Containment is Magic 2: Chaos Rising

Follower

Follower’s House, Ponyville, Equestria

July 3rd, 2013 C.R

The only sound that could be heard throughout the dark household was the steady tick tock of the sole Grandfather clock, giving the house an eerie dead feeling. In the house’s master bedroom, a certain unicorn stallion lay awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. For Follower, sleep just didn’t want to pay him a visit.

The past week had been hectic for Follower, with him being released from the LTF and adopting Apple Bloom as his daughter. After escaping Facility 1a, Follower was lucky enough to receive the honor of meeting the Royal Sisters, who were very interested in hearing the tale of the sole original survivor of the Containment Breach. Follower explained his story to the Princesses, who both congratulated him on surviving. Follower also received a promise from Princess Celestia saying that he would be released from the LTF’s control. A day later, Follower received word that Celestia had followed through with her promise, and had cleared him for release. He also got a letter stating that Celestia had approved his adoption request for Apple Bloom.

Follower had been ecstatic about his fortunes, and quickly left for his house in Ponyville with Apple Bloom in tow. By the 26th of June he was back home, and started the rather long process of adjusting to normal life. Two days after returning home, Follower received a request from Mayor Mare asking him to take the job of teaching the fillies and colts at Ponyville Schoolhouse. Seeing no reason to refuse, Follower accepted the request and was informed that he would start work by the third of July.

Many thoughts raced through Follower’s mind as he lay in bed. Will the students like me? Can I handle teaching younger ponies?  How much will I be paid? The more Follower thought about the day ahead, the more restless Follower felt.

Giving up on the concept of sleep, Follower climbed out of bed, and stretched his legs. Moonlight filtered through the windows of the bedroom, illuminating the room in a silvery light. Trotting over to the bathroom, Follower whistled a very quiet tune to himself.

Quickly relieving his bladder, Follower spent some time staring at himself in the mirror. Even though his face was clean and free from marks, Follower felt as though it had changed during his time with the LTF. Maybe it was the fact that he rarely smiled anymore. Follower pondered on the thought for a few moments before a shrill scream shattered the silence of the household.

Recognizing Apple Bloom’s voice, Follower wasted no time in sprinting out of his bathroom towards Apple Bloom’s room. Thrusting the door open, Follower saw Apple Bloom cowering in the corner of her room. A look of sheer terror was plastered on her face while small whimpers came from her mouth.

“Apple Bloom, what’s wrong?” Follower asked, his voice heavy with concern. Follower’s voice seemed to trigger something for Apple Bloom, for she screamed again. “STAY AWAY FROM ME! AH’M NOT GOING TO LET YOU KILL ME!” Concern won over Follower, and he found himself slowly stepping forward.

“Apple Bloom, it’s okay! Nopony is going to kill you! It’s only-“ Follower began, only to suddenly be charged by the scared earth pony filly. Letting out a cry of surprise, Follower fell back onto his rump, and tried desperately to push the frenzied Apple Bloom off of him. Apple Bloom managed to land a few strong punches on Follower’s muzzle before Follower managed to push her off.

Now free, Follower scrambled back to the doorway, and watched Apple Bloom carefully. She looked up at him for a few moments, but soon collapsed onto the floor in a sobbing heap. “Ah’m so sorry Follower, ah’m just so scared…”

Sighing softly, Follower walked over to Apple Bloom, and started stroking her back. “It’s okay Apple Bloom, I’m here now. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Follower continued to stroke Apple Bloom’s back for a while, until the cream colored earth pony finally closed her eyes again and fell back asleep.

Carefully picking her up, Follower placed the sleeping Apple Bloom back in her bed and tucked her in. After making sure everything was alright, Follower closed the door to Apple Bloom’s room and started trotting back to his own room. Reaching it a few moments later, Follower immediately went back into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

A small splinter of bone stuck out of his head just under his left eye, causing Follower to flinch a little bit at the sight of it. Removing the bone fragment, Follower noticed that it now made a small scar below his eye that he couldn’t fix with his magic. Shrugging, Follower checked the rest of his face for any damages only to find that no other damage was done. A few moments later, Follower had exited the bathroom and returned to his bed. A replay of what just happened with Apple Bloom kept running through his head, and Follower found himself sighing deeply.

This was the second time in a week that Follower had found Apple Bloom having nightmares. However this was the first time that Apple Bloom had lashed out and Follower couldn’t help but feel concerned. Should I take her to a therapist?

Follower pondered the thought for a few moments, but shook his head. Apple Bloom would be fine, she only needed time. Bringing himself comfort, Follower closed his eyelids. Several images flashed through his vision, most of them being from Facility 1a. Struggling to keep his eyes closed, Follower saw more and more mental pictures of dead scientists and guards. A final image of a bloody smiling Jitterbug caused Follower to shoot up straight in his bed.

Sweat poured down his body as the image of Jitterbug slowly disappeared from his vision. The blue earth pony mare still haunted his thoughts, and Follower desperately wanted to forget about her. Finally deciding that sleep was impossible without the help of magic, Follower quickly charged up a sleeping spell on his horn and casted it on himself. Follower’s eyelids quickly became heavier and heavier, and  he soon fell fast asleep.