the judges exclaimed.

“What guards? This is a school! Besides, what can guards do? She’s already teleported away!” A judge said to her.

“We can’t let her get away with that egg!” Another judge said.

Meanwhile…

“We can’t let her get away with that egg!” Twilight heard a judge say.

She didn’t have much time, but Twilight felt she’d earned a pat on her back for her quick thinking. She had been able to teleport to the ground floor, just outside the classroom she was in. Now, not only did she have the egg, but she also had a head start to get home. Then the thought hit her:
What do I do then? They’ll look for me and I just stole a dragon egg-I JUST STOLE A DRAGON EGG!
Twilight stifled a short scream of terror. They’d be looking her, and she couldn’t stay at her home, that’s the first place they’d look. And her parents! They’d be furious with her!

There’s only one thing I can do now, she thought sorrowfully. I’ll have to run.

End of Chapter 2

To Be Continued…

Pinkamena

Fate After Failure

Chapter 3: Pinkamena

“Pinkamena, we’re done for today, get inside.” Her mother said to her in her usual monotone.

Pinkamena Diane Pie was more downhearted than usual, and she wasn’t ready to go inside just yet.

“I’m going for a walk, Ma, I’ll be home later.” She said, just in case she was actually listening. She wasn’t, and Pinkamena left quietly. She didn’t have any place in mind, but she didn’t feel like sticking around her family, knowing that, unlike many families, their presence around her would only make her feel worse. She didn’t get the same warmness from her family as other fillies her age did.

The landscape didn’t help like she thought it would, everything around her either being a rock or dead, like the trees. The
deserted land which the family rock farm had been built looked how she felt: desolate, cold, and dead. Like the stones her
family farmed, she was just there, never smiling, never being happy; this was her own purgatory.

Pinkamena kept walking, but in the back of her mind, she knew she’d have to walk back, so she didn’t want to walk too far. She kept thinking of how things could be different, if she was different, if her life was different. If only she didn’t have to live
on this farm, day after day, just to survive.

By sunset, Pinkamena had reached a nearby cliff when she saw something that piqued her interest, though she didn’t know why. It was a large boulder, at least three times as big as she was. But her gut told her there was something more to it. What was so special about this boulder?

As she neared it, she noticed a small twinkle on the rock as the glimmer of the last rays of sunlight hit its side.

I should roll this home, she thought, not wanting to leave it there, feeling an attachment to it.

Pinkamena went on the other side of the rock, and used her hind legs to push the boulder on its side. It was lighter than she expected, it didn’t take nearly as much force as she thought it would to roll it over.

The boulder fell slowly, like a tree cut by a lumberjack, and Pinkamena felt like it was minutes before it hit the ground. When it finally collapsed, it cracked open with a loud bang. When she saw what was inside, Pinkamena was astounded at what she beheld: inside the boulder were what seemed to be hundreds of rare gems, filling the rock from top to bottom, stacked on top of each other.

Pinkamena’s eyes grew wide at the sight, seeing in each gemstone a hope she had never felt before.

Her heart pumped as she raced back home, her heart racing with hope, her mind racing with possibilities.

Now things will change! She thought, not knowing how many different ways she was right.

End of Chapter 3

To Be Continued...

Rarity

Fate After Failure

Chapter 4: Rarity

Rarity was hard at work, doing what she had been doing all day; hour after hour, she was working on custom clothes for a local play. She was very proud to be tasked with this.

This is my time to shine! She thought when she was first chosen. Now, however, she was beginning to doubt herself.
Although she was getting better, each one had too many flaws, they simply weren’t up to her standards, and if they weren’t good enough for her, how could they be good enough for the play?

The piece she was working on had been her breaking point.

“It’s just not good enough! They’re missing something!” Rarity said, downtrodden. “Maybe I’m not meant to be a fashionista after all…”

Suddenly, her horn began to glow at its tip, and she began to feel pulled outside. She knew magic worked in mysterious
ways, and decided to follow her horn, trusting in the sudden burst of magic.

A few hours later…

Rarity began to doubt her horn. After walking to follow her horn for hours on end, she finally gave up and let it pull her itself. By now, she was just outside the city limits. After regaining her bearings, she saw a sign pointing in the direction of where
she was heading. On the sign, it read, “Stonehoof Mountain”.

A few minutes after passing the sign, she found herself in a dirt clearing, surrounded by trees and stones. Rarity was confused; why was she there? Why did her horn take her to a nearly empty space? What was she supposed to do now?

Now, Rarity was getting mad, all the time was wasted, and it’d be dark by the time she got home.

An entire day, wasted for no reason! Rarity though “What is your problem, horn?!”

All of a sudden, Rarity heard a rustle in the bushes to her right, then another in the bushes to her left.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” a gruff voice said, coming from behind her. “Why so angry, my little pony?” Stepping into her line of sight, the
voice belonged to a savage looking dog, tall and thick-armed, yet gaunt from days of undernourishment.

“Wh-who are you?” Rarity said, trying to hide her sudden fear. Trying, but failing, and the dog could smell if coming off of her like a fresh cooked steak.

The dog cackled at the question, and then changed his demeanor to a gentler sight.

