DE- Martyr's

In the past months since Granny Smith had died, Applebloom had learned to stay in her room after the days work. Even if it wasn't her bed time, she would quickly scurry from the kitchen to her room after dinner, hasty to turn on the fan in her room.

Things would get loud.

She worried more for her big brother.

Somewhere, she'd not seen where, her sister had taken to Hard Cider

She knew here sister didn't mean the things she said when she was drunk, she didn't really mean it when she called them both useless.  or a waste of space on the farm.


"Ah told ya not to talk!" she could hear the angered shouting through her walls at night, followed along by the sounds hoof meeting skin, loud enough to make her wince.

Every night had the same results, A new cut, an additional bruise, another sore body part, her brother would take everything Applejack could dish out, his code of ethics keeping him from retaliating.

Applebloom always knew when her sister was starting to get drunk; there would be a slur in her voice, her tone always sounding frustrated, her temper all but an inch away from causing her to lash out.

Those were always the signs that told her to go, to hide and get to her room.

The signs that soon she would feel sad.

even though she knew it wasn't, she was a child, children can't help but wonder, all children ask, and think 'is any of this my fault?'

The fact that it was her big brother, the oldest of the three of them, that got the abuse from her sister just added to the feeling of helplessness. If her big borther, a stallion that could move a house, couldn't and wouldn't retaliate against her angry drunken sister. If he wouldn't, what could she do?

What could she do anyway, just a filly, a filly with out a cutie mark at that.

"Yer all, useless!" The shouting interupted again. breaking the stream of thought "You and your stupid fuckin' face!" Applebloom could only wince at the sounds she heard.

Perhaps the worst part. was the fact that she knew the full reason why Macintosh didn't try to retaliate.

"Why do you let her do that to you Mac?" she cried in frustration, "You're twice her size and you let her do that to you!" she pointed to the bruised black eye he'd had since the night before. Applejack had gone out to town and the pent up frustration just fell from Applebloom's mouth "Why do you even let her drink at all?!"

"Ya know you're sister's resourceful" he told her "even if ah could get rid of all her Cider we both know she'd easily get more." he frowned.

The next statement made her heart sink

"And if it ain't me, she'd do it to you" he said with a frown

Applebloom felt the shiver travel up from her tail to her mane. the tears falling now as she realised the personal sacrifice he made for her safety.

The memory was fresh in her mind as she heard a table snap and break from somewhere in the house. "Stop bleeding and clean this shit up!"  the hoarse sound of her sister's voice rang out

The loud slam of the door made her whince a second time.

She immediately rushed to her window watching her sister stumble and walk away with a drunken gait in the direction of the storage building where they kept the Apple Cider.

she quickly rushed out of her room, trotting as fast down the stairs as she could, hoping her brother wasn't too hurt.

"Macintosh?!" she rounded a corner before gasping.

The image would be forever branded into her mind.

She found her brother lain back over the broken remains of the dining room table, the wood having shattered into several hundreds of pieces as, the stallion that had caused such damage right in the middle of it all, a blood mess as he sturggled to move.

An immediate panick washed over her. That very split second a decision having been made. She rushed back up to her room, grabbbing her saddle bag, along with a cack of bits she'd been saving for longer than she could remember, more than enough for  train tickets to anywhere else.

"Can yah hear me?" she asked him, receiving a quiet groan in response "oh thank you!" she said aloud to what ever would hear her.
She moved to pull her brother up as best she could to his feet.  "Kicked me somthin' fierce" she heard him murmur, she looked over the nasty gash across his back, the blood leaking out just a sngle shade darker than his own fur.

"We're leavin'" she said as she kept him leaning against her, the wait making her walk slow enough

Her brother didn't respond,

She knew she'd regret this, she knew she'd feel sore when ever they woke up where ever it was they'd stay, but if her brother could do something like this for her, she could do this for him.

It was a rough walk, but she managed to get her big brother all the way to the trian station, the blood having managed to stop, he was still alive...thankfully.

She'd considered every one moment where Applejack hadn't found they'd left a blessing as they boarded the empty train. pushing Macintosh into a seat next to her as she managed to rub her sore shoulder.

It was a good pain, a freeing pain more so.

The train slowly began to rumble out of the station.

"Thanks..." she heard him say as he slowly gained more consiousness.

"We're leavin' Mac" she told him as he looked around them

"Where're we goin" he asked rubbing his head a bit

"Canterlot." the town was busy enough they could blend right in  inside the less than high class area's of the town. "She's not gonna hurt either of us anymore."

She felt the need to cry. The need to grab her brother in a hug and cry into him over the pain of knowing she wouldn't see her friends anymore, that as far as anyone would know they'd have just dissapeared.

She inhaled deeply pushing the need down. She wasn't a Filly anymore. She had to be strong, for both of them.

Another martyr for their own good.

"She'll find us.." he'd mumble every so often. She didn't care, as long as Applejack kept up her habits she wasn't their sister. not anymore.