Back on land, the sunset was still high enough to paint a frayed but striking gradient of gentle blue fading into a dreamy orange-pink blend, complemented by the bright, golden sun that sat behind the shadowed trees and mountains on the horizon.

Twilight and company had managed to find a cave, vacant, and near a clearing no less. This of course following a few hours of pouting, whining, and grumpy fillies, more than anxious to catch some shut-eye.

Twilight had constructed a small fire-pit in the center of the clearing, with some assistance from Applebloom; Rarity and Sweetie Belle were tracing the edges of the clearing to find some leaves and straw to make hasty little mattresses for their damp little cave. Scootaloo was sitting in between it all, musing over one thing and one thing only.

What did I do to Rainbow Dash? The pegasus thought. She knew enough that the mare didn't hate her, though she certainly confided in the safety of her head that she could be persistent and annoying, she failed still to grasp what horrible, inexplicable thing she did to make her idol her antagonist.

Applebloom watched her feathered friend, whist monitoring the slowly evolving fire in the center of a small dirt enclave she and Twilight had created.

“Ya think she's alright?” Applebloom looked to her unicorn guardian, “She looks awful worried about somethin'”

Twilight had yet to see Scootaloo's internal struggle...shown clearly by her cold face, and her eyes gleaming in concentration.  “Hmmmm” The unicorn thought, “Perhaps you should go ask her?”

Applebloom simple chuckled, How did ah not think a that? She asked herself as she gingerly trotted to her friend's side.

Twilight looked on and smiled gently as she knew Applebloom cared deeply for her friends, it was likely just foalish business anyway. She turned back to the fire that had grown, Sweetie Belle had gone to the cave with Rarity who looked ready to call it a night as well. Twilight was busying her thoughts as well, amongst the pollution of determination, resentment, fear, and elaboration that swirled around, one more sentimental thing managed to claim the top tier of her thoughts.

When should she know?

Applebloom had yet to be told of her senior sisters' putrid portrayal of her, not did she have the slightest inclination that her siblings had held an awful undertow of hate and disdain for all of her life, for all the filly knew, they were just going through hard times and things would get better. Even after their eviction from town, she was sure her sister and Big Mac were looking for her.

She still loved them, and believed that they felt the same. Twilight could tell as she had not heard one syllable of lament or disappointment about the Apple Family from the filly with a bow, in fact she had managed to tangle herself in the notion that the drunken assault was “just an accident.”

The lavender unicorn's flurry of conscience concern was halted as Rarity sat beside her. Sweetie Belle was nowhere to be seen—likely asleep in the cave.

“This is quite the impressive ember Twilight I must say.” The white unicorn complemented.

“Oh well, don't rush to credit me for all of it.” Twilight laughed, “Applebloom had a hoof in a lot of this.” Both mares turned to watch the cream and orange filly, side by side discussing something. Though their hushed voices, distance, and the crackling of the embers made it unintelligible.

A look of concern came about Rarity's face. “Do you know what they are talking about?”

“I'm afraid not.” Twilight sighed, turning back to the fire. “Applebloom was initially concerned and I suggested she go talk with her—try to see what's up.”

“I feel like a terrible mother.” Rarity said, “I've been with my sister all evening and have hardly given her any attention....perhaps that is it?”

“I don't think so Rarity, it has been pretty crazy after all, maybe she's just deep in thought—I think we've all had our fair share of that.”

“Too true.” Rarity admitted, “I hope Fluttershy and Rainbow are alright.”

“I'm sure they'll do fine.” Twilight concluded as she inched back from the ever warming fire.

The two fillies had parted from their talk and were now sitting by their respective chaperones. Applebloom sat next to Twilight, in awe of the blaze before them, while Scootaloo was tucked into Rarity's hooves, silent, but her look suggested that she wasn't too contempt with the day's events.

Rarity gave the filly some time to cradle into her hooves and rest her head into her fur, she too was now looking at the fire, Rarity turned her gaze down to a purple mane.

“Scootaloo dear is something wrong? You see....You don't seem to happy.”

Scootaloo let out a sigh before turning to face Rarity, “I am, but it's okay now.” She put on a weak smile, hoping to evade inquiry but that wasn't happening.