“Hey, hey now, small pony, no need to be frightened.” He said. “My name’s Smooth Talker. We’re nice guys-” he waved his arm in the direction of his friends, who were crouching, trying to look civil to impress her-“and this is our turf. What are you doing here?”

“M-my horn pulled me here.” Rarity said, calming down, lowering her guard. “It was supposed to bring me somewhere…useful, but it just brought me here!”

“Useful, hm? Where do you think it was supposed to lead you? What do you need to make use of?”

“Well…” Rarity began, reluctantly. “I’m supposed to be making clothes for a play, but they’re simply not good enough, like they’re missing something.”

Smooth Talker got an idea from this new information.

“Make clothes? You’re in the right place, my friend here, he’s great at…uh…that!” Smooth said, improvising. He grabbed one of the shorter dogs wearing the nicest vest out of all of them, though he was not wearing it to look good intentionally.

He does look quite nice in that color, Rarity thought. He must know his fashion!

Smooth bent over and whispered into his friend’s ear, then the other dog stepped forward.

“Er, yeah, I’m good with clothes. I made this myself!” The dog had said, pointing at the vest and smiled a fake smile with false pride, but it was convincing enough to the little filly in front of him. Smooth leaned in again to tell the dog more.

“Yeah, I tell you what you need to make those clothes..er, fabulous! The secret? Gems! Lots of them!”

“Gems? That may be a marvelous idea, but this is a school play, I can’t afford buy gems for every costume…”

“That’s the beauty of it, pony, you are unicorn, and unicorn can find gems in mountains with magic!” Smooth Talker butted in. “And best part? You find them, and we dig them up!”

“Really? That would be great! That would make this the best play ever!” Rarity was elated that the prospect.

“Of course! But…” Smooth said, feigning uncertainty.

“What is it?” Rarity said, suddenly distressed.

“Well, there’s the matter of payment, little pony; we are busy, you see, and we can’t spend time helping a pony, we need to work for gems ourselves.” Smooth Talker said, trying to sound innocent, then pretending to get an idea. “Oh, I know what we can do! We get half of the gems you find! That’s fair, isn’t it?”

“Oh yes, that sounds like a great deal!” Rarity said, delighted at the deal.

“Perfect…” Smooth said, lowering his eyes at the gullible little pony.

One week later…

Rarity’s Deal with her new friends, the Diamond Dogs, was going smoothly, and with such a productive work force, she quickly had more than enough gems for the clothes.

After the play was over, Rarity was introduced as the costume designer and maker, and, to her delight, was given a bigger round of applause than most of the actors. When the audience had calmed down, her teacher had pointed to her flank, to reveal Rarity’s cutie mark, three diamonds.

The next morning, Rarity returned to Stonehoof Mountain, like she had done every morning for the previous week. Rarity found Smooth Talker leaning on a tree, like he had been doing as well for the past week. They both returned, although their deal was supposedly over; they both knew, however, that it wasn’t really over.

They were just getting started.

End of Chapter 4

To Be Continued...

Applejack

Fate After Failure
Chapter 5: Applejack

Applejack was feeling homesick. Of course, like the others in the Apple family, she would never admit it.
It was the Monday morning of her second week in Manehatten, and she felt worse than ever about leaving home, but she didn't want to have wasted her time by coming to the big city; she wanted to hit it big like her Aunt and Uncle Orange.

After having the first week to settle, Applejack was subsequently enrolled in the closest, most prestigious school in the neighborhood. She had woken up two hours before she was supposed to. She felt grateful that she could sleep at all; she was awash in different emotions that kept her awake for hours on end. What's the school like? The school back in Ponyville was just a schoolhouse, but this one, Applejack figured, was much bigger on account of the higher number of students.

Are the other ponies there nice? Applejack thought. Her experience with city folk was mixed at best; on one hand, they had mocked her comment about not waking up until roosters called, but, as Aunt Orange later informed her, they were laughing with her, not at her, so she didn't know how to feel. I guess I can't judge'em too harshly.

She had the house maids help her with her hair, because, to Applejack, hairstyles were about as foreign to her as calculus, which, to her displeasure, was one of the things she was going to be learning in school. She also learned that she was going to wear the school uniform. It was tight or loose on her in the wrong places, because most ponies who wore them were more petite compared to Applejack's country-grown body.

Regardless, she squeezed into it, and made her way onto the busy streets, carriages and ponies alike bustling in the loud city streets.

The walk to the school was harrowing, and although she left relatively early, she was almost late to the school, and was late to class, because she had to pick up her room number, teacher, and instructions on how to get there.

As Applejack walked into the new classroom, she got many looks from the students, who were talking among each other. The class fell silent as she walked in. The teacher greeted her with a smile, updated her on what the class was working on concurrently, and showed Applejack to her seat, next to a pink pony with straight hair.

"Hi, I'm Pinkamena!" The pink pony next to Applejack said with a smile.

"Hi, Pinkamena, I'm Applejack. That's a long name you got there, mind if I call you Pinkie?" Applejack said, trying to hide her accent.

"I've never been called that before, I guess you can."

"Great! So Pinkie, how long have you been here? I just got here last week, I'm staying with my Aunt and Uncle."

"I've been here for a day or two; I-er, I mean my family found a big rock full of gems, a geode they called it, on the rock farm, so we cashed in, and moved to the city so me and my sisters can go to a good school."

