The Test of War

by TheNewYorkBrony

Chapter 2

"That better not be whiskey I smell!" Twilight shouts from the front.

Applejack grimaces, "No, it's piss."

Pinkie snorts with laughter as Dash coughs to hold it in.

"Making smart remarks doesn't get you anywhere, Applejack." Twilight warned, now somehow suddenly in front of Applejack's face.

The taller girl mumbled, "Yes ma'am." Before handing over the flask.

Twilight put the container in her backpack before turning back around. "I expect that's all that you and Rainbow Dash have." She said, returning to her position in the front.

"That isn't the only flask you have, is it?" Pinkie whispered smirking.

Dash cackles. "I'm gonna let you answer that one for yourself."

Rarity sighs. "You three are the reason why Twilight doesn't like doing group missions."

"But ain't everything we do group missions?" Applejack asked.

"Exactly." The fashionista huffed, pushing passed her.

"Oh, look who's got her camouflage in a twist." AJ taunted.

Rarity snapped her head around and glared at the farm girl. "I am not going to pick a fight with you just because you're upset Twilight took away your liquor."

"Well sugarcube, there's a fight a brewin' but you ain't the one picking it." Applejack responded rolling up her jacket sleeves.

"Um...guys..please don't fight..." Fluttershy squeaked.

"Naw, naw, Ah wanna hear what Miss Prissy Pants has to say." Applejack said getting in Rarity's face.

Rarity scowled at her, her arms crossed in defiance. "You always talk about how you're such a good soldier, about how you and Dash are the reason why this team is so well known but,"

Pinkie knows exactly what she's about to say so she jumps in, "Rarity don't do it!"

But she’s ignored. "The truth is, neither of you could protect your families. You,” she pointed to Applejack, “Have no idea where Big Mac and Apple Bloom are, and you,” She then pointed to Dash, “Have no clue if Scootaloo is even still alive!"

The pair stared at her lock jawed, their eyes full of anger and regret. Rarity knew what button to push, and she didn't just push it, she smashed it until it was broken. Because Applejack and Rainbow Dash could say all the excuses they wanted. But at the end of the day, they knew it was true.

"Well what about you?! Ah haven't seen Sweetie Belle around here none!" Applejack shouted.

This took Rarity aback. She looked shamefully at the ground.

Applejack smirked. "Yeah, you might wanna worry about your own kin before you start talking about how Ah ain't protected mine!" Then, she stopped. She started crying.

"Ah did all Ah could...Ah..Ah tried to save them but Ah couldn't." She fell to her knees. "After mah parents passed it was mah job to watch over AB. It was mah job to protect her. And Ah..Ah failed."

By now Twilight had stopped, and turned around to see Applejack sitting on the pathway with her head in between her knees and her arms across them. She had seen her in this position before. Many times. It was the sign that someone had brought up AppleBloom.

She ran over to her and pulled at her arm. "Applejack." She called softly. "Applejack we don't have time for this."

There was no response.

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Dash sighed. "She's not going to budge." She put a hand on her back but the farm girl didn’t move. She was frozen.

Rarity felt guilty. “I...I had no idea that was such a sensitive subject.”

Pinkie pushed her. “How could you not see?! She never talks about her, she always tenses up when someone brings up the girls, and she can’t even bring herself to say her name! She even wears her ribbon on her uniform!”

Rarity looked over the pink haired girl’s shoulder to see the magenta ribbon tied to Applejack’s arm blow gently in the wind.

She felt horrible.

“Oh sweet Celestia what have I done?” She bent down to Applejack’s level. “Applejack, darling, I had no idea it hurt you so much.”

Applejack didn’t even look up.

Pinkie Pie threw her arms in the air. “Great! Just great! Two years of therapy down the drain thanks to Rarity! She’s not going to get up! She’s going to sit there, and mope and not to anything at all!”

Twilight shook her head. “It may be Rarity’s fault but we have to get going.”

Pinkie glared at her. “How?! She wont move, and we can't move her!”

“Oh yes we can!” Dash shouted. She picked up the girl by her waist and threw her over her shoulder.

“Eh?! RD! What in tarnation are you doin’?!” Applejack spoke up, snapping out of her stupor.

“I’m saving your sorry ass!” She yelled before putting the girl back down. She punched her arm. “You keep feeling sorry for yourself and it’s helping no one! How are you ever going to find Apple Bloom if you keep freezing up every time someone says her name?!”

Applejack tensed, but then sighed. “Ah guess you’re right. But what Rarity said was uncalled for!”

“And I’m very sorry for that darling.” Rarity said, sending her a sincere look.

“Well okay. Let’s just get this show on the road.” AJ responded, starting to walk again. Rainbow Dash was right. If she was going to find her brother and her sister she was going to have to toughen up. And that meant starting today.