“Sweetie, you just seem downtrodden and sad...you know you can talk to mommy about anything that's troubling you.” Rarity bit her tongue, 'Mommy'. Yes Rarity, let us embarrass her and make her to be a fail in front of our friends, what an effective means to an end.

Scootaloo didn't seem to mind, “I'm sacred Rari—Mom. We aren't going to make it are we?”

“Darling what makes you think that? I certainly have never gotten the impression...despite everything that has happened...I thought you were eager to embark on this adventure?”  Rarity put on a warm smile and pulled the filly to her chest, stroking her mane.

Scootaloo surrendered to her coddling for a few moments, it was nice to have some positive, comforting attention from Rarity. Though the words of her adoptive mother weren't putting her concerns to rest.

“But what if we fail? What if we get caught and are banished from Equestria?” Scootaloo whined, these last few days had proven not so great between the idol and her number one fan.

“Scootaloo, I won't let that happen to you. We won't get 'caught' but in the chance we are less than successful, you and Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom will be safe from harm.” The unicorn ran out of words, she wasn't really sure how to make the filly happy with this, It seemed a rather rough and bold thing for her to say, especially considering her own druthers.

“Are you sure?” Scootaloo asked, her eyes large and beady with concern.

“I know so Scootaloo. I am your mother, it is my duty to protect you, you and Sweetie Belle, I won't let anypony hurt you.” Rarity lifted the filly to her back hooves so she was eye level with a sitting Rarity, she pulled Scootaloo into a tight hug.  

Twilight could hear a slight sniffling sound emanating from her left. She turned from the scene before her to see Applebloom, tears trickling down her face. Her head turned slightly to avoid making eye contact and ruining this moment. Rarity and Scootaloo must have noticed as well as they had concluded their embrace and were looking at her as well.

“What's wrong Applebloom?” Scootaloo asked innocently.

The farm filly was stunned to have summoned their attention, she looked over at her friend, revealing the extent of her sobbing, but attempted to supplant the notion she was fine.

“Ah—Ahm fine Scoots, d-don't worry 'bout me.” She lied.

Scootaloo took her friends' word and returned to being wrapped in her mothers' embrace, though Rarity kept an eye in the cream colored fillys' direction.

Applebloom shivered from her suppressed sobbing, finally blurting out her tremulous torment,

“AH MISS MAH SISTER!” She whaled as she melted into Twilight's hooves, bawling like a foal.

“Ah miss her, ah miss her, ah miss her!” She screamed, muffled by Twilight's fur. A chill ran down Twilight's spine. It was do or die, and this was going to be a pretty dangerous ride. She looked to Rarity, affirming that she was going for it. Rarity decided to get Scootaloo to bed while this unfolded as to prevent the filly from innocently injecting her bias into the issue.

Twilight waited until the two were well into the cave and lifter Applebloom's head so her soggy face was staring at her.  

“Applebloom...” Twilight chocked some, “We need to talk about something....” She was already slipping. The whole monologue she had assembled in her head vanished, never to be reclaimed again.

The filly simply sniffled and looked at her,  “What is it?”

Twilight let out a heavy sigh, she wasn't sure how to go about this, and frankly she didn't want to—though there was no turning back, if she didn't say it now, she wouldn't have the courage to say it again.

“Well, your sister and your brother....they....wanted you gone.” Twilight cursed herself. So, I see we're just going to throw the frigid water right from the get-go? Smooth Twilight. Fucking smooth.

Much to her surprise, the filly was sitting now, listening.

“...When she hurt you that night, it wasn't an accident...Well....I talked to her shortly before we...left. The things she said to me, well they were just terrible.”

Applebloom was worried, but not for the reasons that Twilight had hoped, she didn't want to have to spell it out for her. The filly panicked, a million things met her mind at once.

“Wha? Is she sick too? Is Big Mac dead? Sweet Apple Acres gonna close down? Wha-” The filly's barrage of questions was hushed by a lavender hoof.

“There are times when....there is a pony in your life you don't like, that has done you ill and you don't like them at all, but you....pretend, you pretend to because deep down inside you don't want to hurt them—not because you love them, but because—well—because it wouldn't look good otherwise.”

