Original Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EAyBM0_tDxbkCPOTmXmBTvkscGsVaqTypINiq-qD2d4/edit?usp=sharing

Liquid red strings were spreading through the ocean, dissipating rapidly. Soon, other bodily fluids would join them. To help Rarity cope with her unlife, Twilight tried several tricks to assist preserving her body. She used teleportation spells to drain it of its blood and empty out her digestive system. After all, she would never have to eat or drink again. Additionally, the purple mare made a few experiments and managed to create an altered version of the age spell. Although she could not bring Rarity back to life by turning her young again, she could at least use the modified spell to slow down her decomposition a lot. The whole procedure was painless for the undead white mare, even if it wasn’t clear if she would even be able to feel this at all.

“How many?”

Rarity seemed to have very mixed feelings about her new state. Of course, a part of her highly disliked being a zombie pony and felt disgusted with herself. But the fact that she finally was having a rest from the constant torture cleary was more important to her. She nearly seemed relieved to finally be undead. For the first time in months, she could walk around without any problem at all.

“I… I can’t…”

When the group finally returned home, they were welcomed warmly. But despite all attempts of preservation, Rarity’s unlife was visible now. Her eyes had lost the shine of life, making all rebels instantly understand what had happened to her. Wherever she passed, others became silent. Some approached the white mare, speaking out their sympathy for her. A few even cried. But as it was to expect, Applejack was the most shocked of all to see Rarity in this state now. She immediately broke out in tears and hugged her friend.

“Just tell us already…”

For the following days, it became quiet in the overcrowded empire. Although she was still walking among them, the rebels were mourning over Rarity’s death. Even their mighty leaders were not invulnerable. With her beginning unlife, the white mare had created the first doubts in the rebellion. Not doubts in its cause or methods, but doubts in its survivability. After years of preparation, time was running short now. Years of research were put into the defence of the empire, as well as its artefacts. The time would come soon to see if all those efforts were bearing fruit.

After a week of getting the empire used to the presence of all leaders again and putting it in shape, keeping the changes Applejack pushed through in mind, the leadership circle had another meeting. Terrible events had transpired during their absence.

Applejack, Rarity, Celestia, Luna, Fluttershy, Derpy Hooves, Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle, Lady Truesight and Amber were once again sitting around the round crystal table in their hall. Only Cadence was not present to get the final conclusion from the donkey scientists’ research. Soon, she would return with news which would dramatically influence their chances of surviving the Red Day. For now, the rest were speaking to one of their scouts.

“How many?” Twilight repeated once again with a very serious look on her face.

“M… Millions... “ the scout replied very hesitantly. “Nearly two-thirds of Equestria’s entire population. They… they mostly focused on breaking down society as we knew it. All celebrities and nearly every last pony who hadn’t yet joined the BloodClaw Cult were part of the mass execution.”

Jaws slowly dropped. A sensation that can only be described as an intense icy burn crept through their spines and their hearts felt like they had just turned to stone and dropped into their stomachs. Especially Celestia seemed to be immensely heartbroken, once again incapable of holding back her tears and requiring comfort from her sister.

“They made no difference between foals, elderly or even pregnant mares. The mountain of corpses is still clearly visible… Demons are casually feasting on it from time to time…” the scout added.

“As it is to expect, this set a whole new level of terror for the population of Equestria. Almost all who hadn’t yet joined the BloodClaw Cult now did, just to evade their own execution,” Truesight explained.

“Why… Why did they do this?” Luna wanted to know while holding her sobbing big sister.

“We can only speculate. Maybe it was to make an example to all of ponykind, setting a statement like ‘If you are not with us, you are against us’. Perhaps they decided to hold a festival for Nightmare Moon and sacrificed all those ponies in her honor. We can’t know for sure,” the scout replied.

These were the worst news, yet. The sheer number of victims was unimaginable to them. Such a display of cruelty. The cult really outdid itself this time. Twilight tried her hardest to keep her composure. She simply gave herself a moment to collect herself before she turned to Lady Truesight.

“How much time do we have left?” she wanted to know.

“I apologize, my mistress. But I can not give you a precise date,” the reaper clairvoyant started, then closed her eyes to focus. “Judging from how the landscape looks in my vision, I can merely tell that we have one more change of season left in time.”

“So only a few months… And you really can’t predict the outcome?” Derpy wondered.

Truesight shook her head slowly. She had been asked this question several times by now and every time, she tried her hardest to see past this event, but to no success. Just like with the prophecy, years ago, this seemed to be an event which blocked her vision.

“Well, we have to keep our heads up. I have intensified the training of our guards and we are trying to simulate scenarios of demon invasions. No matter what we do, we need to be as well prepared as we can,” Shining Armor stated.

“Don’t forget that we still have the other reapers to support us in battle,” Fluttershy reminded. “Even though a lot of elders died, we still have a few very powerful ones left.”