The girls continued to talk, only stopping when the teacher was talking.

A few hours later

The school bell had just rang out, and the fillies and colts poured out of the school like birds from a cage, but Applejack and Pinkamena were walking slower, talking with each other. Eventually, the two got to the sidewalk where they had to go their separate ways.

It was weird to Applejack, how she was so homesick, yet now she had another reason to stay, her new best friend, Pinkamena 'Pinkie' Pie. She had a friend in this crazy new world she was in, and sometimes, one person is all it takes.

Her mind was so wrapped up in thoughts of her new friend, she didn't notice the shouting of ponies, warning her of the runaway carriage, careening downhill. She didn't notice the awestruck faces of fillies who ran away. She didn't notice the carriage, which collided into her, until it was too late.

End of Chapter 5

To Be Continued...

Caged Birds

Fate After Failure

Chapter 6: Caged Birds

Rainbow Dash didn’t like prison. It wasn’t for the usual reasons, the hostilities of the other pegasi, the terrible food, or the uncomfortable beds. All of those were problems, clearly, but that isn’t what she hated about the prison. What really bothered her was it was all inside. She couldn’t fly fast, the rec-room was much too small for anything her speed. After hitting the walls of the rec-room for the fourth time while trying to make a turn, she realized how lame she looked, and went to go sit down for a while, feeling defeated.

It was Rainbow Dash’s second night in the Cloudsdale Juvenile Correctional Facility when she got her new cellmate. Rainbow Dash had been lying down on the top bunk of her bed, not ready to sleep when the guards brought her in. She looked mostly angry at first glance, but as Dash looked deeper into her eyes, she sensed-

“What are you looking at?!” she said with a snarl, noticing Dash and mistaking her look of curiosity for a glare.

“N-nothing, I was just thinking.” Dash stammered quickly.

“Hmph. Whatever.”

The room was silent for a solid minute. The girls were studying each other, each contemplating their next move. The new girl was a griffin, the same age as her, and had a natural purple eye shadow that complemented her yellow eyes. Then, to Dash’s surprise, it was the new girl, not her, who broke the silence.

“What’s your name, featherbrain?”

“Rainbow Dash, and who are you calling featherbrain, featherface?” Dash retorted carefully, wanting to seem playful, not insulting the short-fused griffin.

“Heh. My name is Grizelda, but you can call me Gilda. So, Dash, what are you in for? Did the fashion police get you for being too colorful?”

“No! I was racing, then I lost control, and accidentally broke a barn. What about you?” Rainbow Dash said, reciting it the same way her lawyer told her to, plain and simple.

“I got caught stealing money….from the mayor.” Gilda explained slyly, trying to shrug it off.

“You stole from the mayor? How much?”

“Enough for a pretzel from the pretzel stand, but they make a bigger deal about stealing from important people. But you broke a barn just by flying into it? You must have been going fast.”

“I wasn’t going fast; I was going really fast.” Rainbow Dash said, laughing for the first time in a week.

“We should stick together, Dash; watch each other’s backs.”

“Definitely,” Rainbow Dash said, not-so-secretly glad that Gilda suggested it. “It’ll be nice to have a friend in here. Besides, we’re already roommates!”

“Yeah, friends…look, it’s getting late, and we should go to bed. G’night, featherbrain.” Gilda said nervously.

“Oh. O-okay, Gilda, see you tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash settled into her new and uncomfortable, standard-issue prison bed and flat pillow.

End of Chapter 6

To Be Continued...

Visiting Hours

Fate After Failure
Chapter 8: Visiting Hours

"Applejack, look out!" Pinkamena Diane Pie yelled to her friend, warning desperately of the oncoming runaway carriage.
CRASH

"NO!" the Earth pony screamed, and ran for help. I can't lose you, it's not fair! She thought.

The next day...

Applejack was warned about the careening carriage too late, but the paramedics weren't too late to get her to the hospital. Aunt and Uncle Orange had come as quickly as they could.

"Please," Uncle Orange had said. "Do everything you can to make her better."

"Rest assured, we have done the best we can, but it's out of our hooves now." The nurse had said.

"What do you mean, out of your hooves?"

"I'm afraid Applejack has slipped into a coma. She will be alright, she isn't in a critical state, but she is unresponsive to our treatment. For now, all we can do is wait. Her body is trying to heal itself, and it will, given time. Until then, there is nothing we can do." The nurse said. Nothing we can do... the nurse thought, but I know exactly what will help.

Aunt and Uncle Orange nodded in simultaneous and mutual despair, and went to speak with a doctor down the hall.

"Nurse! I-is my friend going to be okay?" said a small pink filly nervously. Even though they had just met, Applejack was still her best and only friend in this big empty city.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your friend is...well, she's very sick." The unicorn nurse said, trying to decide the best way to tell the young filly. "The most harm wasn't caused by the collision, but from when her head hit the ground after. Applejack's body entered a coma as a method of survival, as a way repair itself."

"What's a coma?"

"A coma is short for comatose. It means" The nurse sighed, her heart heavy. It was the worst part of the job, seeing the youngest of ponies in such dire conditions. "...it means she'll be asleep for a very long time."

"A long time? When do you think she will wake up?" Pinkamena said, starting to panic.

"I don't know. Hopefully, soon. But the important part is that your friend isn't dead, she will be okay."