Silence ruled for a few moments, Applebloom trying to understand what she heard and Twilight trying to understand what she just said.

“Applejack hates you?” Applebloom asked, “All of you? Fer that stuff y'all found?”

Well shit. Twilight thought, she was suddenly very tired. I really, really didn't want to have to say it.

Her mind tripped and her mouth trampled it and left it in the dust, courtesy of an unknown burst of desperation:

“They hate you.” FUCK! That wasn't what I meant to—Oh no.

Applebloom sat there for a moment, no real emotion present on her face, however, Twilight didn't have muich time to really gauge her response for she was on her back, a furious filly on top of her.

“You're a LIAR!” Applebloom growled, “Mah sister don't hate me you..you monster!”

The filly was surprisingly strong, not Scootaloo's level by any means but it surprised Twilight for sure.

“Ah can't believe you'd say somethin' like that! Ah thought you cared 'bout me!”  A blind fury was boiling, bursting at the seams and threatened to pulverize the lavender unicorn below that had just delivered the ultimate shock to her conscience, her very sense of self.

“Applebloom get off me!” The unicorn demanded, the filly didn't listen instead she punched the unicorn in the face, now crying and attacking the unicorn. This of course came to an abrupt end when a white filly dove from out of nowhere and tackled the cream filly to the ground. An orange filly quickly scampered to the toppled filly's side, aiding in her restraint.

“Yer a fucking LIAR Twilight! I fucking hate you!” The red-maned filly screamed violently as she thrashed about, trying to free herself from her friends' hold.

“Oh really?” Twilight was equally furious, “Someone who loves you lets you starve? Beats you? Nearly kills you? All because they're depressed? You think a pony does that for no reason? Applebloom listen to me! They had resentment for you since you we--”

“SHUT UP!” the filly kept screaming, still not free from the two fillies straining to pin her down, Scootaloo now on to of her stomach with Sweetie on her back hooves.

“--since you were born...” Twilight continued as if nothing happened, “Your mother died giving birth to you—they blamed you for it and hated you for taking their mother away. She said it herself: 'The only reason I didn't kill her is because I wasn't drunk enough to do it'” Paraphrasing and tossing a salad of quotes for sure but it did sum up the conversation at the farm pretty well...or as well as her tepid rage would allow. They were all tired, all irritated, and had zero tolerance for anything at this point.

Applebloom stopped her resistance, she stopped screaming. It hit her. It took being tackled, screamed at, and making a total foal of herself but it hit her. She was by no means stupid, though her ignorance and blissful aspiration for a perfect life with her perfect family was prior to now, violently evading any remote recognition or even acknowledgment of what Twilight was saying.

In her mind it came down to this: They did treat her horribly, for weeks, neither of them did anything about it. When she fled the house, they never sent her an apology, never asked about her. She had never heard anything suggesting that they even cared she had left. Then, a cold, stinging string of words rattled in her mind, every reverb was another chisel at her shield of denial,

“Y'all get, I don't ever wanna see you again, an I don't ever wanna hear from you again, I fucking hate you, so does Big Mac, you ain't never been good for nothin'!.....”

This string of hatred, rejection, a confirmation of all the unbelievable things Twilight had said, collaged with the memories of a dark room, blood, mercy—on her part. The switch.... her defense was gone. This was real, it was true, and there was not a thing in the world she could do about it. Pure shock took control, she lay, mentally paralyzed on the ground, quivering with tears streaming down her face again. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle eased off slowly and looked at her with concern.

“Come now girls, let Twilight handle this now.” Rarity whisked the two back into the cave.

Applebloom still lay right where she was, spitting out an occasional crying sound, still too rattled to open her mouth, move, anything. Twilight slowly approached her, lifted her, and pulled her into a hug, wrapped tightly in her hooves, the filly released, screaming, sobbing, whaling. All the pent up confusion, horror, pain came barreling out in one hostile marathon of tears.

After what seemed like an eternity, still shaken, Applebloom looked up at Twilight, her voice trembled as she cautiously posed her question.

“You still love me don't you Twi?”

Twilight had tears in her eyes as well.  She smiled as did the filly.  “Yes.”

“Thank you.....Ah love you too.” Next Chapter: Element Of Patience Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 24 Minutes