Twilight did not respond to any of this. Rarity’s death made the purple mare become rueful. She no longer wanted to make promises she couldn’t keep and left the motivational speeches to others. She didn’t want to start being seen as unreliable when it came to such important matters by making claims she couldn’t pull off.

The others noticed and became silent again. It felt wrong to see Twilight suffer like this. Technically, she still was young for having to carry so many heavy burdens. Every new tragic event made her maturity take another big leap forward. She no longer was the cheerful, youthful and naive filly she once had been. Her mental scars overshadowed any physical ones which had been inflicted on her. She had to grow up way too fast and although she had the mental capability to handle all these enormous, world-changing responsibilities, all of her friends and family members secretly wished she hadn’t ever been forced to take this position. And Rarity… she now had become the very embodiment of everything that was wrong with this war. Was this world really so cruel that it forced something like her to exist? Did it really thrive so much on the suffering of others?

Losing faith in the world was a common thing these days. Nopony could really claim to still think what was happening could be justified in any way. The rebellion, although a last beacon of hope, seemed like a tiny candle desperately trying to float on top of an never-ending ocean of injustice.

“Thank you… You can go now,” Twilight spoke to the scout.

Even after he was gone, the ponies remained silent for a few moments more. What was one supposed to say or think after getting such news? Of course, it was clear from the very beginning that Equestria would never be the same again. But now, after this mass execution… Even if they succeeded and reconquered the throne, the whole remaining population consisted of nearly exclusively cultists. Many may still gladly leave the terror and demon worship behind, but there would also be many which would completely refuse to ever be ruled by Celestia again. Even if they win the global war, the civil war inside of Equestria would continue for many years more.

Eventually, the door opened again and Cadence entered. Her sad expression already gave away what she wanted to say, but she spoke out the results anyway.

“It is impossible. The elements don’t accept the Crystal Heart as a substitute sixth element,” she stated.

Twilight didn’t even care about knowing any details anymore. She just hung her head, a strong feeling of defeat washing over her. It was Fluttershy who would not be satisfied with such a short answer.

“Why not?” the yellow mare wanted to know.

“The Crystal Heart itself seems to be willing to partake in this bond. It are the elements which refuse. They are just too specifically made for each other. The scientists claim that, if the sixth element would still exist, this link would actually work. But then we wouldn’t need to do this in the first place…” Cadence explained.

“Well… we will just have to make it without them, then. At least the Crystal Heart still works. I don’t know what good it will do for us, but we can at least give it a try,” Luna stated.

“But will it be enough?” Applejack wondered.

“I don’t know… It will have to do, I suppose. We don’t have any other choice,” Twilight responded.

“Ya know… If things really do look this bad for us… Maybe we should evacuate. Fold up the tents, get out of the empire and go into hidin’ before the demons arrive,” the orange mare suggested.

“We can’t do that, Applejack…” Celestia retorted in a depressed tone as she finally stopped crying.

“Why not? We still got enough time to plan and organize it,” Applejack argued.

“It would be no use,” Luna started. “You know how relentless the cult and especially the demons are. Even if we hid somewhere far away or as inaccessible as the Frozen North, they will find us. Despite everything, the Crystal Empire still offers the best strategic defense compared to all other options available to us. The best we can do now is to let them come for us in a place which we are familiar with and have the home advantage over letting them catch us off-guard while we are still setting up our defences in a foreign territory.”

Applejack opened her mouth again, but no new argument left her lips. Luna was right. All they could do now was to wait until the attack finally came. For the very first time, Applejack now truly understood that they were facing the possible end of their rebellion and with it the end of their lives. Her mouth closed again and she gained a similarly depressed expression as everypony else.

“Go home, everypony,” Twilight suddenly suggested. “Go home and have a good time. Talk to your other friends, do things you always wanted to do, make some good memories. Not even Lady Truesight knows what will happen after the Red Day. But just for the chance that these may be our final days, make them worth something.”

“Twilight…” Derpy spoke in a tone between sadness, condolence and worry.

“I’m not giving up. I never will. I’m just saying… Find some happiness before the worst comes. Do it now before the moment comes where you come to regret not having done things when you had the chance,” the purple mare continued.

Nopony spoke a word anymore. After a short delay, the ponies got up, one at a time and left slowly. Celestia was still in bad shape, so she and Luna retreated to their private room to talk for a bit. The reapers returned to their duties, as well as Cadence and Shining Armor. Twilight seemed to be heading to the library as usual, followed by Rarity to make more research on how to keep herself fresh for as long as possible. Applejack was among the last to leave the room. She really was worried about all of her friends and wanted to make sure they were okay. Twilight in particular seemed very down, so she spoke to her on the way out of the palace. The purple mare said she would be able to handle it, but Applejack wasn’t so sure.