"But-but..." Pinkamena said, tears welling up in her eyes. "But she's my only friend, I don't want to be alone!"

The nurse was feeling terrible. But after years of experience, you learn how to deal with other ponies, how to let grieving family and friends down gently.

"Hey kiddo, I know how you feel. You need her. But the thing is, she's going to need you too. Say, what's your name?"

"P-P-Pinkamena Diane P-Pie. Really? She needs me? How can I help?" Pinkamena said, sniffling her nose and stifling her tears.

"Well, Pinkie, They say that when somepony you care about is in a coma, they can hear you, and it helps them heal faster when they have a friend with them."

"Huh? How does talking to them make them heal faster?" The little filly said skeptically

"Let's just say it's magic."

"Like a unicorn's magic?"

"No, this is a much more powerful type of magic. Most unicorns are limited to what their talent is. This magic is universal, open to all, not just unicorns. It is shared by everypony, Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns alike."

"What is it?"

"The magic of friendship. In the end, togetherness is the most powerful thing we have." The nurse confidently said. "I need to attend to other patients, will you be okay?"

"I...I think so. Thank you, nurse. I feel a lot better now." Pinkamena said, grateful for the reassurance.

"Good. I'll see you around, Pinkie."

Pinkamena thought about what the nurse said. As an earth pony, she never gave magic much thought; she knew she couldn't do anything with it, so like most earth ponies, she felt she didn't need it. If it can help Applejack, she thought, anything's worth a try.

Pinkamena carefully sat on the chair next to Applejack's bed. She didn't know where to start, it was so weird talking to somepony who wasn't all there. Out of all the things Pinkamena would say, she didn't know how much Applejack would hear. So, she decided to start like it was another day talking to her friend.

"Hey Applejack, it's Pinka...Pinkie."

End of Chapter 8

To Be Continued

Diamond in the Rough, Pt.1

Fate After Failure

Chapter 9: Diamond in the Rough, Pt. 1

A few days after the smashing success of the school performance, Rarity was still enjoying her new-found popularity when her 'business partner', Smooth Talker, left her a short note in her home.

Rarity,
it's time we took our operation up a notch.
Meet me at the usual spot at midnight with an overnight bag packed and ready to go.
We're going on a little trip.

Sincerely,
Smooth Talker

Rarity was overwhelmed by the suddenness of the message and slowly became suspicious. Quickly, however, she dismissed her suspicions as little more than paranoia.
Smooth Talker is my friend, he hasn't led me wrong yet. I should hear him out.

So, Rarity did as Smooth Talker asked and packed an overnight bag with a toothbrush, hair-brush, and her lucky pink and white scarf. She walked out of her home feeling uneasy but excited.

It was a few minutes before midnight, and Rarity was waiting at her and Smooth Talker's usual meetup spot on Stonehoof Mountain. She heard a rustling in the bushes behind her, and she knew immediately that it was Smooth Talker, trying as usual to be sneaky.

"You really ought to stick with talking, Smooth Talker, it's what you do best." Rarity remarked playfully.

Out of the bushes, however, came another Diamond Dog, one whom Rarity didn't know by name but had seen around while working with them.

"And you, my dear Rarity, should stick with sparkling gems and bright clothes. It's what you do best." Smooth Talker walked out of the shadows, chuckling over the success of his prank.

"Smooth Talker..why are we meeting so late? Where are we going? What's this about taking our operation up a notch?" Rarity asked, shaken up by Smooth Talker's prank.

"All in good time, Rarity, but for now..." Smooth Talker bowed and motioned to the arriving carriage, it's wheels and paint brand new, it's railings gold, and it was pulled by trio of bulky Diamond Dogs. "...our carriage awaits."

"Carriage? Just for me?" Rarity said, awestruck. She hadn't ridden in a carriage in years, and certainly not one this luxurious.

"No, not just for you; it's for me as well. How else are we going to get to Canterlot?"

"Canterlot?!" Rarity exclaimed. She had always dreamed of going to Canterlot. Rarity had only seen pictures and postcards of Canterlot, and they painted it as if it had streets paved with gold. She knew she was the type that would fit into Canterlot's sophisticated society. Rarity used her magic to grab her bag, and dashed into the carriage. "I've been waiting my whole life for a vacation like this! Let's go!"

Smooth Talker walked slowly and calmly with a smirk on his face, only adding to Rarity's anticipation. She was ready to get on the road so she could be in Canterlot as fast as possible.

"Now, Rarity, remember: this isn't a vacation. Consider this a...business trip. We have a busy couple of days ahead of us." Smooth Talker said, stepping into the carriage coolly. However, caught off-guard by Rarity's look of utter disappointment, he quickly decided to rectify it. "But we do have a free day tomorrow to get settled in...we could see what the city has to offer, if you're interested."

After seeing Rarity's eyes light up like they did, he smiled and told their 'chauffeur', another Diamond Dog in the driver's seat, to take them to Canterlot.

End of Chapter 9

To Be Continued...

Dreams

Fate After Failure
Chapter 10: Dreams

As Applejack laid still in her hospital bed, she was drifting in and out of consciousness, but her coherence was slowly fading. She heard her Aunt and Uncle Orange, telling a nurse to do everything they can for her, then drifted off. She saw the pink blur of her best friend crying for her, then drifted off. She heard Pinkamena climb onto the chair beside her bed, talking to her like it was another day at school.