---

About eighty miles west of where Team Harmony was hiking, a group of three female soldiers stood guard.

“There’s nothing here. Why is she making us stand here?!” The first one, a purple haired girl in her late teens asked.

The second one, about nineteen years old with a charming southern accents sighed. “Ah guess she wants us out the way. Us being prisoners of war and all.”

The third one about the same age, snorted. “They took us from our sisters just so we could be watch dogs. It figures. We were never good at anything anyway.”

“Sweetie Belle!” The second one called. “Ah thought we agreed to never talk about them!”

Sweetie Belle stomped her foot. “What makes you so sure that they aren’t alive?! What makes you so sure Applejack isn’t apart of that famous military team everyone’s talking about?!”

Apple Bloom gritted her teeth. That’s what they had told her. That’s what those stupid men had told her. That Granny was dead and so was Big Mac and Applejack. And if she didn’t come with them she’d end up like that too. She clenched her fists angrily.

Scootaloo sighed. “Aw, shit. Here she goes.”

“That’s what they told me! And that’s what they told you and Scoots! Why do ya’ll keep holding onto this stupid shred of hope that one day they’ll find us, and we’ll be happy again?!” Tears started to form in Apple Bloom’s eyes.

“It won’t be the same ya’ll. Look around. Do you even recognize where we’re standin’?”

The two girls beside her looked around the tall grassy field and shrugged, There were over grown weeds everywhere, and an abandoned shack reduced to rubble stood alone in the far corner. They didn’t see anything.

AppleBloom shook her head. “Of course ya’ll don’t. This is the school yard, remember? Miss Cheerilee’s class?”

The realization flooded onto their faces, then shame took its place. AppleBloom sighed. “See? No matter how much you want things to be the way they were before this stupid war, they never will be.”

The three were quiet after that, resuming their post in complete solemn silence.

---

The girls had made it to Ponyville, or at least what was left of it, seeing how every shop, cafe and building was either boarded up, raided, or occupied by military forces.

Dash whistled as she looked around herself. “Shit. Every time we come here it gets worse and worse.”

Pinkie sighed. “Tell me about it. I can't even look at Sugarcube Corner without getting depressed.” That didn’t stop her from glancing at the once brightly painted sweet shop as they passed, now desolate and eerie as the rest of the once booming, lively town. She sighed again.

They passed the farmer’s market, the smell of rotting produce and wood filling their nostrils. Fluttershy shuddered as they passed the pathway to her cottage. She couldn’t bring herself to think about what happened to her cottage and all her cute little animals.

Dash looked up to see Cloudsdale. She gritted her teeth when she saw it had been taken over by New Lunar Republic soldiers. She felt ashamed that her own race would let those scum rule over them. Kicking some dirt out of frustration she raised her gun.

“Where exactly are these rebels, Twilight?” Applejack asked, eyeing the road way to Sweet Apple Acres. She forced herself to look away. This was no time to have a mental breakdown.

“By my old treehouse.” Twilight responded emotionlessly.

“You don’t mean-” Applejack started.

Twilight gave her a curt nod. “Yes.”

She had left Spike in the three house, she knew she shouldn’t have but he wanted to stay and watch over the books. She thought it was so stupid for him to do that but then he brought up his noble dragon code and she couldn’t say no. She knew it was the wrong thing to do but she still ended up leaving the teenager in Ponyville by himself.

Though she didn’t leave him unprotected. She commanded that he be watched over twenty four seven. She made sure he was safe... but with the recent distraction of the rebels, sh wondered if they were paying attention to him at all. Twilight was deathly worried about the boy, but she couldn’t show it. Especially not after she just told one of her soldiers to suck it up.

“Get ready girls, we don’t know what to expect.” She warned them. She heard the others raise their guns before walking towards the library. But then something that Twilight saw made her stop cold.

“Twilight, Twilight what’s wrong darling?” Rarity called.

Twilight didn’t respond so Rarity took it upon herself to look in the direction Twilight had been looking. She gasped.

“Oh my Celestia!” She shouted.

The others looked then gasped too. There, in the window, were two men holding down a boy tied to a chair. It wasn’t just any boy, but a boy they all knew very well.

Fluttershy started to whimper. “Y-you guys. The rebels are in the library. And they have Spike!”

Author's Note:

sorry this is so short. I have to babysit today and i wanted to get this out of the way. welp, i gotta go so please comment and tell me what you guys think. :)

Comments

[Cavalryunit001]

The story's not bad, my friend. But I have to admit I am a bit disappointed that it's so short. I was expecting something more from you on this chapter. But never mind me. It's just a suggestion. As a whole, this story's well constructed. I pray that you will increase the length of your chapters in the near future. I should know because most of mine are well over 10,000 words. If you have the time, come see it for yourself.