Chapter 6 - Bullies and Babs

Chapter 6 – Bullies and Babs*Joshua’s P.O.V.*

As I was sitting on Nyx’s back, with the other crusaders showing me Ponyville, I was starting to feel a whole lot better after what happened before the princesses found me.  I was liking it here in Ponyville.  I had made a lot of new friends.  I was also wondering what Pinkie Pie was planning for me too.

The crusaders showed me a lot of Ponyville I hadn’t seen yet.  There was the school house where their teacher, Miss Cheerilee, worked, a place called a spa, a few shops and stalls where they sold food, writing quills, sofas, and a small restaurant too.

“So, how are you likin’ Ponyville so far, Joshua?” Apple Bloom asked a little later.

“I think it’s a great place,” I replied, “Everyone seems nice.”

“That’s great that you think so,” Scootaloo said, “Did you have any friends back where you came from?”

“A few,” I said getting a few tears in my eyes.  Sweetie Belle saw me tearing up, and put a hoof on my back.

“You okay?” she asked.  I nodded my head after rubbing my eyes.  After we walked some more, I felt like someone was watching me.  When I turned around, I saw two fillies with mean looking faces.  One was pink with a purple and white mane and tail and had a tiara on her head and her flank.  The other one was grey, had a lighter grey mane and tail, a necklace, blue glasses, and a spoon for a cutie mark.

“Um, girls?” I asked, “Who are those two?”  They all turned around and frowned.

“What do you two want?” Scootaloo asked.

“We couldn’t help but notice that thing on Nightmare’s back,” the pink one said pointing a hoof at me.  I got off of Nyx’s back and stood next to her.  Nyx then put a hoof around my shoulders.

“He’s not a thing,” Nyx said, “He’s a human, and he’s from another world.”

“An outsider.  You don’t say?” the grey one said, “Does he even have a name?”

“It’s Joshua,” I said.

“What kind of name is that?” the pink filly said.  I started tearing up again.

“Who are those two?” I asked again.

“They’re those bullies I told you about,” Nyx said.

“Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” I asked again.

“You’re pretty smart for a non-pony,” Diamond Tiara said, “If you really are smart, you’ll wise up and not steal my spotlight.”

“Hey!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, “Leave him alone!”

“Why should we?” Diamond Tiara said, “If he’s your friend…”

“Then you’ll listen to her if you know what’s good for yous!” said a new voice.  We all looked behind us and there stood a new filly with a brown coat and a red and pink mane and tail that were cut short.  She didn’t have a cutie mark either.  When we turned and looked at her, she blew a piece of her mane out of her face.

I saw that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon backed up and had worried looks on their faces when they saw this filly.

“Well, well, well,” the filly said, “I come back to Ponyville for a visit, and imagine my surprise when I find you two pickin’ on my cuz and her friends.”

Looking at the filly’s face, I remembered one of the faces on the roll call list.  I put my mouth to Nyx’s ear, and whispered, “Is that Babs Seed?”  Nyx nodded her head.

“I’m surprised at you two, not even giving a new kid in town some space,” Babs continued, walking up to stand in between us and the bullies.

“Why are you on his side, Babs?” Diamond Tiara asked, “He’s not a pony, he’s a freak.”

“No he ain’t.  Any friend of my cuz is welcome in my book,” Babs replied, “Now listen good you two, don’t let me catch you pickin’ on my friends while I’m here, or I’ll tell your parents.  You get me?”

The two bullies backed up a bit, looking nervous, but they soon nodded their heads at Babs.  They soon left, but not before Diamond Tiara gave me a mean look.  I felt nervous all over again after seeing that face.  Babs turned to face us and walked up to me.  “You okay little guy?” she asked placing a hoof on my shoulder.

I nodded.  “Thank you for stopping them,” I said wiping a tear from my eye.

“No problem,” she said, “I don’t like seeing bullies picking on other foals.  Name’s Babs Seed.  What’s yours?”

“I’m Joshua,” I said.

“Ah’m glad you showed up Babs,” Apple Bloom said, giving Babs a hug.

“You know me cuz, I can’t stay away from Ponyville for long,” Babs replied.  She then turned back to me.  “So, what are you exactly Joshua?”  I told Babs my story, and she had the same look everypony else did when I finished.  “Wow,” she said sadly, “I’m awfully sorry.”

“I’m feeling a little better,” I said, “Why did those two get scared when they saw you Babs?”

“Let’s walk,” Babs said, “And I’ll tell ya.”  I got back on Nyx’s back and we all started walking again.  “About a year ago, when I was living in Manehattan, I got bullied for being a blank flank.  I came down here to visit Applejack and Apple Bloom for a few weeks.  Applejack, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were at the train station to meet me.”

“Hey Nyx?” I asked, “Why weren’t you and Twist with them?”

“I was helping Twist with a special contest,” she said, “It was the Summer Harvest Festival when Babs visited, so Twist and I missed the chance to meet her.”

“So anyway, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo wanted me to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders when they showed me their clubhouse.  I was unsure ‘bout it at first, but then they showed me the parade float they were going to ride in the Summer Harvest Parade.  I was impressed, but then Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon showed up.  I thought they were gonna start teasing me like I was back in Manehattan, so I joined them, started pickin’ on my cuz and her friends, and wrecked their parade float.”

“Over the next few days,” Apple Bloom said, “the three of them were pickin’ on us a lot, and they even kicked us out of our clubhouse.  We then came up with a plan to get back at Babs.  We built a new golden apple float for the parade and booby-trapped it so it would head straight into a lake.  On the day of the parade, Babs took the bait and drove off with the float after we started the timer on the trap.  Applejack then told us she was proud of us that she thought we were makin’ Babs feel special, and then she told us that Babs was being bullied back in Manehattan.  We realized that we turned into bullies too and tried our best to save Babs from the trap.”

“The trap went off before they could catch up,” Babs said, “They managed to push me out before the float fell into the lake, but they fell in instead.  Later at the farm, we all apologized to each other, started over, became friends, and I joined the Crusaders too.  Next day though, we were at the train station, because it was time for me to head back.  Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were there too, and they started picking on my friends again, but I stopped ‘em and told ‘em I would tell their mothers about their bad attitudes.  They stopped teasing them even after I left for a while.  But when I came back today, I arrived in time to find they hadn’t stopped completely.”

“Thank you again for stopping them Babs,” I said.

“No problem little guy,” she said.

“Hey Joshua?” Nyx said, “It’s getting pretty late.  We need to get back to the library.”  I saw the sun get low in the sky.  It was a pretty sunset.

“Okay Nyx,” I said.

“We’ll see ya tomorrow Joshua,” Apple Bloom said.

“Bye girls,” I said waving to them.  They all waved their hooves at me too and left for their homes.