"Hey Applejack, it's Pinka...Pinkie." Pinkie said, trying to sound casual. "It's Pinkie Pie. I met this really nice nurse, she said that you might be able to hear me. I don't know, but if you can...I hope you get well soon."

Pinkie Pie, huh? S'got a ring to it...I like it. Applejack thought before fading away again.

This time, however, instead of fading away into the dark like before, she found herself on a dirt road on a sunny day, a light breeze caressing her face, making it seem all more real. She was already walking when she drifted into her body, so she kept walking. She didn't know where she was, where she was going, or why she was walking on the dirt road at all, but Applejack felt her gut tell her to keep walking, that she was almost there.

Applejack walked for what felt like hours, but she didn't feel tired at all. She decided not to question it, her gut pushed her on, re-assuring her that she was almost there. Finally, her surroundings started to become familiar: it reminded her of home, Sweet Apple Acres. It hit her like a ton of bricks how homesick she was. She began to run, like she hadn't run for years.

After another minute, Applejack was home. She found Big Macintosh and Granny Smith waiting there. Granny Smith was on the brink of tears, but this time they were tears of joy, unlike the last time she saw her grandmother cry for her. Big Macintosh wasn't crying, but Applejack could see the joy in his eyes. He missed her like she missed him, like she missed being home. She ran into Granny Smith's arms, feeling the warmth of her embrace, the warmth of home, and a warmth on her flank. Applejack looked to her flank and saw her cutie mark, three apples, etch itself onto her flank. At that moment, Applejack knew for sure that coming home was the right decision.

A few months passed, and it was Applejack's birthday, and like every year, the Apple family had their signature Apple pie. Although Applejack knew she was having it on her birthday, she still acted surprised when Granny Smith and Big Macintosh brought it in her room when she awoke. She only bothered with her charade for a minute before digging into the delicious and rare pie.

"Slow down, kid! I know y'all got that party with your friends today, but that ain't 'till later!" Granny Smith said.

"Party? What in the hay are you talkin' about, Granny?" Applejack looked up from her breakfast in confusion. It didn't seem odd to her to have a birthday party, but nobody told her... "Granny, was it supposed to be a surprise party?"

"Yeah, that Pinkie friend o' yours is so nice to...oh, yeah, I guess it was supposed to be a surprise! Hehehe!" Granny Smith recounted. "Why don't you just pretend that you're surprised, like you did with the Apple Family Pie?"

"I sure as sugar will, Granny. Parties mean so much to that girl. Where's the party gonna be?"

"I ain't tellin' you that, at least that part's still a surprise. How's about you do me a favor and get some barrels from the barn for Big Mac's Applebuckin' chores when you're finished with that pie? He's gonna have his hands full while you take a day off."

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh said, feigning enthusiasm.

Applejack whacked the side of her pie tin, flipping it off the tray and into the garbage pail by the door.

"I'll get to it right now. Sorry to leave all the Applebuckin' to you, Big Macintosh. I got a feelin' I'll repay you someday."

"Eeeyup." Big Macintosh said sarcastically to his sister, watching as she walked out of her room. He and Granny Smith followed her out the door of her bedroom, and followed her even closer out the front door.

Applejack was getting suspicious of how close Granny Smith and Big Macintosh were following her. As she reached the barn, she stopped and turned to them.

"Uh, is there a reason y'all are followin' me so close?" Applejack said, opening the creaky old doors to the barn.

"SURPRISE!" A crowd in the barn shouted gleefully. Most were people she knew from Ponyville, like Rarity. Others she had never seen before in her life, among them a purple unicorn, a yellow pegasus with a soft pink mane, and a blue pegasus with rainbow hair. In the very front of all of the ponies who had shown up was Pinkie Pie, Applejack's best friend...

........I...............

........h..o......pe....... ....y................ou... .................g......

...e.....t............... ..w..................... ...........ell............

.......s..........o...... ............o.....n...... .......................

"DOCTOR!" A nurse shouted frantically, looking at the signals coming from Applejack, shown on the monitor, rising and falling. "Something's happening!"

"What is it, what's going on?" Applejack's doctor raced to the nurse as fast as possible.

"The signals in her brain are going haywire!"

"Haywire? That doesn't sound like a very technical term, nurse Redheart, what are you talking about?"

"She's been comatose for months. It seems like she's being pulled out of her coma but her mind is struggling to regain full control."

"Meaning?" the doctor said, feeling out of his depth.

"She's waking up, but it's happening too fast for her psyche to handle."

"Well, what can we do about it?"

"That's just it, situations like this, they're a rarity. There's nothing we can do."

"Everyone leave the room." A voice commanded.

Applejack's mind was racing, her head pounding. She was hyperventilating but trying to concentrate. It was difficult to think over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears, pounding away like drums. Then, a voice spoke. The voice was loud, but at the same time soothing, like a mother trying to calm a crying baby. But the voice was also urgent.

"Think back," the voice said to Applejack. Applejack started to calm down. Doing as the voice said, Applejack began thinking back on her days, days where she worked the orchard, she worked the farm, she played with Winona, played with Pinkie Pie...

"That's right, Pinkie Pie. She was your friend before your accident."

