Always connected- Aftermath- Chapter 11

Applejack turned as the sounds of Spike's deep screaming stopped. The door upstairs opened and DuskDrift made her way out. Applejack galloped to her as DuskDrift fell down the stairs in a pile. Her nose was bleeding and her eyes were bloodshot. Applejack carried her to the couch and laid her down, scared that her breathing was so shallow. DuskDrift smiled very weakly, looking at Applejack.

"I….I think I did it." She said, before passing out. Applethunder placed a blanket on her. Applejack and Applebloom stared intently at the door, waiting for Spike to make his way down. Applejack could see Applebloom getting worried as time went on. A sound made Applebloom take a deep breath, as a dark shape filled the doorway. Spike walked down the stairs and Applebloom gasped. Spike was indeed a pony, just as DuskDrift promised. He was lavender in colour, with a green mane that featured a light green stripe along the sides. Spike opened up his wings and Applejack smiled, which promptly disappeared when she saw Spike's tail. It wasn't what Applejack expected. Instead of a tail made of hair, Spike still had a very reptilian tail, complete with splade at the tip. His steps were shaky, as though he was still getting used to having four legs. Applebloom leapt at Spike and kissed him, and Spike wrapped his wings around her like the hands he had lost. Applebloom pulled away, and Applejack could hear Spike whisper "I love you" to her. Applejack smiled wider, and hugged Applethunder, whose mouth was wide in shock. Spike made his was slowly over to Applejack and hugged her.

"Thank you AJ." He said, smiling, and for the first time Applejack saw his eyes, which were still the same reptilian pupils as before.
"You should be thanking DuskDrift, without her, it wouldn't have been possible." Said Applejack, not comfortable with taking any of the credit, especially after seeing how much the spell had taken out of DuskDrift. Spike flapped his wings, testing them out. Applethunder stepped forward, shaking her head.
"Don't Spike, you will need to learn how to fly. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." She said, putting her hoof on his shoulder. He stopped, smiling awkwardly.
"Oh my Luna! Spike, look, you even have a cutie mark!" Exclaimed Applebloom. He twisted around to look at his flank. His cutie mark depicted a quill and parchment. On the parchment was a picture of a green flame. Spike yelled out with joy, jumping up and down with happiness.
"I'm a pony! I'm a pony!" He shouted, making Applejack feel very uncomfortable. She jumped, as Big Mac spoke up.
"Ah don't care if you're a pony or not. The same thing ah said before applies. You hurt my sister and ah hurt you." Said Big Mac, narrowing his eyes at Spike, who swallowed and smiled awkwardly. Applebloom and Applejack laughed. Big Mac shot them both a look.
"Oh you think ah'm kidding? Ah'm not. The only reason ah fight this damn war is to protect you both. And Ah'll have been dead for a long time before ah let some weak little excuse for a pony hurt my sister." He yelled, and Spike's ears flattened against his head in fear. Applejack pushed him away.
"Big Mac! What is with you? Ah though you would be happy that our sister has found somepony she cares about." She said, looking at him angrily. Big Mac stomped the ground, and a loud, resounding boom echoed throughout the silent library. Big Mac sighed, and closed his eyes.

"Oh Aj, ah wish you could understand. Ah…. Ah don't know how to be this pony anymore. The big brother, the father figure.  Ah'm just a soldier now, a warrior. Ah kill because ah am told to now, not because ah'm protecting anypony." He said, and Applejack's heart broke as she saw a single tear glisten in the corner of his eye. She hugged him, and Applebloom soon joined in.
"Brother, you saved my life, and Rainbow's. You fight for all of Equestria and whether you realise it or not. You are the same pony, except now your focus is broader; you are the big brother to all of Ponyville now." Said Applejack and Applebloom kissed Big Mac on the cheek.
"It's true, have you both seen the memorial in town square?" She asked, and they followed her outside. Applejack shivered at the cold morning air, not realising that they had been up all night waiting for spike. Applebloom led them to Town hall, where a large rock sat in front. On the rock was an ornate plaque that read;

'This plaque is dedicated to those ponies fighting in the war. We know that they will show honour and dignity that Ponyvillians are revered for.' Underneath was a list of about thirty names, all of the ponies from Ponyville that had gone to war. Beside eleven of them was an 'X' and Applejack assumed that it represented the ponies that hadn't made it. At the top of the list was Big Mac's name, and a small message;
'Bravery isn't something you are born with; it is something you learn through years of being a good pony to all. You find the need to protect everypony as though they were your own kin, and you will discover that they are - Granny Smith' Applejack looked over at Big Mac and found him crying. She hugged him, as the giant, stoic stallion let his sorrow out into the world, proving to Applejack that he was still the same pony he was before the war.
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Rainbow sat on archer's stage, and the dawn sun warmed her face. Dried vomit was caked around her mouth. She had been having nightmares since she killed the first griffin, which had caused her to throw up whenever she awoke, covered in sweat. She looked down at her hooves, and could only see the blood on them. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them, the blood had disappeared but she could still feel it, and no amount of washing could get the blood off. Seeing something out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow turned to find Pinkie walking toward her. Pinkie sat down and said nothing. They watched the sunrise together, and Rainbow could only see the dew covered poppies glisten in the light. Each red, shining flower reminding Rainbow of the bloodied griffins that were left after she regained control of herself. Pinkie moved a bit closer and put her arm around Rainbow.