It was barely noon. The entirety of the empire was very busy. War preparations were made in all directions. Weapons and armor were smithed, barricades built, tactics discussed, attack formations practised, duels being held to train combat. The streets were no longer a place for foals to spend their time on. With the rising fear, the few retreats the younger generations had were being heavily guarded. Most foals weren’t even in the mood to play anymore. They were cowering and practising their duck-and-cover routine. Frankly, end-time feeling was in the air.

Applejack didn’t really know what to do with the rest of her day. She could go back to the plantation and pick some more crystal berries, she figured. There was always more work to be done. But this time, she wasn’t really in the mood to work. Twilight’s words were stirring inside of her. The way she said them… It made Applejack feel like she was missing out on something. Like she was exactly about to do what Twilight warned her of: Make a mistake she would not be able to undo later. Sunken in thought, she wandered down the roads of the empire, thinking hard on what it could be. What was this feeling? What would this one thing be she would regret be?

Her thoughts stopped at a stallion: Caramel. At first, she was convinced that this couldn’t be it. But the harder she tried to think of anything else, the clearer it became to her that it really was Caramel her unexplainable worry was centered around. Maybe she should go check on him, the orange mare figured.

She didn’t need long to find the light brown stallion. Applejack still remembered which smithy she recommended him to. It soon turned out that he wasn’t hard to find either. He was right in the center, quickly producing one steel horseshoe after the other like an old master. He was dirty, sweaty and had a few burnt spots in his coat, but he was smiling happily. For the first time, Caramel seemed to be in his element. Others were standing around him, marveling his skill and speed. Even the minotaurs seemed very impressed. A sight which made Applejack smile again. His eyes were shining with joy and life like she had never seen it from him before. The work clearly was very exhausting, but he seemed to relish it at least as much as Applejack relished farm work. It was out of question that she did him a huge favor.

Applejack did everything right with him. He was doing well. Exceptionally well, compared to the past years. But…

The smile on the orange mare’s face faded away again. Why was she still feeling worried and sad? Could it be? She sunk deep into herself again, exploring her feelings. Of course, she considered taking Caramel as her partner before. But she never really had that of intense feelings for him. She mostly did this with her ultimate life goal in mind: Starting a family.

Sure, Caramel was nice and sweet and all that. And of course, he was good enough. Applejack certainly wasn’t that arrogant or picky. But was he really ‘the one’? Was this the stallion she wanted to spend the rest of her life with and have foals with?

Was it a mistake to wait until after the war to find out?

The orange mare’s thoughts ran wild. She tried to imagine everything that could be, everything that could happen. What was her heart telling her? What was her brain telling her? And what about her conscience?

Her body started moving forward. Step by step, she approached Caramel, until he realized she was there.

“Oh! Hi, AJ! How are you…” he greeted, but immediately got confused by her expression. “Are you okay?”

Caramel stopped with his work and placed his hammer and glowing hot metal on the anvil before him. He had never seen this face on her before. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking or feeling. Something was heavily stirring inside of her.

Her eyes were like glued to the ground, not moving up an inch. Did she even realize where she was? It seemed like she was a million miles away right now, looking straight through the world as if it was made of glass. Then suddenly, her focus shot up to Caramel and her expression changed. Her eyebrows lowered, her lips pressed together. She became tense.

“Wh… what did I do?” Caramel wanted to know insecurely.

She seemed so angry right now. Did he lose something again? Would his bad luck ever end? Or maybe… oh my gosh… Was this the end? Did she no longer care about him? She hadn’t even said anything yet and he could already feel his heart break.

The orange mare took another step forward. Caramel’s eyes went wide open in surprise. He misjudged the situation. This wasn’t an expression of anger, but one of determination. Her lips tightly pressed against his, her eyes closed and she relished the moment. Before Caramel even understood what was going on, the kiss ended again.

“But… didn’t you say…” Caramel started, still speechless of what just happened.

“Forget what Ah said,” Applejack interrupted. “In case we all die when the demons come, Ah’d rather die in the hoofs of mah special somepony than all alone.”

Caramel still stood there in complete stun, his mouth slightly opened. He could still feel her kiss on his lips and it excited him more than he thought it would. The sensation quickly spread through his whole body as he came to understand the meaning of her words and actions. A smile grew on his face, a short exhaling burst came from his lips, the sound of an interrupted laugh of joy. He finally managed to regain his composure, stepped up to the orange mare and places his hooves on her shoulders, moving his face very close to hers.

“I won’t let you die, Applejack. And I won’t die either. Come what may come. We can do this, I’m sure of it,” he spoke warmly, a blush growing on his face and his eyes getting even shinier than they had already been.

Slowly, a blush started to grow on Applejack’s cheeks as well as she smiled back at him. She closed her eyes and kissed him again, surrounded by the applause of all nearby rebels.