Accident? Applejack wondered what the voice meant by that. She never had any serious accidents at Sweet Apple Acres.

"No, before Sweet Apple Acres. Remember the dirt road."

The dirt road? Applejack was beginning to recall how she got back home to Sweet Apple Acres, recalling the dirt road she walked for hours.

"Good, good. Now think before that."

Before that I.... What was before that?

Now Applejack was on the dirt road again, this time, in front of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Re-trace your steps, Applejack. Find your way back." Applejack, once again, turned her back to Sweet Apple Acres and started walking.

"Applejack, you need to hurry."

Applejack got a feeling of urgence, and began to walk faster, then began to run. After a few minutes of running at her highest speed, she saw something in the distance that stood out: a small table, the kind she usually saw in hospital rooms when she had to pick up medicine for Granny Smith. She slowed to a light trot as she approached the table. There was a card on the table, it looked like a birthday card because the front had a design of three balloons, one yellow and two blue. Applejack picked up the card and looked inside.

Dear Applejack,

I hope you get well soon.

Pinkie Pie.

Applejack opened her eyes. It was night, and the moon shone through her hospital room. She tried to sit up, but her body felt so weak. She relaxed her head on the pillow and sighed deeply. She was so tired, but she couldn't sleep yet; she didn't want to. She turned her head, trying to take in her surroundings. On her left was a wall with a calendar on it, marked up until today, her birthday. Closer to her, she saw the table from the dream. Along with a birthday card and three balloons, there was a single, pink-frosted, yellow cupcake with sprinkles on the table. Applejack smiled tiredly.

Applejack turned her head to the other side of the room to see Pinkie Pie, asleep in a chair only a few feet away from Applejack's bed.

End of Chapter 10

To Be Continued...

Good Behavior

Fate After Failure

Chapter 11: Good Behavior

This was it. Rainbow Dash's last day in the Cloudsdale Juvenile Correctional Facility, a month ahead of schedule for good behavior. It had been a hard few months, and it would have been harder if Gilda hadn't been watching her back the whole time. Dash owed her life to Gilda, she knew that much.

It was because of Gilda being Dash's 'Guardian Angel' that she had another two months added to her sentence. Dash was being bullied by one of the more butch pegasi in the CJCF. It had been going on for weeks, and when Dash started crying in her bed because of her, Gilda had had enough. The bully was been found the next morning hung upside down by her feet like a bat from the ceiling in the cafeteria. They wouldn't have found out it was Gilda were it not for a few feathers unique to griffins, and Gilda, being the only griffin in the CJCF, was the obvious suspect. Gilda didn't deny the accusation, and after that nobody messed with Rainbow Dash because of their fear of Gilda.

That was two months ago; now, she was free to leave the CJCF.

"This is it, Rainbow Dash," the warden of the CJCF told her with pride. Despite the warden's gruff exterior, she had grown to care for Rainbow Dash, in a motherly sort of way. "You have your life back. Make wise choices, I'd rather not see you under these circumstances again."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be sure to not screw things up this time." Rainbow Dash said, and hugged the warden. After that, she was on her way out.

Gilda had watched her friend leave silently. When it was time to go, Rainbow Dash looked at Gilda with well-deserved gratefulness. Gilda didn't say anything to her friend because words didn't need to be exchanged, it would just soil the moment; Gilda simply smiled and nodded to her friend as she left their cell for the last time.

Now, Gilda was in a room that was all but forgotten by the guards and other staff of the CJCF. It was a lost spot, being for a long time to be just a myth in the CJCF, with a great view of the front gate. It wasn't that it was hard to find, but nobody really wanted to find a small, empty, dusty room called the 'Attic'. However, there was one outstanding feature of the Attic that made it invaluable to Gilda for this particular moment: a window with a perfect view of the front gate-area of the CJCF; the Attic gave Gilda a literal 'Bird's Eye' view. When the coast had cleared, Gilda made a mad dash to the Attic to watch her friend leave her.

As Gilda watched Rainbow Dash, she had also seen a strange thing in her peripheral vision: two ponies wearing black hoods approaching the guard's stations from the side. As much as she wanted to watch her friend go, the dark ponies were very suspicious. Gilda's fears were proved right when she saw them blow sleeping powder into the inattentive guard's faces.

This just got serious... Gilda thought as she tensed up. After the guards were asleep and bound, the dark ponies had turned and looked toward Rainbow Dash, who was still walking away from the CJCF. Don't you dare, you freaks!

The dark ponies had began walking steadily toward Rainbow Dash, slowly at first, creeping like zombies towards the unsuspecting mare.

Rainbow Dash began walking away from the CJCF, letting it all sink in; she was a free mare. Soon, her thoughts turned to Gilda. She wishes she could have helped Gilda more. There was nothing she could do now; in all likelihood, Rainbow Dash would never see her again. Who knows, Dash thought, it's a small world, maybe we will meet again soon. But like with the warden, Rainbow Dash hoped it wasn't under similar circumstances.

Then, Rainbow Dash heard the deep, heavy breathing of two ponies behind her. When you're in prison, being able to know when somebody is behind you is invaluable. It can save lives, and it had saved Dash's multiple times. This time, however, Gilda wasn't by her side; she didn't know if she would make it out of this. Where were the guards?