"Is it coming off?" She asked, and Rainbow paled, looking at her quizzically.
"The blood. Is it coming of your hooves." She continued, and Rainbow sighed, shaking her head. Pinkie nodded, pulling rainbow a bit closer.
"Does it ever?" Rainbow asked, and Pinkie smiled, nodding her head. "When."
"When you separate yourself from the scene when you fight. When you stop taking your work home with you, so to speak. When I am forced to kill, I supress my emotions and focus on the task." Pinkie said, not taking her eyes off Rainbow.
"And what is the task?" Rainbow asked, the blood returning to her hooves.
"The task, Rainbow, Is simply to survive." Pinkie replied. "Rainbow, I think that's I'm ready to tell you my story. And about that tombstone in the graveyard." Rainbow went limp as Pinkie told her what had happened, about Rosethorn, about Pinkamina and the torture that she endured. Tears flowed down Rainbow's face when Pinkie had finished. She hugged Pinkie tightly, and kept repeating "I'm sorry" over and over. Pinkie hugged back, consoling her friend.

"How do you get through every day?" Rainbow asked, and Pinkie pulled out of the hug, smiling.
"I understand the reasons that I fight, and I never forget the ponies that I'm fighting for." Pinkie said, kissing Rainbow on the cheek. Rainbow wiped the tears from her face and smiled, thinking about the reasons that she fought. She kept thinking of Applejack, and her friends, and then she thought of herself, and it dawned on her. She was fighting because that's what she was about; Loyalty. She fought for everypony she held dear. She looked down at her hooves and the blood disappeared, then she looked out over the battlefield and she couldn't see the sea of blood that swayed in the wind, she could only see flowers. She turned to Pinkie and smiled.
"The Doctor was wrong, I'm still the element of loyalty, and I don't need some ridiculous piece of jewellery to tell me that. Don't you see Pinkie? That's why I fight. There are ponies that I must protect and I will do anything to complete my task." Rainbow declared to the smiling Pinkie, who nodded. Rainbow hugged her again, before opening her wings and taking off, she did a quick lap around the camp to wake herself up, and then landed in front of the research tent. Rainbow walked in to find Rarity drinking a cup of coffee and sketching something on a piece of paper. Rarity smiled when she saw Rainbow, who gave her a quick hug, glad to see her happy after the recent unpleasantness.

"I've got a surprise for you Rainbow." Rarity said, leading her over to the same large chest where Rainbow had found her sword. Rainbow opened it and peered inside, and her mouth dropped open. Inside the chest was Rainbow's armour, and it was stunning. The metal was peculiar, as it transitioned through the colours of the rainbow periodically and seemed to be made of a strange crystal substance. Rainbow could just make out miniature engravings of her cutie mark, as well as those of her friends along the front of the breastplate, and the helmet way very similar in design to the one that Rarity made for the gala dress that Rainbow asked for. There was a small pouch tied to the breastplate that Rainbow picked up and studied.
"Be careful with that darling, it contains the blades to go on the tips of your wings. I made them out the crystal as well, and trust me, they are very sharp." Said Rarity, showing Rainbow the marks on her arms where the blades had cut her. Rainbow smiled, then hugged Rainbow, amazed at the level of detail and the amount of work that must have gone into the armour.

"Thank you Rarity." She said, placing the helmet on her head and smiling, as she tried to move it around but it just wouldn't budge. It was the perfect fit, as was the breastplate and the armour plates that went on the forelegs.
"Oh and Rainbow, try not to lose any pieces, as that crystal is extremely rare and it is thoroughly unlikely that we will ever find more of it." Rarity added as Rainbow left the tent, wanting to show off her armour around the camp. Rainbow smiled, giving Rarity a wink.
"Don't worry Rarity; I don't plan to lose anything while I wear this armour."

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Applejack applied the cool, damp cloth to DuskDrift's forehead, as she hadn't awoken or even moved since passing out at around dawn. Her breathing had slowed but she showed no other signs of being okay. Applejack shook her head and ran her hook through DuskDrift's mane. She turned to look at Applethunder, who was giving Spike a crash course in being a Pegasus.
"And that is why pegasi can fly, any questions?" asked Applethunder, and Spike raised his hoof.
"How can our bones be hollow, wouldn't they be too weak to support our bodies?" He asked and Applejack smiled as Applethunder facehooved.

"No, because our entire physiology is less heavy to compensate. Our muscles are less dense and our organs are more compact to lower the weight. Except for our lungs, they are very special. We have an extra air sac on the top of our lungs that when filled, make our entire bodies lighter and therefore easier to fly. Also, it is part of our ability to breathe in the upper atmosphere where other flying creatures, such as the griffins, cannot reach." Applethunder explained, but Applejack could see that Spike's brain had wandered off. She traced his line of vision to find it rested on Applebloom, who was with Big Mac, helping to plan the funeral. Applejack giggled, before walking towards him and giving him a light smack in the back of the head, and forcing him to pay attention to Applethunder. She walked upstairs and went out onto the balcony, looking out over Ponyville. She took a deep breath, and savoured the fresh, clean air that was without the stench of death. From her vantage point, she could make out some of the ponies she knew, such as Lyra, Bon Bon and Berry Punch. Applejack's smile grew wider as the memories of Ponyville flashed in the forefront of her mind.

'Ah cannot wait to come back here.' She thought, looking at the tranquil scene, which was broken in the manner of a piercing scream coming from the direction of Rarity's boutique. Applejack sighed;
'Does the conflict just follow me everywhere?' She thought, galloping downstairs and out the door.