Rainbow turned to see two dark-clothed ponies, smirking and poised for attack. Rainbow was scared, and unlike in the CJCF, screaming wouldn't help in this situation. Rainbow Dash screamed anyway, before her mouth was muffled by one of the dark ponies

I have to stop this... Gilda thought, starting to sweat, looking around the Attic for a way out. But how do I get out of here? She hadn't come to the Attic often, and she didn't stay long when she did. This was different, though. How tight could security be on a place nobody thought existed? There had to be a way out, maybe a secret passageway, like in movie. Gilda assessed her surroundings; the ceiling was cement, she wasn't going up and out, going down would only lead down into the Juvenile Barracks, where the Juveniles lived, that was a no as well. To her left was a bookcase, to her right some crates, behind her a fire extinguisher, and in front of her a window...a breakable glass window Gilda thought. She went toward the window, and tapped it's glass; it was too hard for her to break with her claws, but that fire extinguisher...

Please let this work, she thought, grabbing the fire extinguisher, and preparing to charge at the window. I gotta get to Dash before them! Okay, one, two... Suddenly, Gilda heard Rainbow Dash scream for help, before being muffled by her attackers.

"Three!" Gilda shouted running towards the window as hard as her body would allow, smashing the window behind her, and soaring out of the Attic straight toward's Rainbow Dash's assailants.

Gilda had been able to tackle the dark pony who had grabbed Rainbow Dash, and finished it off with a hit from the fire extinguisher. The other began to growl like a dog. While Rainbow Dash cowered behind her, Gilda had taken a fighting stance.

"Bring it, freak." Gilda said, not intimidated by the dark pony. The dark pony charged towards Gilda, and Gilda charged toward it at twice the speed. But before Gilda could able to make contact with the dark pony, it teleported past Gilda, grabbed Rainbow Dash, and kept running.

"You're not getting away!" Gilda yelled, running back to the fire extinguisher, and threw it like a spear, hitting the dark pony in the back of it's head. Dropping like a ton of bricks, Rainbow Dash was able to squirm out of it's grip with ease.

"Gilda! You saved me, thank you! How did you escape?" Rainbow Dash said, exhilarated.

Just then, about seven guards came out to see two of their guards passed out...right where Gilda had taken down the dark ponies.

"Assaulting two officers, Grizelda? Looks like you're going to be here a lot longer." the leader of the guards said venomously, enjoying it just a little too much.

"What? I didn't-but they were attacking Dash!" Gilda said, to no avail the guards' faces didn't change from their angry expression.

"Gilda, RUN!" Rainbow Dash said, beginning to run herself.

As they were running however, the guards began to catch up.

"Dash, there's only one thing we can do now!" Gilda said.

"We can't surrender, Gilda!"

"Not that! Follow my lead!" Gilda said. After running a few more yards, Gilda slashed a hole in the clouds they were running on, grabbed Dash, and performed a Dive Bomb from Cloudsdale to Equestria below them. When the guards began to follow them, Gilda blew the bits of cloud she had grabbed into the Guards' faces, blinding them just long enough for Gilda and Dash to disappear into a cluster of clouds. After a few minutes, the guards decided to regroup back at the CJCF.

"Hope you enjoyed your freedom while you could, Dash; we just became fugitives." Gilda said.

End of Chapter 11

To Be Continued...

Rainbow Dash

Fate After Failure

Chapter 1: Rainbow Dash

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria…

Rainbow Dash was losing. She hated losing.

After she had caught the usual bullies picking on Fluttershy, she had finally decided she’d heard enough. So, Rainbow Dash made a deal with the bullies: if she could beat them in a race, they would leave Fluttershy alone. Unfortunately, they were faster than she thought, and she quickly found herself losing the two bullies.

Need to go faster! Dash thought I can’t lose!

THWACK!

“Later, Rainbow Crash!” one of the bullies said, slamming into her before speeding off.

“Hey!” Dash said, preparing a nosedive to the ground to catch up.

Come on, Dash, She thought. I can’t lose! Not now! Can’t let Fluttershy down!

Unbeknownst to the bullies, she was catching up, and fast! But how long could Rainbow Dash keep up this speed? How long before this filly tired and slowed?

Gotta…gotta catch up… she thought, her mind slowing from dehydration.

Rainbow Dash began to pant and heave in her breathing, her mind willing but her body unable to continue on as she started losing control of her wings. She was careening out of control, as the bullies were speeding to the finish line.

Can’t…I can’t lose…Not now! Tree! She swerved to avoid an apple tree, and another, and another.

I think this is the end of the forest…If can just reach the sky again! She thought as she reached a clearing. Just at the end of the clearing, however, was the Apple family barn, and Rainbow Dash was going much too fast to pull up in time!
CRASH!

With two crashes, Rainbow Dash broke through the walls of the fragile barn, causing it to collapse within seconds of the impact.

“Oh no! What have I done?!” Rainbow Dash yelled, exasperated and exhausted. “I gotta to get back to Cloudsdale before they find out it was me!”

“Oh no you don’t! Cloudsdale PD, I saw the whole thing!” A police-pony said. “Racing, speeding, destruction of private property; do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in? You’re lucky nopony was hurt!”

“I-I’m sorry, it won’t happen again!” Dash said.

“No, I’m sorry; for something like this-” he waved his hoof at the remains of the barn “I can’t let you off with a warning. I’m gonna have to bring you in.”

The next few days were a blur to Rainbow Dash, because she was crying for most of it. She remembers her parents talking with the police, getting dressed up for the court hearing, and being found guilty and sentenced to Cloudsdale Juvenile Correctional Facility.

She had never felt more alone than the first few nights in the CJCF.

End of Chapter 1

To be continued…

Everfree

Fate After Failure

Chapter 7: Everfree

It had only been two days since Twilight had run away from home.

She had stopped by her home, before anybody else got there, to pack a few things. Twilight was smart for a filly her age; she knew that if she was leaving for good, she would need to pack something warm for the cold winters ahead of her. She did know she wouldn't be coming back here again, it would be impossible.

She grabbed a coat, a scarf, and extra boots, stuffed them in her bag, and went over her checklist again, looking around the room. Savoring the view. She knew wouldn't see something like this in a long time, maybe never. She took in the sight of a child's room. Not just the scattered clothes and books on the floor, but also what she felt. She felt safe in here, that nothing could hurt her. Now, because of her anger, she would have to leave the safety and comfort and venture into the cold world which she'd only read about in books.

As she turned to leave, she noticed something on the floor next to the door. Watching her. Waiting for her. Taunting her with it's eyes which seemed so full of emotion, which they now seemed devoid of. She had been avoiding the decision to pack it or not since she had arrived home. It seemed so childish, and yet...and yet she wanted to keep it with her. She wanted to have something of comfort in this scary new life of hers. After breathing out heavily, sighing out her frustration, she lifted the rugged Smarty Pants doll into her bag, zipped it up, and teleported away from her home with a heavy heart.

It was Twilight's second night outside of her home. She had made it far from her Canterlot home, to a dark forest said to be forbidden because of the ravenous, malevolent beasts which lurked within. However, ever since she had read the forest's name, she knew this was the place to go, despite the danger. She would remain, as the name said, "Everfree".

Twilight was proud of how 'brave' she was being. She was surprised at herself, she had only jumped once or twice when she heard the bushes rustling behind her, she only shook for a few minutes after she saw the glowing red eyes staring her down then subsequently disappearing once again into the darkness.

It was very hot in the forest; it was still mid-summer, and it didn't get much better at night. Her breathing got heavier as the humidity in the forest reached sweltering heights. Twilight was sweating from the heat, from exhaustion, and from fear.

Easy, Twilight... She had told herself, doing her best to keep calm. Now is no time to lose your nerve.

Again, however, she jumped, startled by another sudden rustling in the bushes behind her. Before turning to face the source of the noise, her mind made a conclusion: this wasn't a monster. Any monster would be comfortable in the Everfree, but this new source of noise hadn't been trudging with pride through the bush; it had tripped. While this wouldn't normally matter anywhere else, in the Everfree forest, showing any weakness at the wrong time can mean death.

Luckily for both of them, this wasn't the wrong time, in fact it was the perfect time. As Twilight turned around to face this stranger, she was shocked and relieved to find another unicorn, who must've been the same age as Twilight. The cornflower blue unicorn stepped out of the shadows, nervously at first, then feigned confidence, which Twilight saw through; Twilight knew this stranger who had been following her was just as nervous as Twilight was; this gave Twilight an edge, and thus her own confidence was showing.

"Who are you? What are you doing, sneaking around like that?" Twilight said, with more anger than she intended. Maybe the hunger was getting to her...

"I-I'm sorry, I was just-well see..."

"Spit it out already!"

"Okay! I saw you enter the forest, and I always wanted to go...I figured if you could go in here, so could I!" The other unicorn spat quickly, and flinched out of fear.

"Well...okay," Twilight sighed. "But you didn't tell me your name. Who are you?"

"Me? I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!" The unicorn said, with confidence in her and a flourish of small fireworks from her horn.

"Keep it down, will you?!" Twilight said urgently "Don't you know what could be lurking in this forest? We need to be quiet before we become something's lunch!" Right on cue, her stomach began to growl, reminding her just how hungry she is. She'd read that many things in the Everfree were poisonous, so she hadn't eaten any of the berries out of caution.

The new pony, Trixie, heard the grumbling in Twilight's stomach, and dug into her own backpack and grabbed 2 sandwich bags. Twilight eyed the bags hungrily, her mouth watering from disuse over the past two days.

"I have two of them, if you want some....?"

"Twilight...I'm Twilight Sparkle. Please, can I have some? I haven't eaten in days!" The young unicorn pleaded with the stranger she had been yelling at not even five minutes ago.

"Of course you can have one...on one condition." Trixie said, smoothly. This time, it was her turn to have the upper hand. They both knew it.

"Anything, please, I'm so hungry!"

"I'll give you one of my sandwiches on the condition that you let me travel with you through this horrid jungle." While her tone was sly, her eyes pleaded for Twilight's companionship through this nightmare.

Twilight grabbed the precious food in a flash, and quickly said "Deal!" and scarfed it down. After what seemed like a small amount of time, the nourishment was gone, Twilight was still hungry, but she wasn't about to complain. Trixie had already given her food, and now she wasn't alone in the darkness forest.

End of Chapter.

To Be Continued...